Hey ,

I've been shirking my duties as a YouTube poster for several months now, on my how-to section. With all this stuff going on there's a lot of things that are taking higher priorities right now.

So, instead of a video how about a quick still image tutorial?

Ok then...

... A secret I use in coloring pages is that I don't have an arsenal of colored bottles of ink. Instead I use Photoshop to pick out colors. It's a simple matter to change a black-line image into a colored line using either masks or overlays. But I won't go into detail about Photoshop here. You could just as easily do this with colored ink.

Making Random Blood Drops

I get from A to X while using simple everyday household items like a skinny 'sippy straw' from one of those juice boxes. Skinnier the better. A used-up (empty) reservoir from a ball point pen works too. Assuming you use editing software like Photoshop this is for generating shapes to be copied, colored and applied later.

You then put the ink blots on your paper like so.

Start with a few drops.

Now blow quick, short bursts.
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If you did this right you'll get funny looking 'squashed bug' patterns that look really random and splotchy.

Keep adding more dots, then blow quick 'POOF POOF' breaths with the straw.

Eventually you can build them up until you get them going in all sorts of weird directions.
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For Mayfield Eight's standard cover I have Cal Ryder covered in a lurid layer of red blood.

By laying on some tracing paper I could see where I was going, and add the 'blood' (here black India ink but like I said will be swapped out to red in PS). I kept layering it until I was happy with the results. Didn't hurt to tip the board up and let the heavier drops of ink run down.

Of course, there's a matter of adding/subtracting to get a really cool final look. What I like about it best is that it's really RANDOM in its look. Pretty neat, huh?

Reminder...

Get a free physical copy of Mayfield Eight: Into the Rat Hole delivered to your door! 3 new winners will be announced the first Tuesday of each month.

To qualify, reply to this email with:

  1. Your name
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  3. City
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This is going until the end of the month, where I'll randomly choose and announce the three lucky winners! Good luck!
-Tim Larsen

Read 'The Rat Hole Bastards'

The Rat Hole Bastards is a 4-panel weekly comic strip set in a few years before Mayfield Eight. See the origins of Slade and his notorious Banshees biker gang! NOW LIVE on Patreon!:

(If you want to bypass the whole 'random' thing and get one for $4.99 (US CAN, plus shipping overseas) just...

Buy Mayfield Eight

Mayfield Eight is a 28-page comic book set in 1974 New Mexico where a 17-year-old fry cook gets in deep trouble with a local biker gang as he helps a sleazy friend conduct a back-room drug deal.

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