Trevor Hutchison

Free comics are the best comics

On of the perks of designing cover art for comic book publishers like IDW is receiving complimentary copies of the comics you worked on.

With IDW I usually get two copies of the regular comic, and as in the case of Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers, where they print a limited run of variant covers based on my artwork, two copies of the variant covers.

The variant covers (pictured) for this series are my regular cover design minus the titles and other cover markings, printed on better paper with a matt varnish finish. The matt varnish feels really slick, although it reduces the blackness of the dark areas in the design, so tends to work better for designs that are lighter or more saturated. I design my covers with the titles in place as I believe that they are a fundamental part of the finished cover design, so sometimes this can leave a bit of an unbalanced space at the top when the titles are removed. But overall I think the variants are pretty neat to have. The rareness of them is an extra bonus!

I haven’t read LSotW all the way through yet (although I did read the script many months ago) but I’m looking forward to it. From all accounts this series has been really popular, particularly with the die-hard Transformers fans. I like this approach from IDW. They seem to be mixing accessible storylines that make it relatively easy for new readers to jump on board, with mini-series and single issue stories tailored for the hardcore fans.

I have some more IDW cover work coming up, but as with these things, nothing I can talk about just yet, sorry!

(They’re Yours)

Thanks to everyone who helped me launch my new website by entering the Transformers: Art of Trevor Hutchison book giveaway! I’m happy to announce that the winners are:

Kelli Davis
Jeysie
Elizabeth Reyes
Alice
S_Chan7

You’ll each be receiving a signed copy of the book in the post (Check your email!).

To everyone else, thanks for entering! There were over 100 people entered and I hope you’ll all become regular visitors to the site. There’s a good chance I’ll be running a similar contest later in the year, so hit that bookmark or rss button!

Hutch.

Just a quick thank you to all of you who posted the kind comments on my welcoming post. I was hoping that I’d get maybe 10 people come and say hi, so it’s pleasing to see currently more than 70! I don’t have that many relatives so I guess there are people out there who are actually keen to win a signed Transformers cover art book!

I’ll be randomly selecting 5 winners on March 12th, so if you haven’t said “Hi” yet there’s still time! Tell your friends!

I’d also like to give a quick shout-out to design blog Australian Edge and Wordpress wizards Graph Paper Press for showcasing my work this week. Thanks guys!

It’s been a while in the making but I’m happy to welcome you to my new little piece of the interwebs!

I’m still doing some housecleaning, but what you’ll find in these pages (besides too much information about me) is a portfolio of my recent graphic design work (including my comic book work) and the rambling blog section that you’re reading now. The blog will cover mostly graphic designey type topics, but will also include some tutorials, downloads, giveaways, wallpapers and work-in-progress insights.

To celebrate the launch of my new website I’m giving away 5 signed copies of The Art of Trevor Hutchison book. This comic book sized publication was released by IDW Publishing in very limited numbers as a retailer incentive (RI) with issue 1 of the new ongoing Transformers comic book series. It includes all the pure, un-barcoded cover art I produced for the All Hail Megatron series, including the rare RI covers for All Hail Megatron: Coda extension of the series plus my art deco styled cover for Spotlight: Blurr.

To be eligible, simply post a comment below! The winners will be selected randomly on March 12th 2010 out of everyone that has commented. Whilst I’d prefer that your comments are more along the lines of a friendly “Hi, nice work” and less “U SUCK!” I won’t discriminate (unless your comment is “FR33 REPLICA-R0LEX-V1AGRA‏” in which case it’s time to update my spam protection).

Look forward to hearing from you! – Hutch.