Questions on Comic Art.
Alasdair Watson
place. I probably ought ot have bunged it in rac.misc, or somewhere
like that, but that'd mean having ot read a new newsgroup to get answers,
and I can't be bothered to do that. So you people get stuck with it.
Basically, I have a friend (In fact, I have several friends. They just
don't like to admit it. :) ) who is currently doing something odd at art
school. And he's got to give a talk about comic art. So, being the
sensible bloke that he is, he came to me, and asked me to come up with
some stuff. Now, I'll be seeing him again in about a week, and will
be taking along as wide a variety of styles as possible. However,
given that my comics collection is limited to X-men, Sandman and other
Vertigo stuff, Groo, and Bone, I'm also looking to take along
recommendations as to what other stuff he should look into. I'm also
looking to be able to explain what the different styles consist of,
and when they're used, and the purpose they server within the comic
medium, and if possible a little bit about what styles of art appeal
to what kind of reader.
So, knowing almost nothing about art, except what I like to look at,
I'm hoping that you folks can come up with some stuff. If not, I'm
going to look a prat, but that's nothing new. Oh, and if there are
any professional comic artists of whatever sort out there looking at this,
I'd very much appreciate a comment of some sort.
*sigh*
I always feel a complete idiot when I try to be on-topic.
--
Alasdair Watson.
"You're in the end - just what you are!/Put on wigs with a million locks/
And put your foot on ell-high socks,/You still remain just what you are."
Goethe.
Blaze
alas...@belmonte.demon.co.uk wrote:
> So, knowing almost nothing about art, except what I like to look at,
> I'm hoping that you folks can come up with some stuff. If not, I'm
> going to look a prat, but that's nothing new. Oh, and if there are
> any professional comic artists of whatever sort out there looking at this,
> I'd very much appreciate a comment of some sort.
Something to point out might be the variety of ways of producing comic
book art -- the old pencil/ink/color and more modern pencil/ink/Photoshop
combinations, painted books like Marvels, and black-and-white in both the
"Cerebus" and "Sin City" styles. Maybe a little Valiant Vision thrown in,
just for kicks. I'm no art major, but if your friend wants a good
cross-section of what's popular today, that's a good collection to start
with.
Blaze: m-b...@students.uiuc.edu - Archbishop of the Church of Xbooks
The Uncanny X-Page: http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~m-blase/x-page.html
=====================================================================
"I hope heaven is a place where sloe gin fizz comes in those little
glasses, you know the ones that're blue on the bottom and thin on the
top?" -- The Judybats
Christopher Bird
> Basically, I have a friend (In fact, I have several friends. They just
> don't like to admit it. :) ) who is currently doing something odd at art
> school. And he's got to give a talk about comic art. So, being the
> sensible bloke that he is, he came to me, and asked me to come up with
> some stuff. Now, I'll be seeing him again in about a week, and will
> be taking along as wide a variety of styles as possible. However,
> given that my comics collection is limited to X-men, Sandman and other
> Vertigo stuff, Groo, and Bone, I'm also looking to take along
> recommendations as to what other stuff he should look into. I'm also
> looking to be able to explain what the different styles consist of,
> and when they're used, and the purpose they server within the comic
> medium, and if possible a little bit about what styles of art appeal
> to what kind of reader.
Hmmmmm. I'm going to steal unabashedly from Scott McCloud here. :)
Look at comic art as a triangle. Three points:
-"realism", IE: photocomics, ultra-realistic art (Alex Ross is the best
example, although he isn't the most realistic, he's quite well known)
-"iconism", IE, cartoony figures like stick-men and smiley faces (Matt
Feazel's stuff)
-"abstraction" IE, well, abstract stuff that exists solely *because* it is
art (Mary Fleener and Dave McKean at their weirdest).
And, all art exists within that triangle. An artist's point on the
triangle is determined by how realistic and how abstract his style is.
I'm going to stop on that theory here, because, quite simply, you should
all go and buy Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art".
I can't explain it better than he does, and his work is *brilliant*.
Anyway.
-Get a copy of "Understanding Comics". It will help him *immensely* on his
talk. Also, Scott McCloud's art is nifty and varied.
-Will Eisner is a must: Kitchen Sink reprints some of the best stuff.
-"Marvels", by Alex Ross and Kurt Busiek, is a good call for photorealism.
-"Cerebus", especially the later issues with Gerhard, is a good call, just
to explore the masking effect (I'd particularly recommend #112-113. It's
one issue.)
-Carl Barks' work on "Uncle Scrooge" is a good idea.
-I'd bring one issue's worth of Joe Madriura, just to see an interesting
manga/American blend. Humberto Ramos is also a good choice.
-One issue of "Akira" and something by Takahashi (Ranma 1/2 or Maison
Ikkoku) to explore Japanese styles of art.
-"Tintin". Don't laugh. It's worthwhile.
-A reprint of Action Comics #1, or if you can't get it, any of Jon
Bogdanove's work on Superman: The Man Of Steel. The former would be better
to show the "younger days", the latter is an homage.
-Likewise, something by Jack Kirby. I'd recommend his FF work. (There
*are* reprints, and not hideously expensive ones either.) Worth it just to
see the motion lines and design sense.
-Something, *anything*, by Moebius.
-Anything by Schultz. ("Charlie Brown" *is* comics too, you know.) But the
earlier stuff for preference. (It's wiser.)
-While we're talking strips, Berke Breathed and Bill Watterson should be
included too.
-Some George Perez work. I'd recommend "Crisis On Infinite Earths" #7,
simply for the overall balance.
-And, finally, children's literature. Dr. Seuss's work *is* in the realm
of comics, by all practical definitions (as are most children's
illustrators). Surely you have access to that.
Chris "can you tell I've answered this question before?" Bird
=========================================================================
--"You may be younger than me. You may be quicker than me. You may even
be smarter than me. But you will never, *ever*, be crazier."--Harry Stone
* Visit the Church of Cthulhu at http://chat.carleton.ca/~cbird *
=========================================================================
Jeffrey D Picka
>-I'd bring one issue's worth of Joe Madriura, just to see an interesting
>manga/American blend.
I am curious as to why Mardruia keeps getting identified with manga. His
figure drawings gave a manga-esque style and he sometimes allegedly
steals manga caharcters, but his graphic story-telling style is
entirely American, and his backgrounds recall animation more than
manga. In most manga, the figures are cartoonish (as in JM art) but
the backgrounds are hyper-realistic. JM seems to prefer almost blank
backgrounds, as in the Gomurr saga. Maybe his style should be more closely
associated with anime than manga.
JDP
Adam Schultz
<snips here and there >
>So, knowing almost nothing about art, except what I like to look at,
>I'm hoping that you folks can come up with some stuff. If not, I'm
>going to look a prat, but that's nothing new. Oh, and if there are
>any professional comic artists of whatever sort out there looking at this,
>I'd very much appreciate a comment of some sort.
Try to find a copy of Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics." It's a
black and white trade paperback and it's acknowledged by many people
as one of the best treatise on comic book art ever written (and
drawn).
Also, Will Eisner wrote a book on comics. The title has "Sequential
Art" in it, I think. (Can't find my copy at the moment grumble
grumble).
Anyway, check the local library. Sometimes they can surprise you with
their good taste in comic book books.
-- Adam Schultz
< asch...@iu.net >
Andy Zupcsan
>
> Basically, I have a friend (In fact, I have several friends. They just
> don't like to admit it. :) ) who is currently doing something odd at art
> school. And he's got to give a talk about comic art. So, being the
> sensible bloke that he is, he came to me, and asked me to come up with
> some stuff. Now, I'll be seeing him again in about a week, and will
> be taking along as wide a variety of styles as possible. However,
> given that my comics collection is limited to X-men, Sandman and other
> Vertigo stuff, Groo, and Bone, I'm also looking to take along
> recommendations as to what other stuff he should look into. I'm also
> looking to be able to explain what the different styles consist of,
> and when they're used, and the purpose they server within the comic
> medium, and if possible a little bit about what styles of art appeal
> to what kind of reader.
>
> I'm hoping that you folks can come up with some stuff. If not, I'm
> going to look a prat, but that's nothing new. Oh, and if there are
> any professional comic artists of whatever sort out there looking at this,
> I'd very much appreciate a comment of some sort.
First, I can suggest _Comics and Sequential Art_ by Will Eisner if your
friend is looking for something on the storytelling aspect of comic
art. Looking now at the other messages, I see Adam Schultz also
reccommended this book.
Next, in general, there are ways of dividing the art into categories. I
don't remember, but I have heard or read something along these lines.
The Old Style- what you saw by Jack Kirby, et al. Somewhat minimalist.
The newer styles- the McFarlane/Lee/Liefeld group Lots of busy artwork.
I don't have a lot of comics around here at the moment, but I
can comment on a few varying styles:
Liefeld: really skinny characters, he did that awful thin line
crosshatching that I hated. I'm biased against him.
Mark Texiera:(Ghost Rider, Sabertooth LS, Union LS)A very
scratchy heavy style, well suited to dark gritty stories.
Mike Mignola: A rather abstract style. He did tons of pinups
in X-Titles. I did not like his style personally.
Marc Silvestri: I fell in love with his art when he was on
Wolverine. It was better than his Cyberforce art, but the
coloring in Cyberforce was amazingly better than Marvel
Alan Davis: Both his work with Paul Neary and Mark Farmer were
close to perfection, but we all know that.
The Kuberts: Adam, Andy, and Joe, all have some similarities, but
each is also distinct. They have done well on the X-books
Greg Capullo: Another of my favorites, his Quasar is better than
what he has done on Spawn.
Whilce Portacio: His work on X-Factor started the "rough" Iceman
and redefined the wings of Archangel
Well, that was not quite what I wanted to say, but it just sortof flowed.
You can see different stylistic elements of any artist, just by close
examination of how they treat certain body parts(face, hands, feet, etc.)
It's good to just get a bunch of different artists' works and compare the
lines, flow, brushstrokes and shading. Also, look at combinations, one
penciller can look totally different with 2 different inkers. Certain
styles fit together better than others.
Andy Zupcsan