Making Comics

[AmbrMerlinus]

That is what I want to do professionally. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near the professional level yet. I'm a sophomore in college and I draw like a high school freshman. Hopefully by working my ass off and with some help from you guys, I can get to where I want to be.

So, here's my best drawing to date:

[Hansel]

Hey dude! I'm in the same situation as you. I also want to do something comic related proffesionaly, but my path to it is loaded with suckage ;)

Nice start. His leg muscles look nice although I have no idea if they are anatomically correct... His balance is a little of, he should be lening more forward I think.

Cheers and good luck!

[AmbrMerlinus]

Thanks, Hansel!

Here's my latest painting for class. We had to do caricatures of classmates. This is my friend Mia. 8"x10", gouache on illustration board. My painting technique can charitably be described as "sloppy." My professor pointed out that it may have been better to use a very light brown instead of a white for the highlights in her hair, and I agree with him. Mia herself suggested putting a shadow around the edge of the nose to make it stand out more.

[AmbrMerlinus]

Another project for school. We were asked to make a cover for Thomas Mann's short story "The Joker." The title character is basically a parasite, living off of society and not contributing anything in return. Much like a fetus. So here we go, a monstrous fetus in period (ha ha) costume, living in the uterus of the city. Pen and ink, 8"10".

[AmbrMerlinus]

Drew some of my friends in class today. Small profile sketches, no more than 2" tall each. Graphite.

[AmbrMerlinus]

Picture of a nymph that I did on a scrap of illustration board left over from homework. Lines are India ink, color is watercolor.

[Gabriel_Cunha]

All you gotta do is study a lot and I can say that you are in the right track! very creative and fluid peaces of art in here, keep creating!

[AmbrMerlinus]

Thanks, Gabriel! I'm studying like mad and working hard, but I know I could work harder. Keep on truckin'...

Here's another school assignment, illustrating the last paragraph in Thomas Mann's "The Joker." We were asked to go for a film noir sort of style.

"At this point I stop writing, I cast my pen aside - full of disgust, of disgust! Shall I make an end of it all? Surely that would be rather too heroic for a 'buffoon and joker'! I am afraid the upshot of the matter will be that I shall continue to live, to eat, to sleep, to dabble in this and dabble in that; and gradually, as my apathy increases, I shall get used to being a 'wretched and ridiculous figure.' Oh, God, who would have supposed - who could have supposed - that to be born a joker was so disastrous a fate!"

[AmbrMerlinus]

Latest school project - three sequential panels, full color, depicting interaction between two humans in a specific location. The location I picked was a little corner of the liberal arts building at my school. It's this great cavern-like area with loads of platforms and overhangs and balconies - I love it. Anyway, here we have some incarnation of Jack the Ripper preparing to attack a modern college student, and being struck in the head with a cell phone for his troubles.

Line work is India ink, color is watercolor, paper is hot-press watercolor paper.

[DaStreets]

Love the paintings, very colorful and imaginative, post more

[ImagineTheEnding]

I think you're fine with it comes to looking professional. Your art has character and I think that's enough to make some really good comics.

[AmbrMerlinus]

Hi guys, sorry it's been so long. Have something in color.

[Hipalien]

You have a good color sense with some of your work and it does show some skills. Do you do any figure study classes or studio time with models? You should do as much of that as you can. Or draw friends, family or in public places. Also for comics just study the good ones. Look at the story telling techniques they use. Look at the different artists work like Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb, Alex Toth, Steve Rude, etc. The really good ones! Get the book Comics and Sequential art by Will Eisner if you can. Do thumbnail sketches of any story ideas you have. Just keep practicing and you can do it. Later.

[AmbrMerlinus]

Thanks, Hipalien. I take figure study classes during the school year. (We spent almost an entire semester studying Robert Crumb, which was a little redundant for me since I spent my senior year of high school studying his work.) During vacation I'm studying all the graphic novels I can get my hands on and drawing faces from magazines. Should I post some of those?

[AmbrMerlinus]

Wouldn't normally post this, but it's probably a good idea to prove that I'm studying over the summer, even if those studies come out crap. Ripped this page out of GQ and attempted to copy it. As you can see, the copy does not bear the slightest resemblance to the original. Clearly, more of these need to be done.

[AmbrMerlinus]

Another GQ copy attempt.

[hitnrun]

Your art isn't bad. You don't draw like a high school freshman, I know - I was there once. I'd recommend looking at your references more - with those two guy portraits. They're a little off, and remember to take a break now and then. You can see your mistakes better in a variety of ways, including taking a break then when you get back your eyes are fresh again. 2) turn the drawing upside down or look at it in a mirror. Your mistakes should pop out. I'm not a frequent practitioner of turning my work upside down though. One of those things I know I should do, but I usually don't.

You definitely don't have a marvel style to your work, but thats totally ok because not everyone has that particular style.

Keep posting your work as you do it, and keep practicing portraits. Take a longer range view of them too, step back a few steps and look at it. The further you are away, the easier it is to see what you need to do. Also, never get really up close and personal with your work - too much distortion.

Liking what I see so far, keep it up.

[AmbrMerlinus]

I was told not to spend more than an hour on these portraits... I suppose I could go back to them. Meanwhile, witness my regression:

[hitnrun]

One thing you could try for heads is a technique that George Bridgman does - make a cube shape for the head instead of an oval. The book says you can make more accurate measurements, etc. I'd say give it a try. I've done it and the head I drew came out relatively well.

The latest work you've posted, his head should be angled up more. You could fix up the lips a little, and make the top one darker - the top lip is almost always darker. Assuming you don't have a bright lamp shining directly on the face. Try bringing up the chin too, then he won't appear to have an open mouth with closed lips. There is a lot more work to be done on this, but if you don't have the time/motivation, it can probably wait. This is still a work in its early stages.

By the way, who said "don't spend more than an hour on the portraits"? If it was an art teacher, I would like to know what they were trying to instruct you on.