Hey LS readers, I came across these visuals when cleaning up my computer and thought I would post. These were the visuals I presented to the LS trust during our first beer night meeting for issue #3. I thought it might interest some of you to show how we work here in the world of the Landscaper behind the scenes. Here are some of the first initial cover concepts for the issue. There were others in the first round, but these were the ones that made it to the final cut.
Visual #1: I liked where these were heading, but in the end I didn’t really want to focus on the LS for the initial visual, as he owned the main cover on issue 1. Each visual barring the 3rd one was a concept of creating one side of the image, and mirroring it to create the other half. I really like the idea of splitting LS and Caleb in the last cover concept – but didn’t want to have a “Face-Off” look to it – and this particular idea has been done a hundred times. I also like the 2nd one, but it had a little too much of a Venom thing with that kind of black goo separating…but I loved the way it looked. Also, as you can see the initial title of the issue was looking to be Mirrors, but was changed to Reflections as I really liked the double entendre that it conveyed
Visual #2: At this stage I decided to incorporate North in to the mix, as he becomes a major feature in this particular issue. I reused a similar image as in visual 1, but tried to find a way to incorporate the image of North and LS into one balanced image. I noticed that when I placed North in between the center of LS image, North’s peaks of his hat aligned with nose piece of the LS dust mask. It made a cool effect and tied the two images in. However it only seemed to work when I used the full scaper image rather that the scaper / Caleb hybrid. I reused the concept of the organic shapes coming off the sides of the LS – a little less like Venom, but more like a ripping away effect or a wave coming from behind North. I just felt this had more of a intense feel then the previous. As you can see in the first cover of this visual North’s eyes were depicted in a fire red orange, to mimic the LS safety glasses. In the end, we all felt this was too mono chromatic for the cover.
In The End:
We decided that the first image of this visual was the strongest. I used North, but defused the colors so they weren’t so saturated or overpowering for the cover. I like the way in the final he’s a little bit more ghostly and blends into the foreground and the images of scaper.
Now there may be some out there that feel that some of these other concepts were better than the final, but in the end we have to make decisions, and everyone’s opinion will be different. Don’t get me wrong, I loved some of these other concepts as well – but there was just something not quite right about them when getting to the final decision. I personally really like the way the final cover came out. I think it fits with the previous issues, but seems a little more evolved in terms of the art style and overall feel. Plus, I really think it looks pretty cool filling up the whole screen of my computer.
Well, there’s a little taste of what goes on behind the scenes when developing the art of the Landscaper. As you can see it’s a process like everything else, and is an evolution from the first initial concept to the final release of the a new issue of the comic. If I find some of the earlier ones I might post those as well – Oh, quick side note Two Sides of the Landscape – was another concept for the issue, but seemed to similar to issue #2 with Caleb’s one white eye dominating the visual. c-
I found a few other visuals that I thought I would post. The first visual was the first concept I did. It was kind of the concept of the LS devouring Caleb’s face – or some kind of cross over of the two characters. I really liked the way it looked, but it just didn’t say much for the cover. The other two are basically the final version – just with a few different options.
