Spider-Gwen by Max Dunbar is a digitized vector version of the original line art shared by Max on DeviantArt. Max is a professional comic book artist whose credits span several titles including Champions, Judge Dredd: Under Siege, Gears of War: Rise of RAAM, Rat Queens, Orc Dave, and Dungeons & Dragons.
For this piece, I started with the colored version first. That’s usually how I work—it helps me block off colors into clean, separated layers. Once the colors are in place, I build the black-and-white version by flattening the layers and adjusting contrast. This gives it the punch of traditional comic inks while keeping the digital flexibility.
Digital Inks & Colors
I used Photoshop to trace over the original sketch, digitally inking the lines and shapes. After that, I applied flat colors to give the art a crisp, graphic style. My aim was to capture Spider-Gwen’s dynamic energy while still respecting Max’s original intent.
The black-and-white version came afterward. I adjusted the colored version, stripping it back to linework with solid blacks and whites. This helped emulate the feel of printed comics, which I’ve always admired.
Spider-Gwen by Max Dunbar
Black and white
Final version
Digitally colored
Side-by-side Comparison
I included a comparison slider below to show the difference between the original line art by Max Dunbar and my digitally enhanced colored version. It’s always fun to see how much the mood can shift with just color and line refinement.
