Hey, gang- I’m back with another \S/uper-sketchcover to share with you.
This one is based on Krypto from the new “Superman” movie which I got to see last week. After seeing the “John Wick” movies and other films I’m a bit gun shy (Gunn pun intended) whenever there’s a possibility an animal could be in harms way- even a CGI one.
No spoilers, but Krypto makes it out okay and makes many saves of his own.
I drew this one on a another “animals” themed issue blank. It’s a full issue of our MSCA zine with a blank cardstock cover to draw on. This is my fourth Mid-South Cartoonists Association “The Good, The Bad, and the Sketchy” zine sketchcover.
I started off with drawing this one with a yellow #2 pencil. I also used a click pencil at times, and a glass and a plastic template to draw the circles for the T-spheres.
I used Copic markers for the colors. I started off with a light blue for the background, and then reds and yellow for the masthead logo.
And then continued with a few different reds when coloring the cape on Krypto.
I then started coloring Krypto’s collar and squirrel with a couple shades of golds and brown, and then started to color the fur.
Used a few different shades of grey on his fur, the T-spheres, and squirrel. At first I wasn’t going to add the squirrel, but thought it could be a fun addition.
For the \S/ shield tag and collar studs I used some metallic Sharpie markers and a metallic Signo Uniball pen. For the black line inking I used an 03 Pigma Micron pen.
I used a white Gelly Roll pen for the highlights and a white Prismacolor pencil to blend out the highlights.
Once it was completed, I sprayed a light coat of Krylon Workable Fixative on it. I like to do light overlapping passes. I then let it dry and then scanned it.
I really enjoyed this “Superman” movie– fun summer super-hero popcorn movie, and I really loved the Krypto scenes. I’ve heard him described as a “bad dog“, but he’s really a good dog who’s just dealing with separation anxiety and a lack of home training.
I look forward to seeing him again in the “Supergirl” movie next summer.
Oh, and I’ve heard that thanks to the movie and Krypto (who’s based on James Gunn’s own rescue dog, Ozu) interest in pet adoptions are way up!
Here’s some fun news from 2021- David Dastmalchian’s cat Bubblegum got a Polka-Dot Man costume sewed by “The Suicide Squad” costume designer Judianna Makovsky!
David plays Abner Krill/Polka-Dot Man- the very obscure character in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” movie, who actually throws polka-dots.
David makes the seemingly ridiculous comics character not only funny, but very sympathetic. (You can see my post on this sketchcover here.)
From David’s Instagram post: “With the help of my @thesuicidesquad family & some generous animal lovers in Panama, I was able to rescue Bubblegum (full name: Abner Bubblegum Polka Dot Cat). She has been a blessing to our family & was instrumental in helping us through the pandemic.”
Our kitties- the Luthors, are both rescue adoptions. They both came from different places, but are incredibly close and act like they’re blood siblings.
Lex was adopted up in Metropolis, IL. He and a couple of his siblings had been abandoned and found in a box at the carnival there during the 2015 Superman Celebration.
Lena was adopted from the Tunica Humane Society down in Tunica, MS after I painted a couple murals down there in August of 2019 just before the pandemic hit.
She was my art assistant/supervisor for my first mural in the cat room.
Lex was featured in the first mural (along with our cats Jarael and Harley Quinn who were both alive then), and Lena (originally named “Poppy”) was featured as part of the 2nd mural.
In Metropolis there’s an animal shelter called “Project Hope Humane Society” and it’s located right next to the welcome sign as you enter town on Hwy. 45.
I hope you dug this Krypto sketchcover!
Lin
PS: Don’t forget to check out my pal Mike Norton‘s “Krypto: The Last Dog Of Krypto” comic series from DC Comics which is out now! You can hear my recent interview with Norton on “Drawing Funny” Ep. 82- “The Art God Of Jackson, TN”.