Jeremiah Goldson and I have been working on Rogue Agent Zed for the last five years. That's a lot time, dedication, and commitment. As we head down the home stretch, let's take a look as we put the proverbial icing on the cake. This is one of the finishing touches to the project -- and maybe one of the most important ones -- the cover.
Jeremiah starts out with the light pencil sketch, beginning the inking process on the primary focus of the piece, Rogue Agent Zed standing in the foreground:
The process continues as the two lead characters get inked and the piece starts to come together.
Having finished up the special ops agents, the background starts getting Jeremiah's trademark level of detail.
And here's the piece with the pencils and inks done. We're talking about one seriously awesome illustration!
My first choice of colorists, Paul Little, mentioned he had a small window on his schedule to work on some new pieces. I immediately jumped at the opportunity to secure his talents.
I asked for some minor adjustments (lighten up the levels, change the hair color, mute the intensity on a couple of the costume elements) and we slapped some text and logos on. Voila!
I have to say, watching this cover come together was a real thrill. I love the finished product, and I think that it's a fitting cover for a project that's been five years in the making. Looking at this, I can't help but think: it's been worth the wait!
