The release of Prince of Cats has made me think about something I hadn't in what is approaching 5 years. On January 8th 2008 I had been 18 for just shy of two months. I was still in highschool and had decided that I wanted to draw. Having no idea how to do this but just started getting really back into comicbooks, I messaged D-pi on deviantART for advice. My message read:
Hey Man,I sent this with no real expectation for an answer, or an answer of any quality. What I recieved exceeded anything I could have hoped for, and is a large factor into my going to art school and choosing to become an artist. I'm not going to say anything more on this. Just read.
I'm still young and have been trying to get my style and skill up a bit lately and have been wondering how some other comic book artists such as yourself that I respect go about creating a page. Just a few questions if you can help me out man.
Do you work on a A4 page with already defined frames and work on that, or work larger and shrink down later? Or even work completely independent of frames and then scan the pictures and organise them.
In terms of pencils do you lay down basic sketches with a hard line lead pencil like a HB-H2 and then firm it in with something else and followed by ink? And then on that note what do you use to ink?
I think that's all for now man, Any general advice on how you got started in the industry would be really be great.
Thanks for your time.
-Scott
-Some answers(?) I'm new to the game... but this is what I got:
Don't worry about style. WHenever you think about style, watch "return of the dragon"; Bruce Lee lays it all out right there, just replace "fighting" with "drawing". But sometimes it doesn't hurt to train with your favorite dead artist in mind. I look at these dudes as the abbot in "36 chambers" wise dudes whose skill and sagacity led the way. You can even do it the classical way and completely copy their work, like those herbs with the sketch easels in the MET museum (like Bruce Lee... Yip Man 's wing chun), if it helps, just remember... you're gonna have to go out there and be true to your own impulses to really become something special. I tell myself this every time I start to design... It don't stop cause you get a job.
I normally work really small so I can get a sense of the entire page. Often I'll break down right on the script in the gutters. For my own comics, I'll have a smallish (I don't know the size, apr.8x55-ish) sketchbook with the page guides on it. At any rate, I break down the script at a tiny size. I don't make boarders first and I don't believe in arranging pictures on a page; You gotta see how everything fits on the page. I follow something someone in the ligne clair school said about if you master the picture space within each panel that it will reflect on the overall page, but I also try to look at the whole page and study the light and dark balance. I look at Kriegstein, Jose Munoz(even though he's still alive) and Hugo Pratt for this, they're the abbots in the temple... Then I blow that up to as big as my printer can print and my scanner can scan (11x17) and then, ink it... sometimes I may tighten that up again before inking it. When I ink, I am drawing the whole thing again. I am careful not to trace... kinda like on super nintendo, when you'd try to beat your mariokart top speed... you don't just follow the ghost, nahmean?
each process is a unique effort.
I may start inking directly over large pencils though, for gallery aesthetic and resell value. I noticed how good Chris Ware and others' drawings looked in a show because of their process. It's kinda a backwards way of thinking, but it's important to be aware of how your work interacts with your audience on all levels. Facilitate that intercourse; it's good for your relationship and for the paper chase.
Now I use these sakura and pentel brush pens that I got from Japan-but you may be able to find them around-as well as "whatever the fuck is within reach that marks black". But when I didn't have those, I used a plain brush and a dip pen(pretentious but it's also like another chamber). My tools are always evolving. Tools are very important, but, like style, it depends on the individual. You know, like how Raphael uses sai and Michaelangelo uses nunchaku. they use the tool that fits them the best... Some cats are like that dude from blade of the immortal, sienkeiwitz(sp?) is like that, they use all types of stashed tools to create an image. I think that's really cool... I'm more of a Sanjuro or Zatoichi type dude, myself.
Pencils... I use a hard led... but whatever I do, I do it softly... HA! the last metaphor... is that a pen and ink drawing is like a sensual seduction. It doesn't matter the tool, a fresh pencil may lend you more confidence and leverage while someone with a 'roach' may know what they are doing cause they don't have allot to work with, nahmean? I always use hard lead, though 2-4h(sometimes h), Tombo, Mitsubishi Hi Uni, Staedtler Mars Lumograph or if I cant' get the others Derwent Graphic these have a great balance of graphite to medium and they don't look half bad either.
Start out slow and gentle; don't rush the stroke or you'll tear the paper. Work the entire image, but be mindful of the focal points. Get it done in the pencils, cause once you start putting down the inks, there's no turning back. Feel the rhythm; make honest, vigorous strokes (this is my style, but be sensitive to how you like to work).
I got 'in' at a convention. I went looking for a way to make money off of drawing. A friend suggested I put my portfolio into DC comics. Jonathan Vankin and Richard Bruning had the grace and foresight to snap me up, and I am about to return the favor by making allot of money ad acclaim for them (positivity and confidence helps, you gotta wear it like chucks and a Ramones jacket, wether it's too hot or too cold, it's always a good look)
anyway... hope that helps. Don't worry too much about the specifics, just work hard and passionately, and enjoy the process. Love the process. In the end, it's the reward.
I need to read this more often,
-S
