A few months ago I was approached with a commission that immediately sounded like a lot of fun. The client was looking for a unique wedding gift for a friend and his fiancée—something more personal than a traditional gift and something that reflected their shared love of comics and pop culture.
We landed on the idea of creating a custom comic book wedding gift inspired by the classic Hulk #418 wedding cover. While the original cover served as inspiration, the goal wasn’t to recreate it exactly. Instead, I wanted to make the bride and groom the stars of their own comic book cover while capturing the spirit and energy of the original piece.
One of my favorite parts of creating custom comic book cover commissions is adding personal details that make the artwork feel unique. In this case, the couple and their friends are fans of 1980s movies, comics, and cartoons, so I hid a number of Easter eggs throughout the artwork for them to discover.
The video below shows part of my process during the digital inking stage. Before moving to traditional inks on paper, I create a clean digital version that helps me refine the artwork, work through details, and prepare blue lines for the final inks. If you’ve ever wondered how a custom comic book commission comes together, this gives you a look behind the scenes.
Final Artwork
One of my favorite parts of this commission was hiding little references throughout the artwork. If you’re a fan of 80s movies, cartoons, comics, and games, see how many you can spot.
About My Process
Many people are surprised to learn that I still ink much of my artwork traditionally. While digital tools are an important part of my workflow, I love the look and feel of ink on paper. The digital inking stage shown in the video allows me to work out details before moving to the final artwork.
