Spy vs. Spy - Peter Kuper - Pencils (large art) very tight - published FOR SALE

[JS]

Howdy -

 

Doing a bit of clearing out and have a few pieces for sale -- starting with this lovely Peter Kuper Spy vs. Spy published I believe August 2011.

 

$350 shipped anywhere in the USA, $400 anywhere in the world - OBO

 

 

 

First gets it over PM

 

edit: new lower price...will also delete post if no takers by Sat the 19th. Then it goes back in the vault!

[comix4fun]

Hi,

 

That's a nice Spy vs. Spy.

 

Is the the finished, final published image?

 

I ask because I thought Peter always inked or hand colored the final images before publication.

 

Been reading Spy vs. Spy since I was a kid. Gags never get old.

 

 

[JS]

Heya --- I have the inks as well but I am keeping those -- I feel kinda stupid having both because I wont hang and frame them side by side -- there are such minor differences (for example the shading of the heart in the top right)

 

I hate to keep the pencils tucked away when they deserve to be framed...they are quite pretty..

 

I might (might) even throw in the prelims that Peter threw in, which come with a SUPER COOL quick sketch he did on the side!

 

---

 

Spy vs. Spy is a weird kinda publishing set-up -- each artist submits ideas --- first as a rough, then a pencil -- if the pencils are giving the go-ahead -- the inks are done over a copy of the pencils, and then those are digitally colored in (nowadays, at least -- Peter told me so when I met him at NYCC) for the final version --

 

I think it is a fair statement to say that these pencils are the final, finished, published version of the artwork in question, as are the inks.

[comix4fun]

So the magazine was shot from the inked version then, yes?

 

Now I understand.

It's like when a cover is penciled and then the inks are done on blue line for publication.

It wasn't clear before.

 

I've seen that a bunch in comic art the last 10 years or so, but I wouldn't try to call the pencils the published version. Most artists call it the final pencils being that inks add and change and flesh out the final image and the pencils are never seen in the publication.

 

Peter's work is great.

[JS]

Sort of -- the inks are then scanned, and then it is completely re-done digitally by Peter Kuper.

 

The pencils are nearly identical to the inks, in as much as the inks are nearly identical to the finished product -

 

If you wanted to be technical, this would be the finished/published piece (which is completely done digitally):

 

 

 

 

I still think its right to say that these pencils are published art..

 

 

 

 

[comix4fun]

Sort of -- the inks are then scanned, and then it is completely re-done digitally by Peter Kuper.

 

The pencils are nearly identical to the inks, in as much as the inks are nearly identical to the finished product -

 

If you wanted to be technical, this would be the finished/published piece (which is completely done digitally):

 

 

 

 

I still think its right to say that these pencils are published art..

 

 

 

 

 

Your call, you've been totally clear about the process (which is more and more difficult to do these days with everyone working on a tablet it seems) and as long as potential buyers get the gist of what he's getting you are totally entitled to you opinion.

 

 

 

[JS]

Take for example:

 

The rough sketch (which is in my opinion not published art):

 

 

versus

 

the pencils:

 

 

See the difference in quality? The roughs are generally much smaller -- usually 8.5x11

 

The finished pencils are usually done in something like 18x24 or so...very tight and beautiful -- not to say that the rough's don't have value or aren't cool - they absolutely are.

 

Here is the final published version:

 

 

This particular example, also - is not done digitally, Peter sometimes uses a stencil over the pencils which he then draws in the colors to.

[comix4fun]

Yep, Bolland did something similar for several years when he first switched to digital.

He'd make a rough pencil prelim, then a finished pencil prelim that looked exactly like the finished cover. Then he'd do it in a finished version digitally.

 

Lots of parts and preliminary steps to the creative process these days. That's clear.

 

Lots of guys have also skipped the paper step entirely, sadly.

[JS]

Agreed.

[Nexus]

Take for example:

 

The rough sketch (which is in my opinion not published art):

 

 

versus

 

the pencils:

 

 

See the difference in quality? The roughs are generally much smaller -- usually 8.5x11

 

The finished pencils are usually done in something like 18x24 or so...very tight and beautiful -- not to say that the rough's don't have value or aren't cool - they absolutely are.

 

Here is the final published version:

 

 

This particular example, also - is not done digitally, Peter sometimes uses a stencil over the pencils which he then draws in the colors to.

 

I think the standard term for what you call "rough sketch" is thumbnails.

 

The "pencils" are a prelim.

 

Based on what you say, there's an inked piece between the "pencils" and the final published version. That's a pretty important step...the artist did not go from the pencil prelim straight to the final published version, which your sequence of images here seems to imply. You can call the pencil piece "published art" if you want, but I also don't think it's wrong to call it a prelim.

[Nexus]

Yep, Bolland did something similar for several years when he first switched to digital.

He'd make a rough pencil prelim, then a finished pencil prelim that looked exactly like the finished cover. Then he'd do it in a finished version digitally.

 

Lots of parts and preliminary steps to the creative process these days. That's clear.

 

Lots of guys have also skipped the paper step entirely, sadly.

 

Bolland is a great example. Even before he went digital, his process went: loose pencil thumbnails -> tighter pencil prelim -> final inked art. Then off to the colorist. Similar to the case here. Neither his thumbnails nor prelims have ever been considered "final", "finished", or "published" art.

[JS]

Yep, Bolland did something similar for several years when he first switched to digital.

He'd make a rough pencil prelim, then a finished pencil prelim that looked exactly like the finished cover. Then he'd do it in a finished version digitally.

 

Lots of parts and preliminary steps to the creative process these days. That's clear.

 

Lots of guys have also skipped the paper step entirely, sadly.

 

Bolland is a great example. Even before he went digital, his process went: loose pencil thumbnails -> tighter pencil prelim -> final inked art. Then off to the colorist. Similar to the case here. Neither his thumbnails nor prelims have ever been considered "final", "finished", or "published" art.

 

 

It's not a commission or a pin-up or unpublished just because it isn't the absolute final step in the process...or at least I wouldn't think that way..

 

I think its accurate to call this piece a published piece of artwork. I don't think its accurate to call it a preliminary, since there is a preliminary that exists here..

 

I think any pencils, so long as they are a final version of pencils, are accurately called published artwork, so long as the piece is published..even if there are inks done after the pencils.