6.07.2014

We got a new guy!





I'd like to take a moment to introduce a new collaborator to the MIDNIGHT THEATRE creative team, Mister Peter Cacho. Hailing from the city of Taguig in the Philippines, Peter is quite a find. He's already done some comics work after a career in portrait painting and now he's the 'breakdown artist' for MIDNIGHT THEATRE: REVENGE of the OCTAGON.

So what the hell is a breakdown artist, and why ain't I drawing the whole thing myself?

As the breakdown artist Peter takes my script and interprets all my little panel notes and whatnot into a cohesive, visual layout that a reader should be able to understand (generally) without word balloons. Strong narrative art skills are a must for the breakdown artist as they have to show the story clearly while also providing visual interest. It's a comic, after all, and we all want it to look cool and fun.

From there, I take Peter's loose layouts and begin drawing and inking over them. Peter's done most of the hard work at this point, providing the perspective grids and making sure all the figures are in proportion. He's figured out the best way to move the 'camera' around the 'actors' and whatever action is going on. I've found that his breakdowns are even thorough enough that in most cases I'm proceeding directly to inking, skipping that time consuming pencilling stage.

So what am I then? I'm the lucky guy who gets to draw over his stuff and finish it up into a well-inked black and white page that can then get colored and lettered. I can be terribly slow when it comes to drawing comic pages, obsessing over unnecessary details and second-guessing every decision I make. By working with Peter and trusting his skills I can put aside all that foolishness and get down to finishing those pages. Also, Peter's work is much more loose and dynamic than mine, so when I work over his layouts it forces me to loosen up as well.

I'm posting the pages Peter's provided so far with his permission. I'm already well under way on my end of the job and having a blast with it. Hopefully the end result will be something people want to keep coming back for. I'll post my finishes when I've got something more complete to show. For now you'll have to content yourself with the full finished pages I originally did for pages 1 and 2 that I decided to scrap once Peter came on board.

I'm posting pages 1, 2 and 4 as well as the scripts for those pages so you can see what Peter had to work with and the challenges he faces in 'breaking down' my script.

You can find more of Peter's work at http://porcholino.deviantart.com and on his Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/porcholino. Check out his stuff. He's got some great finished work at those sites that will show you why we chose him over everyone else!

Click the links for bigger versions!
















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