My semi-secret project is moving along, slowly but surely. That little chunk of sheet music I posted before has grown to a complete arrangement, and I’m in the late stages of character design. Here are some work-in-progress sketches to keep things lively!

So I’ve begun working on what amounts to the biggest project I’ve taken on in the last year and a half. I’m keeping it semi-secret. I realized that if I didn’t post anything regarding this thing until it was done, I’d have a dead blog for two or so months. So, I’ll be posting little preview bits here and there as I go. Here’s #1:

A break from the usual programming: Monday, October 26 marks one month since Mel opened her business selling handmade sketchbooks. If you weren’t already aware of these incredibly gorgeous pieces of meticulous craftsmanship, then it’s time you checked out her store. The books are hand-bound and made with soft genuine leather and paper of the highest quality.

To celebrate one month of open store doors, we cooked a delicious dinner of garlic mashed potatoes and pork tenderloin with cranberry, almond and sage sauce, topped off with locally made sparkling apple cider. Delish!

Poor Curt. All he wanted was his arm back. Now he’s got all sorts of trouble.

Earlier this week I penciled a whole bunch of things, the first of which I’ll be coloring and typesetting this weekend. Here’s the work in progress – the raw sumi ink, sans digital coloring. Enjoy!

Beware the Scorpion, one of Spidey’s truly lame opponents. It’s sad, too. I mean, he’s a genetically enhanced super-criminal with an acid spitting bionic tail. Come on Scorpion, you sound so cool! Too bad you never deliver the goods.

Oh well, more ink your viewing pleasure, dear readers:

Kraven the Hunter is one of the few primary Spider-Man villains who isn’t based on some sort of creature (Dr. Octopus, The Scorpion, The Vulture, The Rhino, I could go on), and yet he’s all about creatures. I always had a tough time taking him seriously, perhaps because he looked like a circus strongman in the 1990’s Spider-Man series. Still, this was really fun to do, and the piece has earned a place in my Characters section. Nice to take a piece from sketch to final once again, it’s been a while. Enjoy!

By the by, the font used is called Croteau, and it’s available at the fantastically redesigned MyFonts.com.