Photoshop
DEPICT THE ICONIC HARLEY QUINN
Join Joshua Swaby as he shares how he creates this month’s stylish cover art, featuring the Joker’s right-hand woman
Artist PROFILE
Joshua Swaby
LOCATION: US
New York-based Joshua is a freelance comic artist and illustrator whose clients include Marvel, DC Comics, Entertainment Weekly and Marvel Studios. instagram.com/sway_art
When editor Ian Dean emailed me, offering me the chance to do a cover for ImagineFX, I was flabbergasted. This is something I didn’t expect so early on in my career. After all, I only started freelancing a year ago.
I wanted to be in ImagineFX ever since high school. I used to buy it and learn from many of the featured professionals and illustrators, hoping one day I’d get my art in this leading magazine. And now here I am – my wish has come true.
For this workshop, I’m painting Harley Quinn. She’s fun to draw, because you can do so much with her. She’s a witty and vibrant ant-hero – even though she’s a psycho! For this cover I want to combine those traits, and add her unique punk style.
When I create digital art comic covers, I like to keep things fairly simple: sketch, line, flats and colour. I always start by finding reference that supports the idea I have in my mind, and to help me see where the concept is going. I then go on to do thumbnails of my concepts, trying to capture the feeling and mood I want to pursue in the final piece.