Catching a Vision 03
Learning the Craft: Penciling
We started with a series of articles on Breaking Into Comics, with the focus on Learning the Craft, in other words, what you should know BEFORE you even submit. We focused in on writers last time, let's look at the next stage. Once a script is ready, obviously the next step in the process is penciling. Enter the artist!
Challenges...
Penciling comics is one of the most sought after positions in the comics industry and also one that probably has the most turnover or burnout. There are a ton of people who want in, a ton already in, and a bunch who were in and then disappeared. Why you ask?
Let's take a look at each of those. Why is penciling so popular?
That one's fairly simple: it's the coolest piece of comics! I'm mostly a writer, I love writing, but even I get all excited and moon-eyed when a piece of art comes in for one of my projects. Art excites people, it inspires, it draws them in (yep, bad pun). The comics industry has long recognized this about artists and as a result, the commercial end of the industry and the popularity end have often leaned toward the artists, giving them the clout, the popularity and the biggest names in comics. No doubt, that focus goes back and forth from writers to artists, but at times, like near the beginning of the Image days, the writer seemed an afterthought in many mindsets. It was the artist, or storyteller, that drew all the attention (yep, another) and got all the praise.
While comics really require both, good story and good art to succeed, I'm more than willing to acknowledge that much of this falls on the artist initially. It's usually a striking cover that will get some new fan to pick up a book. Someone flipping through pages in a comic-book store are not going 'cool' over the story or the sound effects; they're loving the art.
Heck, artists even have more fun at conventions. It's not like writers can sit at their tables and jot out a few words on paper to give to long lines of fans wanting an original script!
Now, I'm not trying to sound bitter since I'm predominantly a writer, and yes writers have also certainly made names for themselves in comics, but, comics are, after all a VISUAL medium, hence some focus on the visuals.
However, for all its glory, it's also a very demanding job. Pencilers have to create almost an average of a page a day if they really want to make it in the comics industry on the ultimate goal of a monthly series. That's a lot of pages! That's a lot of work and commitment. This is why many artists will work on a series for a while, then take a break, do a mini-series here and there, and then go back. This is also one of the reasons why a lot of folks who were in comic art for some time left the field and went into something less stressful. Finally, this is also why we have the chronic issue of late books from so many publishers, because it is often hard for an artist to keep this kind of pace.
Now, you aspiring artists, this gives you perhaps the EASIEST way to break into comics...if you're good. Assuming you have the talent and the skills, there are ALWAYS publishers who are looking for new artists, including the big guys. If you remember from the last column, you guys also get all the breaks for ease in portfolio review as well. An editor can flip through some pages of high quality pencils and make a decision in like, oh, two minutes.
So here you are, wanting into comics. You're talented, you got your portfolio, editors are always looking, and find it easy to look through portfolios... BUT... you get turned down, why?
Talent of course is first and foremost. I can't teach talent in a column but I can teach mechanics! At the risk of repeating myself, the BIGGEST mistake aspiring professionals make is not knowing the mechanics of the jobs they are seeking to do. This falls into two categories with a lot of aspiring artists. First there are those who still really need to learn to draw and second, those who need to learn specifically to draw comic books.
The Basic Mechanics: Anatomy and Perspective
Learn to draw? Surely aspiring comic artists know how to draw?
You'd be surprised. Many aspiring artists think that all they need to do to learn to draw comics is look at comic books. (Remember our doctor analogy?) They study comic art and think that by doing so, they can then recreate it and draw themselves. That's kind of like staring at a toaster then claiming you can build one from scratch. It doesn't work because ultimately all you are looking at is the surface and not taking into account the underlying work in crafting it.
Admittedly, a lot of comic artists don't help in making this argument, because if you look at their stuff, they seem to not use proper anatomy and perspective either. They often do highly exaggerated figures and surreal surroundings that seem to break all the rules.
There is a key word in here...exaggeration.
If you look at the collective body of work of any of the popular, mainstream, lasting pencilers out there, even the ones that might have very stylistic approaches now, chances are you will find plenty of examples of them doing far more straight-laced work, especially earlier in their careers. When Frank Miller drew his seminal run on Daredevil his style was much closer to a photo-realistic look. No doubt, he still was a master of light and shadow then, but his people looked like real people. Compare that to his more recent 300 or Sin City work and you will see how he's progressed. Same with Todd McFarlane, when he started at DC on such books as Infinity Inc. his style was far more traditional and straightforward. It wasn't until he was solid in his career that he began pushing the boundaries and when he launched Spawn that he pulled out all the stops.
As artists master their craft they can bend the rules, but they don't outright break them. Artwork may be incredibly stylized, incredibly expressive and use exaggeration to really heighten the drama of the work but there is an underlying base of solid art mastery underneath. An artist who has not mastered basic art skills and rules cannot then try to exaggerate them and do it convincingly. You have to know how to drive the car in your neighborhood before you're ready to go on the highway, and be really good before you can hit the Indy 500, well, at least if you don't want to end up with your car being a rolled piece of kindling. I've seen submissions from artists who simply attempt to mimic another popular artist, but clearly show they have not learned the fundamental basics that underlie that style. The resulting art, well, looks like it's good as kindling and that's about it.
Do you know the difference between worm's eye and bird's eye view? What about a two versus a three-point perspective? Or better yet, stop and try to draw a picture that is not a 'comic.' Sketch a friend or family member. Draw a picture of a bowl of fruit. Are you capturing your subject? Can you get down the working of light source and shading? Can you create a sense of texture and substance? Does your portrait of a person look remotely like them? Can you draw a person with fully functional anatomy? (No, I don't mean that, get your mind out of the gutter!) Do they have elbows, knees, and ankles that line up and work like a real person's? Do they 'carry their weight'?
If you've never even tried to draw something non-comic-like...most likely you're in trouble as an artist.
So, as is my usual advice...
To learn more, you might want to take an art class at the local community college, take private art lessons, or at the very least check out some books that can teach you how to draw. I've included some of my favorites below to help out.
Once You Know It...Use it!
As an editor I get real frustrated when I see a talented artist take shortcuts. The biggest thing on this is perspective and trying to fake it. I know it's a pain to do the little grid lines and sync everything up. I'm an artist too, but you got to do it, else it looks bad.
Once You See It...Draw It!
Another important tool for every artist is good reference. Don't be afraid to use photo reference for your work. If you have to draw an '85 Ford Mustang get a picture of one. Likewise, don't be afraid to use reference for anatomy as well. Beyond duplicating a photo in your art, there is also using photos to show you how muscle groups work, how they function under stress or when relaxed. Photo reference can also be good to show a variety of facial structures and how facial anatomy works especially in expressions etc.
Here are a few good reference resources to have handy.
Drawing Comics...
Of course, once you've developed into a good artist, there is still the task of learning how to draw comics. I've met a number of really great artists who don't know how to draw comic books. Sure, they might do great pinups or covers, but they can't draw comics.
Let's face it folks, the meat and potatoes of comics are sequential pages. So, why can't every aspiring comic book artist realize they have to draw sequential pages in their portfolio if they wish to draw comic books? You got me but it never fails that I will get submissions with nothing but character sketches, or pin-ups and not a hint of anything that, you know, actually tells a story.
But let's first just look at some of the very basics. Learn the tools of the trade. Most comic artists draw on comic art boards, smooth bristol paper cut to 11x17 inches. In the old days, they used a 10x15 work space for standard printing, but it's almost exclusively now offset printing which uses a full bleed for art, but does take into account trim and edge bleeds.
If you don't know those terms, you're not ready to draw for comics!
On top of drawing sequential pages period, there is drawing them well. As an artist myself, I think the hardest part for me is laying out a good, solid, well composed sequential page. Many artists who are drawing sequential pages only think of composition on one level, if any. Composition is the act of laying out a piece of art such that it draws the reader's eye, flows, and provides a sense of energy / movement or drama. It takes the elements of the picture and combines them in a way that enhances the mood being sought.
A lot of amateur artists don't think about this at all, it's one of those pieces of the Toaster you can't see but its integral to getting the toast, or in this case, the art to pop out. Others, a lot of others, think about composition only in terms of a single panel. This is important, each panel must work, but composition should also be considered for an entire page and some elements of good composition become recurring motifs for the entire book.
Comics utilize not only good art, but very specific types of art. No matter what your style, there has to be movement, dynamic energy and incredible mood in your work to make it in comics. This ranges from layout of panels (composition again) to characters in exaggerated poses, using perspective and variety in camera angles to increase tension or drama, etc.
So, after everything else, there is still the task of learning more about drawing comics themselves. Again, here are some excellent books to help with that.
Keep in mind, these are books that are designed primarily to teach how to draw comics. They do have sections on basic art instruction, but please do not use these to learn to draw!
(Note: I'm sure there are a lot of manga fans out there and aspiring manga artists. There are a ton of references and books that are designed to teach you how to draw manga. Unfortunately, I've not read them so, don't feel comfortable making a recommendation. If anyone would like to make suggestions, please feel free to post comments in the forums.)
ONLINE RESOURCES
Creating Comics by Dave Law yep, again and no, he does not pay me for referrals. This link goes straight to the section for illustrators. Once again, it lists numerous links for artists to find online tutorials, how to guides, descriptions of materials and tools, etc.
Gray's Anatomy , the famous Gray's Anatomy online, and no, not the show, but the ultimate reference to how the human body works.
Corbis is one of the largest database listings of photos, art prints, etc. from classic, to movie posters, to thousands of photographs. It's set up with a search engine so you can type in what you need and it will give you tons of photo reference. You can purchase the photos, or just lightbox the sample and get all the general reference you need.
SCHOOLS
The Center for Cartoon Studies is a college level program that offers courses in creating comics. They offer a rounded curriculum that includes learning the history of the medium and then everything from writing, to illustrating and finally self-publishing and marketing a comic book.
Joe Kubert's World of Cartooning is exclusively for aspiring comic book artists. They offer a full range of classes and include correspondence courses.
Next Week...
Hey, the promised interviews will be hitting CR soon! I've gotten everything from both Jeff Loew and Josh Williamson and I think both promise to be very informative and helpful!
Join the discussion and add your thoughts on this edition, or the column in general. If you have any questions or suggestions for resources, post them or email them to Sellner so they can be included in future columns. Are you an aspiring or up and coming creator and would like to share your story? Email Sellner and let him know who you are and what you've done.
C. Edward Sellner is the co-founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, a studio that within its first two years has drawn high praise from the media and attracted the attention of legendary creators in the comics industry. They have been digitally and print published in the mainstream market and their creators currently work with over a dozen different publishers. Their work has been featured on television news shows, radio programs and internet podcasts as well as featured in every major comics news site online.
Contact him directly at cedwardsellner@aol.com
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