Thursday 28 April 2011

ACT 1 SCENE 3 ROUGHS/ LAYOUTS

This scene involves Polonius and his family the father, the daughter and the son.

As you will see lots of little notes on the layouts for the penciler to follow , again people talking no action apart from Laertes shaking Ophelia to bring her to her senses about her admiration for Hamlet .

note although the layouts are again rough in some places very rough thanks to tip-ex I've still given quite detailed facial expressions and body language for the penciler to follow.



Wednesday 27 April 2011

ACT 1 SCENE 2 ROUGHS/ LAYOUTS

So here we have Act 1 Scene 2
the big problem with this play is there's a lot of talking and very little action
so the key was how to make the pages interesting for the reader.

some things you can do is tilt the camera angles as in
panel 45 page 10, and panel 62 page 14, panel 93 page 21.

Another way to engage the reader is having the character stare out to the reader
as in the last panel 94 page 21

notice as Hamlet is swearing revenge for his Father i have placed heavy shadow on his face
to add drama to the scene this is often used in comics and movies too.

page 19 was a nice play in trying a different panel grid the first panel as half a page
and the another panels just concentrating on the facial expressions of Hamlet and his comrades,
very pleased how this turned out



ALL ART COPYRIGHT CLASSICAL COMICS LTD 2011

Sunday 24 April 2011

ACT 1 SCENE 1 PAGE ROUGHS/ LAYOUTS

These pages where drawn as a guide for David to follow while penciling.

the layouts are roughly drawn but give enough details of the story and flow of action, facial expressions.

you can see page 4 is totally landscape with the panels this grid works very well with large text balloons for Shakespeare.

the play starts with the guards and Horatio seeing the ghost of Hamlets father, you'll notice i tipped the angle of the view of the ghost on the last panel on page 3 to add drama and to make the page look more exciting.

as you can see in pages 7 and 8 I've played around with the layout to add drama to the pages and to keep the excitement building , I learned these tricks by looking at the works of Frank Bellamy's and Alan Davis , John M Burns, Mike Noble, Todd McFarlane, George Perez, Gil Kane

A good comic artist must also be a good story teller as in able to tell the action /scenes without help of the balloons
varying camera angles also helps make the story more interesting to the reader , views from above looking down ,views from the ground looking up, close up's, mid shots.
all these techniques used for the cinema are also used by the comic artist.

as you can see I've added the word balloons on the roughs as this also helps the letterer when the finished artwork  gets lettered.When the rough layouts have been approved by Editorial they are then sent to the penciler David Lorenzo Riveiro.



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Saturday 23 April 2011

THE SCRIPT

Every comic or Graphic novel starts with a script , when i was given the John F McDonald Hamlet script i could not believe how big it was 259 pages ( thicker than a phone directory) total panels 768 in script  plus i have added extra panels along the way,
you get some idea how big a job this has been to create a 186 page comic adaption with notes 200 pages in all in the finished product.

Here is a sample of the script as you can see i have three versions to read for every panel ,the most important thing was that the art leaves room for the large original text in every panel ,as there are three versions published original text, plain text, quick text the same artwork is reused for each version.


Friday 22 April 2011

HAMLET COVER ROUGHS

So the cover,
which for any publication is very important, it's the first thing the public sees as they view the book shop shelf or view online.

for this project I drew 5 ideas in all ,
I usually draw four cover roughs and then send to the Editor to approve ,or for comments ,
Clive Bryant liked version 1 for the plain text cover a simple pose of Hamlet holding Yoricks skull with the Dutch castle in the background.

Clive liked cover number 2 as it showed all the main players in the play and also looked like a movie poster but wanted to see Hamlet's sword raised and the death skull replaced by Hamlet's Fathers ghostly head so i drew another version and this was decided as the cover for the original text and quick text covers , both chosen cover ideas work well and have been penciled by David Lorenzo Riveiro


Tuesday 19 April 2011

INTERVIEW WITH JOHN F McDONALD


how did you get involved in working for Classical Comics?

I can’t really remember how I got involved with working for Classical Comics. I think Karen Wenborn e-mailed me, but I was in hospital recovering after a serious nosebleed where I lost 5 pints of blood. I called her, but I was speaking funny on the phone, as my nose and throat were plugged up. Anyway, she must’ve understood me, because I got the job.

how difficult has it been adapting the Shakespeare plays to a graphic novel format?

On the one hand, adapting Shakespeare for Classical Comics is easier than adapting books, because Classical Comics do the full, unabridged text, so you don’t have to decide what has to be cut. On the other hand, translating the Shakespearean dialogue to modern English can be tricky, you can’t go for too literal a translation, because that would sound a bit cheesy, so you have to re-phrase, without losing the essential meaning and beauty of Shakespeare’s words.

what has been your approach with the writing, did you study the movies or see live performances before starting hamlet?

Yes, I watched Mel Gibson’s Hamlet before I started work on the play and attended some stage performances. I’ve always been a fan of Shakespeare and I’m a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (not a performing member, of course).

how long did it take to do the written adaption of hamlet?

Hamlet took in excess of three months to adapt, as far as I can remember. It’s Shakespeare’s longest play and there’s also a play within a play. I tried to keep the rhyming iambic pentameter where possible and also the other metrical lines used by Shakespeare – some very complicated in this play. The Plain Text version took the longest amount of time because of the translation required.

have you a favourite scene in the play?

My favourite scene in the play is Scene 1 of Act 3, not because it contains the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy, but because of Ophelia. I’ve always thought Ophelia to be the most interesting character in the play (also Scene 5 of Act 4 – the “mad” scene).

have you been surprised how well the plays have worked as graphic novels plus the critic reaction on the whole being very positive from actors to reviewers?

I am delighted with the critical acclaim the graphic novels have received – winning IPPY awards and a Distinguished Achievement Award. It’s great for the graphic novel medium and for literature in general.

lastly what advice would you give to a young writer starting out?

My advice to young writers starting out is to find another profession. It’s a hard road, unless you’re very lucky or you have insider connections. But, if you’re determined and you have a hard neck and thick skin, then nothing will stop you. As Lillian Hellman once said “If I had to give young writers advice, I’d say don’t listen to writers talking about writing”.

thank you John for the interview, i hope this has been another little insight into the workings of producing Hamlet the graphic novel by Classical Comics

FORTINBRAS PRINCE OF NORWAY CHARACTER DESIGN

This was easy features a mix of Charles Dance meets Dave Lee Roth , My version of Fortinbras has a very big ego with a dash of smugness with a twist of the sinister .



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OSRIC CHARACTER DESIGN

Aha you've always got to have a weasel face type character in a comic strip and John McDonald mention in the notes he was sly , i enjoyed drawing him.



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VOLTIMAND AND CORNELIUS CHARACTER DESIGNS

When i was deciding on how these guys where going to look i kept thinking of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, which i thought suited these characters in the play.


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Monday 18 April 2011

THE ACTORS CHARACTER DESIGNS

This character sheet was drawn very fast as i was drawing the roughs for their scenes at the same time.


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ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN CHARACTER DESIGNS

As this two seemed to be joined at the hip in the play i decided their costumes would be almost the same , this sheet was drawn quite quick .


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MARCELLUS FRANCISCO BARNARDO CHARACTER DESIGNS

This character sheet took over a day to draw ,all the details in the uniforms ,helmets etc as you can see when drawing characters for comics it's good to remember people are different heights and weights , each character has different hair and features, they must feel like real people.

these characters where also important to get right as they start the play


ARTWORK COPYRIGHT CLASSICAL COMICS 2011





HORATIO CHARACTER DESIGN

Horatio is Hamlets best friend and protector so i wanted him to be physically strong almost like Arnold Schwarzenegger ie Conan


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Sunday 17 April 2011

KING CLAUDIUS CHARACTER DESIGN

Here we have the main villian of the play ,so i wanted him to be a foot taller than Hamlet and look a big bear of a man, someone you really wouldn't want to upset a mix of Brian Blessed and Albert Finney.
I loved drawing this character sheet.


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QUEEN GERTRUDE HAMLET'S MOTHER CHARACTER DESIGN

I was thinking of Dame Helen Mirren as the queen ,again she's not like her in looks ,but i had her in my mind while drawing the character sheet. She also had to have some facial features simular to Hamlet ie the eyes and nose and hair colour (blonde when coloured)


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HAMLET'S FATHER CHARACTER DESIGN

 Hamlets father i based on Sir Sean Connery 
not totally like him but again if i was a casting director he would fit the part

                                                                                      

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Saturday 16 April 2011

LAERTES CHARACTER DESIGN

Had in mind Tom Cruise in the role when he was younger man, i wanted him to look dashing and noble

Art work copyright Classical Comics 2011

OPHELIA CHARACTER DESIGN

When i was designing Ophelia i had in my minds eye the wonderful young actress Jenna Louise Colman who has starred in Emmerdale and Waterloo ,sadly the penciler on the book hasn't quite drawn her the same, still here's my version



Art work copyright Classical Comics 2011



POLONIUS CHARACTER DESIGN

I based his looks on two great actors Leo McKern and Ernest Borgnine, I wanted Polonius to look weighed down with being Claudius's advisor so his hunched and feeling his age


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Friday 15 April 2011

HAMLET CHARACTER DESIGN

John f McDonald writer and adapter of the Shakespeare plays for Classical Comics sent detailed outline notes how he saw the characters for this project, i was given free reign how to use these notes for reference

When i was designing Hamlet i was thinking of a young Peter O'Toole in looks , i always think of what actor could play the role when drawing this helps me fill out the character .

I was given a few DVDs of Hamlet films to watch from Clive but i decided it would be best to draw the main character without the influence of the films.

the actual drawing was done quite quick and as with Macbeth the first design was accepted without changes.



Hamlet art copyright Classical Comics 2011

WELCOME


Welcome to the behind the scenes blog of creating William Shakespeare's HAMLET the graphic novel for Classical Comics http://www.classicalcomics.com/books/hamlet.html
over the months i will be uploading character designs and layouts for you to view.
I was asked by the Publisher/Editor Clive Bryant in 2009 to art direct Hamlet after working on other titles for him such as MACBETH http://www.classicalcomics.com/books/macbeth.html
THE TEMPEST http://www.classicalcomics.com/books/tempest.html
and FRANKENSTEIN http://www.classicalcomics.com/books/frankenstein.html
I hope you will find this blog an intersting insight in creating a 186 page graphic novel

Jon Haward
Art Director for Hamlet the graphic novel