How good do you have to be at drawing before you start working on your first comic? What if you’re not talented enough? And how do you make the most of whatever talent you have? These are some of the questions I try to answer in this episode.
pro tips
Art Tutorial: Light and shadow on a face
Bland. That’s how I would describe this face. I obvouiusly drew it like that on purpose to make a point. But without really changing the expression of the character, I can easily make it more interesting to look at, by adding some dramatic shadows.
1: Downlit
The safest way to apply shadow, is under all the features of the face that extrude – The chin, the nose, the eyebrows (and in this case, the hair).
Effect: If applied lightly, like shown here, not much. But it DOES make the drawing quicker to read, as the main features stand out.
Pitfalls: Shading under eyes and chinbones can make characters look very old/bony.
2: Uplit
Oooh, spooky! Who hasn’t held a flashlight under their chin to look like this?
Effect: Dramatic, fearful, scary.
Pitfalls: That shadow on the upper lip could easily look like a moustache. Handle with care.
3: Backlit
Another great dramatic shading technique, allowing you to hide facial details = less to draw!
Effect: Makes the character look menacing and/or makes the reader uneasy, because the expression is unreadable.
Pitfalls: Too much black, and you can’t recognize the character. Too little, and it will look like a smear right down the middle of the face.
4: Sidelit
One of the most used ways of shading is the light from one side. It also helps reader navigation, like if you cut between two characters talking – one would be lit from the left, the other from the right.
Effect: I guess you could go Freudian, and imply split personality, but… In reality, it just looks cool.
Pitfalls: Too sharp lines between the light and dark side will make it look like the person put on half a cowl. Put some dark areas on the light side of the face and blend the lines: Problem solved.
5: Double-lit
Almost the same as above, only with a second light source, to make the face seem three-dimensional and add to the atmosphere.
Effect: Makes it look like you are the best artist in the world! Seriously!
Pitfalls: It’s tricky to tackle both light sources at once, so draw the primary shadow first and then apply the secondary light source in highlights after the fact. Here I added a little more dark to widen the distance between the light sources. It’s also a good idea to make one highlight sharp and the lines on the other more fuzzy.
Homework assignment: Print out a bunch of copies of the shadowless, bland face and test your newly achieved skills!
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The Monthly Grind – Comics for Beginners podcast episode 21
The rabbit is out of the hat! BOOM! Studios is releasing the first issue of creator-owned book Thomas Alsop in June 2014, an occult New York story, written by Chris Miskiewicz and drawn by yours truly. Bleeding Cool did a nice little write up here: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/03/12/are-you-missing-hellblazer-here-comes-thomas-alsop/. I’ve obviously known about this for a while, even recorded an interview with my friend and mentor Peter Snejbjerg (http://www.snejbjerg.com) on the topic of working on a monthly book. Listen for more details.
You can read a 12-page short featuring Thomas Alsop here: http://welcometotripcity.com/2013/05/thomas-alsop-the-case-of-dead-uncle/ and watch the live action promo at http://welcometotripcity.com/2013/05/thomas-alsop-the-hand-of-the-island-official-trailer/
ProFile: Kody Chamberlain
Kody Chamberlain spends most of his time creating comic books and graphic novels, but also works in film, animation, video games, and television. Credits include DC Comics, HarperCollins, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, LucasArts, Marvel Comics, MTV, MTV Comics, Mulholland Books, Sony Pictures, 12 Gauge Comics, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. In addition to his work in entertainment, Kody also an inspirational keynote speaker and consultant on the subject of creativity. Credits include CTN Animation Expo, HOW Design Live, INNOV8, Modbook, Macworld, iFest, Wizard World Comic Con, as well as AdFed groups and major universities throughout the United States.
You can find out more about Kody at his website: http://kodychamberlain.com.
His latest book SWEETS: A New Orleans Crime Story:
Print edition: http://tinyurl.com/amazonsweets
Digital edition: http://tinyurl.com/digitalsweets
What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?
As high school was wrapping up, I had no plan on what to do next. I was interested in a few different things but no real goals so I decided to go to college and figure it out along the way. I thought I might try engineering because I was doing very well in math so I signed up for an advanced math class that was part of the engineering program. I also signed up for a lot of the usual classes you have to take early in college including basic art classes. I was already doodling a bit here and there, so I thought the drawing classes would be fun.
I quickly realized that I hated the math class, and really enjoyed the drawing class. It was a dilemma because I was good at math and bad at drawing. I discovered graphic design somewhere along the way, thinking it might be a nice combination of the two and I picked it as my focus. After a few months in, I started hanging around with a few guys that were serious about comics and that’s what got me hooked.
I was also writing a bit, and thought it’d be fun to try getting into comics. I sucked for a lot of years but I was making slight improvements here and there, and slowly, things got better. I don’t recall ever having a big breakthrough where everything clicked and I made a big jump. I know that happens to artists sometimes, but for me it was a slow grind over many years. I was having a lot of fun and I knew if I kept pushing forward I’d eventually get to a professional level, so I stuck with it.
I started drawing around 1990 or 1991 and started sending out submissions around 1994. In 2002 and 2003 I started to get favorable replies from publishers and editors and I got my first paid work in 2004. Basically, it took me about 15 years of practice to get paid work.
What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?
The toughest part for me is letting go. I have to constantly remind myself to stop and move on to the next thing. I’ve talked with enough people to know that it’s a very common problem, and I think it’s one of the main reasons many aspiring creators never actually become professionals. I know plenty of people that have been talking about a project for years and claim to have something done on it, but I have yet to actually see anything from it. They’re stuck in the “loop” of reworking material and they never get out. I’m able to work past it, but I’m always a little grumpy when I have to let something go. In reality, if I were to keep reworking it I know I would kill it. Letting go is a daily struggle, but after an issue of a comic hits the shelf, I always feel good about the work. A little distance solves most problems.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?
Stop sending out scripts, drawing sample pages, and mailing out submissions. Make a comic. You don’t need a team or a publisher, just make it. Write it, create some artwork, letter it, and then put it out. Then do it again. Even if you don’t end up doing every job when you get into the industry, you’ll have a detailed understanding of the process, and that’s an asset. You don’t need permission from anyone to make a comic, and you don’t need much money. The cost of making comics versus film, animation, etc is incredibly low. Once you’ve made a comic you are now a comic book creator, not an aspiring comic creator. You’ll find the industry treats you differently.
Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts
The Comics for Beginners podcast is now available on iTunes! It took a while and almost broke my faith in humanity – or at least my faith in myself as a tech person. Feeds, channels and boards, OH MY!
Anyway, luckily I don’t have to understand the internet to be able to make use of it. And now the podcast can hopefully reach a wider audience. Want to help spread the word? Link to your favorite episode or go leave a review on iTunes – apparently that helps other find the podcast.
And in case you missed it, I’ve recently been interviewed for two other podcasts: Indie Comics Tracker interviewed me on the creative process and about this site in a great little 18-minute chat, and if you have more time, you can listen to me talk to the guys from Making Comics on episode 8 of the Gutter Talk podcast for almost an hour, on scripting, storytelling and the craft in general.
Enjoy! And have a great weekend.
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Video: Tools of the Trade
What are the “right” tools for making comics? Luckily there is no answer set in stone, you can use whatever tools you feel most comfortable with! In this video I demonstrate some of what I use – see if you can get some inspiration from that.