Knowledge and Inspiration

I don't necessarily have favorite artists in this field because the final product requires a lot of people's efforts and many artists' attention. I do have favorite comics because they use the same artists as you go through the series such as The Green Lantern: Blackest Night and Brightest Day. As well as Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter. Also The Invincible Ironman. I look at these various artists and writers for inspiration and there is a lot to learn from, just by opening up a comic book and reading it. The process is extensive, and I want to be skilled in the concept art of it and the sequence story art of it.

 

When interested in drawing comic art, usually people go for comics in panels. Now, the comic panels is considered to be a single frame in a multiple-panel sequence you find in stories in comic books or comic strips, or if the single panel contains the whole thing like in newspapers, then the panel is the story (or usually joke) itself, and is called a "single panel comic". When talking about panels in comic strips, these comic panels are distributed within the pages of the book, and will be the house for your drawing and storyline. People who are just beginning to make comic strips usually overlook the basic considerations that every comic book artist should be able to make. Fact is it's not all about the drawing. You should also consider comic paneling,comic  layout, and the storyline of course. The art of good comic paneling is one of the fundamental skills every comic book artist cannot live without.

First up, panel sizes depend on the importance of the scene you are trying to create. For example, the dramatic scene after a drastic action scene is given a big frame, while small scenes with a one-man thinking dialogue can get a smaller frame. Margins are also important when making comic panels, for one should be able to distinguish one frame from the other, and not look at it as one big frame, which would be confusing. Single lines are okay when you want to try to connect the two panels in some way, but you have to make sure that it is clear that those are two separate pieces. Usually, spaces are put in between panels to signify that they are different, but in sequence. Some people also are used to shading the next panel of the story so one can clearly distinguish that the panel is not one with the last, but is continuous. Comic layout is just as important as the storyline. It assures the smooth transition of panels without mixing up the readers mind. There are a few guidelines to these as well to ensure that the reader will definitely be reading on until the last page.

Todd McFarlane: Spawn The Justice League: Cry for Justice Mauro Cascioli and Scott Clark The Invincible Iron Man: Extremis: Adi Grandov When doing layout for comics, speech bubble placing is very important. First, you have to consider its size, and how much information or conversation you are willing to cram into that bubble. Big speech bubbles are unavoidable, but you have to make sure that they do not fill most of the panel wherein you are drawing, for even if the story line is important, you wouldn't want your comic to seem like a book. Don't make too large bubbles because it might get in the way of your drawing. A good idea would be to break up the bubbles into two separate panels, that way they wouldn't take too much space, and your characters (and readers) can breathe. People break up bubbles for a lot of reasons. Aside from breaking up really long conversation pieces, they also do it to signify a break, or a pause, in the character's "voice". For comics have no audio involved, the reader should feel that the characters can speak, and this involves them taking a breath. Therefore, people sometimes put bubbles in another part of the panel, to signify that the thought was said after the first. Be careful with this placing that it will not confuse the reader of the sequence of the conversation. Green Lantern: Blackest Night That brings us to another thing to address when it comes to comic book layout. I'm talking about the compositional flow and dialogue sequencing, which is placing the right bubbles at the right measure of space to indicate the flow of the conversation. Different kinds of comics require different sequencing, for example, I understand that anime comics are read differently from other kinds of comics, so it's a basic need to know what kind of comic you are making, and how readers actually read that comic. If you are an English reader, it is just natural to read from top left to bottom right, so it is essential to place the speech bubbles in a way that the reader gets the flow of the conversation easily, which would be top left to bottom right. Once they have established that, you should now be consistent all throughout the story, to avoid confusion and mix-ups. This is to ensure that the reader gets the gist of the comic even without dialogue, because the eyes are already drawn to the direction of the story flow. http://www.creativecomicart.com/comic-panels--layout.html

Green Lantern: The Blackest Night  Gather other supplies. This includes a flat table, sketchbook and a comfortable space where you can work without distractions. Determine the kinds of characters that you want to draw and check out Sunday comics or search for comics online for pictorial references. You do not have to copy the images-you can just get ideas from other comics and apply them to your own. Start sketching out your ideas into comic panels to form a comic strip.  Make sure that the images are proportion and consistent. If the way a character looks in your comic strip changes, you will have your readers confused. Be very careful on how the characters look to make them as consistent as possible. Experiment with the motion, gestures and movements of characters. Also experiment with the characters doing different things. Work out on their facial expressions to be able to show different emotions.

 Create a good layout. Make sure that the flow of the story is not confusing for readers. A good layout makes the readers understand the flow of the story without getting confused somewhere in the comic strip. A comic strip involves sequential drawing that should be able to relay the correct sequence of actions and emotions through your layout. If you are creating a funny comic strip, consider your timing on how to properly throw in the punch lines

Choose the right kind of pencil. One of the most important things to consider when starting with comic pencil sketching is the shade of your pencil. It is the most important tool in comic penciling, so you should be able to choose the best one for you. The ideal pencils to use are those that have a grade of B, 2B and 4B for darker shades. For wood-cased artist's pencils, the hardest has a grade of 9H while the softest is 9B. Beginners are advised to choose between HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 2H, or a combination of these shades.  Kinds of pencils include wood-cased artists' pencil, clutch pencils, mechanical pencils, progress pencils, carbon pencils, chalk pencils and pastel pencils.Comic sketchers use different kinds of pencils depending on what they are most comfortable with. Knowing what pencil to use is like knowing the right flavor that suits your taste.
Choose the right kind of pencil. One of the most important things to consider when starting with comic pencil sketching is the shade of your pencil. It is the most important tool in comic penciling, so you should be able to choose the best one for you. The ideal pencils to use are those that have a grade of B, 2B and 4B for darker shades. For wood-cased artist's pencils, the hardest has a grade of 9H while the softest is 9B. Beginners are advised to choose between HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 2H, or a combination of these shades.  Kinds of pencils include wood-cased artists' pencil, clutch pencils, mechanical pencils, progress pencils, carbon pencils, chalk pencils and pastel pencils.Comic sketchers use different kinds of pencils depending on what they are most comfortable with. Knowing what pencil to use is like knowing the right flavor that suits your taste.

 Pick the right type of paper. If you cannot seem to find the right shade for your comic pencil sketch, it must be the paper. Some types of paper are too thick or too hard that they do not allow you to apply the right amount of pressure for your drawings.
Some types of paper, on the other hand, are too thin. Start with the basic office paper and see if it works for you, or look for other kinds of paper that you may be more comfortable with. Visit an art store and choose the best sketch paper or Bristol pad for your outputs. Place a smooth cardboard or a couple of office paper sheets for a firmer and smoother surface.


Practice Makes Perfect.

 This may sound cliche acute, but practice indeed makes perfect. With a lot of practice, you will be able to hone your talent and create your own comic strips. If you are not yet confident about drawing cartoon characters, start by copying comic strips online or from Sunday comics. Once you get a feel of what you want to make, start making your own characters and practice drawing them.  It takes a great deal of talent to become a good comic artist. Drawing from your vision and creating unique and memorable characters takes a lot work and thinking. With practice, however, you will be able to create your own characters and apply them on paper.
If you are starting with a comic sketching career, take time to learn about the basics of architecture and anatomy. Be as creative as you can and do your best not to focus on one drawing style. Be flexible and try to create pieces that are very different from one another.
Show your versatility and learn how to create comic sketches for children and for adults. You should be able to know the difference between children's and adult's comics and how to apply them in your comic sketches. Ultimately, comic book sketching is not as easy as people think. It requires high volume of work, creativity, patience and talent.
If you are starting with a comic sketching career, take time to learn about the basics of architecture and anatomy. Be as creative as you can and do your best not to focus on one drawing style. Be flexible and try to create pieces that are very different from one another.
Show your versatility and learn how to create comic sketches for children and for adults. You should be able to know the difference between children's and adult's comics and how to apply them in your comic sketches. Ultimately, comic book sketching is not as easy as people think. It requires high volume of work, creativity, patience and talent. http://www.creativecomicart.com/pencil-sketch.html

  Inking Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdAQFnanku

Colorist

Job Description: Simply put, the colorists job is to apply color to a comic book. This is easier than it seems though. Typically, the job is broken up into two parts, flatting and coloring. In the flatting process, the basic areas of color are blocked out so the colorist knows what spaces to color what. In the coloring stage, the colorist applies not only the color, but adds lighting and shading to help give the three dimensional feel that comic books are known for. The colorist helps the comic book to become a finished piece of art, and is an artist in their own right, needing very different kinds of skills than the penciler and inker need.  Skills Needed:  Knowledge Of Color – The colorist needs to know how to use color. School training is helpful, but not necessary as many colorists learn as they go. You need to know what color looks like and how it changes under light and shadow.  Artistic Mindset – A colorist is an artist, no question about it. It requires patience, practice, and some level of artistic skill. Knowing the theory as well as how to use color to get what you want will only make you a better colorist. Speed – The colorist is one of the last in the assembly process. Because of this, if there is problems in earlier stages, the colorist may have less time to complete their work. They are often required to keep the comic on the deadline and will need to develop the speed and endurance to finish work quickly, but maintain quality. Technological Skills – Nowadays, comic books are having more and more of the process done on computers. Almost all coloring is done on computers using complicated software programs. This is going to require the colorist to be comfortable with computers and software programs. Not to mention that the colorist doesn’t actually physically touch the art, but does it all with a scanned piece of artwork. These kinds of skills with technology are becoming more and more necessary. Computer – Most coloring these days are done on a computer, and a Macintosh computer at that. That isn’t to say that a Windows machine can’t serve you for your coloring needs, but the industry standard is the Macintosh. Knowing how to use a Mac will only help you get further in your career

Software – Since most comic books are done digitally and you will need a computer, you will also need the software to do the actual work. The most common one used today isAdobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. These programs are very powerful in what they can do with color and texture to the page. They are a must have, but are very expensive. Some free versions have come out recently, such as GIMP and Paint.net, but aren’t exactly the same thing

Wacom Tablet – Although this is probably a “must have” for most colorists nowadays, toget started you don’t have to have one. A Wacom tablet is a tool that allows you draw with a penlike stylus where the strokes are captured on the screen. This makes it very much like doing actual painting and drawing

Website – Having a way to sell yourself is key in the business of freelance work. A website will allow you to easily show potential clients your work. It will also enable you to network and keep in touch with others.

http://comicbooks.about.com/od/colorists/a/colorist.htm