Hands Up! Studio is the studio of artist John Collins, a.k.a. Johnny Splendor. Johnny is a freelance cartoonist and illustrator who works in a mix of both traditional and digital mediums.
For a side project, I re-imagined the Drak Pack, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon from 1980-1982 I'd watched when I was a very little kid. I used the core characters of Drak, Frankie, and Howler for the piece, thinking of them in terms of more modern, action based, and themed teenagers (Drak as a "prep", Frankie as a "jock", and Howler as a "skater kid").
The original promo image.
Pencil layout for the piece.
Inks added, Digital Cleanup, Logo, and text.
Some quick color, shadows, and effects.
It was fun to do, and I think with the current popularity of supernatural characters this concept could work again.
I've been away for a few weeks working on pieces for my gallery show and working on some ideas for new sequential stories. Here are a couple of pieces I've done that will be used in the show.
Dwarf Warrior 5x7 ink pen
Elf Prince 5x7 ink pen
Zombies 5x7 ink pen
If things go well, the Dwarf and Elf may appear in a black and white comic book later this year.
Thomas Gates is based on two characters I created when I was in high school named Namorian Gates and Paradox/Grail. I decided to merge them and create a stronger character. He is a sorcerer who is reluctant to use his powers in the modern world. He is joined in his adventures by Raoul his ferret familiar. Designed for a modern Urban Fantasy/Horror setting, I hope to have a short webcomic story for him in the fall.
