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thatcrazycajunRegular readers will recall that at the start of 2008 a few weeks ago, I posted a list of New Year's resolutions that included a commitment to making more use of my artistic talents and skills outside of my day job. Today I took a step in that direction by stopping off at this most excellent local art-supply store to buy some stuff for doing what a part of me has always longed to do: draw comic book art.
I bought some British-made Derwent pencils in three lead grades (on very good recommendation—see below), a good old-fashioned kneaded rubber eraser (the owner of the printing company where I have said day job was searching high and low in the office for one of these a couple days ago, which reminded me how handy they are) and a kit made by a company called Canson, Inc. out of South Hadley, MA under the brand-name Fanboy (slogan on the label: "Get Out of the Basement!") which includes pre-blue-line-marked bristol boards for drawing panels, cover sheets, concept sketch pages and layout-plotting sheets, with helpful tips inside. I also bought the first "how to draw comics" book I've purchased in a long, long time (I still have my old copy of Stan "The Man" Lee's How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way that I got back in college, gathering dust lately).
Cliff Biggers' and Ward Batty's Comic Shop News this year gave out one of its annual "Red K Awards" to all the comic-book artists nobody's ever heard of who've put out "how to draw comics" tomes lately, despite having never actually produced a successful comic book ("The 'Those Who Can't Do, Teach' Award"). This emphatically does not apply to the author of the book I bought today: Draw Comics with Dick Giordano.
Comics readers of a certain age will know the name of Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano quite well, as I do; he was, along with fellow four-color gods Neal Adams and Jim Aparo, instrumental in giving the Batman his mojo back in the 1970s, after all that camp silliness their predecessors at DC Comics had inflicted on the poor Caped Crusader in the two decades prior...and did equally outstanding work on even-he-probably-doesn't-recall-anymore how many other titles. Now in his 70s, Mr. G. has served in writing, artistic, editorial and administrative capacities for both DC and Marvel, not to mention working for Charlton, Dell, Valiant and others and even starting up his own firm called Future Comics (which sadly failed through no fault of his, as fellow principal and legend Bob Layton explains here), as well as two other advertising art firms, one with Adams.
No one can argue this guy hasn't had success in the field; I know I'm not the only one who thrilled to his art back in the day, or chuckled over his "Meanwhile..." columns in the back of DC's books when he took over as managing editor in the 1980s, always ending with his signature sign-off, "Thank you and good afternoon." (Yes, he presided over the Crisis on Infinite Earths series and numerous tie-ins that rewrote the map and history books of the DC Universe...and set the pattern for future line-wide crossover sagas at DC and many other companies.) And while some of what he writes in this book I've long since seen before elsewhere, he does bring some new things to my understanding of how to do effective renderings of faces, bodies and other basic elements. He was one of my early drawing influences for his style and grace with a line...and seeing his fluid work again here, in an instructional context, reminds me again of why. In short, he's one of the best there is at this stuff, people—and he's willing to share what he knows with every Byrne, Mignola or Gibbons wannabe out there...including me. How insanely cool and generous is that?
So now I plan to read through the thing, as much for Dick's amusing, knowledgable narrative as for the technical advice (among which was the suggestion of the Derwent pencils mentioned above, which he uses and I've never tried before) and then see whether I actually end up using this stuff for more than just filling space on a shelf.
Cliff Biggers' and Ward Batty's Comic Shop News this year gave out one of its annual "Red K Awards" to all the comic-book artists nobody's ever heard of who've put out "how to draw comics" tomes lately, despite having never actually produced a successful comic book ("The 'Those Who Can't Do, Teach' Award"). This emphatically does not apply to the author of the book I bought today: Draw Comics with Dick Giordano.
Comics readers of a certain age will know the name of Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano quite well, as I do; he was, along with fellow four-color gods Neal Adams and Jim Aparo, instrumental in giving the Batman his mojo back in the 1970s, after all that camp silliness their predecessors at DC Comics had inflicted on the poor Caped Crusader in the two decades prior...and did equally outstanding work on even-he-probably-doesn't-recall-anymore how many other titles. Now in his 70s, Mr. G. has served in writing, artistic, editorial and administrative capacities for both DC and Marvel, not to mention working for Charlton, Dell, Valiant and others and even starting up his own firm called Future Comics (which sadly failed through no fault of his, as fellow principal and legend Bob Layton explains here), as well as two other advertising art firms, one with Adams.
No one can argue this guy hasn't had success in the field; I know I'm not the only one who thrilled to his art back in the day, or chuckled over his "Meanwhile..." columns in the back of DC's books when he took over as managing editor in the 1980s, always ending with his signature sign-off, "Thank you and good afternoon." (Yes, he presided over the Crisis on Infinite Earths series and numerous tie-ins that rewrote the map and history books of the DC Universe...and set the pattern for future line-wide crossover sagas at DC and many other companies.) And while some of what he writes in this book I've long since seen before elsewhere, he does bring some new things to my understanding of how to do effective renderings of faces, bodies and other basic elements. He was one of my early drawing influences for his style and grace with a line...and seeing his fluid work again here, in an instructional context, reminds me again of why. In short, he's one of the best there is at this stuff, people—and he's willing to share what he knows with every Byrne, Mignola or Gibbons wannabe out there...including me. How insanely cool and generous is that?
So now I plan to read through the thing, as much for Dick's amusing, knowledgable narrative as for the technical advice (among which was the suggestion of the Derwent pencils mentioned above, which he uses and I've never tried before) and then see whether I actually end up using this stuff for more than just filling space on a shelf.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-27 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-27 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-27 08:48 am (UTC)Yay you, a step in the right direction. May you find much joy in this!
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Date: 2008-01-27 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 02:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 04:28 am (UTC)Gads, shouldn't comment when sleepy.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten your artwork hon..haven't gotten senile yet.
Who are you again??*smirks*