Posts Tagged: art

68: Wondercon Panel 2015 – MakingComics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

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The Making Comics Gutter Talk podcast goes live once again from the halls and walls that make up the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California as several of the Making Comics crew invades WonderCon 2015. Last year’s panel was so much fun we had to do it again, though this time there were no Godzilla facts. Sorry to disappoint you. But there were other facts we figure you will want to hear.

This year’s Gutter Talk WonderCon panel was led by Adam and focused on storytelling in comics. The topics ranged from story idea inspiration to editing a story halfway through to collaborating with an artist or storyteller. There were questions from Adam, including a pop quiz, and some fantastic questions from the audience, which the panelists handled like the professional artists they are. Speaking of the panelists….

Just like last year’s Making Comics panel, this year’s guests were top notch. The list included Rachel Beck from Storyforge Productions, Jason Brubaker, the creator of Sithrah and reMIND, Ted Washington, artist, writer, and founder of the small publication company Puna Press, and Making Comics Worldwide’s czar- uh, CEO, Patrick Yurick. The list of qualifications among them made them perfect people to discuss the art of storytelling in comics, especially, but other formats as well.

If you were unfortunately unable to make WonderCon this year, we have your back. We always do. Please enjoy this amazing conversation with some of our favorite artists.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:01 — 49.5MB) | Embed

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63: Ted Washington (3 Questions) – MakingComics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

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One of the main goals of the Three Questions format is to allow artists of every level to learn from their peers. It affords one artist a window into the mental and physical process of a fellow artist in order to possibly grow themselves. In doing so, you the listener also benefits. Through these podcasts we learn there is only one way to do things: The way that works best for you, whether it’s the process of others or one you created on your own.

In this particular episode, Gutter Talk alumni Ted Washington and Sam Wallace sit down for a three question conversation touching on topics such as being an artist and homeless to a process suggestion that may surprise you in a “Hey, I never thought of it that way” kinda way. Though if you know Ted, it makes perfect sense.

These are Ted’s three questions.

Question 1: What was the moment that made you say, “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Question 2: If you could choose one medium of art to work in for the rest of your life, what medium would that be?

Question 3: What do you believe is something everybody should do in their process that you believe most people don’t do?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:44 — 12.6MB) | Embed

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56: Lucy Bellwood – MakingComics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

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All aboard as the Gutter Talk podcast sets sail on a near two hour tour, a comic creating adventure. Join your captain and host, Adam, and his guest co-pilot, Lucy Bellwood, as they discuss everything from weird hometowns to successful Kickstarter projects to tools on her table.

Oh, and Lucy is a sailor so there are some choice drunken sailor-like words. If that makes you seasick and go overboard, don’t worry, we’ll throw you a life preserver. Or maybe we’ll just draw one around you. That sounds fun. Either way, you’ll be fine. Really.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:47:56 — 98.8MB) | Embed

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47: Gavin Aung Than (Zen Pencils) – MakingComics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

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Each week our Gutter Talk podcasts open with a quote. Usually they are tied to the podcast somehow but other times we often wonder if Adam needs a white jacket with long sleeves and shiny buckles. However, nothing compares to what Gavin Aung Than does with quotes on his Zen Pencils comic, often going from playful to masterful in one panel. Adam sits down one on one with Gavin to discuss the drive behind Zen Pencils, and how hard work and a little luck have taken him a long way.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:22 — 50.7MB) | Embed

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34: Josh Hood – MakingComics.com Gutter Talk Podcast

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It’s not often we get to use that 20/20 hindsight but sometimes, after hitting the reset button, that clear vision comes in very handy. In this episode, Adam sits down with Josh Hood, an amazing artist who has worked for both DC and Marvel, among others, who did just that, hit the reset button and came back with a fresh perspective. Take a listen and see what lessons he learned when he came back.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:35 — 57.3MB) | Embed

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Help My Weak Shadows

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Shadows have always been a weak spot of mine. I’ll be sitting there thinking, “Man…that’s definitely not enough shadow on his face,” and the next thing I know, my figure’s head has turned into a giant black blob of ink. It’s more than a little disheartening when you have to redraw entire frames because of something so seemingly simple, yet so damn tricky! To ensure that this stopped happening, I hopped on my pathetic excuse for a computer and surfed through the net, looking for some awesome shading tutorials.

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So You Wanna Publish A Webcomic? – Part 1

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The internet has transformed independent comics and given creators an easy way to get their stories out to the public. There are a lot of different ways to publish your work online, but two of the most popular are WordPress and WordPress running ComicPress. (more…)

Hand Lettering A Digital Comic, Part 3

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Once you have your lines of text set out, it’s time to launch into the final stage of lettering a page: composing your text on the page, and this is where I think hand-lettering shows a great advantage over font or mechanical lettering: flexibility.

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The Tools

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Be they traditional or digital, your tools are an extension of yourself. They are the vehicle that communicates story, expresses feelings or ideas, and connects you to the humanity at the core of us all. I’m not going to tell you what tools are the better than others, or whether I think you should focus your efforts on digital over print. I’m not opinionated enough for that kind of talk. I am, however, very passionate about comics. I will therefore discuss my thoughts on tools, with the understanding that these are choices that were formed based on personal experience.

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Standard Proportions Of The Human Body

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Read the article, then download the worksheet! It will help to reinforce this information.

Proportion Practice: Read the article, then download the worksheet!

Figure drawing is a challenging pursuit. To be competent at drawing the body you have to seamlessly integrate knowledge of gesture, weight, anatomy, and perspective. It’s challenging… but it’s also rewarding. You can’t escape learning the principles of figure drawing unless you’re making a comic about an inanimate object, so in the end, difficulty is somewhat of a moot point. You will learn to draw the human form (if you haven’t already) so you might as well discover how to love it now. Take heart! We here at Making Comics will be here to help every step of the way. The first step is learning to see the body in terms of basic shapes, and how those shapes relate to one another in terms of relative size (also called proportion).

This is not a guide about how to draw the figure. This is a guide about how to see the figure. In future articles we will be addressing the actual process of drawing the figure in detail. (more…)