Ziggy an the Van Elder's

Belgian band Ziggy and the Van Elder's asked me to create their logo and album cover.

I was told to create something with a bull head reminiscent of the Motörhead.

There are two versions of the logo, one with a skull, one without.

And the album cover which will be also featured on the live shows.

And for those who don't know the band (yet):

Petit Nuage Noir & Puma Rouge / Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma - #2 - 11

Did you ever feel like you sold your soul?
Like you made a fool of you and your principles?
That you prostitute yourself?

Well now, I do...

I was proposed to adapt a play in a comic book...
So far soo good, it's even paid!
So what's the problem?

Well its subject and message, I disagree with...
Why did I go along then...
Well... First I have hard times to say no, second, it was paid, third it could draw some attention towards my other projects... So far so good...
Still my conscience is killing me, it is like dirty money...
Althought taking it I don't mind, just I feel like selling my soul...
Feeling it will come back and bite me in the ass...
Awfull.

Plus it might delay the releases of the next Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma issues...
(Althought, maybe not... Depends on how I play it...)
And I said I didn't want to work with anyone else...
Well I guess never say never...

But so far nothing has been signed...
So...
We'll see what happens...
I'll keep you posted!

Petit Nuage Noir & Puma Rouge / Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma - #2 - 10

Since I am a big music fan I thought this time I'd speak once more about music and not comics.
Music is important to me.
To the creative process of an album.
Even NEEDED during the production time of the album.
Indeed it allows me to set up a mood, a rhythm...
Either when writing or when pencilling, inking or coloring.

Althought there are times when even music can't help...
As I hate these two last steps so much...
So so much!!!
You can't imagine how painful it is for me...
But hey, that's the job!
40 more pages to go and colors are done!!!

Petit Nuage Noir & Puma Rouge / Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma - #2 - 9

At some point, I wonder, if  YOU,
the people reading my blog (thank you for doing so!!!),
do YOU read the things I write,

do you get enough from the few things I post or would YOU like more, 

and if so, what would YOU like to see?

Not that I'll promise to be able to deliver, just I would like to know...

Then maybe act on it...

And just because it was a post about YOU...

Petit Nuage Noir & Puma Rouge / Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma - #2 - 8

So, If everything goes according to plan, By the end of summer, I should have one book colored (depending on my flatters, maybe even completed), two books pencilled...
If...

I have so far written the story up to volume 8, just have the sequencing of the page to layout, then pencilling  would start... I wish that by the end of 2016, I would have written the complete serie, so I could put my mind on something else creatively...
Althought I would still have around 13 books to draw to actually complete it...

The most time eating, painstaking and annoying parts being the inking and the coloring, I think the pencilling would be quite fast... As I did those for this second book in less than a month while working... So maybe I should try to them as much as possible or try to continue to the same paste I'll try to instore this summer... So at least I won't be stuck with around 650 pages to ink and color... Or changing the rhythm to 2 pages pencilled or colored per day when the pencilling is done...


My intend being to be able to release two books a year...
Wouldn't it be nice?
Maybe wrapping up the story before I turn 40...?

Petit Nuage Noir & Puma Rouge / Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma - #2 - 7

Sometimes I think about I could make/ could have made if...
If I worked more, if I kept a certain rhythm...
I could theoricaly make two or three albums a year...
If...
But with ifs, you don't go that far...

Sometimes I can do lots of pages in a day.
Sometimes I am unable to work or can only do a page or two...
It's always random...
It's uncertain, unreliable...
Some pages will come easy and sometimes some finitions that look quite easy and should be done quite quickly will take twice more time than expected.

But still, I like to plan.

So I keep trying to set up a certain schedulde of my work.
Not easy. Not reliable. But still need to.

Here's what I have in mind for this summer...

I am thinking 7 weeks of work, 5 days a week.

Each working day:

-two pages pencilled,

-one page completed or inked.

If I have one album pencilled:

-one day to scan,

-one day to do the frames.

If I complete the album:

-one day (or two?) to make the texts and their translation.

If there are no pages available to ink or color:

-one or two more pages pencilled

To help, I should really try to work during the week-ends the rest of the year...
Meaning I should do at least a page colored or inked per week... Maybe two...
But I ain't sure of that yet, but we'll see if I can get to it in June.
I wish I could work in the evening, but this year, not sure I'll try that...
Maybe starting from september... Who knows?
We'll see...

I'll try to keep you posted!

Petit Nuage Noir & Puma Rouge / Little Dark Cloud & Red Puma - #2 - 6

Ah et juste au cas où, les images que vous voyez sont tirées des planches finies,

mais je fais les planches dans un ordre quelque peu aléatoire...

And just in case, the images you see are from the completed pages,

but I complete them in a random order...