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For the next batch of Bonus Content, I thought it would be fun to show my art process. I’ll probably do this every now and then and have each installment run over several posts, with each post showing one step of the process. I figured the cover to “The Big Snow Job” #1 would make a good page for the inaugural Process content…

Here we have the thumbnails that I did for the cover. As far as thumbnails go, these are MUCH more polished than what I usually do. My typical thumbnails are really loose scribbles that only I can decipher. And I kinda have to get them into pencils within a few days or so. Anything longer than that and even I have a hard time remembering what was what. Anyway, these thumbnails are a bit more legible.

The main thing I wanted to do was showcase the cast in their snow outfits. I wanted the characters to be a bit static and very prominent since I knew I’d be using the image as a costume reference guide for myself in drawing the story arc. Plus, I figured the other covers could deal with the action. I thought a solid group shot would be a nice way to showcase the characters again after a bit of a long hiatus.

The bulk of the concepts just revolve around different angles and standing order. I briefly toyed with the idea of working in the frozen goat alien to add a little drama to the scene, but ultimately, I decided that since that was going to be the opening image of the issue itself, I didn’t want to duplicate it right on the cover.

I ended up going with a mix of #3 (upper right) and #5 (lower middle), with the characters standing by a rock wall, but without Sky standing apart from the others. I kinda felt like Roka should be the clear focus of the cover since he’s the leader. The prominence of Sky in #3 felt like it was splitting the focus a bit, so I worked her in with the rest of the crew.

Next up, the inking stage…