#otwhcomic

[gbellasart]

This is such a random thing, but the idea sorta spiraled after I found an incredible Back to The Future screenshot taken from the scene when Marty sits next to a younger version of his father and is just staring at him like 👁️👄👁️ It felt very Danny coded and I had to redraw it 😂 Danny’s face came together wayyyy too well 😂 Poor boy somehow landed in the past and ends up right next to his (then) future dad. The bonus comic really cracked me up. I doodled it while on a comic stream with friends. it really made inexplicable (but also very much sense) sense for Matt to just clock exactly who Danny is upon meeting him. Danny thinks he’s sly, but Matt is sharper than he lets on! He’s excited to help his future nephew for sure! 😭This is also a fun way for me to explore Matt and Danny interacting, since they don’t get the chance to properly meet in the comic ;-;

It was a good character study to do! I’m slowly getting past the art block, praise the Lord!

The only problem with this piece now is I wanna explore this concept via a short comic series. 🙈 y’all wanna see more time travel AU shenanigans? Lemme know!

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[otwhcomic]

Talk about a throwback! Here are some of the first *official* sketches Gbella designed for Danny’s outfit in 2021! Jay and Gbella were trying to figure out what a teenage boy would wear if he were to attempt to play vigilante. Literally the boy chose a graphic hoodie, baggy pants, and a makeshift mask that was a modified costume mask 🤦🏽‍♀️😂 We always joked that his outfit should look like he found the items in the clearance section of a party store. 😂 the second picture is the very FIRST concept that Gbella doodled. We liked the vibe and went with it! His design hasn’t changed a ton, but we do love his scrappy outfit. 

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[gbellasart]

*Frodo Voice* It’s done …😭👏👏

I’m super super happy this piece is done—I think collectively it took almost 40 hours of time, over a span of 5 years? I would pick it up and work on it some, but inevitably get frustrated with the look/angle, and leave it alone for a good 6 months before repeating the cycle again—But more recently I was determined to tackle it again. I was initially inspired by the scene from the first episode of Trollhunters (don’t watch the movie lol the series is amazing but we don’t discuss the movie 😬)—where Jim is just staring all sappy eyed at Claire while Toby looks on in confusion— early on, Matt is more confused by John’s lovesick behavior—but as characters have developed over the years, that changed a lot.

Early on, Matt was very suspicious if this new girl who seemingly enchanted his closest friend/brother. Even after Diane starts tagging along, matt definitely harbors some jealousy since Diane disrupts the dynamic—eventually they do get along but it takes a little time. 😅 also it’s crazy to see how much Diane, Matt, and John have developed since 2020–especially their twin’s character designs—I originally had them as physical carbon copies—but I do love how unique they are despite being identical.

The lighting was a challenge to figure out—and it’s def not perfect, but I’m really happy with it! I wanted to have some focus effects, to better get the emotions each character is feeling in the moment— Diane is (seemingly) blissfully unaware, Matt is glaring intensely at Diane (and assuming she’s a vampire or siren or whatever), and John is like “that’s my wife” 😂

If you wanna see a sketch that I did over my original sketchbook thumbnail, check it out underneath the cut!

[gbellasart]

“We were so young (and happy)…”

I don’t mean to bring on feels, but this trio gives me such a range of emotions. 😭 I reworked a messy doodle I did last year of Danny taking a selfie with his parents as teens—but I loved the idea of having Matt take the picture instead, so I tweaked some things and now we have these three enjoying a spring day at the beach (that’s where I imagine this sunny pic was taken lol). 💛✨

[gbellasart]

Young love, circa 1988 💕✨

Catching up from being sick with a third and final photograph I whipped up for a comic thing (which you all will be seeing soon, Lord willing!)—I love Diane and John (Danny’s parents) so much 😭 this age was such a tender and innocent time for them! Just two kiddos in love without a care in the world and no fears about the future…😬😅

If you wanna keep up with comic things, check out @otwhcomic !! I keep forgetting to post to our Tumblr but I’m gonna be dumping a ton of stuff there shortly! We’re more active on our Instagram tho… 👀

[gbellasart]

WHOO. I finally managed to put the finishing touches on this piece! I drew this originally as a background picture in Danny’s home for the comic (you can see it in my update post on the comic insta!).

This piece was initially drawn out two years ago but it wasn’t until this year that I decided to finish it for the piece I mentioned earlier! It’s based off an actual photograph of a couple from the 40s/50s (I’ve attached it in the last slide). It evoked the exact feeling I wanted to convey with this “photograph” of Beth and kriegar! It’s both a representation of simpler times, while also foreshadowing a future mystery —we see Beth’s face as she looks at her, but we don’t see kriegar’s. His back faces us. He’s an enigma. 👀

As we’ve developed the story, it’s become eerie how many similarities Danny has with his grandfather, and how much John is like his father as well (but in a very different way). This piece is more relevant than you know. But that’s all I’m saying for now…

I focus a ton on the twins + Diane, Danny and company, etc, but I do love Beth and kriegar’s love story. It’s sad, beautiful, and tragic, but it’s seriously so fun to write. they loved each other so much ;-;

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[gbellasart]

Does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes?

OK I have no idea why I hyperfixated SO MUCH on this one but here we are! I love my characters so much. 🙈 I doodled these in the car on the way to and back from my most recent convention. For those who don’t know, these are my characters (starting from the left) Diane, Danny, and John! Diane and John get married and have Danny. Diane and John have their own storyline that takes place in the 80s and 90s, and Danny’s story takes place in the 2010s. In the comic I’m working on, Diane is no longer in the picture in the present day so it’s all feels ;-; but I really wanted some light hearted moments for this family 😭

The first concept is a time travel/Meet the Robinson sort of idea. I thought it’d be fun if Danny had the chance to meet his parents as teenagers and bond with them as peers. He would get to see another side to them and realize how much alike they are. Also it’s sweet cause there’s no angst yet 😭I’ve been experimenting more with a sketchy style and it’s been really fun! I wasn’t trying to be neat and somehow it turned out better than I expected. I think being in a car and having to work with the road forced the perfectionist side of my brain to pipe down 🥲 now let’s see if I can do that all the time 😂🫠

the second one is a “what if” scenario where Diane is still around in the present day— also I wanted to compare John and Diane from their teen selves to 40 something year old selves. it’s crazy how fast things change aaaaaaa 🥺

The last doodle is a guilty pleasure piece 😭 I thought what if the selfie turned into “let’s embarrass our son” sort of deal 😂 John and Diane adore their Danny boy, no matter how old he is. I just want them to be happy ok? 🥹

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[gbellasart]

Happy (belated) Father’s Day! Here’s a pic I’ve had in my folders for two-ish years 🫣🫢 originally this was based off a reference I found. I wanted to create some background photos for the Andrew’s family home in the comic, and this was one of those (I am happy to report it does make it into the comic hehe). It’s pretty simplistic, but I kinda like it that way? I had more of a “detailed” bg and it didn’t feel quite right. I wanted the world to have this warm, soft glow… almost like a dream, since I imagine that’s how John felt after becoming a father. I wanna do a mini comic leading up to this point, cause John was pretty nervous about becoming a dad.🥲 but one look at Danny and all those troubles melted away 🥹 in that moment everything was perfect 🤍 separate aside, There’s something so special about holding a newborn for the first time and I wanted to capture that mood too! I actually almost forgot his wedding band and caught that before sharing officially. 🙂‍↕️ I was too caught up in the feels to notice at first. 🤣

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I had something else for Father’s Day that I wanted to share (I’ll be posting a little thing about that here soon), but it’s not ready so I’ll just save it for another time! It became more extensive as I started working on it but if it should hit y’all all in the feels so I’m excited about that 😅👀

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