Brendan Halyday's Blog

Newly mutilated Zombies!

2011-11-17T14:34:00.004+11:00

Here is a couple of recent zombifications. There are more to come... :)

click on either of the images to see a larger version of the image.

Freshly zombified corpses

2011-11-03T20:37:00.002+11:00

At Armageddon Expo a week and a half ago I took a bunch of zombified portrait commissions. Getting really sick straight after Armageddon has meant i got to a delayed start to the drawings, but here is the first (and the second is not far away)! :)

I'm up to my elbows in black ink :)

2011-10-04T17:22:00.002+11:00

I am currently throwing down the ink with reckless abandon for the story i am doing for Decay issue 10. thought i would give you all a sneak peek at it. Click on the image for a larger version.

If you haven't got a copy of my latest crime comic 'The Dirt Nap, you can purchase one here

More Decay comic madness

2011-08-15T18:43:00.002+10:00

Hey everyone, here's another peek at the story i am drawing for decay... hope you like it :)

Loner comic for Decay Magazine

2011-08-11T21:29:00.002+10:00

Here is a panel of pencils for a story i am doing for aussie horror comic Decay Magazine. Love to know what you think of it.

The last zombie(s)

2011-08-11T00:01:00.002+10:00

I've been absent from the blogging landscape for a while, but i have quote a bit of new work to show off, so i'll try and make some more frequent updates over the next couple of weeks.

First, i want to show off the final two zombie portraits i did. I can safely say that i left the best till last, and thank mark and liv for their patience :) I am relatively free for commissions at the moment, so if you want to get zombified, drop me a line.

Feel free to post comments and feedback :)

Newly Dead Zombies!

2011-07-01T17:10:00.004+10:00

Here are some more zombie commisions i have done. I'm almost finished all the commisions now, and am now taking new commissions, email me if you'd like to order one.

Dead zombie walking

2011-05-29T22:58:00.007+10:00

I am still going on the zombie portrait commissions. Here is a few of the latest. Click on them to see a larger version...

Zombie Zombie Zombie

2011-05-10T17:09:00.009+10:00

Here are some more zombified commissions i have done. I feel like they are getting better and better every time. The first one is one of my fave's so far. Its just such a strong bold illustration.

I think this next one turned out pretty well too. I still wonder if i shoud have left the background white or made it red instead, just to increase the contrast of the image.

I am trying to get more and more inventive with the kind of mutilations I am getting these zombies to do to each other, particularly in group drawings like below.

Get Zombified!

2011-05-01T21:17:00.012+10:00

I've been busy. Very busy.

Since Melbourne Supanova a couple of weeks ago, i have been drawing like crazy doing zombified portraits. I thought i would post a few of the better ones here for you all to see.

Covering The Dirt Nap

2011-03-29T15:55:00.006+11:00

I thought i would give you a first look at the cover for The Dirt Nap, a full colour 28pg comic launching at Supanova in Melbourne (at the showgrounds) on Saturday April 9. I have a booth at Supanova and will be there all day Saturday 9th April and Sunday 10th April, so come on down and say hi (and buy a copy of The Dirt Nap).

Here is a draft of the coloured version, with colours by the brilliant Andy Issac.

And here is my original black and white linework:

Joker ink drawing

2011-03-21T16:56:00.002+11:00

Did a sketch of The Joker, 'Heath Ledger style', thought it turned out ok...

Chalx page 3 in COLOUR

2011-03-04T18:07:00.004+11:00

Here is another page of Chalx coloured by illustration supremo Andy Isaac, to be featured in the upcoming comic, The Dirt Nap.

Parting with Loneliness

2011-02-18T10:31:00.005+11:00

Today, in anticipation of tomorrow nights book launch, i am giving you a final look at some of my illustrations from 'The Loneliness Manifesto'. There are many more illustrations in the finished book and I encourage all of you to grap a copy.

It will be available at the launch this Saturday Night (Feb 19). That's tomorrow! as part of the event 'Big-Arse Comic Launch no. 1' at
Eydies,
86 Lygon St,
Brunswick East,
from 6pm.

I will also be selling original art from the book as well as other art on the night and welcome you to come along and snap up a piece!

MORE art from The Loneliness Manisfesto

2011-02-15T15:50:00.003+11:00

Here is another illustration from the upcoming book, The loneliness Manifesto, written by James Andre and published by Milk Shadow Books. It is being launched this Saturday 19th Feb as part of the event 'Big-Arse Comic Launch no. 1' at Eydies, 86 Lygon St, Brunswick East, from 6pm. Come along and have a drink with myself, James, and a bunch of Melbournes best writers and comic artists.

The Art of Loneliness – Waiting for a mate

2011-02-11T18:00:00.003+11:00

Here is another piece from the fourthcoming picto-graphic book, 'The Loneliness Manifesto', written by James Andre and published by Milk Shadow Books. This is probably one of the best stories in the book and paints a picture of a man who has never felt more alone...

Chalx page 2 in COLOUR

2011-02-09T15:19:00.003+11:00

The brilliant Andrew Issac has coloured another page of the comic 'Chalx' which i illustrated for Black Glass Press. This will be published in colour in the forthcoming comic 'The Dirt Nap'.

Solitude and the Sound of the Sea illustration

2011-01-31T14:46:00.004+11:00

I thought i'd share an illustration from the forthcoming illustrated book, 'The Lonliness Manifesto', written by James Andre and published by Milk Shadow Books. First is the complete illustration, and then the cropped double page spread as it will appear in the book.

Ralphie gets finished!

2011-01-30T08:54:00.003+11:00

Exciting news! I've finished drawing the four page 'Ralphie the Lonely Ghost' story for Clubhouse Comics. Here is the finished version of page one (I have a habit of working out of order, so the first page of the story is actually the last page i finished.)

Chalx page 1 in COLOUR

2011-01-28T14:21:00.002+11:00

About a year ago I did a 10pg B&W comic that appeared in the anthology Kagemono: Tooth and Claw by Black Glass Press. I am planning to publish a remastered edition of this story in FULL COLOUR in my upcoming crime anthology, The Dirt Nap. Here is a sneak peek at the first page, with brilliant, moody colours by illustrator extraordinaire Andy Issac.

DOOM

2011-01-27T14:30:00.003+11:00

Below is the inked drawing of Dr Doom for the blog Houdini's Last Escape http://houdinislastescape.blogspot.com/ Colours to come soon when i have a spare minute.

More RALPHIE, here's page 3

2011-01-20T21:34:00.002+11:00

Well, the 'Ralphie the Lonely Ghost' pages continue to mount up. Here is page 3 of the story scheduled to appear in kids comic anthology Clubhouse Comics. As always, i welcome any comments/feedback, and for those of you who have asked, yes the original art is for sale. Email me for more information.

Howdy Pardnuh!

2011-01-18T14:55:00.002+11:00

I was doodling the other day and ended up drawing a pretty cool cowboy pic. Got me thinking, wouldn't it be fun to draw a cowboy comic. Any writers reading this, email me if you have a cool idea. And if you'd like to buy the original art, its for sale, email me. brendan(at)brendanhalydayDOTcom

RALPHIE gets it together!

2011-01-17T18:41:00.002+11:00

Just to confuse those of you that follow this blog regularly, here is the final page (pg 4) of Ralphie the Lonely Ghost, to be featured in the forthcoming kids comics anthology 'Clubhouse Comics'. No, i haven't posted page 3 yet, i tend to draw comics out of order for some reason (usually to do with avoiding the hardest part of the script, but not always). As always, i welcome your comments/feedback on the piece. For my fellow comic-makers, if seeing these pages has inspired you to make kids comics of your own, remember that Clubhouse Ccomics is accepting submissions, contact me for more info if you are interested.

MORE Ralphie the Lonely Ghost

2011-01-14T15:51:00.002+11:00

I've been working on this every spare moment so we can get Clubhouse Comics no. 1 off to press. Here is another page, with more to come soon... I'm interested to hear feedback on these pages too...

Zombies strike back!!

2011-01-11T13:51:00.002+11:00

I've been at it again doing zombified portraits. For those of you who don't know what that is, i get a photo of a person and do a portrait of them turned into a zombie. It's a fun take on doing portraits that people seem to like, and i sure like doing them. I've started doing more action poses in recent times, making the drawings even more dynamic. If you want one done of yourself, get in touch on 0421 423 052 or brendan@brendanhalyday.com

Kids comic: Ralphie the Lonely Ghost SNEAK PEEK

2011-01-07T14:34:00.003+11:00

Here is a sneak peek at a page from the comic 'Ralphie the Lonely Ghost' written by Matt Emery (www.guzumocomics.com) and drawn by me. It will be published in the forthcoming kids comic anthology 'Clubhouse Comics'.

Christmas fun

2011-01-05T22:23:00.002+11:00

I illustrated a christmas card for The Watershed Water Systems (www.thewatershed.biz) last year, thought you might like to see it...

New comic!

2010-11-17T17:53:00.004+11:00

I've recently finished a new 6pg comic called Bittersweet dreams. It is soon to be published in Black Glass Press's new graphic anthology Kagemono: Flowers and Skulls. Here is a sneak peek...

The Lonliness Manifesto book cover

2010-08-18T22:23:00.004+10:00

It's been a busy week. I thought you might enjoy a sneak peek at the cover illustration for 'The Lonliness Manifesto' for James Andre of Milk Shadow Books.

As a special treat, i thought you might enjoy seeing the is the original B&W brush, ink and wash drawing.

Punching above your weight!

2010-08-13T16:21:00.004+10:00

Thought I'd show off my latest new illustration. It's a hard hitting piece (ba dum bum) for The Miles Agency, one of Melbourne's hottest new Ad agencies. The illustration will be used in a promotional postcard mailout. Here is the finished Artwork...

As a special treat for you bloggers, i thought i would give you a little 'behind the scenes' tour of my process for this piece. To start with the peice was hand drawn in pencil...

Then inked with a brush and scanned. I would clean up any messy bits in Photoshop. The artwork is then digitally coloured in Illustrator. Here is the B&W linework. Hope you have enjoyed this little sneak peak behind the scenes. :)

New illustrations

2010-08-03T14:43:00.004+10:00

Here are some new illustrations i did for an educational publisher. I think they turned out pretty well for something produced pretty quickly.

Zombies, Zombies everywhere

2010-07-14T19:54:00.005+10:00

At Sydney Supanova last month i took a bunch of commissions to do portraits of people turned into zombies. I have finally finished them and below are a selection of the drawings. If you got one and that's not featured here, i'd love it if you emailed me a scan. :) Hope you like them (even if they gross you out a bit).

Click on the images to see a larger version of each picture.

Get ZOMBIFIED in Sydney this weekend!

2010-06-14T17:53:00.003+10:00

I'm going to have a table at Supanova in Sydney this weekend at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush. (For more info visit www.supanova.com.au). I'll be selling my range of comics and zines, including the hot off the presses 'Tragic Romantic Comics no. 1'. Ill also be doing sketches, portraits, as well as zombified portraits where i draw a person as a zombie. If you want a pic of yourself as a zombie, come on down to Supanova. For those who aren't going to supanova, but want a commision, send me an email at brendan(at)brendanhalyday.com.

Introducing Tragic Romantic Comics no. 1

2010-05-25T18:53:00.006+10:00

Coming soon to a store near you, with not one but two fabulous covers is

Tragic Romantic Comics no. 1.

The colour cover version will sell for $4 per copy, with the front and back cover printed in fabulous colour on white card. The insides are printed black and white throughout.

The comic with the black and white cover will sell for $3 AUS. The cover will be printed on pink card, printed black and white throughout.

I will be printing the book this week and it should appear in shops later this week or next week. I will post a list of retailers selling the book on this blog once it is in store.

Illustrations for Sleepwalker movie trailer

2010-04-23T15:50:00.003+10:00

So I've done a couple of illustrations to promote the trailer for the movie Sleepwalker. The sleepwalker trailer website appears to be down at the moment, but when it is back up I will post a link here.

New zine!

2010-03-06T00:34:00.005+11:00

I really need to blog more often. :P

I'm excited to announce that I have a NEW ZINE!

It's called Sketchbook issue number 4, and it's my best one yet! It starts off in the a similar tone to that of sketchbook 3, starting off with a few gags, but then veers off from that quite markedly. With lots of writing on loves lost, obsession, pain and finally letting go of broken relationships. It's definitely my most personal issue yet, and features the most writing i have done.

Copies are available from Sticky and Minotaur

Sticky Institute, Degraves St subway (under flinders st station), Melbourne CBD.
Minotaur, 121 Elizabeth St, Melbourne CBD.

Copies to go to Missing Link, Alternate Worlds and Polyester soon.

Or you can order a copy right now from my Etsy store by clicking here

Splashing the ink around

2010-01-23T18:13:00.011+11:00

January was a SLOW month.

Between working a lots of extra hours at my (supposedly) part-time job, and working on projects whose scope was much bigger than expected, my production of artwork really slowed down. But it's February now, and I've got some stuff to show off

I've inked and coloured a cover for Jason Franks new book called Criminal Behaviour published by Fictionym/Tesseraction Comics. Expect the book to be on the shelves in the coming weeks

I thought it would be interesting to show the process of creating the cover, particularly that of collaborating with another artist.

We'll start with Jasons pencil drawing. With any of these pictures, click on them to see a larger version. Where you see big blank spaces with marked x, the penciller is indicating with the x that he wants the area to be black.
Now this is my inks:

Notice how i took a few liberties with the details of the piece, added bits, changed the way the jacket looked with the character in the front left, and did lots of tweaks to the lighting. Next is the finished colour drawing:

I deliberately chose a mostly monochromatic, limited, cold, colour palette. I am pretty happy with the finished product.
Stay tuned to my blog as i have more exciting news to share soon!

Santa Claus – Public Health Pariah?

2009-12-22T13:53:00.004+11:00

Well, there's been a bit of a ruckus.

I recently did a couple of illustrations published by the British Medical Journal accompanying the article 'Santa Claus: a public health pariah?' by Nathan Grills.

It turns out the article has gotten picked up by news services all over the world, sadly often with sensationalised reporting that ignores the fact the article was a light-hearted tounge-in-cheek poke at Santa.

Well, i thought i'd post the two images here with a link to an extract of the article. Sadly you can't view the full article online unless you are a bmj subscriber.

www.brendanhalyday.com Updated

2009-11-27T12:48:00.002+11:00

I have recently updated my website and urge you all to check it out. I have added lots of more recent illustrations, designs and comic pages for you to enjoy.

The Garbage Truck Failures is in stores now!

2009-11-23T01:54:00.009+11:00

I'm excited to announce that The Garbage Truck Failures is in stores now and costs a mere four dollars. You couldn't buy a sandwich for that kind of pocket change, but you can buy an awesome zine with illustrations and design by me, words by James Andre and an awesome cover by Bobby N.

You can buy it from any of these fine establishments:

Sticky Institute, Degraves St subway (under flinders st station), Melbourne CBD.
Minotaur, 121 Elizabeth St, Melbourne CBD.
Missing Link Records, Basement 405 Bourke St, Melbourne CBD
Alternate Worlds, 76 Chapel St,Windsor
Polyester Books, 330 Brunswick St Fitzroy
Brunswick Bound, 361 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
696 Gallery, 696 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
Evil Empire Comics, Sydney Rd, Coburg

We extend our thanks to these stores for carrying our book and we heartily recommend all these fine retailers to you.

Alternatively, you can order The Garbage Truck Failures online at my Etsy store and have it delivered to your doorstep.

If anyone knows of any stores outside of Melbourne interested in carrying The Garbage Truck Failures, please let me know.

A little bit darker

2009-11-23T01:23:00.007+11:00

I've been toying with a darker drawing style for a little while now and the pieces i haver done seem to be well received, so here is a peek at some of my favourites. I've also been playing around with incorporating a bit of sampled textures and collage into my work and am enjoying the results. As always, i welcome your feedback and constructive criticism.

This piece is a screenprint onto textured paper that has been manipulated digitally. The final piece is from a zine i did with up and coming Melbourne-based writer James Andre. You can check out his work here.

News

2009-11-19T15:10:00.003+11:00

Just a quick update to let you know the wonderfully talented artist/illustrator Kristina Sostarko has done a feature on my work on her blog. Check it out at http://inaluxe.blogspot.com/ and while you're at it, pop by her web store and buy something cool! www.inaluxe.etsy.com

Oh, and here is a new piece I have done...

New work

2009-09-04T11:10:00.007+10:00

So I've been absent from the blog landscape for a little while, but i am back now with a bunch of new work to show off. I welcome your comments, I'd especially like suggestions of which of these new pieces yould be introduced to my online gallery at www.brendanhalyday.com

This piece is based on Rapunzel by the brothers Grimm. Its a digital painting in photoshop using a wacom. Its ok but it took sooo long and honestly i think it would have turned out better had i just painted it.

The brief for this piece was to do an ad for an online dating service based on the tagline 'On the prowl'. I did a lot of roughs before settling on this one.

I also tried a B&W version of this image with the love heart in red. I am still divided on which one i like best.

This is an update of a poster i did for the band The Submarines. I really like it!

www.brendanhalyday.com goes live, blog gets a makeover

2009-05-19T14:20:00.007+10:00

I'm excited to have my website www.brendanhalyday.com go live. Click to check it out, be sure to let me know what you think. I've also given this blog site a bit of a makeover to be consistent with the design of the new website, and the new business cards. While i've been absent from the blog landscape for a little while, i haven't stopped working, and have some interesting new pieces to show off.

The first is ecological footprint painting

The second is the cover to my new comic Graphic Narrative which i am planning to release at Supanova Sydney at the end of June (fingers crossed).

There is so much more i could show you, but instead keep checking out my website for all the latest

The Target 144 Challenge

2009-02-10T01:24:00.007+11:00

The Target 144 Challenge is to make a comic or zine from start to finish in 144 hours. It's an interesting twist on the time-limited comic/zine creation challenge, having six days rather than the traditional 24 hours certainly raises the bar in terms of the quality expected.

I arrived at sticky institute just after 12pm to start work only to find several zine-sters already hard at work on their new zines. I was reading Scott Pilgrim vol. 5 on the tram into the city, and it's zanyness really seeped into the first couple of pages of the comic. The other influence to my comic at this stage is Paul Hornschemeier, and in particular, his book The Three Paradoxes. Another small influence would be local artist Ive Sorocuk's Awesomenesss comics.

I wanted the comic to be a vehicle to express and work through some of the issues in my own life. There is a sense in which the work is an allegory. A little too thinly veiled at times i fear.

So many little things impacted on the comic. things as small as working on cut down a5 paper rather than drawing two pages on an a4, relaxed inhibitions and allowed my to add, subtract and move around pages as i like. I am finding it difficult to resist the urge to redraw the pages with full bleed and replaced text balloons, as i often put them too close to the edge on the A5 sheet.

Hopefully the project will turn out and be finished in time to print, so i can sell it at the zine fair on sunday. I'll post again once i'm further into the project (or finished) wit an update.

Summer reading

2009-01-22T14:38:00.002+11:00

I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately.

It all started with The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier, published by Fantagraphics. When i first read Hornschemieier's stuff, i really didn't get him at all. It was a copy of forlorn funnies, number 5 i think which i had picked up at a sale at Alternate Worlds for like five bucks. it seemed kind or surreal and existential. fast forward a couple of years and i've become quite a fan. I dont quite know where or when me opinions of hornschemieir changed, but i have recently read several of his works and found them compelling. it helps of course that his drawing and colouring is exceptional, but it is my maturing that is leading me to view his storytelling in a different way.

It has really coincided with my rapidly diminishing interest in superhero and other mainstream comics for more indie, slice of life and drama comics.

But The Three Paradoxes was just the beginning of my summer reading. Floored by it, i grabbed the next Hornschmeier book off my shelf, Mother Come Home. It was published about 5 years ago and is widely regarded as Hornschmeier's break-out book, and with good cause. A moving story about a father and son as they struggle to cope with the loss of their wife and mother.

The last book of merit i have read is Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly button, published by Fantagraphics. You could be excused for misaking this book for a brick because, at almost 700 pages, it is indeed a hefty tome. This book proves that decompression can work for indie comics just as well as it works for superhero comics, telling a compelling tale of a family in shock after their parents announced their divorce after 40 years of marriage.

After all this reading, i feel like making some comics of my own...

SKetchbook 3 out now!

2009-01-07T20:22:00.000+11:00

Well, after a lot of hard work and late nights, the latest edition of sketchbook is finished and now available. You can pick it up at sticky or polyester now, and it will be in a few more shops around melbourne (like minotaur, brunswick bound, and others) when i get around to dropping copies into them. Or you can buy it online from brendanhalyday.etsy.com

This is the first sketchbook to include bona fide comic strips as well as illustrations, musings and sketches. I'm pretty happy with it and i am planning to do lots more comics in the next issue. I am also thinking about doing longer comic stories and maybe even serializing stories over several issues.

I had a launch party for this edition just before christmas on Friday 19 December. It was modestly attended, but the group of people that came were really great and it had a really fun, open vibe and everyone seemed to mingle well. The only downside is that a couple of people got lost trying to find the place, so i think next time i will print a map on the invites :P