MIKE GOLD: Important Advice For Comics Artists
Hardly a day goes by without my asking myself “How did all this crappy art get published?”
Now, before all you upstarts get bent out of shape, please appreciate the fact that I’ve been asking this question since about the time Freedom 7 was launched. (Note to self: After gawking at Brian Bolland’s Blog, please don’t look at anybody’s comics art for at least three hours. You’re not giving them a chance.) The difference is, there are a hell of a lot more comic books being published these days. Whereas I think the comics medium beats out Sturgeon’s Law, there’s a hell of a lot of crappy art out there, and much of it is below what I consider to be professional standards.
Over my career I’ve spent a great deal of time evaluating newbie portfolios, and while I feel doing this at the larger, crowded conventions generally gives the young wannabe short shrift, like most geriatric editors I’ve developed a mental go-to list of comments that, if followed, will likely give direction to the newcomer. Since I’ve grown anti-social of late, I’ll share some of these points with you.
Stare at something other than the comics you grew up with. And don’t spend all that much time staring at comic books published before your birth – yeah, study the classics like Toth, Kubert, Kirby, Kane, Maneely, Wood, Adams, Barks and Toth, but learn from the great newspaper strip creators like Milton Caniff, Frank Robbins, Floyd Gottfriedson, Alex Raymond, and Frank Godwin. Spend some time gawking at the great illustrators like J.C. Leyendecker, Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, Howard Pyle, and NC Wyeth. Go to a few art museums. There is no more enjoyable way to pay your dues.
Get a large jar and label it “Photoshop Copy Machine.” Every time you use Photoshop or any other graphics program to copy your art so that you can use it later in lieu of drawing something new, put $20.00 in the jar. When you fill it up, donate the money to The Hero Alliance or CBLDF. The eye tires of the same old stuff, particularly when you repeat the same image within a few pages. Sometimes there is a solid storytelling reason to rerun your work within the same story, but like all dramatic effects these are few and far between and should only be used sparingly.
Get a smaller jar and label it “Son Of Photoshop Copy Machine.” Every time you use Photoshop or any other graphics program to copy somebody else’s art, put $10,000 in the jar. Then find some other fulfilling way to make a living. I suggest procuring a domino mask, a striped shirt, and a gun.
There’s an old adage that proclaims “color will save it.” More often than not, this statement is attributed to the late DC Comics production whiz Sol Harrison, who got his start as an engraver on Superman #1 and in his spare time did watercolors. Unfortunately, Sol was wrong. Color will not save bad art. Not even the most heavy-handed computer color. Bad art is bad art. Or, to be less subtle, shit stinks.
Go buy a copy of [[[Gray’s Anatomy]]]. Not the teevee show, silly, the book written and drawn by Henry Gray first published 154 years ago. Whereas the book has been updated frequently, the human body has not. I am not concerned with your religious predilection, but no matter which hoary thunderer or cosmic muffin you might worship, if you intend to draw the human figure for a living this is your new bible. I cannot stress this more highly.
Study storytelling. As the artist, you carry the burden of telling the story. You are not an illustrator illuminating somebody else’s story: you’re the person putting it across the plate. Your friend over there should be able to get a good sense of the story by looking at your unlettered original art. Go get Will Eisner’s Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, and Will Eisner’s Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist and Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. Take these three books, add the aforementioned Gray’s Anatomy, and don’t pick up the pencil or the Wacom tablet until you have studied and thought about each and every word in these four books.
Do not stop drawing. Question your alleged need to watch television, play video games, associate with people, eat, and bathe. Each of these activities takes valuable time away from your perfecting your craft. Trust me; once you get an assignment with a deadline, you won’t have time to watch television, play video games, associate with people, eat, or bathe.
Don’t give up. A newbie comic book artist who had just blown a couple deadlines once told me “If I can’t do this, I might as well flip burgers.” Well, today this guy is not flipping burgers. He became a comic book writer.
Drawing comics is no different than any other vocation: you’ve got to learn your stuff. Don’t look at the worst people being published and say “I can do better than that.” We’ve got enough crap. Aim high and don’t jump into the water until you know you can swim to the other side.
THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil
There are a few working at the Big Two that really need the “Son Of Photoshop Copy Machine” jar.
I think once someone grasps the fundamentals, they then should focus on doing good work in a short span of time. If it takes someone a week to do one page, odds are most publishers won’t be giving them assignments.
Anatomy books would definitely be helpful, especially for those who don’t seem to have a clue what a real woman looks like.
Or hands and feet. I see a lot of bizarrely or just plain poorly drawn hands/feet and it boggles the mind because almost everyone has at least one they can use as a reference. It’s not like you’ve never seen one.
“…especially for those who don’t seem to have a clue what a real woman looks like.”
What do you expect? They’re not drawing real women (or even realistic women–then again, many of those who can’t draw real women can’t draw real men either, but I digress….), they’re drawing the women they want to bang, and for some of them, I’d guess they’re using blow-up dolls as their models. (That is, when they’re not tracing porn magazine models.)
Kate says most young men would be ashamed to admit they’ve never seen a real nude woman …
“…but these comic book artists seem to want to brag about it.”
Hi! You’ve been to the Paley Center recently for the Justice League: Doom premiere and I wanted to make sure you knew about an event we’re having with Comic Con this Friday – if it’s something you’d be interested in covering, just let me know!
If you’d like to attend, email Carrie Oman at coman@paleycenter.org
Viewing Party in New York
PaleyFest Castle Viewing Party: Panel Live from Los Angeles with a Scavenger Hunt and Trivia from New York Comic Con
Friday, March 9, 2012
New York
Kate Beckett and her fellow officers from the NYPD’s 12th Precinct have become quite adept at catching killers throughout Castle’s four seasons. Yet, there’s one case they can’t crack—the appeal of writer Richard Castle. Providing a service somewhat like Sherlock Holmes’s consulting detectivery, Castle—portrayed by genre-television icon Nathan Fillion—is a consulting writer, helping to solve cases with tips, hints, clues, and insights from the mind of the world’s foremost crime novelist. While a police procedural at its base, with references from steampunk to superheroes and Firefly to Watchmen, Castle takes great joy in incorporating the geeky world of Fillion and his fans.
Come now, with your fellow fans, to see Fillion and his fellow cast members live from the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles for a PaleyFest panel and premiere screening of an upcoming episode before it hits ABC! Start sleuthing early for a citywide Castle clue scavenger hunt and Nathan Fillion trivia contest at the Paley Center!
March 9 Schedule:
4:00 to 8:00 pm
Scavenger Hunt: The Great Castle Chase
Featuring fifteen Castle and Fillion-related clues scatted around New York City landmarks and retailers. Find a clue; bring it to the Paley Center to claim your prize. Look for clues on Twitter at #castlechase. Visit newyorkcomiccon.com for full details on how to play.
8:00 to 9:30 pm
Prize redemption at the Paley Center.
Prizes in the Great Castle Chase include Castle DVDs, books, and comics, New York Comic Con tickets, posters, and shirts, and free admission to future Paley Center events.
The scavenger hunt and prize collection are free and open to all!
Note: to participate in the trivia and PaleyFest event you need to purchase a ticket
9:30 to 10:00 pm
Hardcore Castle/Fillion Trivia Contest at the Paley Center.
10:00 pm to midnight
See a new episode of Castle and the PaleyFest panel with Castle cast and creative team livestreamed from the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles
Light refreshments will be served.
Presented with New York Comic Con
Carrie Oman
Manager, Public Relations
The Paley Center For Media
25 West 52 Street
New York, NY 10019
212.621.6785
coman@paleycenter.org