Hello my friends.

For 2 years now, Class Comics Newsletter subscribers have been treated to the STRIPSHOW, monthly 1-page comics featuring all your favorite Boytoons with stories written by yours truly, and exquisite art by terrific artists like Leon de Leon, Jacob Mott and Eric Mars. Heck, I’ve even drawn a few myself!

I’m really pleased to announce that in 2012, you’ll be able to get your hands on STRIPSHOW: The Collection Volume 1. This is the official Printed Edition and Class Access Digital Edition of the first 2 years worth of Stripshow episodes.

STRIPSHOW: The Collection VOLUME 1 is coming 2012 from Class Comics. Cover art by Patrick Fillion.

So you may ask, “why buy something that you’ve been getting for free“? The answer is  simple. The STRIPSHOW Collection features strips that have never been released before and that are exclusive to this collection.  There’s cool new art to enjoy, including some gorgeous pin-up work by Leon de Leon.  I drew the cover for this collection, and I dare say, I’m pretty pleased with it!  Hernán Cabrera and I did the colors and I think it all turned out quite striking!

But most importantly, though the STRIPSHOW’s been available for free through the newsletter subscriptions and on the Class Comics website, it’s a question of resolution.  The free versions are pretty small, and the details don’t always pop the way they should.  In print and as a Class Access Digital Comic, the STRIPSHOW episodes will look AMAZING and you’ll be able to really appreciate all of the beautiful, intricate details that the artists who drew them poured into them.

And if you need any further reason, lemme just add that this is a truly GORGEOUS collection of comics, that is an intricate and essential part of the Class Comics universe and canon to all the character’s stories. Your Class Comics collection won’t be complete without it.

Stay tooned to this site and the Class Comics website for official release dates and further information. In the meantime, enjoy the sneak peek at the cover.

Hugz + kisses, Patrick XOXOX

Hi Gang,

Since the release of LOCUS #1, fans are constantly asking me for more Locus material.  Seems my Lean, Green Sex machine has quite a following, which is AWESOME!!  So I thought you might all like to know that I’m currently working on a brand new LOCUS mini Digital Comic for Class Access. The mini is called “The Law” and revolves around Locus being arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.

Locus is framed for a crime he didn't commit in LOCUS: The Law, a new digital mini comic coming 2012 from Class Comics.

Locus is interrogated by the local authorities in LOCUS: The Law, a new digital mini comic coming 2012 from Class Comics.

The authorities “interrogate” him and do their darndest to get the truth out of him.  Of course they don’t believe him when he tells them over and over again that he DIDN’T DO IT!  This mini pushes Locus to his very limit, and it does get a little HARD CORE in some parts, but I’m drawing it in my BRYCE PETERS/ BOYTOON ADVENTURESstyle, so it’s always done in good humor, while remaining crazy sexy HOT! 

My aim is to have this mini out by early 2012.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these little previews.  The colors were done by the fabulous Dominic Cordoba, and so far, it’s looking pretty damn sweet! Keep an eye on this site and the Class Comics site for updates and release information.

Hugz + kisses, Patrick XOXOX

Hello folks!

The amazing LOST KINGDOM series, created by Javi Cuho (writer) and Silvano Cernunno (artist), is coming to Class Comics this Summer.  You can imagine how HONORED I was when Javi and Silvano asked if I would create a cover for the Class Comics edition!!

I absolutely love this series.  It’s beautifully written and illustrated, and the characters are very sexy and quite beautiful.  So I happily went to work and this is the crazy sexy/elaborate battle scene is the result…

LOST KINGDOM #1, the Class Comics Edition front cover. Art by Patrick Fillion.

I had a fantastic time creating this cover.  It features the books’ three most prominent character; Prince Allen (center), Phebus (left) and Naiah (top right).  All I can say is that I hope to have the opportunity to draw these super sexy boytoons again in the future.

Meanwhile, I’ll let you know as soon as LOST KINGDOM #1 becomes available, so stay tooned.  You won’t wanna miss this title!

More from me soon! Hugz + kisses to you all!
Patrick XOXOX

Hello friends and aspiring erotic artists!

Many of you have recently asked me how I go about creating my comics.  A few years back I posted a little article on my BOYTOONS MAGAZINE Blog (the original article in BTM #22 can be seen here) that illustrated that very thing.  I thought it would be fun to update and re-post that article here with new hints and tips for those interested in becoming comic book artists. Soooo, I enlisted the help of Zahn and Cauldron in order to put together a little demonstration for you, using a page from Zahn #2!

Before I begin, I want to point out that a lot of artists nowadays draw directly in the computer, and create their art using various tools ans software from start to finish.  That’s so cool to me and I hope to give these techniques a shot at some point. Personally, I draw everything by hand, and the colors are all that get done with the computer. I must confess that I’m really interested in learning modern computer techniques since my fellow artists who use them say they are such a time saver. But for now, since it’s all I know, this little demo will discuss my traditional pen to paper process.

STEP #0 – THE SCRIPT:

Obviously, the script is a very good place to start! But it might interest you to know that I don’t always have a script before I put pencil to paper. Sometimes I see a story in my brain, and am just compelled to draw what I’m imagining. 99% of the time those images translate into pencils and I just continue on from there, making the story up as I go. Some characters are okay with that, like Locus for example, and even Cam from time to time…  But when I’m working on a book as complex in story as Zahn, I definitely want to map out my ideas so I don’t forget anything or get lost along the way.

My scripts tend to be pretty loose if I am drawing the story myself. If I’m writing for another artist, then I like to “direct” a bit more, and give a general idea of what I’m seeing and how the action should flow and be laid out. However, a good scripter should be willing to let his artist breathe and have the chance to be creative. It is important that the person creating the art have the opportunity to give it their own flavor.

Zahn #2 - Page 03 Concept Thumbnails by Patrick Fillion.

STEP #1 – THE CONCEPT SKETCH:

…also known as “those shitty little thumbnails!” LOL!!! These little guys are never very big.  The biggest I ever sketch them is roughly4 x 6 inches. The smallest, as is the case with page 3 from Zahn #2, is roughly 2.5 x 4 inches.  They are never very detailed, nor are they even remotely pretty to look at. But they are a road map of sorts to help the artist on his or her way to the pencils.

Again, I don’t always draw these little guys but I have found that these sketches can be very helpful, and are a great place to start an illustration. So much has to go into a single page of sequential art. These sketches help to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything and they help you get a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish.

I don’t always respect the angles or the flow of the action the way I initially sketch it out. Once I start on pencils, I sometimes realize that things work better when done somewhat differently. It really all depends on the mood I’m in, and the story I’m working on.

When I script  for other artists, I’ll occasionally provide concept sketches, so that they may get a better idea of what I am envisioning.  For example, when I script a STRIPSHOW episode, I almost always provide rough thumbs.  I think that’s because STRIPSHOW comics are so concise, they absolutely must convey everything contained in the scripts. But again, I always encourage artists drawing them to put their own spin on the art and approach the POVs in their own way.

Zahn #2 - Page 03 Pencils by Patrick Fillion.

STEP #2 – THE PENCILS:

I love penciling. So much life, spontaneity and fluidity comes through in the pencils, and sometimes you can lose that a little in the inks. That’s why as a rule, I try to make high resolution scans of all my penciled art, since once it’s inked over, the pencils are gone for good.

To pencil, I use a PENTEL 120 A3dx 0.7 mm mechanical pencil.  The lead is always sharp, not too dark and doesn’t smudge too badly. Also once I’m done, I find my pencils scan quite well.  A PaperMate vinyl eraser is your friend, believe me! Don’t be afraid to erase and refine your pencils. Even if the majority of your pencils end up pretty loose, it’s still nice to have a good solid foundation of art to ink over.

My pencils can be really tight, or really loose. Since I ink my own work, and mostly because I have never found an inker to my satisfaction (I don’t mean to sound snotty here… I am just very particular and like really clean and smooth inks!) I often opt to put in the major details in the inks stage. The pencils then feel more like the “skeletons” of the final art, and the inks embellish, tighten and finalize.

For example, I almost NEVER pencil Cam’s stripes on his body. I always just ink them in. Once you’re comfortable with little tricks and shortcuts like this, you can save you a great deal of time in the penciling stage. And trust me… if you’re working on several projects at once, a few healthy shortcuts are a good thing… providing they do not adversely affect your art work!

Zahn #2 - Page 03 Inks by Patrick Fillion.

STEP #3 – THE INKS:

Inking is a necessity for me, given the sometimes looseness of my pencils. Today, you can find comics in which the art has not been inked, but colors have simply been added over top the pencils. It’s a very nice look, but I guess I’m just too old fashioned and set in my ways to do that on my stuff. Besides, inks can be a real joy!

I find it important to take breaks between panels. Inking is a very precise task, and I find my wrist, hand and arm can get very sore if I don’t break things up a bit. Plus, you need to take care of your back. Get up and stretch in between panels and shake out your hand a bit!

I don’t use brushes. I never have. I favor drafting pens like the Micron or Pigma series, mostly because they are so precise and handle very well. Believe it or not, Sharpies are great to fill in thick solids and shadows and stuff.

The inks on this page were fairly light, but because of this they had to be very precise and clean. You’ll also notice that I changed aspects of the second panel somewhere between the pencil and ink phase. I do that a lot actually.  After I’ve penciled a page, I give it a long look-over and often, I’ll change a few things.  In the case of this particular page, I felt it was important to add some tower elements in the background.  This better sets the scene and helps the page make a bit more sense. It just flows better.

I love the look of the final inks. They seem more “comic book art” than any penciled of colored page to me for some reason. Maybe it’s because they are really the point where a project starts to come together. Either way, a finished inked page of sequential art always leaves me feeling very satisfied… like I’ve actually accomplished something in my day. I don’t get that when I pencil, because in my mind it is an unfinished stage. Inks can stand up on their own.

Zahn #2 - Page 03 Colors by Golden Key.

STEP #4 – THE COLORS:

I used to color a whole lot more stuff, but nowadays at Class Comics, there are so many projects going on at once, we’ve had to hire professional colorists to take some of the load off. It was a great move on our part I think, and we have been very lucky to find such talented folks to color for us.

This page was colored by Golden Key. When making color notes for the colorists, there are two things I try to insist on. The first is that the characters always be colored according to their official color palette, and the second that the pages flow and have good color continuity. I like to give only minimal direction, indicating if there is a precise light source in the scene, or if a character is wearing a garment of a specific color (although since most of my characters are usually naked, I don’t get to give directions on that very often! LOL!).

When I color something myself, I always use PhotoShop. It’s just an amazing program that has so many wonderful tools. I don’t really color stuff by hand anymore, as computer coloring is just so much more flexible and versatile. It’s really become the norm in the industry.

STEP #5 – LETTERING AND PRE-PRESS:

Once your page is fully colored, you are ready to finish it off.The lettering is done in Adobe Illustrator.

Once everything has been lettered, the comics are then laid out in InDesign, at which point they are ready to be handed over to the Printers.

So, when looking at a comic book, one can glance over a page pretty quickly, but it always amazes me just how much work and effort, not to mention LOVE that actually goes into creating it. Personally, I can think of nothing else on Earth that I would rather be doing.

Hope this has been a fun read, and maybe even helpful to you guys! See you again soon!

All the very best, Patrick XOXOX

Never let it be said that I don’t listen to my fans!  HA! HA! HA! ! XD!

A little while ago, I asked you good people if you felt that LOCUS should get his own title.  I was blown away by your enthusiasm and by how many of you truly felt that not only should Locus get his own book, but that it was actually HIGH TIME he did!  LOL!

Locus #1 now shipping! Story and Art by Patrick Fillion.

So I went to work. I don’t think I’ve ever been this inspired by any other character and title.  The book came together so fluidly and the result is something I am so very proud of and that I hope you will all enjoy!  Now I’m so thrilled to tell you that LOCUS #1 is completed and hot off the press. You can check out the Class Comics website for more information on the book, and of course to get your copy.  It’s available in both print and digital download formats.

The official LOCUS #1 cover. Art by Patrick Fillion. Colors by Golden Key.

It’s Locus at his sexiest, hottest, cockiest and the book really gives you a cool glimpse into his past and his future.  Oh, and did I mention that it is possibly the most sexually provocative book I’ve ever drawn?  LOL!  It just had to be crazy hot… it’s LOCUS! 

Enjoy my friends. And thank you again for sharing your opinions with me.  I’m really thrilled that I could bring this comic to life for you guys, and your excitement over Locus has really meant a lot to me.

BIG BIG Hugz + kisses to all of you!
Patrick XOXOX

Hiya Gang…

Well, I think you’ve all waited long enough… so without further delay, let me announce that ZAHN #2 is hot off the press and now shipping from Class Comics.

I won’t go on eternally about the issue — after all, the official FIRST LOOK at ZAHN #2 on the Class Comics website gives you a really great overview of the book and treats you to tons of preview artwork and pages — but what I will tell you is that I am terribly pleased with Zahn #2.

Zahn is reunited with old friends and makes new pals in ZAHN #2.

I wanted to create a second issue that would deepen the mysteries surrounding Zahn and his past, but I also wanted to shed some light on questions that were asked in issue #1.  In short, my goal was to provide you with an engrossing read as well as a comic that would be an instant turn on.  I suppose only you can tell me if I succeeded in accomplishing this goal, but I dare say that Zahn #2 is probably one of the sexiest books I’ve done to date. Zahn and his pals are beautiful, studly and hot, and can’t get enough of each other, but as the creator of the book, I can tell you that I find myself just as captivated by Zahn’s story as I am by his big, uncut barbarian meat. LOL!

So check out Zahn #2, in print or as a Digital Edition when you get the chance.  Enjoy the read my friends!

Hugz + kisses, Patrick XOXO

The cover to Class Comics' ZAHN #2. Art by Patrick Fillion, colors by Golden Key.

Hello Guys and Gals…

Hope you’re all enjoying the Summer so far!  Things have been busy over here and I’ve been working like a madman to get Naked Justice: Beginnings #2, Deimos #2 and Zahn #2 ready for their end of Summer release.

And speaking of the Son of Winter, I’m very pleased to share the official cover of Zahn #2 with you.  I am so happy with this cover.  I really wanted an illustration that would be completely different from the cover is Zahn #1.  I’d like to think I managed!  HA! HA! HA!

The first book’s cover is all about snow and winter, while this one is set in the jungle.  So it seems even Zahn is chillin’ in the summer heat.  This image was a major BITCH to ink with all it’s little foliage detail, but any piece worth doing is worth doing RIGHT I figure. LOL!  And of course, Golden Key’s colors are absolutely sublime.

I can’t wait to see this book in print.  I’ll update you on official release dates as soon as I have ‘em.  Enjoy my friends, and thanks again for stopping by!

Hugz + kisses, Patrick XOXO

The official cover to Patrick Fillion's ZAHN #2. Coming Summer 2010 from Class Comics.

Hello my friends…

I’ve got some very cool news today!  Freshly released through the Class Comics website is my very own digital Class Comics Artist Portfolio.  Yup, seems a lot of you have been asking for this, so Fraz and I thought it would be nice to put one together.

My digital portfolio is available for download through Class Access and is 38 pages of some of my most popular illustrations, as well as some very rare pieces.  You might also like to know that this Portfolio contains images that were deemed TOO EXPLICIT for inclusion in my up-coming Bruno Gmunder book “ilLUSTrations: The Art of Patrick Fillion”.

The Art of Patrick Fillion: Digital Portfolio is now available for download from Class Comics.

And yeah – my Astro Boy Parody, Cosmo is included in the Portfolio! LOL!

Also out this week as part of this latest wave of Class Access digital comics are three other Class Comics Portfolios, featuring the art of Mike, the art of Ismael Alvarez and the art of HvH.  These Portfolios have been seriously expanded and all of them contain dozens of fresh new images not included in the original print editions.

6 new digital comics are now available from Class Comics.

The Initiation #2 is also now available as a digital download.  Winner of the “Best Gay Comic of 2009” TLA Gaybie Award, the Initiation #2 is wickedly hot and sexy read.  This digital edition also contains the complete Initiation story I drew as Bryce Peters for Boytoon Adventures #1.

The digital edition of The Initiation #2 also contains the complete story "The Match" originally published in Boytoon Adventures #1.

And last but not least, if you’re into Yaoi, you’ll want to check out Shikigami: Captive Spirit #1.  It’s new to Class Access as an exclusive title and though I’m not personally well versed in Yaoi, I have to admit I really got into this title.  Lots of naughty fun!

So enjoy, and stay tooned — More form me shortly, boys and girls!

Hugz + kisses,
Patrick XOXO

My dear, DEAR friends…

This is INDEED a day for celebration!  I just finished the inks on the final page of Zahn #2, and as of today, all interior art for the book is complete! WAH-HOO!!! I had such a great time working on this book.  I just don’t know what it is about Zahn that makes him and his pals so much fun to draw, but this book was a freakin’ BLAST! And I would like to think that my enjoyment will show in the art!  LOL!

Zahn and Cauldron get it on in Class Comics' up-coming Zahn #2. Art by Patrick Fillion.

Now Dennis, also known as the fabulous Golden Key is finishing up the colors, and yours truly is creating covers and related pin ups and misc related art.  All that to say that we’re very much on schedule for the book’s intended Summer 2010 release.

Zahn's elemental powers continue to grow in Class Comics' up-coming Zahn #2. Art by Patrick Fillion.

Speaking of Summer releases, I don’t mind telling you that we have a Hell of a blockbuster Summer planned for you at Class Comics.  Coming your way are the very highly anticipated Naked Justice: Beginnings #2, Deimos #2 and of course, Zahn #2 to name just a few!  Summer’s gonna be HUGE!!!

Stay tooned, and be sure to check out the official Class Comics website frequently, because we’re preparing awesome first looks at Naked Justice: Beginnings #2 and Deimos #2, and we’ll be posting those very soon! You won’t want to miss it!

So if you’ll excuse me boys and girls, I gotta go do somersaults over how excited I am to have wrapped up the art on Zahn #2!  HA! HA! HA! More from me shortly!

Big Hugz + kisses to you all!
Patrick XOXO

Danger is around every corner in Class Comics' up-coming Zahn #2. Art by Patrick Fillion.