Who Says Krime Doesn't Pay?
How an infamous Graffiti writer inspired me be a better cartoonist.
Last week Kathryn and I were out in Seattle for her sister's wedding. I'm settled back into the office now to deliver your newsletter for the week! So please...put down the gun, step away from that ledge, friend.
Fear and Loathing in San Diego Pt.2 will be out next week, but for now, enjoy this brief aside.
Back in 2022 at the same bar in Oakland (Eli's) where I met friend and colleague Mary Valencia-Shyne (You and Me on Repeat), I also met another talented artist: Vince Vert, creator of Krime Guys.
Even from the day we met, I understood how driven this guy was about his art, on top of that, how much he could recognize another person's potential. Since then, Vince has become one of the most talented writers and cartoonists I know, an inspiration for his dedication to his business and creative practice, and a friend.
Very quickly Vince also joined wavelengths with our other comics compadre, Sam Santos Julian. We found within us a reliable group for testing out ideas and getting feedback on our scripts and pages. We used to get together once a month at Sketchies, a social drawing event hosted by Sarah Maloney at Silver Sprocket in San Francisco.
One of my favorite gag strips we worked on during Sketchies. Vince wrote, Sam and I on pencils and inks.
One of the areas I really enjoying helping out in our cohort, is in punch-ups or draw-overs for tricky areas where a fresh set of eyes would help solve. I love the world Vince has built with his series Krime Guys, and really enjoy any opportunity to take a break from my crap and go play in someone else's sandbox. Here are a few examples from Krime Guys: Streets of Rage, the E-book exclusive available on Vince's Patreon.
The problem here was to figure out how fit the reveal in a vertical splash page, which required a little fish-eye lens warp to make it more dynamic.
I think I remember we were trying to figure out how to capture four things inside this one panel of the liquor store: the guy in the full-body cast, the line of patrons, the uncle making money, and the security camera that was relevant to the plot. I use rule of thirds and dynamic symmetry lines to orchestrate multiple objects without getting cluttered.
This one was really fun, and applies all the challenges and solutions from the previous examples. As a cartoonist, you need to know how to render any kind of scene, wether that involves structural engineering or complex knowledge on auto-erotic asphyxiation!
Beyond punch-ups, Vince had also hired me to draw the cover for his second collected volume Krime Guys: Still Ain't Shit. The first comic cover I was ever commissioned for, and one of my favorite pieces to work on. I had fun figuring out the composition for this piece, playing on the title "Still Ain't Shit" by making them look larger than life with the worm's-eye (or shall we say "shit's-eye") perspective.
One of my favs in terms of color and composition. There are many things about drawing bodies in perspective and anatomy that I would change if I were to redraw this piece again (Don't worry, I won't).
Here's a Hi8tus Newsletter exclusive: This August I've been hired again to work on Vince's next collected Volume! We originally were running with the title "On Top of the World", but Vince felt this would be better suited for a future volume. Instead, Vince came up with a much more tantalizing title: Krime Guys: Wet & Wild
Rough sketch to be worked on this week! Along with the alternate concepts.
Make sure to give Vince a follow on his Instagram so you can get notified as soon as the Kickstarter drops next month!
Catch you all next week!
Kisses xx,
Josue Cruz
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🎹 Song of the Week
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⚠️ CONTENT ZONE ⚠️
This is the part I try to sell you on something.
New comic up on Instagram!
I am currently selling E-Book versions of Hi8tus Zine which includes addition 22 pages of process and commentary. Physical + E-Book bundles are also for sale!