Comic Art
Last Updated: 2007-01-24 06:58:47

STEP 1: Pencil Drawing

The first step is the pencil drawing. The tools I use are a standard #2 pencil, 2 ply bristol board (vellum finish), a pad of tracing paper and a few pieces of scrap paper (I use standard printing paper... the cheap stuff). It's important that the surface of the bristol board is smooth because when you go to ink it, the ink pen leaves nicer lines on smooth surfaces.&nhsp;When I draw, I start with a real loose sketch on a piece of scratch paper and then I trace it with tracing paper. When I trace it, I basically draw a tighter version on the tracing paper using the original loose sketch as a template. Then I cover the back of the tracing paper with a layer of pencil lead (I just scribble on the back till the drawing is covered). Then I place the Tracing paper on top of the bristol board and then trace the drawing again. This works as a kind of carbon paper that leaves a light pattern of the drawing on the bristol board. Then I finish up by doing my final pencils over this "pattern".&nhsp;The advantage to this is that if I need to do any erasing it's done on the scrap paper or the tracing paper and not on the bristol board. Erasing damages the paper and can leave bleeds on your ink lines.
If you are looking to start drawing comic books, I strongly recommend the book, "Drawing Comics the Marvel Way" by Stan Lee and John Buscema. I went to the art institute to learn to draw but this book probably taught me more about drawing than any teacher. John Buscema is the master!

STEP 2: Inking or Line Art

The materials I use are a Hunts 103 Mapping Point Pen, a Windsor and Newton Series 7 #2 Brush, Speedball Super Black India Ink and a Staedtler Pigment Liner #03 and #05 pen.&nhsp;The big thing to remember when you are inking is, "Sometimes you just have to say, 'what the heck' and do it".&nhsp;I remember when I started out, I would stress over ruining the pencil drawing with my inks. This in turn shows up in your ink work. You need to be decisive and confident that you are doing the right thing. So for me I take the attitude that, "I don't care". If I ruin the pencil drawing, then it's ruined and that's okay. If I splatter ink all over the place, I simply say, "Oh what a nice texture", and move on.&nhsp;I've found that taking this approach loosens me up to do my best work.

STEP 3: Comic Book Colors

I don't color with a brush anymore or a pen or anything non-digital. All my colors are done using Adobe Photoshop. There is a secret to doing this that I will share with you.

I have recently been told that the easiest way to get into Marvel comics or DC or any big Comic Book Publishing company, is as a computer colorist. They just have a growing need for it that isn't being filled at this time. So if it's your dream to work for a company like Marvel Comics, this technique can be a big advantage for you.

First you need to scan your ink drawing into a digital format (You'll need a scanner and a computer, obviously). Then open your scan in Photoshop.

Duplicate your first layer and name it "Inks". Create a new layer and name it "Colors". Place "Colors" underneath the "Inks" layer.

Now here is the big secret: Set the blending mode of the "Inks" layer to "Multiply". You do this in the layers pallet. Highlight the "Inks" layer, and go the pulldown menu in the upper portion of the layers pallet. Depending on what version of Photoshop you are using, the selection "Multiply" should be towards the top of the pulldown menu.

Now select your "Colors" layer and color it how you wish with your brush tool.

I generally use a flat mid tone color then I use the "Color Burn" and "Color Dodge" tools to add darks and highlights.

This part of the job is really the most fun because, not only are you continually learning new color techniques, you really get a great deal of satisfaction out of the way it makes your art work come alive.