NUMBER 1
PREMIERE ISSUE!
SPRING 2001
THE PROFESSIONAL “HOW-TO” MAGAZINE ON COMICS & CARTOONING
INTERVIEWS AND STEP-BY-STEP DEMOS BY SOME OF TODAY’S TOP PROS IN CARTOONING, COMICS AND ANIMATION
595
$
IN THE U.S.A.
Number 2, May-June 2001 • Hype and hullabaloo from the publisher determined to bring new life to comics fandom • Edited by Eric Nolen-Weathington
TwoMorrows. Bringing More Women Into Comics. Well, ONE more woman, anyway! As announced last issue, publishers JOHN & PAM MORROW are expecting their first child in September 2001, and if the Ultrasound technicians are to be believed, it’ll be a little girl! Names are already being batted around. (JOHN thinks “Jacquelyn Kirby Morrow” has a nice ring to it; Comics Savant TOM STEWART offered up “Vinnie Colletta Morrow” if it ends up being a boy. PAM has other ideas.) Meanwhile, John’s other new arrival, The Jack Kirby Collector #31 (our first tabloid-size issue) is getting rave reviews, and #32 (spotlighting Kirby’s least known work, plus an update to the Kirby Checklist) is in the works for June release. (And special thanks to ERIC NOLENWEATHINGTON, our new full-time production assistant, for keeping things together at the Raleigh, North Carolina headquarters while the two Morrows are otherwise distracted with all things Baby.)
3 Eisners & A Surprise! TwoMorrows was delighted to receive THREE Eisner Award nominations this year; TWO for STREETWISE (“Best Anthology” and “Best Short Story” for Sergio Aragonés’ delightful “Gorilla Suit”), plus one for the CBA COLLECTION, VOL. ONE (“Best Comics-Related Book”). Both books are still available directly from us, so if you missed either one, check ’em out! Inexplicably, the judges this year decided to eliminate the category for “Best Comics-Related Periodical” (the one the COMIC BOOK ARTIST won last year). We’re not sure why; maybe with so many TwoMorrows mags, plus COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE, COMICS JOURNAL, and so many other great mags up for the honor, they just couldn’t limit the field enough?!
Fawcett Companion Update!
Now We Do Comics, Too! This July brings the release of TwoMorrows’ first comic BOOK, PRIME8: CREATION #1. Prime8 was created by the Eisner award-winning editor of COMIC BOOK ARTIST, Jon B. Cooke! It features 64 pages of story by writing team of Jon B. & Andrew D. Cooke, penciler Chris Knowles, & inker George Freeman! With a NEW wraparound color cover by NEAL ADAMS, and NEW Prime8 pin-ups by SERGIO ARAGONÉS, WALTER SIMONSON, BARRY WINDSORSMITH, and BRUCE TIMM, we’re “primed” and ready to take the comics world by storm! And you thought we were going to make some lame gorilla pun. Shame on you.
PROS & CONS! MIKE MANLEY and BRIAN SANER LAMKEN will be sharing a table at the 5th annual ACME show in Newark, Delaware on Sunday, May 6th from 11 AM to 4 PM. You can get directions by calling Captain Blue Hen’s Comics & Cards at (302) 737-3434. The whole TwoMorrows crew including ROY THOMAS will be in attendance at HEROES CON in Charlotte, NC (June 8-10) and COMICON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO (July 19-22), and maybe, just maybe at WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO (August 17-19) if things work out. Come see us and buy stuff! (Please? -snif-)
John Morrow, publisher, KIRBY COLLECTOR editor (and the one to go to with subscription problems): twomorrow@aol.com Jon B. Cooke, COMIC BOOK ARTIST editor: jonbcooke@aol.com Roy Thomas, ALTER EGO editor: roydann@oburg.net Brian Saner Lamken, COMICOLOGY editor: comicology@aol.com And the TWOMORROWS WEB SITE (where you can read excerpts from our back issues, and order from our secure online store) is at: www.twomorrows.com
Last issue we told you about this Best of FCA trade paperback. Now we can tell you it’ll be shipping in August and can be ordered from Previews or directly from TwoMorrows ($20 PP US). Featuring: A new painted cover by JERRY ORDWAY! An index of all Fawcett comics published from 1940-1953! Interviews and features on C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, OTTO BINDER, & others! Rare and previously unpublished artwork by BECK, SWAYZE, KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, MAC RABOY, ALEX TOTH, GEORGE EVANS, ALEX ROSS, & more, and a foreword by SWAYZE! If you love the FCA stuff in ALTER EGO, this is a must-have!
You might think so, with all the “Creepy” and “Eerie” books we’ve got coming out! June sees not only the release of the massive 288page WARREN COMPANION, but also a new collection of MICHAEL T. GILBERT’s MR. MONSTER! The Warren Companion features an exhaustive checklist, a complete redesign of the sold-out Comic Book Artist #4, and nearly 200 pages of new interviews, articles, & more! It is available in softcover ($35 PP US) and a limited edition hardcover ($57 PP US) signed by JIM WARREN himself! MR. MONSTER: HIS BOOKS OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, VOL. ZERO ($20 PP US), includes 12 hard-to-find tales as well as over 30 pages of BRANDSPANKIN’ NEW art and stories! The horror, the horror! Check out the horror! COPYRIGHT NOTICES: 2001 Baby ©2001 Marvel Characters, Inc. Mr. Monster ©2001 Michael T. Gilbert. Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie ©2001 Warren Publishing. Captain Marvel, Bulletman, Bulletgirl, Mary Marvel, Capt. Marvel Jr., Spy Smasher, Isis, Ibis ©2001 DC Comics. Samurai Jack ©2001 Cartoon Network. Prime8 and all related characters ©2001 Jon B. Cooke.
To get periodic e-mail updates of what’s new from TwoMorrows Publishing, sign up for our mailing list! Go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/twomorrows
Miracles Happen In August!
Coming in July, DRAW! #2 is filled with more great interviews and How-To demonstrations from some of comics’ and animation’s top pros! There’s a new cover by and interview with GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY, the man behind DEXTER’S LABORATORY and the upcoming SAMURAI JACK! Inking tips and tricks with KLAUS JANSON! Plus PHIL HESTER, BRET BLEVINS, STEVE CONLEY, reviews, links, & more! It’s edited by MIKE MANLEY, is 88 pages, and includes a COLOR section!
Coming in August is the newest addition to our growing list of Companion books, KIMOTA! THE MIRACLEMAN COMPANION! Before Watchmen, before Dark Knight, there was ALAN MOORE’s Miracleman, the first of the grim, ultra-realistic strips that would change super-hero comics forever. GEORGE KHOURY has uncovered all the behind-the-scenes secrets of the strip, from the character’s start as the British Marvelman, to the legal and creative hurdles during its 24-issue run at Eclipse Comics, and why you never saw the final NEIL GAIMAN-scripted issue! This 128page trade paperback is chock-full of unpublished art, uninked pencils, & sketches by JOHN TOTLEBEN, BARRY WINDSORSMITH, MARK BUCKINGHAM, JIM LEE, & more! Not to mention in-depth interviews with MOORE, GAIMAN, TOTLEBEN, BUCKINGHAM, RICK VEITCH, & more! It sports a snazzy, new BUCKINGHAM cover as well as an introduction and back cover by ALEX ROSS! And if that’s not enough, it also includes a NEVER-PUBLISHED 8-page MOORE/TOTLEBEN story, “Lux Brevis,” and an unused MOORE script! Look for it in Previews or order it directly from TwoMorrows for $17 postpaid in the US. A percentage of profits go to Miracleman artist John Totleben, who is battling the eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa, so order it already! Miracleman is a shared TM of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. and Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham. Art ©Barry Windsor-Smith.
If you need to contact the TwoMorrows editors (or want to send a letter of comment), try e-mail!
We’d like to give a quick shout-out to Barbara Knutson, wife of TwoMorrows transcriber extraordinaire, Jon Knutson. GET WELL SOON, BARBARA!
Halloween In June?
THE PROFESSIONAL ”HOW-TO” MAGAZINE ON COMICS & CARTOONING SPRING 2001 • VOL. 1, NO. 1
Editor & Designer • Michael Manley
Publisher • John Morrow
Logo Design • John Costanza
Front & Back Cover Illustrations • Bret Blevins Proofreaders • John Morrow & Eric Nolen-Weathington
FEATURES COMPUTERS – TIPS AND TRICKS LAYOUT AND DRAWING USING THE COMPUTER, BY DAVE GIBBONS . . . . . . . . . . .3 PENCILING – FIGURE DRAWING HOW TO DRAW LOVELY WOMEN PART 1, BY BRET BLEVINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 INKING – TECHNIQUES AN INTERVIEW AND INKING DEMONSTRATION, WITH RICARDO VILLAGRAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 COLOR SECTION PAINTING FROM LIFE, BY BRET BLEVINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 MULTIMEDIA THE INS AND OUTS OF PRODUCING A WEB CARTOON, BY CHANNEL 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT AN INTERVIEW WITH JERRY ORDWAY ON HIS WORKING METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 SELF-PUBLISHING/SMALL PRESS THE BOD • INTERVIEWS WITH CREATORS YOUNG AND HEEBINK . . . . . . . . . . .84 CLASSIC CARTOONIST SHOWCASE AN APPRECIATION OF OWEN FITZGERALD, BY SHANE GLINES . . . . . . . . . . .96
BONUS FULL-COLOR SECTION! Featuring life drawings by Bret Blevins, page 45 ADVERTISE IN DRAW! For rates, call John Morrow at (919) 833-8092 or E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com DRAW! Spring 2001, Vol. 1, No. 1 was produced by Action Planet Inc. and published by TwoMorrows Publishing. Michael Manley, Editor, John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Address is PO Box 2129, Upper Darby, PA 19082. Subscription Address: TwoMorrows Publishing, 1812 Park Dr., Raleigh, NC 27605. DRAW! and its logo are trademarks of Action Planet Inc. All contributions herein are copyright 2001 by their respective contributors. Action Planet Inc. and TwoMorrows Publishing accept no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. All artwork herein is copyright the year of production, its creator (if work-for-hire, the entity which contracted said artwork); the characters featured in said artwork are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners; and said artwork or other trademarked material is printed in these pages with the consent of the copyright holder and/or for journalistic, educational and historical purposes with no infringement intended or implied. Batman, Superman, Shazam, Atari Force, Liz, Here’s Howie, The Adventures of Bob Hope are TM and © 2001 DC COMICS • John Carter Vs. Tarzan © 2001 Dark Horse Comics • Tarzan, Deja Thoris, John Carter are registered trademarks of the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate • The Avengers, Avengers: Dominion Factor, The Fantastic Four, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, the Human Torch, the Black Knight, Wonderman, The Scarlet Witch, Hela, Invisible Woman, The Wrecking Crew, The Vision, Hellcat, Iron Man, Loki, The Sorceress, Captain America, Thor, Boom Boom are TM and © 2001 Marvel Characters, Inc. • Deadbeats is TM and © 2001 Claypool Comics, Boffin Books and Richard Howell • Prince Valiant TM and © 2001 King Features Syndicate • Swing Town is TM and © 2001 WildBrain • The Bod is TM and © 2001 Larry Young and John Heebink • Conan the Barbarian is a registered trademark of the Robert E. Howard estate • Starlet O’Hara, Moronica © ACG Comics. This entire issue is © 2001 Action Planet Inc. and TwoMorrows Publishing and may not be reprinted or retransmitted without written permission of the copyright holders. FIRST PRINTING 2001. Printed in Canada.
FROM THE EDITOR
OFF THE BOARD Well, the premiere issue of DRAW! is finally here. It’s maybe a little later and a little bigger than we first thought, but then no one is ever really sure what their baby will look like before it’s born into the world. And the TwoMorrows publishing family is a great one to be born into. DRAW! is the little brother looking up to our older siblings The Jack Kirby Collector, Comic Book Artist, Comicology, and Alter Ego. We have a lot of growing to do to catch up. There are many people I’d like to thank for helping me bring DRAW! to life, and more importantly to you the reader, eternal student, fellow professional, or aspiring one. The first person I have to thank is John Morrow, whose enthusiasm for the idea from our first phone call about the magazine that became DRAW!, as well as his professionalism, patience and gentlemanly manner has made achieving this goal possible. I’d also like to thank all the incredibly talented and generous artists, whose contributions to DRAW! made our first issue possible, and whose considerable time, energy, knowledge, and love of this medium is amply displayed within its pages. Big thanks go out to John Costanza for our logo, Dave Gibbons, Jerry Ordway, Ricardo Villagran, Larry Young, John Heebink, Richard Howell, Kieron Dwyer, Rick Remender, John Estes, Shane Glines, the secret cabal (you guys know who you are), and especially my best pal for nearly 20 years, Bret Blevins. Bret not only drew both the front and back covers of this first issue, but has been supportive, creative, and enthusiastic about my idea to create a professional “how -to” manual over the last several years, as I talked about and nurtured the idea for what eventually became DRAW!—to which his long distance phone bills will no doubt attest. The idea, the impetus for this magazine was begun some 25+ years ago, when I was an aspiring cartoonist, comic book artist, illustrator, seeking anything, any scrap of knowledge to lift the veil on the “secrets of drawing.” I combed the used book stores, fan magazines, and art/animation magazines to get any and all information I could on how to draw better; the kind of brief hands-on knowledge I’d get if I waited in the long lines at a convention to have the pro across the table give me a critique. I’d try and absorb every little bit of knowledge like a flower in the desert does water. Grateful, even when I was told “You’re not ready yet,” I’d rush home and write down what I’d been told; even going so far as writing the notes down on tape and sticking them up around my drawing board. Then came How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, given to me by my Grandma one Christmas. But I was frustrated at its lack of depth, though I loved all of the great Buscema drawings. I was frustrated because I knew there were more than three steps to drawing a figure or a page. The whole time I kept thinking, “If only there was a book that showed you how to do it.” There have been courses in the past like the “Famous Artists Course” which was advertised on the back of comics for years, but I had never seen a set, and if you find those volumes now via used book sellers or E-bay, you’ll pay collector’s prices. So as I broke
2 DRAW! • SPRING 2001
One of the dozens and dozens of funny and insulting drawings artist Bret Blevins often assails his pal—and your editor—with via fax; usually after a phone message or long conversation.
into the business, learned and improved as an artist, ever the student, I kept thinking that there still needed to be a Trade or “how-to” magazine for comics. Each artist I met had some skill or knowledge I didn’t. It would be great if all this knowledge could be put into one place: A magazine or book. After all, there are zillions of them on everything from raising pot-bellied pigs to building your own earth home. Why not one for comics and cartooning? In several conversations last year, this idea for a “how-to” book or magazine was brought up again, and as they say, “the time was right.” A friend put me in touch with John Morrow, who really liked the idea straight-off, and so the idea which became DRAW! finally had a home and a format. My goals for DRAW! are simple: To show you, the reader, in clear step-by-step fashion, the various skills and techniques employed by the artists in as in-depth a manner as possible—sharing the collective knowledge each artist from the vast fields of comics and animation has stored away in their repertoire. Each issue will be crammed with as many “how-to” demonstrations from artists across the broad and related fields of comics, cartooning, and animation as I can fit in between its covers. It’s also a celebration of the craft and craftsmen and craftswomen of those unique American art forms: Comics and Animation! Please drop me a letter or note and let me know what you think of DRAW!, and what you’d like to see covered in upcoming issues, and in our letter column in issue #2, which will be out in July.
Mike Manley, editor You can reach me via E-mail: mike@actionplanet.com from my web site: www.actionplanet.com or snail mail at: PO Box 2129, Upper Darby, PA 19082
COMPUTERS
TIPS AND TRICKS
LAYOUT AND DRAWING USING THE COMPUTER A CASE HISTORY by Dave Gibbons ne of the freshest approaches to Batman in recent years was the Batman: Black & White series, later collected in a single volume, edited by Mark Chiarello and published by DC Comics. When DC revived the concept as an occasional backup feature in the Batman: Gotham Knights monthly, I leapt at Mark’s invitation to contribute a story.
O
Rather than something grim and moody, I had the notion of doing a light-hearted piece that hopefully embodied a little of the feel that Dick Sprang, Alex Toth and Bruce Timm had brought to the character in some of my favorite Batman stories. A number of techniques, from the high contrast to the delicately etched, had already been used in the Black & White stories; I
thought that a clean, graphic look using a limited number of flat tones would look novel in context and would be perfect for the feel of the story. I also decided to dispense with panel rules, giving the art an open flavor, reminiscent of the old Dell comics. It immediately struck me that such a style of artwork could be produced very effectively using my computer. It’s a Macintosh PowerPC 8500, a little outdated now, but with a faster G3 processor installed and 208mb of RAM. I used a Wacom pressure-sensitive graphics tablet and Adobe Photoshop 5 and Illustrator 8 software to do the digital work. But, to begin at the beginning, first I needed a story... As I mused over the idea of a black&-white story, I suddenly came up with an appropriate “black-&-white” connection that gave me the foundation for the whole piece. (It’s the final panel of the printed story, so you’ll have to seek out Batman: Gotham Knights #12 if you’re curious!) Pretty soon, I came up with a whole lot more familiar objects that were typically black-&-white. From there, I had to come up with a reason for a bad guy to be interested in stealing black-&-white objects; once I’d established that, I moreor-less had my eight-page story. Once it all made sense to me, I wrote an outline and e-mailed it off to editor Chiarello. The outline ran about three pages in length and pretty much told everything in the story. I’d write proportionately much less for a longer story, but this eight-pager was a very tightly packed piece of storytelling. I wrote the text using Microsoft Word, which I’ve set up to use macros to change with a keystroke from the formatting used for, say, picture description to that used for character dialogue. Recently, I’ve been using Final Draft, primarily a screenwriting application, but more intuitive than Word for comics writing, too.
DRAW! • SPRING 2001 3
COMPUTERS
TIPS AND TRICKS
This is the finished title page. The final print file was assembled in a page layout application, such as Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign.
12 DRAW! • SPRING 2001
PENCILING
FIGURE DRAWING
How to Draw Lovely Women Part One by Bret Blevins
I
love to draw women—the graceful female figure has been my favorite subject for as long as I can remember. I’m
fascinated by every feature of a woman’s amazing body, from the crest of her forehead to the curve of each toe. I’m here to share my enthusiasm with you. Although you’ll see images drawn from live models in some of the demonstrations, there isn’t much information about drawing real women in these pages. This article is about creating symbolic visual icons of idealized women. Understanding the difference between a realistic drawing of an actual woman and a cartoon caricature of an imagined one is the heart of this whole matter. (Most of the ladies I draw for publication resemble living women about as much as Mickey Mouse resembles a living animal.) Learning to clearly see the characteristics that convey an impression of sensuous feminine grace is the first step. Then you must translate these observations into the language of drawing—lines and shapes. As any serious artist knows, the two short sentences above describe a process that can occupy a long lifetime—learning to make eloquent drawings of any subject is an ordeal, demanding your best effort over many years. The rewards are worth the trouble, though—so let’s get started!
DRAW! • SPRING 2001 13
PENCILING
FIGURE DRAWING
his first article concentrates on establishing the basic structure of a successful figure—it’s a big subject, and it’s the prime subject. No amount of rendering, anatomical detail, dramatic lighting, or other kind of surface effect can overcome a bad beginning. A poor understructure betrays any attempt to hide it.
T
(I know inferior work is often applauded, but that’s no reason to lower your aims and accept the standards of someone else—the confusing truth is that acceptance is no measure of worth. If you plan to remain passionate about drawing for the rest of your life, take pains to admire what is good.) A convincing caricature of any subject requires an artist to understand the workings of the real thing—this understanding empowers you to extract the defining essence and control it. For our purposes, that means close study of the way real women actually move. The foundation of any graceful figure drawing is rhythm, so let’s talk about recognizing it in nature. All natural rhythm seen in living figures is created by the body’s interplay with gravity—in order to control its movements the body must always be in balance. Even in dance or gymnastic movements, leaps into space are within the sequence of a large rhythmic pattern. If balance is lost the result is a fall or collision. Careful study of people in movement, so happily accessible in today’s world of recorded video, is a must for sharpening your observation. Watching slow motion sequences of dancers, or the actions of anyone with natural grace is a resource you can’t afford to ignore. Study of external movements will sharpen your understanding of our core subject, intrinsic rhythm— the shape relationships within a graceful human body.
14 DRAW! • SPRING 2001
As your ability to see rhythm grows more acute, you’ll begin to notice that certain women never seem to arrange themselves in an awkward position. The gestures of their hands never appear to be aimless— they never look uncomfortable, whether sitting, standing, walking, running, reclining—eating, reading, watching, talking—even sleeping. These are the women to analyze for your picturemaking!
I should note the following material assumes a basic knowledge of human anatomy and proportion. For deeper study of this groundwork, I recommend: An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists by Fritz Schider (Dover Publications) and Atlas Of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Steven Peck (Oxford University Press) Both are excellent and in print.
FIGURE DRAWING
PENCILING
The basic skeletal framework shown here reflects my own personal taste in proportion and degree of fluidity— each artist will eventually find his own “armature”—but the large relationships of interlocking curves is universal, and will help create a pleasing feminine rhythm in any figure. (I’ve included a male armature for comparison—note how the female differs in proportion and line direction throughout the entire body.)
Study these drawings closely and you’ll find this basic pattern;
Practice blocking in your gesture with a soft lead (6B) pencil sharpened to a long tapering point, held sideways;
DRAW! • SPRING 2001 15
If you’re viewing a digital version of this publication, PLEASE read this plea from the publisher! his is COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, which is NOT INTENDED FOR FREE T DOWNLOADING ANYWHERE. If you’re a print subscriber, or you paid the modest fee we charge to download it at our website, you have our sincere thanks—your support allows us to keep producing publications like this one. If instead you downloaded it for free from some other website or torrent, please know that it was absolutely 100% DONE WITHOUT OUR CONSENT, and it was an ILLEGAL POSTING OF OUR COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. If that’s the case, here’s what you should do: 1) Go ahead and READ THIS DIGITAL ISSUE, and see what you think. 2) If you enjoy it enough to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and purchase a legal download of it from our website, or purchase the print edition at our website (which entitles you to the Digital Edition for free) or at your local comic book shop. We’d love to have you as a regular paid reader. 3) Otherwise, DELETE IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT ANYWHERE. 4) Finally, DON’T KEEP DOWNLOADING OUR MATERIAL ILLEGALLY, for free. We offer one complete issue of all our magazines for free downloading at our website, which should be sufficient for you to decide if you want to purchase others. If you enjoy our publications enough to keep downloading them, support our company by paying for the material we produce. We’re not some giant corporation with deep pockets, and can absorb these losses. We’re a small company—literally a “mom and pop” shop—with dozens of hard-working freelance creators, slaving away day and night and on weekends, to make a pretty minimal amount of income for all this work. We love what we do, but our editors, authors, and your local comic shop owner, rely on income from this publication to stay in business. Please don’t rob us of the small amount of compensation we receive. Doing so will ensure there won’t be any future products like this to download. TwoMorrows publications should only be downloaded at
www.twomorrows.com
COMING IN AUGUST FROM TWOMORROWS:
• New painted cover by JERRY ORDWAY! • Index of ALL FAWCETT COMICS PUBLISHED from 1940-1953! • Behind-the-scenes looks INSIDE THE FAWCETT OFFICES, showing how their comics were created in the Golden Age! • Interviews and features on C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, OTTO BINDER, PETE COSTANZA, ROSCOE FAWCETT, AL ALLARD, WILL LIEBERSON, ROD REED, GINNY PROVISIERO, cast members of the Captain Marvel serial and Shazam! TV show, and others! • Commentary and essays by onetime FCA editor C.C. BECK! • Rare and previously unpublished artwork by BECK, SWAYZE, SCHAFFENBERGER, MAC RABOY, DAVE BERG, ALEX TOTH, BOB OKSNER, GEORGE EVANS, A.J. HANLEY, ALEX ROSS, a Foreword by SWAYZE, and more! (160-page Trade Paperback, ships in August) • $20 Postpaid (Canada: $22, Elsewhere: $23 Surface, $27 Airmail)
All characters TM & © DC Comics.
Editor P.C. Hamerlinck has been delighting fans with his new FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA (FCA) sections in ALTER EGO, and this volume presents the best of the first 59 issues of the FCA newsletter (founded in 1973)! It covers the history of FAWCETT COMICS and their unique cast of characters, including CAPTAIN MARVEL and the MARVEL FAMILY, SPY SMASHER, IBIS THE INVINCIBLE, BULLETMAN & BULLETGIRL, PHANTOM EAGLE, MINUTEMAN, and more!
Mr. Mind TM & © DC Comics.
Marvel Family TM & © DC Comics.
FAWCETT COMPANION: THE BEST OF FCA!
TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom. TwoMorrows • 1812 Park Drive • Raleigh, NC 27605 USA • 919-833-8092 • FAX: 919-833-8023 • e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com
INKING
STIPPLE AND SCRATCHBOARD TECHNIQUE
A BRUSH WITH GREATNESS AN INTERVIEW AND DEMONSTRATION WITH THE ARGENTINE MASTER OF THE BRUSH, RICARDO VILLAGRAN
DRAW! • SPRING 2001 31
INKING
STIPPLE AND SCRATCHBOARD TECHNIQUE
STEP 1
STEP 2
NON ORGANIC INKING
STEP 1: The head is inked in outline only. STEP 2: The blacks and amount of contrast is established. Adding more black, means higher contrast to the face. Villagran says a good balance he aims for is 30% black, unless it’s a special effect or high contrast scene, like a night scene.
ORGANIC INKING
TOOLS - TECHNIQUE
BRUSH and INK
Villagran uses a No. 3 Winsor-Newton sable brush. He prefers Black Magic, in the old formula for his ink, but uses whatever he can find now. NON-ORGANIC INKING: This is best used for inking cold or inanimate things like cars, machinery etc. Villagran feels inking with this evenness tends to make the figures look cold or stiff if he stipples them this way. ORGANIC INKING: Keeping the dots more random in application; this warms up the drawing, giving it a less mechanical feel.
RICARDO VILLAGRAN: After I make the pencil sketch, I start to ink right away. I never finish the pencils very tightly. DRAW!: Yes, I notice when you are drawing something to ink yourself, you tend to draw very loose.
RV: Yes, I only finish the work very well when inking. I guess it comes from studying the work of artists like Raymond and Caniff as a kid; trying to understand how they did their work. I know many artists who I feel lose a lot of time penciling things 3 and 4 times. It’s my way of working. It’s the most direct way for me to work.
RV: Yes, I never finish the pencils very well, because I always finish the drawing with ink.
DRAW!: So you don’t like to work by doing layouts and blowing them up, or transferring them somehow?
DRAW!: And why is that? Why is it you work that way?
RV: No, I like to work directly. The more directly I work, the better for me.
RV: I never finish the pencils very tightly because I feel like I’m doing the same work two times. I want to keep the work fresh.
DRAW!: So you try to go directly from your head to the paper, no in-between steps?
DRAW!: Spontaneous?
RV: Exactly.
32 DRAW! • SPRING 2001
INKING DRAW!: So let’s say there is something in the drawing, an area that is going to require extra finish, extra care or detail; do you ever pencil that tighter? Or do you keep that loose as well? RV: No, no, in general I still pencil the same. But sometimes if there is a gun or something like that, tanks or other specific reference, I will do a little more detail. Then I finish the drawing a little more. But in the case of the human body, I never finish the pencils very tightly. I will erase the pencils if something is wrong. DRAW!: Now if you are inking someone else, say someone like Richard Howell on Deadbeats, or Garcia Lopéz, how does that effect the way you approach inking because the drawing is much more finished? RV: Okay, in this case what I am trying to do, in a way, is
STIPPLE AND SCRATCHBOARD TECHNIQUE to introduce my style. And my style is something very detailed. Sometimes I follow exactly what I see, but sometimes I change things. It depends on the artist and the job. DRAW!: So when you are inking a job for Marvel, DC, Claypool or whomever, you are saying what you try to do is introduce the way you work on top of the artist, the penciler? Make a marriage of the two styles? RV: Exactly. What I try to do is something in-between the style of the penciler. I try to finish in my style because I often create the shadows and the lighting, because in many cases the penciler doesn’t exactly indicate where the light is coming from. I don’t always get their point of view. Sometimes I must create some shadows, some lighting effects. Often this is up to me. But sometimes the pencils are very well finished, so I try and follow what the penciler did. In this situation I try and find a balance between the
STEP 1: Villagran loosely pencils out the illustration. At this stage if he doesn’t like what he sees, he erases it and starts again. He works very directly and loosely with a B or 2B pencil. STEP 2: Satisfied with the drawing, next Villagran begins inking the figures, first by inking what he calls the “contention line,” the external contour lines of the figures which separates the figure (active) from the background (static.)
STEP 1
STEP 2 “Contention Line”
“Contention Line”
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INKING
STIPPLE AND SCRATCHBOARD TECHNIQUE DRAW!: Yes. Tom Lovell, Austin Briggs, Noel Sickels, so many great illustrators did work for them. I bought several at a library sale and clipped out the art. RV: Yes, I’d buy that because they had many, many good artists in there. And I’d also buy a magazine called Beyond 2000, because they had so many good artists in there as well. And I’d copy the drawings, or not necessarily the exact drawings, but the artist’s style. I’d try and do a different drawing in the same style. DRAW!: So you would use them as practice? RV: Yes. Of course I’d try and try and never get it exactly. But I kept going, and that’s how I taught myself, through constant practice, over and over again. One artist can learn from another.
ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in the small northern city of Correntes, Argentina in 1938, Ricardo, a natural artist and oldest of three brothers and one sister, was already drawing by the early age of four. After finishing high school, he entered into the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aries. While still in school, Ricardo started accepting freelance work for various advertising companies, printers and comic publishers. He continued to take freelance assignments during his compulsory service in the Argentine Army. After receiving his discharge from the military and returning to civilian life, Ricardo quickly put his full effort back into working as an illustrator. His list of clients grew to include most of the big advertising agencies and printing houses in Argentina. He quickly established himself as one of the top illustrators. In constant demand for his draftsmanship and speed, Ricardo spent several years accepting top commissions. In 1969, Ricardo returned to the field of comics. He worked for Editorial Columba (Buenos Aries, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Caracas, Asuncion, Montevideo, Santiago), Codex Ediciones, Guisa (Spain), Eura (Rome), and Fleetway (London). He illustrated numerous covers and stories covering every subject from barbarians, romance, and westerns to science fiction. In 1970 Ricardo was elected the Vice President of the “Association de Dibujantes” and was co-creator of the “Association de Illustradores” in Argentina. The ever-increasing demand for Ricardo’s work led him in 1974 to open his own studio, Nippur Quatro, with his two brothers Enrique and Carlos. At one time the studio grew to employ 20 artists and assistants, producing work for comic publishers in Argentina and Europe. Many of the famous and poplar artists of the time and of today passed through its doors. Many young, upand-coming artists received the knowledge and experience to go on to successful careers of their own, working under Ricardo’s tutelage and easy manner. In 1982, Ricardo came to the United States and established contacts in comics. He started working from Argentina for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and many others. He has attended and shown his work in many conventions in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Diego, and Detroit. Ricardo’s first love has always been painting. He has had several exhibitions of his work including Museo del Prado (Madrid), Municipal De Exhibiciones (Buenos Aries), Museo de Armas, Secretaria de Turismo, and many others. Ricardo now splits his time between Philadelphia and Buenos Aries. He continues to accept illustration and comics assignments, but is now concentrating more on painting. He’s currently preparing several pictures for future exhibitions. You can see more of Ricardo’s art online at: www.actionplanet.com/creators/ricardo.html
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PAINTING FROM LIFE A PORTFOLIO OF WATERCOLOR AND MIXED MEDIA PAINTINGS DONE FROM THE LIVE MODEL by Bret Blevins
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A HISTORY OF HORROR! WARREN PUBLICATIONS took the comics world by storm in 1965 by releasing CREEPY #1 before a stunned, delighted—and terrified—audience! Warren went on to publish EERIE, VAMPIRELLA, BLAZING COMBAT, and many other periodicals, featuring the top artists and writers of the day coming together to create extraordinary work. Then, in 1983, the company suddenly disappeared! In 1999, COMIC BOOK ARTIST magazine published the most comprehensive history of the company to date in its Eisner Award-winning fourth issue. But, until now, the riveting story of Warren Publications was incomplete.
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FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT
AVENGERS ASSEMBLED! an interview with jerry ordway
JERRY ORDWAY
L
ong one of the comics field’s few triple threats, Jerry Ordway can do it all: Penciler, inker and writer. From his hallmark work on Superman to Shazam, to his creatorowned projects Wildstar and The Messenger, Ordway’s outstanding draftsmanship, crisp inking and clear solid storytelling has set a benchmark of excellence. Former Power of Shazam! inker and DRAW! editor Mike Manley catches up with Da’ Ordster fresh from his gig on the Avengers and just as he’s about to start work on his next book for Marvel Comics, USAgent, and gets Jerry to reveal some of his working methodologies and techniques.
DRAW!: Since you often do both writing and drawing, how does it affect your process working from your own plot versus working with another writer’s? JO: Well, I always start with a pretty tight plot, even if I’m the writer. You might think I’d get to skip that step, and jump right into thumbnail breakdowns, but if Marvel
or DC are paying you to write, they want to see a plot regardless. If I am working my own story, I will better know the amount of space I need for copy, first and foremost. Some writers I work with are more wordy than others, and if you don’t want to see important bits of story information covered up by dialogue, then you have to leave lots of room for copy.
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