This is a pin-up of Top Cow's Aphrodite IX. This took a lot longer than I thought it would. I had problems with her face. I drew it over and over again, and I just couldn't get it quite right... Oh well, hope you like it ;) -J 

First Script Done!!!

This was a fun sample to do :) I still have lots to learn about calming down detail and trying to figure out the "Less is more" part of drawing... would give me a few hours of sleep :) I was not crazy about the way page 4 came out, most especially Havok's face in panel 3, but over all, not bad - but still a lot to work on. Special thanks to Mike Marts for letting me use the script! Today I will be doing an Aphrodite IX pin-up for my friend Josh Ortega, and I'll also be starting a Superman script given to me by Greg Rucka. See ya tomorrow!

-James

The problem with working with the script of an existing book is that it immediately cancels certain shots to use in the storytelling. Sal Larroca is an amazing artist and storyteller, and what I don't want is for someone to look at this sample and say "he's just copying Sal!" When laying out this script, I had no choice but to look at Sal's version to make sure my shot selection is not the same as his. This meant, changing a lot of layouts and figuring out what is different and what still worked. The worst part is, Sal took the best shots!!! So I did the best I could. So far so good I guess...

Page Number Four

Here's the fourth page. To make a monthly schedule, one must produce at least 6 pages a week. I guess I'll be working this weekend :) So by monday, pages 5 & 6 should be up. Also monday, I'm going to start a 6 page Superman Sample thanks to my friend Greg Rucka. Hope I do a better job than I did in Wonder Woman 212!

-J

Here's the third page. The fourth coming very soon. 

LET'S GET DIRTY!!

This page got dirty! Smugging abounds, so I have to learn to be a bit cleaner :) I tried to tone down the detail in this page. One of the critques I received is to lessen the details to "open up" the page. It's a work in progress :) I have a bunch of things to do today, like bring my newborn for her shots (she's gonna be cryin' aaallllnight....), and take the car for an emmissions test. Hopefully I'll still get the next page on time tomorrow. Shouldn't be a problem :)

PAGE A DAY BEGINS!!!

In hopes of landing a new gig, everyday I will be posting a brand new page! This is the first one and it's from X-Men#166 written by Peter Milligan. The script was given to me by a great guy and Marvel Editor Mike Marts. Thanks Mike! I was pretty pleased with the way this page turned out, with the exception of the last panel where Havok looks too stiff. I'll work on that :)

The Blog

Hello Everyone!

This is my new cyberspace home! This is going to be tonnes of fun!

For those of you who don't know, my name is James Raiz. I'm a comic book penciller. I've worked on books such as Dreamwave's Transformer's Armada, Warren Ellis' Tokyo Storm Warning, and most recently DC Comics' Wonder Woman!

Here, you'll find a lot of art and find news on everything I will be doing :)

Hope you enjoy the ride!

Best,
James Raiz

BRIAREOS!!!

BRIAREOS!!!
You could imagine my surprise when Greg Rucka and Ivan Cohen told me I had to create a character with over 100 arms and 100 heads. It was a great challenge not to make him look like a coral reef. So I decided to make him have four main arms with tiny arms attached to it, and one main head with 100 heads acting as "hair"! ...great idea, fun to draw, but let's hope this guy does not get an ongoing series, it would kill me...

Here's a sample page I worked on. It's from a Warren Ellis script for Planetary/JLA.