A Clever Idea

via Drawing Words & Writing Pictures

Comics Plotting Tools

Here's a nice overview of how a writer breaks down a comic: Comix Tribe's Comic Plotting Tools.


This isn't too dissimilar from what I do, except, as writer/artist, I think it's important to be drawing from the earliest stages. So, f'rinstance, I use index cards, too, but they're for thumbnails more than sentences. Comics are a visual medium, and if you're a visual person, you develop them visually, right?

Gerhard

This is for serious inknerds only, but Holy Moly, it's an inknerd's bonanza!

Gerhard worked for years drawing backgrounds for Dave Sim's Cerebus. I think I can say without fear of contradiction that they are the most amazing backgrounds in Comics History. Absolutely jaw-dropping stuff.

Now, he opens up with a in-depth interview over on the Comics Journal. Lots of specific discussion of drafting and inking techniques, plus an eye-witnesses account of Cerebus' plunge from brilliance to infamy.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Cartooning Facial Expressions

Okay, you have to get past the fact that it's a comic about anthropomorphic cats acting all dramatic and flirty. Tracy J. Butler has some solid comics chops, and this is a great set of notes on cartooning facial expressions. In particular, it is a brilliant and necessary skewering of the lazy shortcuts we so easily fall into.

This is of particular relevance to the Comics 2 kids, but good for all of us.

Lackadaisy Expressions

Mike Mignola on BLDGBLOG

Mike Mignola talks reference and research. Worth your time.

50 Great Illustration Blogs

WebDesignDegree.com has compiled a handy list of great things to look at:

50 Great Illustration Blogs

Joy Ang's Process

Here's a great process-post from Joy Ang, using good ol' pencils and Photoshop, to create the cover for The Anthology Project.

Conference for Illustration Students!

Yes, Really! Cahrles Hively, publisher of 3x3 Magazine (who is sponsoring the conference), says:

One of the reasons I want to do this conference is that I don’t believe young illustrators get off on the right foot. No school has time to adequately prepare a student illustrator—or designer or fine artist for that matter—for the real world and as a result the illustration industry remains static. Fees haven’t changed in forty years. Illustration has lost much of the respect it once had among art directors, editors and advertisers. But I feel that can change if we provide young illustrators with a better set of tools and that’s why this conference is so important.

What I’ve discovered is that successful illustrators are all very astute business people as well as being talented illustrators. At our conference you’ll benefit from their trial and errors to help you avoid some of the pitfalls of starting your career as an illustrator. That’s good for your career. And ultimately that’s good for the industry.

So, register, already!

Bill Griffith's Top 40

Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead, has posted some fun and useful advice for cartoonists.

Rad How-To

Rad Sechrist, a storyboard artist with Dreamworks, has a really great blog where he posts these amazingly helpful little tutorial sheets. F'rinstance:

Making a pose better.

Balance.

A simple cartoon pelvis.

The indispensable Shape design never goes away.

And here's a great primer on his approach from The Art Center blog: What is drawing?

Painting Procedural

Here's a dusty ol' series of posts detailing my approach to paint. I thought the Illustration 2 students might find this useful as they head into the home stretch with the Invisible City pieces.

This example is using watercolor and gouache, but there's not a thing in it you can't do with acrylic. Except re-wet your paint.

Scanning and Coloring

As promised in Illustrated Story 1, here's the tutorial on scanning and coloring line art I posted a few years ago.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

There are probably better ways to do every single step of this tutorial, but this is quick and works for me.

Jules Feiffer on The Big Think

Jules Feiffer talks line over at the Big Think. Good stuff!

Derrick Dent

Speaking of MCA alumni, Derrick Dent has put up a nice post about his illustration process, including not one but two videos of him inking (Because four minutes and twenty seconds just doesn't capture the majesty).

Quentin Blake

Here's a swell video of Quentin Blake talking about his process and the purpose of children's picture books. It's always nice to hear a master of a craft discussing their own work, and it's even better when you can see them working.

Jillian Tamaki on Generating Ideas

Jillian Tamaki posted on her sketchblog some thoughts on developing Illustration concepts. It's worth a read.

Plunking yourself down in front of a pad of paper and scraping the inside of your brain is probably not the most effective way of generating ideas. If we only draw upon the images that already exist within our heads, or our own memories and experiences, we are actually quite limited.

link!

Meg Hunt's Trade Secrets

Insanely talented illustrator Meg Hunt has a tips 'n techniques blog which, sadly, has not been updated in about a year. But it's still chocked full of great information. Check out, for instance, her musing on promotions.

Material Geek

Cartoonists Matthew Bernier and MK Reed have a swell blog, comic tools, where they examine all kinds of materials and dispense all kinds of useful information. Do you know how to make kirbydots? Matt does!