The Lorenzone

Various Home Compilation CD Covers

2008-09-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

Thought it was about time I posted some of my CD cover designs, produced for my own 'home compilations'. Feel free to nab them for your own home comps, if you so desire. Enjoy!

Munt FM Birthday Posters

2008-09-15T03:47:00.001-07:00

Here are three posters I designed for Munt's 5th Birthday celebrations. Fun!

Pavlova Palaver

2007-11-18T15:02:00.000-08:00

Double-page spreads for a children's book published by Scholastic NZ Ltd, published in 2008. The peaceful villagers of Puddleby are devastated when every single egg is egg-napped overnight, threatening the upcoming Annual Pavlova Bake-off!

Maara Te Kaihopara Putaiao pages

2007-11-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

3 pages from Learning Media's Eke Panuku Maori language comic magazine, published in 2005.

Charles Bronson as 'Harmonica'.

2007-11-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

An illo drawn Moebius style of Charles Bronson as he appeared in Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In The West'. Just for fun, and practice for my own 'Moebius Trip' comic.

Evil Vs Cute Thin Man!

2007-11-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a rather diabolical sketch of the Thin Man, along with one which is much less 'Fu Manchu'! Still, I like the coloring of the 'Evil Thin Man' nonetheless, and I like his living shadow sitting like a gremilin on his hat. Whipped it up in Pshop, experimenting with nifty new brushes I'd downloaded. Enjoy!

More Sketches & Roughs for The Thin Man, Book 1

2007-11-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

More page layouts, roughs and incomplete drawings from 'The Thin Man Book 1' now officially titled 'The Moebius Trip'. Story is written, now looking for a publisher!

Manga Style Art

2007-11-01T15:43:00.001-07:00

Couple of spot illustrations produced for an educational text, drawn 'Manga' style.

2007-05-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

Dragon sketches

Pencil sketches of dragons for an adaptation of an old Romanian fairy tale I've been toying with.

2007-05-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

'Our Cat Digby'

Illustrations for a book about a cat who is loved by his family, despite the annoying things he sometimes gets up to. Published by Gilt Edge Publishers.

2007-05-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

'School of the Future'

Illustrations for a story set in the far future about 2 children who go on a field trip to the Amazon to study animal life first-hand.

I thought it might be interesting to show 2 of the rough drawings, as a comparison between initial concept & final artwork. Published by Learning Media, Ltd.

2007-05-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

'Hurricane Power'

3 pages of a science fiction comic story about a crew of cat-like aliens who enter a hurricane in order to recharge the low energy reserves of their intergalactic spaceship. Lots of fun with Photoshop effects - creating wall patterns & adapting photographic source material. Word balloons were to be added later. Published by MacMillan Publishers. Click on images for larger versions.

2007-05-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

'Strange But True'

An illustration for a 'Strange But True' story about Joseph Figlock, a Detroit street sweeper, who was hit on the head by an infant who'd fallen from the 4th floor of a building in 1937, thus saving the child's life. A year later, the very same infant fell from a different window and landed on him again, and again he saved it's life! Published by Learning Media Ltd

2007-05-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

TV commercial storyboards

Storyboards for a 2005 TV commercial. Drawn in pencil and felt pen, and produced overnight (ouch! "I've got blisters on my fingers!", to quote oor Ringo).

2007-05-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Mr Mayor & his Wife

Character designs for an upcoming book for Scholastic Books, NZ.

2007-05-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

'Ask Einstein'

An illustration from 'Ask Einstein', a children's chapter book published by Learning Media Ltd in 1999. The original illustrations were all black & white, but this one was recently coloured in Photoshop for an educational poster to accompany the book.

2007-05-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

Designs for 'The Thin Man' Graphic Novels

Two more designs for 'The Thin Man'. The first was a sketchbook doodle which I scanned in and added blacks and the colored background. The second is a couple of panels for 'Crow', a future Thin Man adventure. Click on images for larger views.

2007-05-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Cover design rough for 'The Thin Man'

Having been inspired by all the great local comics work at this year's NZ Comics Week-end, I've decided to pick up 'The Thin Man' again, after quite a hiatus (see March 5 2006 post for earlier designs), and will soon start to post the first story online.

'The Mummy's Secret' is a rough design for the cover to a later story, which may or may not be 3 issues long, as I haven't written the whole thing yet!

As usual, click on the image for a larger view. Enjoy!

2007-05-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

'Zoomtown Bloos - The Fright Wigs'

An unpublished strip which was intended to be a running series, following the misadventures of an indie rock group . The coloring is pretty horrid, but there you go. Also shown here are a couple of character designs for other potential residents of Zoomtown. Enjoy! (Click on image for larger version)

2007-05-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

'Mr Cactus Meets Doc Necroplis' (Part 1)

This is the cover & first part of a 60-page satirical magnum opus which I co-wrote with Peter Reese back in the early 80s. Heavily influenced by 2000AD & Dr Suess in the visual department, the intention was to mix a 'funny animal' character in a Frank Miller-esque dystopian world of the future.

I always thought it would be interesting and (hopefully) amusing to have a completely innocent character winning out in a totally corrupt world through their sheer unflappable niceness. It was also intended as a satirical comment on television's steady decline into exploitative reality TV programming.

The first 30 pages exist in inked and rough form, and I'll post the 2nd part in a week or two. And who knows - if enough people show an interest, it could convince me to complete the whole thing one day . Enjoy! (Click on images for larger readable views).

2007-05-08T02:04:00.000-07:00

"Mean Ole Mr Sun"

This is another strip that ran in 'Loose' magazine #2 (2000). This was a VERY old gag strip, which I'd thought up way back in my student days at Christchurch Polytech in 1980, but didn't get around to drawing until 'Loose' came along. I did, however, screenprint a pop-up page at the time which had a tab that pulled Mr Sun out from behind some buildings & replaced a hapless pedestrian with a cloud of smoke. Hours of fun for the entire family.

Why an African-American sun, I hear you ask (well, I don't really, unless the voices have returned). It just struck me as funny at the time, and of course, who can resist drawing those Crumb-esque un-PC Al Jolson lips? Not me, that's for sure...

2007-05-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

"Penny Dreadful & Yoyo Luckyhole"

These are two of my most favourite characters, and were first published in 'Loose' magazine #2 (2000). I'd still like to see them get a regular spot somewhere, but I'm not sure where (especially if I expect to get paid for producing them). If only I'd taken up Tim Bollinger's offer of submitting something for Pavement before it died, but...

They're an ideal outlet for my blacker sense of humor. I have an un-inked strip where they're both watching the 9/11 footage & complaining about how much reality TV has steadily declined since then - but it was too bad taste even for me, even though it was mainly a comment on the media feeding frenzy in the tragedy's aftermath.

Please excuse the migraine-inducing coloring of the first strip as well - ay-yay-ay - what was I thinking?!? It's way too lurid, & I'd change it if only the disk where I'd stored the unflattened PShop file hadn't corrupted on me. So you'll all just have to cope with it. Go on - it'll all be over before you know it! ;) Anyway, enjoy! (Click on images for larger, readable versions)

2007-05-08T01:08:00.000-07:00

3 unpublished cartoons

After that last 'Aloha From Hell' post, I think we could all do with a laugh, yeah?

2007-05-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

"Aloha From Hell"

This is another 2 page comic from 'Loose' magazine # 1, published in 1999.

Boy, had I been taking the 'Let's-take-ourselves-a-bit-too-seriously' drugs for this one! I'd originally written it for a magazine that never saw the light of day called 'Where It's At', and had recently been seriously wound up by the end of a friendship with an unashamedly sexist cartoonist (you know who you are!), as well as a typically right-wing article by God's Gift to Morons, the Dominion's late and very far from great Frank Hayden.

Anyway, I still stand by what I wrote back then, although I have since amended my attack on patriarchy, to a more generalised antipathy towards 'patriarchal thinking'. This isn't a slippery way to get menfolk off the hook, oh no! It's just to include the Maggie Thatchers & Jenny Shipleys of this world. Enjoy!(Click on images for larger, readable versions)

2007-05-08T00:11:00.000-07:00

"The Town of Fear"

Well, it's been a while since my last post . A whole year, in fact! Holy smokes - where does time go? Over there, in the corner - no, now it's up on the ceiling - whoops, just flew up the chimney. But I digress...

Why am I re-activating it now? Because I've recently re-joined the Black River Digital mailing group of NZ comics creators, and because my new friend WebWeaver has kindly linked to me too. Thanx, WW!

This 2 page comic was published in 1999 in the first issue of 'Loose' magazine - the magazine of "Critical Thought & Visual Pleasure". The first issue's theme revolved around "fear", and so I submitted this, my first ever autobiographical strip. I still stand by everything I wrote back then, although I have since reclaimed Abba & Led Zeppelin into my heart (thanks to my son Leo for the latter). All the lies are true in this story, and none of the names have been changed. Enjoy! (Click on the images for a larger, readable view)

2006-03-27T22:59:00.000-08:00

"Sergeant Tizipora"

Those familiar with 'World of Warcraft' may recognise this character from the popular online role-playing game. I was asked to transform the game screenshot included here (the lower pic) into an Alex Ross styled portrait. The client also wanted me to add full body armour. It was challenging, but I'm fairly pleased with the result.

2006-03-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

Vinyl Cheese from LoreNZo's collection #2: Singalong With Philip

A 45 rpm gem! Our Philip's crazed gonzo expression promises an unhinged polka party, but sad to say, he fails to deliver. Oh well - at least we will always have this cover to enjoy!

2006-03-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

"The Chetty"

Illustrations for a science fiction story published by Reed UK. Inked with a Pilot V5 rollerball, and greys added in trusty old Photoshop.

The Story: A young boy is horrified by the way alien creatures are treated in a giant arena for entertainment. When one of the creatures (the Chetty of the title) contacts him telepathically, the boy resolves to rescue it.

2006-03-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

Janie Olive Character Designs

Designs for the hilarious kid's book 'Janie Olive' - published by Scholastic and written by my good friend & studio-mate Fifi Colston (check out her blog @ www.fificolston.blogspot.com). The top color design was the one finally chosen for the cover of the book. It was a bit of a departure for me style-wise (as you can see from my initial b&w design), with Fifi encouraging me to "do a Clarice Bean". To my surprise, I managed to do a Lorenzo version, and this "kookier" sketchy look is something I'd like to try more of. Note: The cat wasn't used, as 1: he wasn't black, and 2: he was a bit too mangy looking. Note to publishers: Cats! Cats! Give me cats!

2006-03-20T14:01:00.000-08:00

"Nellie The Numbat"

Illustration for a poem published by Weldon Owen Publishers. Hand colored with colored pencil and NO computer interference (well, just a little - to produce the green background).

This was for a children's alphabet book, with different animals for each letter being handled by different illustrators. Sadly, the book never saw the light of day, which was a shame, as this is one of my favourite illos.

2006-03-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

"A House With A Mouse"

Illustrations for a story published by Learning Media in the NZ School Journal. I'm particularly fond of the cat chasing the mouse pics. Note to publishers - give me cats, cats, cats!

2006-03-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Witch Illustration

An illustration for a story published by Learning Media in the NZ School Journal. One of the rare pictures I've not colored on the computer (!) - in this case I used felt marker and colored pencil.

2006-03-20T13:34:00.001-08:00

"Mild Things" Cartoon

An old cartoon from my weekly series of 'Drongo Heartbeat' spot cartoons, published in 'The Capital Times'. One of the rare cartoons I've sold to 'The Listener' as well - yay! I should color this one up as it's proven quite popular!

2006-03-20T01:40:00.000-08:00

2 More Recent "Aesir" Fantasy Roughs

A couple more character sketches for my 'Aesir' (Norse Gods) Graphic Novel. The first pic is of Thor, out in the mountains indulging in his favorite sport - bashing the living bejeezus out of Rock Giants with his hammer, Mjolnir. I like the looseness of this pic and the somewhat happy with the coloring (my first Painter attempt!).

The other pic is another design for a fire giant. He's got the right lumbering look I've been after, and I think the volcano head is a nice fantasy touch. However, the pic was badly painted in Photoshop. So sue me!

2006-03-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

Kooky Characters #1

A collection of doodles, often drawn while on the phone, which is an excellent time to do 'unconscious' drawing. I'll post more of these as I sort through my sketchbooks.

2006-03-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Vinyl Cheese #1 - Music For Baton Twirlers

Along with my artwork, I thought it'd be fun to share some of the covers from my Vinyl Cheese collection. I found this in the back of an antique store in Raumati Beach. I can't say I've ever played it, but I imagine it would be marching bands...Anyway, I'll be posting one of these every so often, so keep checking back!

2006-03-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

The Thin Man Character Designs

The Thin Man is my current graphic novel, which I've been developing for a long time now. It's a Mystic Western, and that's all I'll say for now! These are some character designs, and a promotional piece. I will be posting pages (in order) as they are completed...

2006-03-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

Outer Space Outlaws

My first graphic novel, written & illustrated for Learning Media Ltd for their international Orbit series of books. A 45 page sci-fi adventure written for 12-14 year olds.

The Story: When Millie & her sister Nash accidentally hijack the spaceship of monster-hunter Saratoga Mantu, they're whisked off to the planet Kalguri-5. When Millie is captured by the monster, it's up to Nash to try and save her. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, they have Saratoga hot on their heels as well..!

2006-03-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

Perseus Vs Medusa

A comic page produced for Learning Media, illustrating the myth of Perseus vs Medusa. I had a lot of fun with this one, especially drawing the poor folk turned to stone in pic 1.

2006-03-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Girl With Dog

A picture commissioned by Learning Media for a story in the NZ School Journal, the title of which I can't remember! The popularity of this picture has been amazing - children voted it their favorite illustration for that issue, and I've had a lot of work where clients have wanted me to reproduce this style.
Other notes: One of the rare pictures I colored with marker pens instead of with Photoshop!

2006-03-07T17:18:00.000-08:00

Waterwise Water Saving Tips

Commissioned by Opus International for the Wanganui City Council, these were used as billboards to help educate people how they could help save water during summer. I created the lead duck character (Duxton Duck) for an earlier campaign.
Other notes: Drawn with pencil, scanned and colored in Photoshop. This was a great opportunity for me to draw in my bouncy Carl Barks (creator of Uncle Scrooge) style. Yay!

2006-03-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Under The Magnifying Glass

A story commissioned by Learning Media Ltd for a story in the NZ School Journal. Another challenging but fun job, where I got to use unusual perspectives. I'm very fond of the cockroach picture!
The Story: A young African American girl is mysteriously shrunk through her magnifying glass! She has many enounters with bugs before she eventually reverts to her normal size.

2006-03-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Kids Keep Safe

Illustrations for a book on personal safety and health for young children and teens. The client wanted an "inbetween" feel to the illustrations, not too realistic and not too cartoony. Inked with Pilot Hi-Tec Point pen and colored in Photoshop.

2006-03-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

Where's The Budgie?

Commissioned by Learning Media Ltd for a School Journal story. Again, here's me trying to emulate Painter effects in Photoshop...
Other Notes: You can see a bit of Dr Suess coming out in these I think, especially in the budgie cage stand.

2006-03-05T23:48:00.000-08:00

Dragonslayer

Just a sketch for fun. I rather like the looseness of line in this one. Keeping the looseness of your original sketches seems to be a common complaint amongst illustrators I know, me included. 'Mr Fussy' always seems to step in @ the final stages and starts cleaning & tightening things up. Retaining the energy of my initial roughs is something I'm hoping to rectify with Corel Painter, by drawing directly to my Wacom tablet, so here's hoping!

2006-03-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

"Aesir Arisen" Giant sketches (First versions)

These are some character designs for the 2nd of two graphic novels I have been developing (see The Thin Man). I thought it would be interesting to show some of my sketches for this story, rather than finished pieces. I'm still not entirely happy with the look of these, though I do like their lumbering ape-like bodies (pre-King Kong too!). I'll post some more sketches at a later date.

2006-03-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

The Pirate Princess

Commissioned by Murdoch Books for their Cocky's Circle series. A fun job! Drawn with pencil, scanned in and colored in Photoshop.

The Story: A princess dreams of becoming a pirate and going to sea. But when she finds herself shipwrecked on a strange island filled with strange creatures, she decides it would be safer to just be pirate in the moat of her castle.

Other notes: You can see a bit of Maurice Sendak's 'Where The Wild Things Are' in the pic with the musical monsters, I think...

2006-03-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Escape!

Commissioned by Learning Media Ltd for their Orbit chapter-book series.

Yes, you guessed it - dream job time again in Lorenzoville! I'm still very fond of the design of Tarek the alien, and how I carried on the Egyptian style to the fishy looking Mothership (the front of which owes a lot to the Discovery spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey (just don't anyone tell Stanley Kubrick. What's that? He's dead? Phew!).

2006-03-05T22:14:00.000-08:00

Diamond Hunter

Commissioned by Reed Publishers, NZ. Another dream sci-fi job for yrs truly! Inked with a Hi-Tec Pilot pen, scanned and colored in Photoshop.

The Story: A greedy treasure hunter finds a doorway to another world in an ancient Mayan temple. There he meets many strange alien creature, including a robot with a machine which can transform coal dust into diamonds in an instant.

Other Notes:
I gave my Moebius influence full reign with this job (especially evident in the market scene). If you don't know who Moebius is, here's 2 sites with some nice examples of his amazing art: www.artfutura.org/99/moebius.htm and www.supercable.es/~juanpi/galeria.htm. Moebius (aka Jean Giraud) is truly one of this and last century's greatest comics artists, and a major influence on yrs truly.

2006-03-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

No Safe Place

A Story commissioned by Learning Media Ltd for one of their Orbit Double-Take books. Inked with a Pilot Hi-Tecpoint, scanned & colored in Photoshop.

I love drawing fantasy and science fiction, so this was a real dream job for me. I had to design the 'spider-walker' and shuttle craft, and a whole variety of alien creatures to threaten the hapless crew of the Rescuer ship.

The Story: A rescue ship has been sent to answer a distress call from the planet Thork. Unfortunately, the rescue team can only get a general idea of where the ship crashed, so they set out in their 'spider-walker' pod to find them. They soon find that the planet is filled with hostile creatures and environments (hence, the 'No Safe Place' title) which they have to navigate before they find the lost ship.

2006-03-05T21:38:00.000-08:00

Kidsreach Inc Terrier

Kidsreach Ltd are a Christian organisation dedicated to helping the young. They wanted an appealing character to illustrate a variety of emotions.

Other Notes:
Drawn with pencil, scanned in and colored in Photoshop.

2006-03-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

A Helping Hand

These illustrations were commissioned for a story for the NZ School Journal (published by Learning Media Ltd).

They were hand-drawn with pencil, scanned in and colored in Photoshop.

Being a natural-born paintophobe, Photoshop was a gift from the 'no more dried-out brushes and going home looking like a house-painter' gods for me, and when it comes to coloring nice shiny spaceships, it's an excellent program.

However! I have become increasingly frustrated with its limitations for reproducing natural media effects. "Why don't you try out Painter then, you ninny?" I hear you ask (well, I don't, but I can imagine you thinking it). And indeed I did - years back I invested in Painter 5.5. While I was gob-smacked by all the gorgeous brushes & effects, actually getting the program to work had me tearing the hair out on my head in frustration (a painful experience, as I'm bald, and only have nasal & ear hair left. But I digress...). It was hopeless, and not even a 'Wow' book could save me, and while there were plenty of courses in Photoshop and Animal Husbandry, Painter courses were thinner on the ground.

But! The other day I thought I'd give the damn beast another ride, and contacted another illustrator friend (Hi Adele!) whom I knew used Painter, to see if she could help me. When she loaded up the program (now version XI.5) I nearly fell off the floor - it looked and operated like Photoshop!!!! So I'm currently motoring my way through it, and loving it! So, expect to see some Painter creations coming in the future...

The Story: A girl has to retrieve a baseball from a paddock in which is fenced a ferocious bull. While her friends can give her a "leg-up" over the fence on their side, she is worried about who will help her on the other side. When the bull charges her, she finds that fear and adrenaline give her feet wings - a helping hand from the bull itself.

Other Notes:

I really enjoy drawing unusual perspectives and using odd camera angles, so I thought this story was perfect for a forced perspective view of the girl's hand, to match the story's title, which was tucked in to the left of her.