Monday, November 02, 2009

Drawing for Fun - Queen and Country


Hey everyone,

Ok, here's another piece I'm doing. It features characters from a book I actually worked on, Queen & Country. This one is a VERY rare commission piece (rare because I RARELY do commissions!) for a gentleman who has bought a few pieces of art from be and been incredibly patient with me too :)

I actually LOVED Q&C long before I even drew it. When Oni had first started putting some of my work out I made it clear I really wanted to work on the series eventually, and they were kind enough to have me on.

Q&C is a bit of a disappointment for me though. Mostly because I just rushed through it more than I would have liked. The book had been gradually coming out later and later, and the Oni folks really needed someone to try and get it back on track. So, I hustled like hell to get it moving, even going so far as to ink 11 pages in 2 days on the last issue. (I was also penciling a book called RUULE, which became a bit of a time issue later in the series. But not a real big one as the scripts were rarely overlapped and caused a real issue in scheduling.)

In retrospect, this was terrible a idea. I should have just focused on one book, and should have definately spent more time on Q&C. I take being timely and professional VERY seriously (ask anyone who's ever worked with me) but I should have talked it over with everyone and not tried to catch the book up ENTIRELY on my shift. I should have just passed at least part of it on, but I'm kind of hard headed and have trouble turning down a challenge.

In the end, I'm VERY proud of the book. I just feel that it was a special series, and I wish I could have lavished the thing with attention instead of just rushing along the love affair.

Best,
Mike

4 comments:

Barry said...

Mike,

As I've said before, I really enjoyed your Q&C run. It's one of my favorites. Reminiscent of the old Steve Canyon strips (yes, I'm that old). So don't diminish your work on that book.

Mike Hawthorne said...

Thanks Barry. I was absolutely shooting for a Steve Canyon feel for the book, but just feel that I could have gone even farther with it. Really made that world rich, and textured.

Anyway, thanks again!

mike

PatrickWedge said...

Well, I think that for the book, I liked the different style only because it lent itself to the fast paced story. And I mean that with a spy/action series, I like a more refined, slicker style art because that is what they eyes should be doing, moving. Not stuck looking at anal detail points. Those are great but still, for this story, loved it the way it was.

Mike Hawthorne said...

Ok, you guys win! I'll shut up about it, stop belly aching, and admit my own brilliance! ;)

mike