LEARNING HOW TO PAINT WITH MARKER COMPS

One of the things that has surfaced within the past fifteen years is painted stories and covers for comic books. Alex Ross is probably the most well known comic book illustrator who does this type of artwork. I admired it early on but didn't have the knowledge of how to do it. Although I was able to by the time I left American Academy Of Art, I didn't really learn painting there. I learned how to paint by doing marker drawings and by assisting the illustrators at Steven Edsey & Sons. I learned that there were 2 ways to color storyboard frames - either by printing out line work and coloring it, or by placing a piece of marker paper onto a pencil drawing and building the artwork with the colors and shadows. This method is called tone-on-tone and takes a lot longer to do than just coloring in pictures. Although it is laborious, it is fun to see the finished product. Here are some tone-on-tone pieces I did several years ago:

When it comes to advertising, this type of process is practically extinct, due to advances in computer digital art ( although it can be mimicked digitally). I still use this method before working on a painting. You can see an example of that HERE.

TRUE COLORS PART FOUR- COLORS

Back in 2006, Len Strazewski contacted myself, Andrew Pepoy, Scott Beaderstadt, and others to draw stories for an anthology of stories that he wrote. I ended up drawing 2 stories, which have become 3 with at least one more on it's way.

The first story I drew was called True Colors and told the tale of a modern day psychic and business man who had stopped world domination when they were children. They come together again because the threat they thought they had stopped as kids has resurfaced.

After getting the letters back, I started the final step in the process- the colors:

For the dream/flashback sequence I chose to use simpler colors on the figures, not only because of the nature of the scene but also because the characters were children and comics for kids usually have more flat colors than sculpted/ modeled colors. This helps convey the innocence of the characters while the more detailed background colors convey the danger and the adult nature of their predicament. 

This is the final blog entry for True Colors, but there are more stories from this particular project coming soon.

THE SAINT

Over the course of the past six weeks I've been pretty busy. I was fortunate enough to draw a wonderful Miss Masque story for AC Comics, written by David Watkins. In addition to that, I've been working on a project for Moonstine Books. Moonstone publishes great titles like Buckaroo Banzai, Captain Action, The Phantom,  Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Honey West. They specialize in mysteries, thrillers and pulp heroes. The story I got to work on for them was Simon Templar, The Saint.

The Saint started as a book series in 1928, created by Leslie Charteris. 

The character had his own radio show- the longest incarnation starred Vincent Price, 

movie serials, 

television show- starring Roger Moore, 

and a big budget movie starring Val Kilmer.

The version that we are doing is the original - 1930's London. But who is The Saint? Here's how Moonstone describes the character:

The Saint is an adventurer, but a gentleman above all else. He reads the paper, eager to find a cause exciting to involve himself in. His moral code is strong, and is motives are also good: he would never hurt, steal from, or kill anyone who doesn't completely deserve it. The Saint is the Robin Hood of modern crime: he robs from the evil and heartless rich, and gives to the wronged and deserving poor--in the process, keeping a percentage for his own expenses. He doesn't work for the law, the government, or anyone else. He is a lone wolf, but he doesn't hesitate to team up or collaborate with anyone, including official agencies, when the need arises. He is also a romantic who believes in the excitement of living. Very little is known about Simon Templar's background, or how he became the Saint. If his origin and circumstances of his youth seem to be shrouded in mystery, it is because he chooses not to reveal it. He has a great sense of humor as well as a great zest for life. He is well-to-do, well dressed, drives fast cars, goes to the best places with the most attractive girls, all without any visible means of support. The police, particularly Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, have their own ideas about the sources of his apparent wealth and for years have been unsuccessfully trying to prove it. But behind the Saint's sophisticated facade there is a very different man. Had he lived in the Middle Ages you would see him as a knight in shining amour--a Sir Lancelot, a Robin Hood, a Don Juan, or in the great western tradition, a one man vigilante. His enemy is not so much crime, but injustice. His impetus, the plight of the innocent soul in need of a patron Saint. In achieving his objectives he can be cold, hard and always independent. Behind the casual banter there is always the aura of a coiled spring. Hating violence, he will not only turn the other cheek he will turn it so fast that all you are going to hit is the wall you thought he was up against. Simon Templar faces doom with a cavalier disdain. Yet this is not to say he isn't in constant jeopardy. For if he moves in dangerous places and is himself, the most dangerous of men, he is nonetheless only a man. Mortal. The Saint comic is written by Mel Odom and will be published by Moonstone Books. More information on the character's history can be found HERE, and the comic HERE.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS PART 13- STORYTELLING

One of the hardest things to accomplish on a static page is telling a story with a series of pictures. It's not as easy as it sounds, especially when dealing with a set number of panels and things happening within the panel. There are other mediums in which stories are told in as pictorial manner, like children's storybooks. When I was first learning, I didn't look at anything illustrated, rather I looked at movies and TV shows.

Comic books and movies/ television shows have a lot in common. They both use pictures to tell stories. My first attempt to learn storytelling from movies was to sit down with a movie and a pad of paper. I would then pause the movie at each new camera angle and do a quick sketch.

These little storyboards are from the beginning of the 1987 film The Untouchables

Although doing something like this is a good way to learn how to compose a scene, it is important to remember that movies and comics, while close ( my film teacher at Loyola called them "cousins") are NOT the same. In films, the movement happens within the screen while in comics the artist has to create the movement. This happens not only by what happens in a panel, but also by the way the panels are placed on a page.

This is a page from the second Stormy Tempest story appearing in Femforce #154 by AC Comics. As you can see, there's a lot of movement taking place, even though it's a flat piece with no physical movement.

There are many things that can be learned from watching movies. For example, if you take a look at this scene from the 1946 film It's A Wonderful Life, you'll see that  the camera is positioned so that it shoots through the pharmacy shelves, creating depth within the environment:

When a director does something like this, he/she makes what could be a boring scene visually more exciting. 

This is a panel from a project that I am working on. As you can see I have tried to emulate the camera angle shooting through an environment.

Comic book artists are basically movie directors. We just don't have the benefit of sound, music and movement. Our job is to create those aspects successfully in whatever way we can and be able to tell a story at the same time.

TRUE COLORS PART THREE- LETTERS

Back in 2006, Len Strazewski contacted myself, Andrew Pepoy, Scott Beaderstadt, and others to draw stories for an anthology of stories that he wrote. I ended up drawing 2 stories, which have become 3 with at least one more on it's way.

The first story I drew was called True Colors and told the tale of a modern day psychic and business man who had stopped world domination when they were children. They come together again because the threat they thought they had stopped as kids has resurfaced.

Once the inks had been done, the pages were sent to Len's friend Willie Schubert who is a legend among comic book letterers. Here are the pages lettered before colors:

INflUENCES PART 14

Beyond a shadow of a doubt the most  influential person in my entire life. Ray Larson was father, best friend, and role model all rolled into one.

Poppy was born in 1924 ( in the same hospital that I was). Growing up he read and drew a lot and was influenced at Lane Tech High School by a friend of his named Frank Westbrook, who went on to be an art director at J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency. In 1942, Poppy was drafted into the army and became an M.P. ( he had wanted to be a pilot, but was color blind in one eye). He was shipped to Europe and fought in World War Two.

On leave in 1943

Some drawings that Poppy did while

overseas.

After the war, he returned to the states. He finished high school. The G.I. Bill allowed him, and others to move forward in a direction that had not been given to previous generations. In 1947 he enrolled at The American Academy of Art where he studied illustration. He finished in 1950 about a month before he married my mother.

Despite being a very talented artist, Poppy never worked in the field. Instead he began working at Victor
Adding Machines. He had actually stopped doing artwork until he left Victor. In 1977, he suffered heart congestive failure. Because he had to take it easy, he found himself drawing and painting on a near regular basis.

In addition to being a superior draftsman, Poppy also was an expert model maker, sculptor, and chief. He would drive down to the lake and spend time sketching trees and birds.

Then he would stop at a house, take pictures of it, and construct a model of the house from scratch. He constructed all the costumes from the Wizard Of Oz for my brother Erik, built a  Star Wars ice cave and G.I. Joe fortress for my nephew ( his grandson) Joey, and built a Batcave, a M*A*S*H camp, and Star Wars Skiff for me. His feeling was that he could build better toys for us than the toy companies could, and then went and proved it. He took pride in everything he did, and built it to the best of his abilities.

Poppy  used to talk about how difficult it is to get work as an illustrator. I heard, from him and others, differing accounts of why he never worked professionally. I think that what it came down to was personal belief in himself and his abilities, as well as the difficulties that all artists must face: putting your work, and yourself,  forward to be judged by the world. That is an extremely difficult thing to do and is,  I believe, one of the reasons why there are more people out there doing what they love to do.


In 1994, Poppy passed away due to complications of a brain tumor.  My life changed forever. He meant the world to me and left a huge legacy. I knew what would happen if I ever gave up doing what I wanted to. That thought combined with my need to honor him and make him proud determined where my life would head.

Today, May 10, 2011 would have been Poppy's 87th birthday. I still think about him everyday and hope that wherever he is, I am able to make him proud.

NEWS AND NOTES

Many of you are probably wondering where the updates on this blog have been lately. Could it be that I've actually run out of things to say?  No such luck.  Things have been a bit busy.

I've been working on David Watkins' Miss Masque story for AC Comics. It's a wonderfully written story and I hope that my artwork does it justice. 

The book will be out sometime in July 2011.

In addition to that, I just started on a pretty big project for another company. I'm working on 45 pages of the story and it's a lot of fun. I'm not at liberty to say what it is yet, but I will leave you with a clue:

I'm not sure when this book will be out. I will keep you informed as we move closer to the date.

I'm also looking forward to drawing Len Stazewski's 4th installment of Stormy Tempest in a forthcoming issue of Femforce. The last story had a cameo by Kat Hill, the Action Flick Chick. I've been informed that someone else very special will be appearing in the new one. Stay tuned...

All in all, it looks be a busy summer.