Middleton Line Work

I have to say that so far I have been completely enamored of the Joshua Middleton Supergirl covers. They are very stylish, just the perfect tinge of japanese manga without being over the top.

So I was happy to see him share the pencil/ink work of the covers on issues 34 and 37 on his blog. Here is the link: http://joshuamiddleton.blogspot.com/2008/11/supergirl-lines.html

I enjoy any time an artist can share the creative process. From thumbnail to pencils to final cover, I enjoy watching the evolution of a particular piece. This was no different.

You can see how clean this pencil work is before the coloring and shading occurs. This is pretty fine line work here, but without much added to convey depth, texture, or dimension. That was added via the coloring process as we see the light source from the left casting shadows as the two burst from the printed page.

Compare that to the cover of Supergirl #37.

Much more shading has been added here, with pencils doing more of the work to detail Superwoman's musculature, the flow of her cape, etc. from the light source below.

This cover really works for me. For one, I think Middleton does a great job of giving her a feeling of movement and action despite this being a simple a figure drawing with no background or other reference points. When the 're-entry sparks' of her boots are added in the coloring process, you really have a dynamic piece.

I am impressed that Middleton is able to subtly change styles like this and pull of both covers so wonderfully. If the three Supergirl covers we have seen are an indication, I hope he has a long run with the title.