Richard Moore

Fifth October Sketch

     Claim it and it's yours!

October Sketch #4

     Here she is, claim it if you want it!

Pencils for First Voluptuous Vampire Vixens Illustration

     Sorry, folks, I was busy doing other things when I realized this had gone up without text. So here I am...

     As a change of pace, I thought I'd share this work-in-progress scan of a sample illustration from Voluptuous Vampire Vixens. You'll have to zoom in to catch the ridiculous amount of detail in it. This ought to give you a better idea of what the book will be--artwork that illustrates horror-themed alliterations--th...

Critters, Plus Surprise Alternate Character Design

     Most of these are just random critter designs (I like drawing monsters, in case you hadn't guessed), but what I mostly wanted to share is the cutie at the bottom. For awhile I considered making Deja Vu a part of the Scream Queens cast, and I thought I might need to do a character redesign so she would better fit in with the design sense of the other girls. It obviously never happened, but I thought you might get a kick out of seeing an alternate Deja. I ...

The Third October Sketch

     Okay, we made it to three sketches before a werewolf girl popped up. You knew it had to happen. I was a little vague in my instructions last time, so I'll be clearer: the first person who wants the sketch (for the price of postage), just say, "I want it!" so it's clear that you're not just commenting. Go!

Second October Sketch

     Here you go, the second October sketch, up for grabs. First to speak up gets it for the price of postage.

Good News!

     Well, the image probably makes it obvious, but the scanner is breathing again. Turns out it was a cable problem. Unfortunately, it's still my scanner, so I do need to work on replacing it, due to it's sucking. (By the way, I did try photographing that oversize piece of art in the lighting rig I got for shooting sculptures, but it was a big fail. The digital camera was borrowed (big thanks to Eric, if he sees this), which meant I didn't have a user's manu...

My Favorite M'Lady Pinup

     I don't recall if this was a commission or if I did it just for the fun of it, but it's always been my favorite of all the M'Lady pinups I've done. Not only did I do right by the princess, but there's just a simple elegance to it that really works. For me, anyway. It's also some unusually competent inking on my part (there's a reason I prefer gray tones!). It's really a shame that adult comics aren't respected (if comics are considered a creative ghetto,...

The Last Band Member...Plus Band Name Reveal!

     So here's J.J., guitarist for the alien band in S.P.A.Z.: Special Protection Agent Z. We had some interesting guesses on the band name (I think my favorite was the in-your-face simplicity of "Dick"), but despite the hint that it was anatomy-related, no one won the prize. Since I know you're all heavily invested in this, I won't keep you in further suspense. The band's actual name was (drumroll)... 

     ...."B...

Bummer...

     Hey all. I've got some bad news--exactly how bad remains to be seen. 

     I was planning to bring you guys a treat this month: a whole bunch of chesecakey monster girl sketches, each one available to the first person interested, for the price of postage.  Treats for Halloween. But when I went to scan the first batch, I discovered that my  oft-troublesome scanner had died. This obviously poses quite a problem...

Abbey Character Design (Sort of)

     It really is a shame that the publisher is preventing me from continuing Boneyard. I had so much planned for the characters, so many stories and surprises. Take Abbey, for example. We've seen relatively little of her abilities, not to mention the various aspects of her personality. We've seen her "vamp out" a bit (to scare off the pervy deputy in the first story, and when fighting the supposed masked killer at the summer camp in the nightmare story arc, ...

Kat and Caleb from The Pound

     Oops, I did it again (why must I have SO much in common with that cherubic moppet, Britney Spears?), I let the post go up without text. But yesterday was our anniversary, and my wife and I actually went out to dinner and a movie for the first time since well before Covid, so I don't feel so bad this time. 

     It's probably obvious, but the above is an unused pinup/cover for The Pound. I love the characters so much th...

S.P.A.Z. Character Designs

    Hello folks.  You might not remember, but when I posted about  S.P.A.Z.: Special Protection Agent Z, a comic I never published (or finished), I mentioned that I'd be sharing designs for more of the characters. As well as a bunch of alien tourists, the Director of the S.P.A., and Theo's assistant, there was a rock band that played a major part in the first story. Above are three-quarters of that band: Sam (bass), Freak (drums), and Rat (vocals). I for...

Deja Vu: "People in Need" pg. 4

     Hiya. So this is page 4 of the Deja Vu short, "People in Need", which I obviously should have posted before page 5. Especially since it's supposed to be a big reveal and all. Oops. On the plus side, this page sucks less. Proportions are better, perspective's alright, that sort of thing. You can also see a lot of the experimenting I was doing back then. This was at a time when printing was much different than it is today. You could eithe...

Far West: "Undercovers" page 2 WIP

     Hello peoples. I thought you might like a look at the Far West story in progress. This is actually page two, as there are still details to work out on the first page. I erased the roughed-in dialogue to preserve the reveal when the finished page is posted. Basically what we have is Meg being prepped for her role going undercover as a working girl to catch  a bad guy they need alive. A couple of points of interest: the madam's outfit is a pretty good...

Abbey as a Geisha Commission

     This is the second commission I did of Abbey as a geisha, for the same customer. (He's also the person you can thank for the Far West short, by the way.) Not much to say about this one, except to clarify that I did not draw her lips to resemble an old style blow-up love doll; that's actually historically accurate lip-painting. I think it may have been intended to make the lips appear smaller, more dainty, or in any case conforming to the beauty ideal of ...

Penciled "Tin can Alley" Page

     It's no secret that I loved The Pound, and planned to do it as a regular series. Not only did it have the biggest cast and most complex storylines I'd ever planned, but it was also one of the only times I actually liked my art. Unfortunately, people saw it as a "furry" comic (which it wasn't), and even back then the furry label had such a stigma to it that the series would have been relegated to that tiny niche market. Worse yet, actual furry fans didn't...

"Café" Commission, Finished

        Hey everyone, how ya doing? I've been busy as usual, but the work situation has improved somewhat. We're down to one tiny kitten (she's really more of a teenager now, but she's going to wind up being tiny even when she's full grown), and she's far less insane than her brothers. I still have limited windows of time for inking, but I can pencil almost normally.

     As you can see, I finally finished the commission o...

Color Sketches and Alternate Covers

     I mentioned before that the point of thumbnails is essentially to save time; here's an example of saving time on the thumbnails themselves. On the top row are a couple of alternate takes on a Boneyard cover, neither of which were used. But if Nessie and Glump look familiar in the first one, take a look at the second uploaded pic. That's the one that I chose for the actual cover. I wanted to see how it would look if they were being "chased" by an explosio...

Deja Vu "Exposed" pg. 18 Unfinished Pencils

     Here's another page of unfinished pencils from Deja Vu: "Exposed". Again, I've darkened the existing pencil lines, nothing more. I'm starting to think I hadn't designed Bella at this point, given that she's so vaguely indicated while Deja is basically completely rendered.

     I just noticed something for which I do have to apologized. The previous page I uploaded was page 19, and this is page 18. I've completely ruined the story. I...

"The Ladies at a Cafe" Commission

     Hey, all. Here's a pretty interesting commission, almost ready to be inked. The commissioner wanted Deja, Meg and the princess, dressed normally (not like their characters), at an outdoor café. I think it's a really cute idea. I got so divorced from the official look of the characters that I almost forgot to give Meg pointed ears. I have to say, I think she looks amazing in that sweater and pleated skirt. I have to make some small corrections and add a few detai...

Alternate Boneyard Covers, Color Sketches

     Here's another look at my "process". I always do multiple cover designs before settling on one that works best. (Well, almost always. There have been a couple of times when I liked the first thing I sketched and went with it. Unfortunately, that's rare.)  I always do them small (that's why they're called thumbnails), which is standard. It's much easier--and faster-- to make corrections and do multiple versions on a small scale than full size. Especially the ...

Unfinished Pencils from a Different Deja Vu 1-Shot

     First off, this page is very unfinished. I went in and darkened the lines that were already there, and that's it; I didn't add anything, or correct anything. That's why the face of the woman in the insets is barely there; just enough information to indicate what I needed to do when I got to penciling her (which obviously never happened). There's also a note next to the second inset, reading "Bella closes eyes, grimacing"--so apparently her name was Bella.

&...

S.P.A.Z.: Another Comic that Never was

     I'm planning a comprehensive response to all the comments last week, but one of them referred to stories that wouldn't be completed if I stop doing comics.

     Let me tell you, you have no idea.

     Even if I keep doing comics, even if I devote myself to that exclusively for the rest of my life, there are so many stories that will never see the light of day, you wouldn't even believe it. As I've gott...

Day of the Dead Commission Finished

     ...Aaannd finally we have the finished Day of the Dead/Maria and pals commission finished. I think I forgot to scan the inked stage, sorry. It's actually not technically done yet: I accidentally used an off-brand tape to hold down the paper when shrinking it prior to painting, and the tape completely let go of the paper overnight. There was significant warping of the paper, which I was able to partially correct with additional stretchings (once I got the...

Unfinished Deja Vu Short, Page 5

     Ooooh, here we're getting into some serious suck. Ugh. I can't even look. Unfortunately, I've been looking at a lot of my old stuff lately--and some not even that old--as I work on the Far West story, and...I don't know how to say this, but I'm seriously thinking about dropping comics altogether. I would still do Boneyard shorts, because I'm so close to the characters and it's second nature to me, but honestly, the quality of my work does not justify con...

Update on Mustache

     Those of you who've been here since late last July might remember that we took in a stray (named Mustache--mostly "Mushy" to me now) who was in really bad shape. I shared pics showing how emaciated and sick he was at the time. He recovered physically pretty quickly, but for a long time I was concerned that he was depressed and seemed to feel trapped inside the house (he can't go outside again because he's missing an eye and has old injuries that make it difficult...

Commission Price List Repost

      Hey, all. New patron Harley asked about my commission prices, and this is the only place here where I know how to post this. It's been updated since I drew this up, but it still serves as a basic starting point for anyone curious about getting a commission. Have a good Thursday!

Next Page of Unfinished Deja Vu Short

     Here's the next page of that very old, unfinished Deja Vu short. The suck is more evident in this example (but still not as bad as some of the pages that never made it to inks). I won't bother to point out the mistakes (something I actually used to do!), but I'm sure they're plainly evident. Like I said before, you have to get through the cruddy art to get to the less cruddy art. I will note that I had it in my head that I would not refer to any comic artists' wo...

Rough Beauties & Beasts Sketch

     Here's an example of how I work out an idea. A little bit, anyway. This is a rough sketch for a possible Beauties and Beasts piece. I had just the basic idea--a sorceress raising a demon--so I didn't want to put a lot of time into designing specifics until I had the composition down. I recalled a demon I'd drawn in another unfinished piece, so I just roughed in a version of that, then sketched in the sorceress. I added some quick indications of costume details, b...