All my pages are hand drawn on paper at just under A3 size. I use HB pencils, black ink, brush pens, copics, posca pens, gel pens, unipins, scalpels, masking film, acrylic paint, and an airbrush to make these – and there’s a few basic ‘making of’ videos at the bottom of the page.
After completion they’re scanned in and prepared for print, which involves adjusting the contrast to make shadows darker or lights brighter. I then letter them digitally. Very occasionally I might redraw or touch up something digitally too, such as how someone holds their gun, or the details on their uniform, or where the edge of a mask was slightly off, to make it all internally consistent.
Please use this contact form if you want to contact me about comic art or see more samples. Alternatively, you can buy the graphic novel Chrome Roses, from which this small selection originates, right here.
Pages:
Process videos
I rough out my page and draw my perspective lines on a rough thumbnail, which I put under each page on a lightboard. Half the time I draw the finished art without pencilling over the rough – going straight to ink. I’m a very precise artist and this loosens up my art and gives it more energy. I also don’t like to draw too large for the same reason: it makes my line more lively and stops me deadening the page with too much detail. It’s also quicker to make, which keeps the pages ticking along. It’s important to remember comic art is a series of 1000’s of panels which form a story, and the pace and rhythm of the art is a vital part of that. I put a lot of effort into making each page have a ‘wow’ moment, either from the composition, storytelling fluency, the perspective, dynamic action, light and shadow, wordless character acting, or by juxtaposing shapes and textures you don’t often see together.
I have two Instagram accounts, @montynero is pure art and @thiswriterslife is more life stuff and my writing work too. Feel free to follow either.
Monty Nero 