The XII is a post-apocalyptic epic centered around a father, a family, and a band of gas-mask wearing ruffians called "The Twelve" (The XII).  This print was created as an exclusive Kickstarter reward, where both the original watercolor painting and print reproductions were selected as rewards by backers of the ultimately successful project!   

For this piece, I opted for an extreme version of my usual rough, impressionist watercolor, leaving the background raw with no defining lines or accents aside from the watercolor ink and a few small swipes of acrylic paint.  The characters in the foreground -- around whom the storyline centers -- were lined in black and white ink after the watercolor had dried. For this, I used a light box to create structure from the original pencil drawing, while still allowing the lines to follow more of the abstract inspiration laid down by the initial wash.  

Produced in Chicago, The XII is the ongoing series written by Patrick Trahey, frontman of the small comics press, Sol Comics.. 

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