FREE RESOURCES OVER 12 HOURS OF EXCLUSIVE VIDEO TUITION!

WORKSHOP
PHOTOSHOP SHADING TIPS
Add light and shadow
to your portrait work

Punch up! Create a dynamic

action-packed fight scene

PAIN TAMAZING

Sharpen your art skills! How to break

into comics with DC’s Ken Lashley

INSIDE
SIMONE BIANCHI’S
SKETCHBOOK
EMBRACE CHANGES
TO YOUR ART
IMPROVE YOUR
KEYFRAME SKILLS

VILLAINS
75 YEARS OF BATMAN! THE ART OF GOTHAM’S HEROES AND
 Editor’s letter

to an art crusade
This issue we’re turning our attention to
comics. 2014 is the 75th anniversary of
Batman’s creation, so over on page 42 we
take a look at the dark art history of
arguably the world’s most enduring comic
character. Which artistic era of Batman
you prefer will probably depend on your
age, so our feature on the Caped Crusader
delivers imagery for every type of fan – from the likes of Jock, Frank
Miller, Neal Adams and many more brilliant artists.
Taking you back a little, in 2011, on the bustling convention floor
at San Diego’s Comic-Con, I stood silently in awe behind artist
Ken Lashley as he set about using marker pens to draw a Star Wars
mural on a car (if you haven’t seen it, Google it – it’s a thing of
beauty). Three years later and Ken is using his intricate and unique
skills to depict Batman on our cover. Subscribers of ImagineFX will
get the full effect of his detailed work (see below). You can also turn
to page 66 to see how he created this extraordinary piece of art.
Our comic fest continues with a flick through Simone Bianchi’s
sketchbook on page 60, a delve into creating a Wolverine fight scene
on page 72, and a look into how the gorgeous cover art for Fables gets
created – George Pratt shares his process on page 76.
Elsewhere, Kan Muftic reveals how he creates a scene from a film
script, and Chris Legaspi helpfully passes on his shadow and light
knowledge so you can incorporate it into your art. All in all it’s
another packed issue, which I sincerely hope you enjoy.

Our special cover for

subscribers this issue.
Claire Howlett, Editor
claire@imaginefx.com

Contact us
Email: mail@imaginefx.com Tel: +44 (0) 1225 442244
Art submissions: fxpose@imaginefx.com
Web: www.imaginefx.com
@imaginefx www.facebook.com/imaginefx

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Subscribe and save! See page 32

June 2014 3
 Now you read the digital version of ImagineFX
on a range of devices! Find out more on page 32

Contents
FXPosé
8 Reader FXPosé
This issue’s art includes images
42

inspired by The Wizard of Oz,

Magic: The Gathering and
Leonardo da Vinci.

ImagineNation
20 How to make your
mark in indie comics
Artists and publishers share
their pros and cons of going
it alone in the comic world.

26 Artist in residence
28 Forum winners
30 Letters

34 Artist Q&A See page 8 for the best new art

Facial expressions, elf
characters, twisted metal,
undead designs and more! 34
Features
42 The dark art
of Batman
We take a look at the art history
of Gotham’s Dark Knight as he “The darker, bigger and grittier
turns 75, and speak to the
artists who have drawn him. he is, the better for me”
Tony S Daniel
Q&A: Expressions
56 Studio Profile
How a cartoonist inspired
several generations of artists at 60 36 38
The Kubert School, including
Dave Dorman and Alex Maleev.

60 Sketchbook
Italian comic book artist
Simone Bianchi offers
up a masterclass in process
and composition.

Reviews Sketchbook: Simone Bianchi Q&A: Sunlight Q&A: Over-eating

92 Hardware
94 Books 20 56 41
97 Training

Regulars
3 Editor’s letter
6 Resources
32 Subscribe today
55 Back issues Indie comics The Kubert School Q&A: Sandstorm
85 Next month

4 June 2014
 Issue 109 June 2014
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES Turn over the page for
this issue’s art assets

Workshops 66
Advice and techniques
from pro artists…
66 Add texture
and grit to an image
Ken Lashley portrays a
grim-looking Batman.

70 Show a
clash of cultures
Artyom Trakhanov draws
explorers fighting cavemen.

72 Create dynamic
fight scenes
Mukesh Singh’s action-
packed Wolverine artwork.

76 Develop your
art on the canvas
George Pratt paints the
cover for the latest Fables.

80 Embrace change
to build an image
Sean Andrew Murray on
how change can be good.

84 Getting started
in SketchUp
Mark Roosien shows you
how to begin in 3D.

86 Improve your
keyframe skills
Kan Muftic depicts Add texture and grit to an image
a scene for film use.

104 114

Inspiration and advice from

the best traditional artists
Central Park Sketching
100 FXPosé Traditional
104 Creative Space
Central Park Sketching, NYC. 112
106 Sculpt a nymph
Craft a fantasy figure by hand.
112 Anatomy advice
Learn to control your values.
114 First Impressions
Edward Howard talks colours.

106

Controlling values Edward Howard

June 2014 5
Sculpting skills
 Resources

Resources
Getting your hands on all of this issue’s essential
OV
resources is quick and easy. Just go to our dedicated 12 HOEUR
web page at http://ifxm.ag/goth109am of worksh RS
op a
Q&A vid nd
eos to
watch an
d
COVER ART VIDEO learn from
!
Add texture
and grit
DC Comics artist Ken Lashley
reveals his process as he pits Batman
against the many faces of The Joker.

HOW TO GET
YOUR FILES
Get your resource files in
three simple steps…

1 Go to the website
Type this into your browser’s
address bar (not the search bar):
http://ifxm.ag/goth109am

2 Find the files you want

Search through the list of
resources to watch or download.

3 Download what you need

You can download all of the
files at once, or individually.

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6 June 2014
 Issue 109 June 2014

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO TUITION!

Watch our videos to gain a unique insight into how our artists create their stunning art

WORKSHOP VIDEOS

Kan Muftic Mukesh Singh Devon Dorrity

Learn how to depict a scene in a story Tips and suggestions for creating visually The process of bringing a sculpture to life
and convey emotions through gestures. exciting and dynamic fight scenes. – from inspiration to the finished piece.
Plus WIPs, final image and brushes Plus WIPs, final image and brushes Plus WIPs and final image

TRAINING Q&A VIDEOS

Ben Mauro Nick Harris Elena Berezina

Enjoy this clip from Ben’s highly Learn how to use clever visual clues to Simple skills required to accurately
informative video tutorial, ZBrush describe the action in this image. depict the effect of sun-drenched hair.
for Concept Artists Vol 2. Plus WIPs and final image Plus WIPs and final image

Melanie Maier Paco Rico Torres Sara Forlenza

Consider new methods to make your The importance of anatomy when creating Focus on features and pay less attention to
character design suit the environment. expressions on your character’s faces. backgrounds for your character close-ups.
Plus WIPs and final image Plus WIPs and final image Plus WIPs and final image

PLUS Videos on techniques for painting twisted metal, how to make your characters stand out, and guiding your viewer around
the image, with WIPS and final artwork from many of this month’s workshop artists, including Artyom Trakhanov and George Pratt.

11 CUSTOM BRUSHES, INCLUDING…

FLAT_WIDE_SOLID
F PENCIL THICK BRUSH TEXTURED SQUSQUARE
Sean Andrew Murray’s brush enables Mukesh Singh uses this versatile Kan Muftic created this brush as
you to sketch at many different widths. brush for most of his colouring. a handy tool to cover all bases.

June 2014 7
THE PLACE TO SHARE YOUR DIGITAL ART

Josu Hernaiz
LOCATION: Chile
1
WEB: www.josuoh.cl
EMAIL: josuoh@gmail.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop

Josu grew up on Chiloé

Island, located in the
southern half of Chile:
“There, I was always
surrounded by nature and
the mythology of the people. It’s
probably why I’m such a big fan of all
things fantasy-related. Although
discovering Magic: The Gathering at
the age of eight also had something
to do with it!”
Painting became a realistic
proposition for Josu in his early 20s,
although acquiring a formal education in
the subject never appealed. He instead
studied photography and films – and his
skills with a stylus soon followed.

1 BA
BARON SENGIR “I’ve always wanted
to work with Magic: The Gathering, so
from time to time I think that redoing old
2
cards would be a good idea. This is my
take on Baron Sengir from Homelands.”

2 T
TRAUCO “This is the first piece of a
series of illustrations based on the
mythology of Chiloé. The ugly little dude
is the Trauco, who gets women pregnant
when he finds them in the forest.”

3 LADY OF THE FALLEN “This piece is

L
important to me because it’s the one
where I finally had an artistic
breakthrough, getting closer to the kind
of art that I’ve always wanted to do.”

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Congratulations Josu – you’ve won
yourself a copy of Exposé 11 and
d’artiste: Character Design! To find out
more about these two great books, go
to www.ballisticpublishing.com.

8 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

 3

Jason Manley, who launched Massive Black

and ConceptArt.org, is impressed…
“The hand gesture and feeling of wind
in the drapery are excellent, and the
glossy highlights on the chain mail get
the light to dance. Great job!”

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 9

 Alexandrescu Paul
LOCATION: Romania
1
WEB: www.lexpaul.com
EMAIL: llex_paul@yahoo.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop, ZBrush

Alexandrescu’s first
experiences of art were far
from positive and stemmed
from his parents’ decision
to “randomly” send him to
a local art school. “I didn’t like it, but
after three or four years, the crazy kid
changed and art became everything,”
he says. “Now, I wouldn’t do anything
else. I love what I do.”
After a year working as a freelance
artist, Alexandrescu landed a job at
Gameloft. “Freelance is great,” he says,
“but working in a studio is even better
– and I’m learning loads!”

1 LANDING STATION “This alien

L
landing station was a cool
environment to do – I had Mars in mind
when I painted it. The hardest aspect of
the creative process was keeping the
perspective accurate.”

2 WIZ
WIZARD “The Wizard Queen and
her companion are searching for a
lost civilisation and magical artefacts.
This was a personal illustration and
I spent a lot of time bringing my fantasy
world to life.”

3 DISTANT WORLDS “Another

D
illustration of a landing pad on an
alien planet. This environment features
floating rocks and cutting-edge
technical structures. I was keen to
introduce an intense vibe and vivid
colours to the composition.”

10 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

 1 Marcel Mercado
LOCATION: US
WEB: www.marcelmercado.com
EMAIL: info@marcelmercado.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop

Focusing on art at high

school and a subsequent
degree in computer arts
formed the basis for
Marcel’s talents as a digital
artist. “I started working on a video
game outsource house down in Florida,”
he says. “I started doing texture work for
a lot of AAA games and eventually
moved up to being an art director. I left
that job after seven years to become a
freelance illustrator.
“I’m following my passion of working
on fantasy worlds and telling stories. I’ve
been fortunate enough to have clients
that understand and feed that passion.”

1 SNOW QUEEN “I had in mind a high-

SN
key, low-value image. I wanted to play
around with different whites, hence the
wintery setting and the queen’s dress.”

2 CITY OF DISCORD “I wanted to create

C
this as if it were a book cover,
depicting the moment when the Valkyries
arrive to take the fallen heroes away.”

3 T
THE STASH “Every once in a while
I like to show a bit of character and
story, rather than just fighting or heroic
action poses. I also wanted to push my
colours with this one.”

3
IMAGINEFX CRIT
“While Marcel’s
work is action-
packed, he always
finds a way to lead your
eye around the image,
enabling you to take in
each piece in all its
intricacy. I also like
his willingness to
experiment. Good stuff.”
Daniel Vincent,
Art Editor

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 11

 Benoit Godde
LOCATION: France 1
WEB: www.porte-voix.com
EMAIL: benoit.godde@gmail.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop

Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele,

John Singer Sargent and
Lucian Freud are among
the artists who most
inspire art director and
concept artist Benoit. “Their work with
women and light is inspiring,” he says.
His professional experience includes
providing visual development for
AAA next-gen game titles, films and
commercials. Benoit’s busy working on
an unannounced AAA PS4 title at
Quantic Dream in Paris.
“Sci-fi is an attractive subject to me,”
he says. “From a young age, robots
amazed me, starting with the Great
Mazinger, Metropolis, Star Wars,
Robocop, Terminator and I, Robot.
I later discovered two short films called
Tetra Vaal and Tempbot from District 9
director Neill Blomkamp. These films
really struck a chord with me.”

12 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

 3
IMAGINEFX CRIT
“It’s interesting to
see how a human
face manages to
soften the look of the
menacing military tech
designs that Benoit has
created. His MM41 scout
suit looks particularly
Grim Reaperish!”
Cliff Hope,
Operations Editor

1 WRECK “Wrecks, robots, aircraft and

spaceships have always been of
interest to me.”

2 MM45-1 “This is an exoskeleton suit

for a Russian scout. I wanted to
depict a new kind of suit – one that’s
composed of metal and rubber.”

3 MM “This is a scout and one of the

MM41
first models that I painted this way.”

4 MM
MM44.JPG “My idea for this painting
was to remove the human element of
the MM45 vehicle and create a fully
armoured machine.”

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 13

 Darran Holmes IMAGINEFX CRIT
LOCATION: England 1
WEB: www.pudsky.co.uk “What strikes me
EMAIL: dholmesillustrator@gmail.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop
most here is the
colour palette
Darran began drawing at an
Darren uses throughout.
early age and was It adds an extra dimension
influenced by the covers of
the Fighting Fantasy books.
to his art, making the
In the late 90s he travelled mythical creatures
to New Zealand and became a prosthetic
artist, working for Weta Workshop on
and otherworldly
The Lord Of The Rings films. environments all
“During this time I learnt loads from
the genius team who work there,” says
the more fantastical.”
Darran. “I was even allowed to submit Gary Evans,
several pieces of conceptual art and the
team were very encouraging.
Staff Writer
In recent years he has worked as a
freelance artist, providing images for
greeting cards. His ultimate aim is to
become a storybook and fantasy artist.

1 CENTAUR GUAR
GUARD “After scanning in
the pencils, I coloured the image up
and mixed the colours using my trusty
Blur tool in Photoshop.”

2 BEAST IN THE STORM “This image

started life several years ago as a
concept sketch drawn in watercolours
and pencil. I scanned the image in, striped
out the background and using the Blur
tool mixed the pencil colours together.
After playing around with the colour
levels I painted in a background, again
using the Blur tool to create the swirls.”

3 C
CENTAUR HEAD CONCEPT “Part of a
collection of concepts I created and
sent into Richard Taylor at Weta
Workshop, whom I worked for many
moons ago.”

14 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

 1
©Levitated Toy Factory:

2 Josh Eiten
LOCATION: US
WEB: www.josheiten.com
EMAIL: eitenjosh@gmail.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop

Josh is pursuing two

parallel careers: one in
visual development and
another in communication
design, which he’s studying
at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon
University. The artist constructs
narratives through drawings, paintings,
motion graphics, typography and
games. While much of his work to date
is fantasy art, he is open to exploring all
sorts of genres and styles.
“When it comes to visual
©Mojo Game Studios:

development, I’m inspired by the works

of Sparth, Hayao Miyazaki, Jaime Jones,
Theo Prins, Tom Scholes, Ling Xiang,
Raphael Lacoste and Thom Tenery.
There are many more.”

1 CUBE WORLD “I did this as the first in

CU
a series for a computational design
startup, the Levitated Toy Factory.
I wanted to capture a sense of awe and
discovery while adhering to the theme of
computational design (hence the cubes).
While painting this, I had fun playing with
scale and depth.”

2 THE CITY OF SELEDOA “I painted

TH
this for Mojo Game Studios’ up-and-
coming title, Aderyn’s Cradle. The scene
is a depiction of a player looking at their
map, high above the ruins of an ancient
cliff city in one of the four open worlds
the game will feature.”

3 UPGRADE TIME “This is another

U
©Mojo Game Studios:

scene from Aderyn’s Cradle. It’s one

of many locations where players can
upgrade their weapons by performing a
ceremony that involves bathing their
weapon in a sacred medium – in this case,
piping-hot lava.”

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 15

1

Lisa Cunha
LOCATION: US
WEB: www.lisacunha.deviantart.com
EMAIL: lisacunha0@gmail.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop

“An MMO fanatic and RPG

roleplayer,” is how
freelance artist Lisa
describes herself. “A lot of
my personal work is based
on collaborative stories and characters
I’ve played over the years. I produce
creature design for Stormlight
Workshop’s Flight Rising project.
Drawing critters all day is pretty much
my dream job.”
Lisa graduated from Rhode Island
School of Design (RISD) in 2009 with a
degree in illustration, and was inspired
by the talent of her fellow students.
“Being around such talented folk was a
real eye-opener. Seeing them succeed
has been an inspiration to keep painting,
learning and striving to improve.”

1 R
RHUNI “This was also created for one
of CGHub.com’s Creature Corner
challenges. At the time I was still at odds
with my creature designs and worried
about making things too creepy-crawly.
The outpouring of enthusiasm for my
alien creatures was an incredible
confidence booster. Eventually, I became
a volunteer for CGHub.com, and got the
opportunity to run contests of my own. It
was a great learning experience.”

2 LION’S ARCH “This was fan-art done

LION’
for ArenaNet’s Guild Wars 2, based
on the colours and atmosphere of the
in-game environment.”

16 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

1 Sunil Kainth
LOCATION: England
WEB: http://ifxm.ag/skainth
EMAIL: sunil.art@hotmail.co.uk
SOFTWARE: Photoshop, SketchUp

After graduating with

a masters degree in
Concept Art for Games
and Animation, Sunil
now hopes to become
a concept artist/illustrator.
“I paint every night and at weekends,
as my day job is in a school,” he says.”
I use Photoshop and my trusty Wacom
graphics tablet to draw and paint. I’ve
recently started learning 3D modelling
and used it as a base for my sci-fi
bedroom painting. I have been trying for
three years to get my art in FXPosé and
I hope this time I’m successful.” It’s good
to finally see you on these pages, Sunil!

IMAGINEFX CRIT
“It’s great to see all
Sunil’s late-night
work paying off in
the painting Lightning. In
his second piece, the story
he so carefully constructed
seeps through – from the
space battle outside to the
human narrative inside
the med room.”
Beren Neale,
Digital Editor

2
1 LIGHTNING “This was done for a
competition on deviantART
celebrating the release of the new game
Lightning Returns. I started off with
thumbnails and designed three different
characters before settling on this one.
I enrolled on a Skillshare class by Charlie
Bowater earlier this year, and her tips and
techniques have improved my character
design. I stayed up all night rendering the
figure, but made the deadline!”

2 WHI YOU WERE SLEEPING “I love

WHILE
sci-fi films, and one of the first
concept art books I read was the one for
The Revenge of the Sith, which is full of
moody, atmospheric art. I modelled this
image in SketchUp, then painted it in
Photoshop. I wanted to tell a story
showing the human sacrifice of war.”

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 17

 ScarletGothica
LOCATION: Italy
1
WEB: www.scarletgothica.com
EMAIL: scarletgothica@
scarletgothica.com
SOFTWARE: Photoshop

The International School of

Comics in Rome provided a
valuable source of training
for Claudia, more
commonly known as
ScarletGothica. After graduation, she
went on to gain a masters degree in
digital colouring in 2009 and then
became a comic colourist for IDW,
Marvel and Image. She currently works
as a freelance artist for companies such
as Editions Ricordi, Polizia di Stato, Ares
Film, ALIA, KOF, Ballistic, and as a comic
colourist, mostly for US companies.
“My visual research stems from
classic fantasy, with gothic and Pre-
Raphaelite influences and a hint of
steampunk from time to time,” she says.
“Anatomy – especially female – is the
thing I like drawing most. I love playing
with composition on each illustration
that I create, trying to find new solutions
and mixing graphic elements with a
more realistic style.”

1 O “This artwork was commissioned

OZ
as cover art for Kingdom of Fantasy
magazine. I’d been told to do a cover
about the Wizard of Oz, so I tried to mix
old movie elements and characters with
some from the recent prequel, Oz the
Great and Powerful.”

© DieGo Publishing
2 WH DON’T YOU DO RIGHT “Tribute
WHY
art for the comic Sacro/Profano, by
Mirka Andolfo. Angelina is one of the
main characters, a sexy female angel
engaged with a male devil, Damiano.
Because she’s curvy and provocative,
I painted her as a modern Jessica Rabbit.”
2
3 M
MONATISIA “I produced this
illustration in collaboration with the
Gioconda Project (a not-for-profit art
collective). The theme was the famous
painting by Leonardo da Vinci and
I thought mixing the Mona Lisa with
Morticia Addams could be something
exciting and new.”

SUBMIT YOUR
ART TO FXPOSÉ
Send up to five pieces of your
work, along with their titles, an
explanation of your techniques, a
photo of yourself and contact
details. Images should be sent as
300DPI JPEG files.

Email: fxpose@imaginefx.com
(maximum 1MB per image)

Post: (CD or DVD):

FXPosé
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Bath
BA1 2BW, UK

All artwork is submitted on the

© Mirka Andolfo

basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish, both
in print and electronically.

18 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

3

IMAGINEFX CRIT
“While the settings
of Why Don’t You
Do Right and
Monatisia are worlds away
from each other, they
both depict a female
character facing the viewer
on their own terms. Their
expressions and confident
poses speak volumes.”
Claire Howlett,
Editor

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 19

 ARTIST NEWS, SOFTWARE EVENTS

AT THE CORE OF THE FANTASY ART COMMUNITY

Darick Robertson created his

own “laughable” comic, Space
Beaver, at just 17, and went on
to work for both DC and Marvel.

How to make your

mark in indie comics
Self-help From rags to riches by drawing pages: artists and publishers
who have succeeded in the indie comics business explain how it’s done
Space Beaver is the story of a vigilante Ninja Turtles and similar black-and-white loving, have collaborated with some of the
rodent seeking to avenge the death of his indie books of the time. best writers in the business, and have co-
best friend by assassinating gangs of drug Space Beaver ran for 11 issues to created original stories and characters.”
dealers. It’s set in outer space. Its central admirable success. Darick would later call From Space Beaver, to more recent
character is rich, boozy and trigger-happy. the title ‘laughable’. But the experience he collaborative projects Transmetropolitan
Darick Robertson began working on this, gained from it was invaluable, eventually and The Boys, via Justice League, Wolverine
his first comic, in 1985. He was 17. Tibor leading him to the doors of DC Comics and and Spider-Man, Darick has seen the comic
Sardy, owner of local San Marvel, and an illustrious 20-year career. book industry from all angles. His advice to
Mateo store Peninsula Comics, “The road was a tough one,” says Darick, fledgling artists considering their own comic
agreed to publish the title and “full of disappointments. I made almost no is simple: do it. But do it for the love of it,
A cover from Oliver,
pay Darick for doing so. Ten- drawn by Darick money drawing that comic. I knew nothing rather than any idea of success it may bring.
Buck Comics was Sardy’s first Robertson and written about the accounting or what I was owed. “If you’re chasing a dollar, you’ll be
by Gary Whitta.
and last foray into publishing. He’d hoped to I was young and naive. Today, I’ve worked running your whole life,” he confides.
cash-in on the success of Teenage Mutant with the mainstream characters I grew up “Comics have never been more competitive.

20 June 2014
 GET SWIPING SINK, SWIM MONSTER
IN GOTHAM – OR CHARGE! ARTIST
See how e-publisher Stephan Martinière Bob Eggleton, Hugo
Madefire put a spring explains how he gave Award-winning artist
into Batman’s step, the brand new action and big Godzilla fan,
adding a new slant to movie sequel 300: shows us around his
the Arkham Origins Rise of an Empire its studio, and says why he
experience by using distinctive and likes having things he
movement and sound. recognisable aesthetic. can touch around him.
Page 23 Page 25 Page 26

Darick Robertson and Garth Ennis’s creator-owned

comic, The Boys, published by DC and later Scotland’s leading indie, Black INDUSTRY INSIGHT
KIERON
Dynamite Entertainment. Hearted Press, specialises in
creator-owned comics.

GILLEN
The comic expert reveals his tips
for devising your own title

What does an indie comic offer

that a mainstream one doesn’t?
Control. You have a vision. You can
actualise your vision, as you intend.
The joy of working in comics is that
the playing field is relatively equal
compared to fields like animation
or film, where money is a huge
thing. Here’s 22 pages. Fill them.
Paper, ink, ideas and the inside of
your head. It’s the most democratic
visual storytelling form on Earth.
What are the benefits of
creating comics collaboratively?
The digital age is a mighty equaliser – the
Collaborating is an interesting one.
talent pool got a whole lot deeper. But when
As a writer, I’d certainly like to
it’s my own idea, my own creation, and it
encourage all artists to collaborate
succeeds, I know it’s the result of personal
with writers – ideally me. But in
hard work and a validation of those original
reality that’s a question you have to
ideas. I’m not riding the coat-tails of a well-
ask yourself: do you want to just tell
established character or publisher.”
your own stories? If so, you may
But where to begin? Darick says it’s as
still want a writer along if you’re not
simple as sitting down with a pen, a blank
sure of your abilities in various
page and an idea. “Make it about the story,
areas; not least the organisation
side. In most writer-artist teams

The distinction between subcategories: alternative, small press, web

comics, digital comics, mini-comics… but
I know, the writer takes on a lot of
the admin work because, in terms
the mainstream and the these definitions are open to interpretation.
of pure hours, the artist normally
puts in much more.
independents is perhaps not GERMINATE THE CONCEPT What’s the most challenging
as distinct as it once was Creator-owned comics are those where the
artist or writer behind the title retains the
thing about creating comics?
Artists with enormous experience
about creating something that’s personally rights to it. It’s these publications that in creating single images can have
fulfilling, so your hours spent creating are Scotland’s leading independent comic book a tendency to underestimate the
enjoyable. A strong sense of storytelling and publisher Black Hearted Press specialises in. difficulties in creating comics.
dramatic lighting will help. As will the ability Art director and publisher Sha Nazir says There’s a different language there,
to draw consistently, with a good knowledge success hinges on simple and there are things that make you
of anatomy, proportion and perspective, and ideas. That’s what he’s looking perfect for creating a single image
a flair for the dramatic. You’re ready for the for: a concept expressed which can actively work against you
mainstream once your drawings are on par clearly and succinctly. “If you when creating an effective comic.
with your favourite artist.” can boil your core idea down Luckily, there are a lot of resources
The distinction between the mainstream to a single line,” Sha says, “then you’re doing on comic creating now – plenty of
Mega Penguin, one of
and independents is not as distinct as it Black Hearted Press’s
well: a peasant farm boy journeys across the tutorial or theory-lead things, which
once was. “What are indie comics, anyway?” signature titles. galaxy to rescue a princess; a family is I’d encourage you to devour – as
Carrie Cuinn recently asked in the Hugo trapped on an island where cloned well as reverse analysing comics you
Award-winning blog SF Signal. A simple dinosaurs run amok; billionaire dresses up as like, to see exactly how they create
answer is those not published by DC or giant bat to fight crime because his parents those magical effects that leave you
Marvel. Carrie offered more precise got killed by a mugger.” all a-quiver.
definitions: mainstream comics are the big A sound understanding of the visual
boys – not just Marvel and DC, but Image, language of comics is essential. This, the art Kieron is a journalist and
Vertigo, IDW. Indies produce “work based director adds, should come naturally… if
comic author. He co-created
Phonogram with artist Jamie
on individual tastes and originality, not you’re reading enough and observing how McKelvie for Image Comics.
dictated by the will of fans or marketing artists arrange pages. He also recommends
http://gillen.cream.org
departments.” There are also several referring to Scott McCloud’s book

June 2014 21
 ImagineNation News
Dynamite Entertainment, publisher of Legendary, has “more freedom to push
the envelope” than either DC or Marvel.

Understanding Comics. If you’re not a Based in the US,

Dynamite Entertainment
confident writer, collaborate with someone publishes The Boys, The
who is. But it’s discipline that Sha values Shadow and Bad Ass.
above all else. “Be sure when you start a
project that you’ll be able to see it through
to the end. It’s easy enough to get through
the first few pages on the high of starting a
new creative venture, but weeks down the
line when time is dragging and there are still
pages and pages to do, it can be harder to
push yourself on. Forward planning can save
a lot of heartache later.”
It’s at this point where a good editor who
believes in your work can help. When DC
stopped publishing Darick’s The Boys,
Dynamite Entertainment picked it up and
published it for a further five years.
“While we exercise good judgment on
content,” senior editor Joseph Rybandt says,
“we have more freedom to
push the envelope and explore Within four years of
publishing his own comic,
the medium to its fullest Mikael Bergkvist was
potential. But understand that working with industry
legend Neal Adams.
you’ll be expected to produce
on a consistent schedule, week in, week out.”
Joseph says starting from the ground up
is difficult, which is why he advises gaining If you want a regular pay “It really boils down to this,” Mikael says.
“If you want a regular pay cheque, go to an
experience on an existing property before
going it alone. This presents a paradox: to
cheque, go to an established established company. Do what they tell you
to do. Get paid. You will get that pay cheque,
have your work published, you often need to company. Do what they tell but that’s all you’ll get.”

you to do. Get paid

have previously published work. Starting your own comic, he says, is like
starting your own small business: it’s
DO IT YOURSELF liberating to be your own boss, but by no
Alternatively, you could circumvent published four stories a year, each a single means financially stable. But it’s possible to
publishers altogether, retain total creative concluded narrative, before Swedish make a success of it, as Mikael proves.
freedom and self-publish your comic. That’s publisher Serieplaneten snapped up the “Reality catches up with you real quick,”
what Mikael Bergkvist did. The Swede has rights. He went on to work for Ardden he says. “Do breakdowns, do covers, just do.
been making comics for just Entertainment, currently at concept Everything is steps. And check your market;
four years. In that time, he’s publishing house Deadline, of which Neal be a bit cynical and crass about that. I was
sold the rights to his first Adams is co-owner. depressed and broke when I created my
creation, earned a deal with an The artist says creating your own comic comic. I had nothing. I was as poor as one
American publisher and gone acts as a good portfolio. It shows you how can be without dying. I created the comic on
into business with iconic artist Neal Adams. your art works on the page. It’ll also serve used A4 copy paper, using old markers,
The former web developer came up with you well when meeting an art director or inking with worn-out Pilot Fineliner pens.
character Agent Marc Saunders in 2010. He editor in person. It’s something physical to Things moved fast. From nothing – just an
wrote the story, did the pencil and ink work, take and talk over at conventions and idea, creativity and some bad materials –
the lettering and the layout for each of the conferences. Whether to act on their came a life. Desperation feeds innovation,
108-page issues he sent to the printers. He advances is up to you. and innovation can create a career.”

22 June 2014
 Artist news, software & events

Making comics move

Motion graphics See how e-publisher Madefire put a spring into
Batman’s step, adding a new slant to the Arkham Origins experience
Madefire was founded with the aim With art by Christian Duce, it’s available
of bringing about a “new storytelling for iPhone and iPad, the motion book is full
era.” It’s since brought to life Superman, of memorable scenes, some of which are Madefire’s motion
Hellboy, Star Trek and Transformers interactive – Batman’s bloody attempts at book concept adds
action and music to a
as motion books. amateur dentistry – extracting teeth and
comic scene – but
Its latest project stems from the best- information from his patient, being one. voiceovers are a no-no.
selling Batman: Arkham Origins, and is a Editor Ben Abernathy picks his favourite:
new tale in an all-new format, set just before “Batman’s staking out a poker
the storyline in the video game begins. game hosted by Detective
“We kept testing,” co-founder Liam Sharp Flass,” Ben says. “A young
says, “and arrived at the conclusion that any detective named James
motion should generally be Gordon crashes the game.
under two seconds. Then it It’s nicely executed, written well, has great
should settle and let you read art, perfect motion-book pacing and some
the words and study the art. amazing music. It’s tense and fun to finally
And no voiceover either, as see the iconic Gordon.”
that would dictate the pace. Everyone reads Find out more and download Batman:
at different paces. This is really important.” Arkham Origins at www.madefire.com.

Movement is kept to a minimum in the Madefire

motion books, so as not to overwhelm the story.

June 2014 23
 ImagineNation News
Hatboy
by Vaughn Pinpin

Your art news that’s

grabbed our attention
Sergio Lopez
(@Mainloop)
“Started this painting
from an old plein air
study today and already
got really far on it.”
http://ifxm.ag/fresh-sergio

Brian Taylor
(@CandykillerNews)
“Random digital
sketch and colour study.”
http://ifxm.ag/fresh-brian Fantasy talk Explaining the inexplicable
“His fists look like they would smash your face in with one
punch. He doesn’t need super powers in order to hurt you“
Batman artist Jason Fabok on why he loves Frank Miller’s tough guy caped crusader… Page 42

Noah’s art
High-water mark How
George Jimenez Niko Henrichon brought
(@GeorgeWJM)
Aronofsky’s Noah to life
“Longest master study Noah is the comic adaptation of an early
so far. Lots of hands and script written by Darren Aronofsky and Ari
subtle things going on. Handel for their movie of the same name.
Still many errors.” When work began more than four years
http://ifxm.ag/fresh-jimenez ago, the artist Niko Henrichon was unsure if
the movie would ever be
made. So he decided to put
his own stamp on the story.
“Comics and movies being
two different means of
expression,” Niko says, “we had to adapt the The graphic novel of compared to the film. “There are some really
Noah may be based on
script a little bit, to make the story fit the an early draft of the hard scenes in there. It’s compelling for
comic book format.” movie’s script, but the those really into storytelling. Noah is out in
story was modified to
The Canadian comic book artist has fit in with the comic cinemas now, and those who want to delve
previously worked on titles including New book idiom. a little deeper into movie making will find the
X-Men, Sandman and Spider-Man, and graphic novel very interesting. Specifically,
contributes covers for DC and Marvel how a script can evolve in two different
staples such as Fantastic Four and X-Men. projects, with similarities and differences.”
Just finished something you want us to shout Noah presented its own very specific art Visit www.nikohenrichon.com to see
about? Send it our way on Twitter
challenges, but the end products make for more of Niko’s work. Noah, the graphic novel
(@imaginefx), or find us on Facebook!
interesting reading, especially when and movie, are out now.

24 June 2014
 Artist news, software & events
Stephan portrays Athenian
hero Themistocles as he
charges the Persian
warriors on a horse, among
the ropes and mayhem of
the raging sea battle.

The art of an Empire

Stormy seas Stephan Martinière explains how he gave
300: Rise of an Empire its distinctive aesthetic
When Stephan Martinière to the scenes. Storm, the battle scene Stephan wanted to “I was asked to do two things: establish
combine an historically
was asked to come up with painting, is a good example.” believable Persian ship, the design of the Persian fleet – including the
concepts for the new movie The Dallas-based creative is a 25-year with fantasy elements. generic ships and Artemisia’s more
300: Rise of an Empire, he veteran of the entertainment industry, elaborate one; and to paint key scenes
immediately had a clear having worked for Disney, DreamWorks and bringing the fleet into context and defining a
vision of how he thought the sequel Universal on projects such as TRON: Legacy, mood, details, textures and colours for other
should look and feel. Star Trek and Star Wars: Episode II and III, parts of the ships, such as the deck and
“Conceptually,” Stephan says, “it was picking up a string of art’s top awards along Artemisia’s quarters.”
This battle scene, set in
important to keep a monochromatic feel. the way. Stephan was approached by long- To see more great concept work
a raging storm, was one
I was very interested in exploring a colour term collaborator and Rise of an Empire of the key moments in from Stephan’s time on the film, visit
the movie. Stephan
palette that mixed black, dark grey and production designer Patrick Tatopoulos www.martiniere.com. 300: Rise of an
created it with a stormy,
greens to bring a stormy and ominous feel to join the project. muted colour palette. Empire is out on DVD and Blu-ray in June.

June 2014 25
 ImagineNation News
My drawing table. I tend to work flat when drawing or working with My working paint area is an old cabinet repurposed. There’s
watercolours or markers, and I work upright at the easel with oils no method to my madness – I just find colours that work. Yes,
and acrylics. I also have a TV to watch old sci-fi films on. that’s a snooker cue I use as a maulstick. Works a charm.

+deviantWATCH
Here are some of the many gems we
found on the pages of deviantART…

365-DaysOfDoodles
http://ifxm.ag/dev-sketch365
Sketch 75, How to Train Your
Dragon, is part of an attempt by
the artist 365-DaysOfDoodles to
put pen to paper every single day
in 2014. So far Toothless takes
centre stage in this deft piece of
fan art. It’s definitely worth
spending some time clicking
through this gallery.

Eddy Shinjuku
http://ifxm.ag/dev-shinjuku
This dynamic work, which took
10 hours to create, comes with the
answer to the question, “Why are
the bullets intact?” Eddy answers:
“These aren’t ejected bullet
casings to begin with – she just Brushes galore. There are art materials, The painting is for a cover of a book
does the cool-guy-walks-away- sketches and canvases everywhere you coming out called The Baen Big
and-doesn’t-look-back-at- look. I’m always thinking about a million Book of Monsters, an anthology
things at any one time. about giant monsters. Dream job.
explosions’ thing.” Of course.

Bob Eggleton
Keeping it real The nine-time Hugo Award-winning artist on
why he prefers things he can touch, things he can feel
Wang Ling In 2009, my mother passed I also have a shipping area and a
http://ifxm.ag/dev-wlop away very suddenly and photography area downstairs. My wife
Chinese artist Wang Ling has a I inherited her house. Rather and I had to learn to photograph our
gallery full of moody, narrative-led than selling it for a low own work, when art photographers folded
pieces like this one, each rendered
with an eye for details and soft, price in a bad housing up business.
cold colours. Light and Darkness market, I turned it into a studio – one that I’ve been a professional artist for over
attracted hundreds of comments functioned not just as an art studio, but 30 years, winning numerous awards,
within hours of posting – debating
everything from who’s who, to also with a kitchen and other rooms, so including the Hugo Award nine times. I work
what the necklace symbolises. that I’m able to sleep over when working traditionally and have done so throughout
late on a project. my career. I’ve stayed so busy that doing

26 June 2014
 Artist news, software & events
Bookcases: there are never enough. Books outgrow bookcases in my world, so they stack up – books about
There are always new books needing movies and some classic fiction books, usually HP Lovecraft, Jules Verne
cases I don’t have (yet). and others. But the art books always occupy the lion’s share of things.

On the drawing table, books

recently used for inspiration are on
view, as is a sketch of something
I’m currently working up.

a digital learning curve is something I’ve During that time, I get things done, which
simply not had time for. That said, we means that I eat and sleep normal hours,
own something like six computers – unless I’m super busy.
mostly for email and processing The pictures show the main studio.
photographed art via Photoshop, to My wife’s also in the same room, off to
send to clients fully colour-balanced. the extreme right. Outside is a completely
I stand when I work, usually at an easel. unsuspecting bucolic neighbourhood.
You see it in the centre of this room, which Inside, on canvas, I create monsters
has northern lighting exposure. Standing is and destroy worlds.
better for you, generally speaking. Bob Eggleton is one of the most decorated
The best thing about separating where artists of his generation, and even has an
I listen to music and even watch movies when working. I own something like
I work from where I live is that I feel like I asteroid named after him. Go and take a look 4,000 CDs and DVDs. I’m old school. I like physical things. Some of them can
go to the ‘office’ on a nine-to-five basis. at his work at www.bobeggleton.com. be seen here – and of course, toys that inspire me on a daily basis.

June 2014 27
 ImagineNation

Forum
Winners
Image of the month
Wayne O Connor has been trying to brush up on his
environmental pieces, which is why the theme of Ruined
City appealed to him so much. “I was aiming for a kind
of calm, serene setting,” he says, “so losing the
submersible, which was part of the initial plan, was the only major
Watery grave What do you get if you take a scene of a change. It felt like a distraction.”
long-abandoned city and place it underwater? The In the end he decided to let the ruins, which he drew first, tell the

winner of this month’s Forum challenge, of course! story. The water and fish were worked in later. But Wayne, ever the
perfectionist, thinks the piece could still be better.
“The only part I’m not totally happy about is the fish shoal. The idea
is good, but my execution a little lacking. I’ll probably readdress that
in the future. It was a fun challenge, and the feedback I’ve received
from fellow forum users was invaluable for the final touches.”

WIN PRIZES! MYFX TITLE: Ruined City

Congratulations Wayne – you’ve won two ImagineFX specials of WINNER: Wayne O Connor (DoctorDark)
your choice! To get your hands on similar prizes, see our Forum GALLERY: http://ifxm.ag/doctor-dark
challenges at www.imaginefx.com/forums ALL ENTRIES: http://ifxm.ag/ruinedcity

From the outset, Looking to

IMAGINEFX CRIT Wayne – aka
DoctorDark – aimed
sharpen his
environment skills,
“I’m loving this. It’s neatly painted for a “calm, serene” Wayne jumped at

and has that genuine ancient ruins image, developing

nicely here.
the chance to take
on this challenge.
feel. A clear winner, for me”
Charlotte Ahlgren (Voluspa)

Here’s Wayne O Connor’s winning entry for the

theme of Ruined City, for which he’s received
positive feedback from fellow forum members.

28 June 2014
 Forum winners

Join in!
www.imaginefx.com/forums
Antonio Fernandez,
one of two winners of
the Eternity theme,
with his “surreal” entry.

MYFX TITLE: Eternity

WINNER: Antonio Fernandez (HansNomad)
GALLERY:: http://ifxm.ag/hansnomad
GALLERY
GALLER
ALL ENTRIES: http://ifxm.ag/eternity2
Initially, Antonio Fernandez,
found Eternity a difficult concept
to visualise. “My first attempt,” he
says, “was to include as many
eternity symbols as I could
manage. Then I tried to give it a sci-fi spin,
but then dropped that concept as well.”
Eventually, Antonio decided on a “clean,
simple and surreal” image – giving a nod to
René Magritte and Clive Barker.

MYFX TITLE: Booty-full!

WINNER: Chris Kapp (Wreckluse)
GALLERY: http://ifxm.ag/wreckluse
ALL ENTRIES: http://ifxm.ag/booty-full
“When I first read the topic of the
challenge I immediately thought MYFX TITLE: Eternity
of Mitch Byrd’s work. His plus-size WINNER: Cassandre Bolan (Cassandre Bolan)
women are fantastic. He’s long GALLERY: http://ifxm.ag/casbolan
GALLER
GALLERY:
been a favourite artist of mine and ALL ENTRIES: http://ifxm.ag/eternity2
was certainly an inspiration in the making of “For this piece,” Cassandre
this piece. I had been working on a sculpture says, “I wanted to combine
of a pair of little fairies trying to lug a the ethereal mood of Jeff
humongous apple back to their home prior Simpson’s portraits with some
to the challenge, and the idea for this piece classic eternity symbols.” The
Cassandre Bolan
just kind of popped into my head. I like to Dubai-based artist’s multi-layered piece shares the spoil in this
make people laugh as much as I like to paint, This very unique theme brought out Chris Kapp’s symbolises the “evanescence of life,” contest, with her piece
so when I have the chance to combine the creative side, inspired by the art of one of his something that “simultaneously terrifies symbolising the
two, I can’t pass it up.” favourite artists, Mitch Byrd. and fascinates” her protagonist. “evanescence of life”.

June 2014 29
 ImagineNation

YOUR FEEDBACK & OPINIONS Our star letter writer wins a

dA Premium Membership!
Contact the editor, Claire Howlett, • Browse more content more quickly
on claire@imaginefx.com or write • Customise your profile page • Receive
exclusive discounts & offers • And more!
to ImagineFX, Future Publishing, The advice of Goñi Montes in issue 105 on how to paint
30 Monmouth Street, Bath,
On the up!
shiny latex didn’t quite work for reader Chris Gray.
BA1 2BW, UK
provided in 105 were not for the shiny effect I wanted to thank you. I applied to
Follow us on twitter:
that you were after. We’ll see if we can get art school in the UK and although I
www.twitter.com/imaginefx
another artist to show how they do it in was accepted, I couldn’t go. It was too
Tell us your thoughts on: another issue soon. expensive and the tutor who
www.facebook.com/imaginefx interviewed me shocked me. My style
Download bundle of work back then was mostly
Illustrator required Because I love the magazine so much I want manga-based, and although I was
I would love to see a reoccurring to submit this simple idea, which I hope told I was “clearly very handy with a
section devoted to Illustrator. I use might help improve it slightly. I loved the pencil,” I was also informed that
Illustrator as much as I use old disc of assets and miss this form of “manga isn’t accepted here as a form
Photoshop. I start all my delivery, but rather than gripe about the of art,” and they “see this sort of work
illustrations by hand so that I can new method I’d like to help improve it. My a lot and it is such a shame”. I was
feel the life of my characters flow issue is the work needed to download it. more than a little annoyed. Not only
from the pencil. Once I’ve sketched Hours of videos and tutorials are split over a were they obviously wrong, they’d
out the details I scan everything dozen or so links that, for a guy stuck with insulted something I’ve loved since
into Illustrator so that I can build it terrible internet, takes ages to manually I saw my first manga book in 1996!
digitally to achieve a very precise download and save every link. I don’t A few days later my fiancé spotted
and crisp line. Then I export it all believe fixing this issue would require any your special manga and anatomy
into Photoshop and do all my work at all. All you’d need to is do to include issues, and I set to improving myself
rendering. I would say that at least half of Reader Michael J Cole one download link at the top of the page with your help. My art has gone from
has great success creating
my time is spent in Illustrator, and because images like this in labelled All Assets for ImagineFX of simple and lifeless to somewhere
of that, I would love to see tutorials, tips, Illustrator, and would like monthX/yearY. And that link would deliver where I think this could end up being
a regular section in IFX
and suggestions for that program. devoted to the program. just one compressed file with all the a living for me. I could see the
Michael J Cole, US download material in one organised folder. improvement every few pieces of
Don’t most of the people who use the work and I couldn’t have done it
Claire replies Michael, your request is duly service download every file anyway? without all of you. I’m also pleased to
noted. It would have been good to know if Guðbrandur Magnússon, via email say that my 11-month-old daughter is
you had a particular Illustrator artist in already loving IFX. I’m sure she’ll be
mind to share their techniques. Do any Claire replies Hello Guðbrandur. Good a subscriber when she’s older!
readers have an artist that they’d like us to idea. We will add a ‘download all’ option for Nicola, via email
approach for a workshop? Let us know. readers who want to download everything
at once. It will be a large file size, though, so Claire replies Nicola, it’s lovely to
Taken the shine off we will still provide the downloads hear that we have helped you get
In the recent pin-up issue (#105), there was separately so that readers can pick and back on track with your art, but it
a Q&A on shiny latex on page 39 that didn’t choose the files that they want too. really isn’t all down to us! It’s your
go into enough depth for me. I’ve tried for perseverance to improve and to
ages to achieve that look, both on and off Fist bump to IFX continue creating that has paid off.
the computer, with no real success, so “I wonder what Claire has for me this time?” We can’t take the credit for that. By
I wondered if it was possible to do a video That’s what I ask myself every time I’m off to the way, my daughter (22 months) is
showing how different artists manage it. pick up the latest issue of ImagineFX. And to loving drawing, too. Maybe they’ll
What paper, board, brush, paint, ink, find you’re doing a pin-up issue and that become future cover art stars?
program, and how they choose light source, you’re featuring my all-time favourite pin-
direction and so on. I suggest more than up artist, Sorayama, I knew I was in for a
one artist because in the same issue you can treat. A mega fist bump goes out to Serge
see Sorayama’s shiny is different to Serge Birault for some great questions! And to
Birault’s, and Miss Mosh (page 52), Pink Loopydave for a killer cover page!
Amazon (page 55) and Lady Dynamite The magazine is my absolute favourite
(page 77) are all shiny but different. It and I treat each one as a reference guide for
would be so good to have something to future works placed ever so neatly on my
refer to when I’m trying for that shiny look. shelf. Thank you to all the people involved
Chris Gray, via email in the best resource mag ever!
DID YOU MISS
ISSUE 108? Michael S Bartosiewicz, via email
Claire replies You’re right Chris, each artist See page 55 for We may have given Nicola some pointers, but
will have a different way to create that shiny details on how to Claire replies I’ll pass on the fist bump to her art is entirely down to her own hard work!
effect, and it would seem that the tips we get hold of a copy. Serge, Michael. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.

30 June 2014
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 ImagineNation Artist Q&A
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GOT A QUESTION FOR OUR EXPERTS? LET US

EASE YOUR ART-ACHE AT HELP@IMAGINEFX.COM

Question
Can you help me draw facial expressions
for a character who has a skull-like face?
Michael Jaramillo, US

Paco Rico Torres Answer

Paco is a freelance illustrator Paco replies
living in Spain who’s produced Humans interpret different
art for several card games, facial configurations as specific
magazines, books and role-
playing games. messages. For example, when
www.pacorico.blogspot.co.uk the levator anguli oris (caninus
muscle) contracts, raising the upper lip and
Melanie Maier making the fangs visible, it’s sending a
Melanie is a freelance artist message of anger. When the corrugator
with a strong interest for
character designs and supercilii contracts, it raises the inner parts
illustrations. Her clients include of the brows to express sadness.
Applibot, Volta and Ulisses. This applies to every human face,
www.melaniemaier.de
including a skull-like face. The main
Nick Harris difference is how the skin over the muscles
Gloucestershire-based Nick and bones of the head react to these
went digital in 2000 after 18 complex muscular movements. When
years working with traditional there’s little or no fat under the skin, the
methods. He mostly paints
children’s illustrations. bones become more visible, as do the
www.nickillus.com muscles and tendons. The eyes appear
sunken and the veins more prominent. The
Mark Molnar expression wrinkles are still there, but
Mark works as a concept and
they’re smaller and not as deep.
visual development artist for
the entertainment industry I’d advise studying the expressive values
and freelances for film, game of the face’s anatomy, either using online
and animation companies. sources or reference books. This will enable
www.markmolnar.com
you to paint the expressions accurately. If
Sara Forlenza you also analyse photos of thin and/or
Sara is a freelance illustrator older people then you’ll gain an
living in Italy, where she Painting expressions on
understanding of how different skins react a skull-like face is easy if
works on book covers,
digital card products and
to certain expressions, and which bones you know the shape of
the skull and which
role-playing games. and muscles are the most prominent. Do muscles are responsible
www.saraforlenza.deviantart.com this and your task will become much easier. for specific expressions.

Viktoria Gavrilenko
Originally a freelance
illustrator from Sweden,
Viktoria now lives in England,

Artist’s secret
where she works as a concept
artist for Atomhawk.
www.viccolatte.deviantart.com
T
ANATOMY IS IMPORTANtom
Elena Berezina y is one of the most
Learning ana
do if you
Elena, also known as important things that you can
rac ters . Tha t doesn’t
sharandula, lives in Russia want to paint cha
in the southern city of
tin g cha rac ters who are
Voronezh and illustrates for mean pain
te, but
the video games industry. completely anatomically accura First sketch the head with
goin g on und er the skin
www.sharandula.deviantart.com knowing what’s a neutral gaze, then add a

ly in you r art isti c end eav ours. suitable expression.

will help you significant

34 June 2014
 Your questions answered...
Step-by-step: Question
Paint a range of How can I make my elf character
facial expressions fit in with her environment?
Jessica Ballston, England

When painting an elf,

always make sure to
show the ears, even if
headgear would make
better sense!

The zygomaticus minor muscle curves

1 the mouth downwards and the
corrugator supercilii pushes the inner parts
of the brows upwards, giving to the face a
Inspire yourself by
sad look. In a normal face this would cause looking at fashion
deep skin folds on the sides of the mouth, collections or your
favourite fantasy art.
but in a skull-like face, I minimise them. Less Think about interesting
fat under the skin results in smaller folds. shapes and patterns.

The procerus muscle lowers the inner

2 part of the brows. Combined with the
caninus muscle and triangularis muscle,
which raises the inner part of the lips, it also
helps to flare the nostrils. This creates a look
of anger. The foldings on the mouth and
brows are inevitable, but vertical foldings on
the lips can enhance the thin look.
Answer
Melanie replies
Start by considering the environment characters might affect the colours of her design.
you want to depict. For my character I use bluish colours to indicate the cold
design, I chose to move away from temperatures, and fair colours to merge the
the typical forest elf theme and draw character with the background because
an elf who lives in a snowy environment. I imagine that she’s a hunter. Then I make a tight
Then I research existing cultures and tribes drawing to check if my idea of the design works,
who living in a similar environment to the before adding colours.
fantasy character I want to picture, such as the
North American Inuit. I gather references for
clothing, weaponry and other relevant details,
then analyse how the tribes use natural resources

3
The zygomaticus major muscle raises
the edges of the mouth, creating a
such as fur, leather and bones.
The next step is to sketch a typical and
Artist’s secret
cheerful expression. The occipitofrontalis dynamic gesture that will fit the environment BUILD YOUR OWN CULTU RE
muscle raises the brows and the orbicularis you want to put your character in. Make sure that
rence library on your
Develop a comprehensive refe archaeology
oculi muscle lifts the lower lids. I paint you don’t copy your reference sources wholesale. computer and read up on history, knowledge
wid en you r overall
some horizontal skin folds over the brows, During the painting process, I consider and cultures to
hentic designs
and make some muscles more visible under suitable lighting schemes and how the base. It will help you create aut
new idea s more quickly.
the skin to make him look thinner. environment and the profession of the and to come up with

June 2014 35
 ImagineNation Artist Q&A
Question Question
My close-ups seem to lose the Can you offer some tips on
feel of my subject. Any ideas? painting twisted metal?
Aby Abdul-Muid, United Arab Emirates Barnaby Dobson, Isle of Man

Answer
Sara replies
To set the picture in the best way I help myself with
diagonals and medians. Here, my evil demon’s
facial expression should be consistent with a
malignant personality. So I paint him with furrowed
brow, nose curled and clenched teeth. At this point, I proceed
with the colours. Because cool colours appear more distant,
I choose a blue-greyish colour for the background, and use a
warmer colour for the skin of the character to make it stand out
and bring it up to the viewer’s eyes.
To focus attention on the character I add more details on the
face and leave other areas in the picture less defined. I choose a
direct cold lighting with very strong shadows to better define
the shape of the character, and introduce vibrancy with the
contrast between light and shadow. I focus the brightest point
near the eyebrows, cheekbone and nose. Finally, I choose red as
the eye colour, to emphasise the evil features of the character.
Using a deep shadow to disguise the
gore also enables me to accentuate
the glints of light on torn metal,
making the scene more dramatic.

Answer
Nick replies
For me, the trick is deciding been prepared. For instance, cast iron can
what type of metal you plan to be brittle, and as a result this might be
depict and just how it has been more likely to shatter than tear. How thick
damaged. It can be a good idea is the metal? What shape did it take
to have intact metal elements in the originally? All these factors should affect
composition, to help inform the viewer. your mangled metal’s look. Thinner, sheet
To add liveliness and dynamism I choose a top-down view, and I make the
Most of us aren’t used to seeing mangled metal tears with jagged, sharp edges that
eyes coincide with the centre of the image, to focus attention on that point. metal in everyday life, so it has to be may pick up the light. It may dent with
recognisable for what it is. sharp creases that also catch the light.
Furthermore, metal behaves differently Think of how the light in your
under stress, depending on how it has composition falls on your example.

Question
What’s a simple way of
depicting sun-drenched hair?
Mark Tillman, US

Answer
Elena replies
I often use the free Paint Tool I start to paint with a Soft brush, and
SAI to create my art. The then move onto harder and thinner
program’s Standard brush is brushes. Where sunlight hits the hair, it
ideal for depicting hair. You can results in a strong speck of light and reveals
also choose the Circular brush, which is the hair’s many shades. It’s not necessary to
designed for painting hair and wool, but I draw every strand of hair. Instead, lay down
prefer the Standard brush, because it gives a suitable foundation on to which you later
me more freedom. draw a few strands and stray hairs.
I draw on one layer, over which I create Consider the effect of glare on hair.
several layers with light effects. When you Using an Overlay layer creates an
paint human hair, don’t forget that it interesting effect of white soft spots. I also
follows the shape of the head and has add shades of hair on the face, and drop
I add a warm light from below, and some sparks as a final touch, suggesting
volume. I carefully do all my strokes shadows over the forehead from the
the presence of fire that also gives movement to the portrait. along the hairline. character’s bangs.

36 June 2014
 Your questions answered...
Question
How can I spruce up
my undead designs?
Danny Winters, US

Answer
Mark replies
If you hang around a favourite fantasy character for
too long, you risk limiting your techniques and,
more importantly, your imagination. But there are
ways to keep painting your favourite life-challenged
feet-draggers, and still keep things fresh. Pick an element you
usually wouldn’t, and go to town on it!
Here I’ve picked on the costume of a living-impaired chap,
and decided he’d look good in fantasy soldier attire. A good way
to paint chain mail is to create a custom brush shaped as three
rings together with two different levels of opacity on each one
of them (one side very opaque and the other quite translucent)
and with some Spacing and the Angle Jitter option controlled by
direction. If you use this brush by painting brush strokes in
alternate directions you’ll soon create a chain mail surface.
Once the chain mail is painted, put lights and shadows on it
using Burn and Dodge tools. To finish, add some extra highlights
and details manually. There are many ways to paint chain mail,
but this is the fastest technique I can think of, and will hopefully
put some life back into your passion for the dead ones.

Artist’s secret
WHATEVER WORKS
If you’re reading this and
lore
following every word – stop! Exp
and expe rim ent. Thi s is how the
sh
tip of my custom chain mail bru
one tha t works best
looks like – the
for me – but try others for Use the custom chain mail brush to
interesting results. paint the basic chain shape, and then
Dodge and Burn tools to integrate it
into the painting, by illuminating it.

Step-by-step: Light up a head of hair

I draw the face and establish the hair’s I smear strands that are further away To finish, I add detail to the hair using
1 colour, the light source and the main 2 from viewer with a little brush water. 3 a separate Overlay layer. For shady
area of glare. I also apply the colours of This results in a more artistic look. I areas, I prefer to add a little purple colour.
the environment to the hair. I paint strands illuminate the glare on the forelock with I continue to add rays of light sparks, dust
of hair with a Soft brush, especially those the Soft brush on a separate layer, and particles, reflections in the eyes and details
close to the glare. I paint the darkest areas lighten the background. I add volume to to the skin. I aim to give the picture a
of the hair and add reflections. the forelock with Overlay layers. tangible air of fantasy!

June 2014 37
 ImagineNation Artist Q&A
Question
I need help picturing someone who’s eaten far too much!
Jared Timiney, US

Answer
Nick replies
This is probably a sign of my
age, but the first thing that
popped into my head when
I read this question was Monty
Python’s Mr Creosote, from The Meaning
of Life. He’s a glutton who explodes when
persuaded by a waiter to finish off his
enormous meal with an after-dinner mint.
Although an exaggerated and overweight
caricature for comic effect, his later lethargy
induced by excessive eating perfectly
describes what’s in my head. I want to avoid
a caricatured, fat person though, so I’m
going for some average build types to
tackle. The idea is to have them slumped at
the table, almost unable to move.
Putting the detritus from the enormous
meal that they’ve just eaten around them
should hopefully help explain what’s going
on. I don’t want the viewer to think they are
just drunk, so I’ll avoid any obvious
evidence pointing to that. Their lethargy
and slack jaws require other clues to be
These medieval diners
are full up, not drunk, so Artist’s secret
placed around. This scene is set during a
I’ve avoided putting
empty flagons of mead KEEP AN EYE ON THEhavWH OLE THING
e the image open
Dark Age feast. They’ve been eating with on the table.
If your software supports it,
entire image while you
their hands, which can be suitably grubby, alongside as a view showing the see the impact (or
ails. It helps you
and are too full to feel like even wiping work close in on det
on the composition .
their mouths. Bits of food and other stains not) that your work is having
are down their fronts.

Step-by-step: Picture the carnage after a heavy feast

I sketch out a rough I block in a base colour
1 composition, using a
2 and hint at some shadow
raised eye level so the viewer’s areas very early on, and then
looking down on the pair. This move on to consolidating
is a well-worn trick for making some of the colours. I block
the subject seem more in colours on the helmet-
vulnerable and suits the scene. wearing character’s clothes.
Things like that can add to the I do this by painting on a layer
overall effect. I resist above, set to Multiply Blend
exaggerating the pose mode and using the Oil brush,
because I intend to make the as I have for the base. A
point without resorting to Multiply layer enables me to
caricature if possible. ‘glaze’ the scene.

I need our main man to Thinking medieval

3 be rather slack jawed, so
4 banquet or Viking feast,
delicately is he balanced I mark bones discarded this
between feeling full and way and that. The idea is to
feeling sick. I zoom in and have everything eaten apart
tweak his lower lip and from one grape. I block their
simultaneously angle his brows shapes in with solid oil paint on
up slightly. This expression a layer above the base layer.
should help the effect of I bring several layers of
looking rather helpless. Spend shadows (Multiply Blend
time on expressions. People mode) using a warm ochre.
notice them. I mark in some Finally, highlights go over
food splatters down his front. everything to crisp things up.

38 June 2014
 Your questions answered...
This girl has coarse
facial features. She Question
I need help depicting a freezing
has wide cheekbones,
a big chin, a large

cold day. Do you have any advice?

nose and full lips. She
looks a little like a
young man.
Nick Lewis, Australia
Red cheeks, ears and
nose hint at the
Answer freezing temperatures,
and don’t forget the
Viktoria replies watery eyes!
Coming from Sweden,
I’m used to putting up
with four months of
freezing cold every
single year. So I know exactly how
you can paint a horribly cold day.
Simply paint a horribly freezing
person or people in an ice-cold
environment. That should make
the image feel really frosty,
because it gives people something
to relate to.
To paint a freezing person it’s
good to either draw from memory
or put yourself in that person’s
shoes if you’ve never experienced a
cold winter. Imagine how you
would feel being chilled to the warm up a little. Your cheeks and
bone. You’d probably be shivering. nose and ears would be reddened,
Your nose would be running and and your breath would condense in
Question your eyes would water in the cold a cloud before you. There could be

I’d like some tips on blocking out the air. You’d probably hunch up in
your thick winter jacket, maybe
snow falling and everything in
your scene could be covered with
main shapes of faces for portraits hug yourself in a futile attempt to frost, snow and icicles.
Kath Bennie, England

Question
Answer How would you paint a hand
Elena replies
For proper head that’s been immersed in water?
construction, first draw Ben Kift, Wales
a vertical line, which
sets the centre of the
face. Then determine the location Answer
of the major parts of the face: eyes, Paco replies
nose, lips and ears. They should To paint a shrivelled-up
follow the formula that a face is fingertip, you can paint
divided into three equal parts in a basic normal fingertip
height, bisecting the line of the and then add some
forehead, eyebrows and nose. The suitable details, bearing two things
eyes should be properly positioned in mind. First, fingers become
relative to each other, with the slightly paler, and second, wrinkles
distance between them being the cast shadows like anything else.
This woman has classic feminine facial
width of an eye. features. She has the same proportions as So after you paint the finger,
From the inner edges of the eyes the figure pictured above, but the result is a note where the light is coming
different character.
draw vertical lines. The intersection Once I’ve painted the full hand, adding the
from and then start painting
with the line of the nose gives you main planes that start from the wrinkles is quite easy. I just need to pay wrinkles here and there, applying
attention to the light direction.
the width of the nose. The nose is beginning of the eyebrows and the the lights and shadows accordingly.
divided into three sectors in the acute angle of the eyebrows. To Wrinkles form vertical or
form of a trapezoid. The mouth is define the cheekbones, draw a line whirlwind-shaped foldings; paint
determined by vertical lines, drawn from the top edge of the ears to the them using a relatively soft brush
from the edge of the irises. The line ends of the mouth. Determine the and subtle tones, because you may
of the mouth extends somewhere in border and the proportions of the not want to add too much intensity
the lower face but sometimes higher, upper and lower lips, and don’t to the wrinkles. Tweak the colours
depending on the nature of the forget the groove between the nose using light, cold colours on Screen
character you’re drawing. and upper lip. Of course, you need and Soft Light layers. Finally, note
The most pronounced planes are to remember that people are that fingertips shrivel faster than
The shape of the wrinkles is distinctly soft
the cheekbones, forehead and nose. different, and each character and rounded, and they usually form a
the rest of the hand, so you may
The forehead is determined by three requires an individual approach. vertical or whirled pattern. want to put more wrinkles there.

June 2014 39
 ImagineNation Artist Q&A
Question Question
Please help me guide the How can I make my
viewer around an image fantasy art stand out?
Chin Hu Lim, Taiwan Noah Tekkon, Japan

Answer
Melanie replies
Creating a unique fantasy design can be a tough
task, but there are some basic guidelines that you
can follow. The most important is not to come up
with a generic version of a design that people have
seen hundreds of times before. A good approach is to base your
design on an existing historic culture and then add mythical
and fantastic elements. Don’t be shy to exaggerate some body
features to enhance the overall expression of the character. Give
them superhuman strength, draw them as a sexy figure or make
them as creepy looking as your worst nightmare.
I decide to paint a fusion of an Assyrian priest and the
common fantasy theme of a beast-warrior, to show the
important role of cows and bulls in their mythology.
To make the design work I apply another common rule:
recurring patterns, shapes and materials. I use Assyrian circular
patterns for the priest’s clothing and jewellery. I also make sure
to stick to a single metallic material (in this case gold) instead of
mixing metals, such as iron, silver, bronze and copper. I give the
The bridge acts as the Assyrian priest bullhorns and ears to enhance the fantasy feel
viewer’s introduction and bulk up his body shape.
into the painting.
To build up the values I first paint the character in greyscale.
Carefully planning the lighting scheme helps me to bring out
Answer three-dimensional forms. As soon as I’m satisfied with the
Sara replies values, I go forward to the colour stage.
Start by defining the setting of
the image. In my country Adding bovine
people read from left to right, elements to the
human priest gives
so I know that my eye will the character a
finally alight on the bottom right corner. strong fantasy feel.
In countries where reading goes from
right to left, you can simply mirror the
image setting.
Now that I’ve established the final point The sketch is an important stage. It doesn’t need to
for the viewer’s eye, I just have to create a be a completely accurate image, but it should help
you complete the image.
guided path. The easiest way to accomplish
this is to use oblique lines that cross the To stop the viewer from stepping
entire drawing. I decide to draw a sorceress immediately from point A to point B (see
who’s casting a spell. In this case, I think a below), I insert some elements that balance
good idea is painting a bridge crossing the the movement of the image. I use a second
picture. Placing the character on the bridge, virtual line that starts from the magical
I follow the oblique line with the cape and staff to the foot. Now I only have to
the arm that casts the spell. emphasise the path with colour. The
brightest spots are the point of origin and
the final point. I paint the sorceress with
warmer colours, but use the warmest, most
contrasted colours for the end point (B).

Artist’s secret
FOCUS DETAILS IN
THE RIGHT PLACES
Apply details in areas
where you want the
viewer’s eye to remain the
longest. In my example
the hair, the sorceress’s
face, the sceptre and the
spell are rich in detail, A well-defined
greyscale sketch gives
helping to guide the eye Here’s the path that the viewer follows in this image. me enough value
on to these parts. It moves over a good part of the painting and also information to take the
image into colour.
creates dynamism.

40 June 2014
 Next month
ON SALE: 23 May
How do you paint a
Question modern war shoot-out?
Can you help me paint a sandstorm
without it looking like a brown blob?!
Summer Norton, Sweden

Answer
Viktoria replies
Painting a sandstorm So consider adding some element Hopefully, you’ll have some ideas that’s much more fuzzy around the
using Photoshop is of story to your sandstorm painting. Is of how to paint more than just an edges, and significantly denser. You
relatively easy. However, the sandstorm on Earth or an alien orange dust cloud. Now for the won’t get much light scattering in a
making a sandstorm look planet? Is it engulfing the ruins of an process. What you need to think sandstorm, and you won’t see very
interesting can be a bit trickier, since ancient city way out in the desert? about for a background scene of a far inside it. Basically, it’ll be like
we’re basically talking about a rolling How about painting a desert nomad sandstorm is that it basically looks looking at a scene that’s affected by
cloud of dust and… well, sand. becoming engulfed by the sandstorm? like a rolling cumulus cloud, but one thick, sand-coloured fog.

An obscured figure is one

way to give your sandstorm
a sense of depth and volume.

Step-by-step: Depict a figure caught in a fierce sandstorm

In Photoshop, I start off by producing I choose three grainy brushes and After rendering everything, I start
1 a very quick sketch of a lone cloaked 2 work only with them when defining 3 painting grains of sand. Using two
figure, some rock formations and the shapes of the rocks, the sandstorm different speckled brushes on a separate
indications of the sandstorm cloud. I and the nomad. Using textured brushes layer, I lightly brush over the ground where
then colour the main shapes with a Soft gives the right feeling of a dry and sandy the heavier sand in the storm is. Finally, to
Round brush that’s environment and it make the grains look
set to Noise. I also makes the like they’re blowing
concern myself only image a bit more around, I blur the
with the lighting in interesting. It also layer with Gaussian
the scene and makes it clear to the Blur and Motion Blur,
achieving the right viewer that this is setting Distance to
orange colours for not a cloud of water, 12 pixels and Angle
the desert sand. but of sand. to the wind direction.

Got a digital art problem? Is an image giving you art-ache? Our panel can help. Email your question to our
experts at help@imaginefx.com or write to Artist Q&A, ImagineFX, 30 Monmouth St, Bath, BA1 2BW, UK.

June 2014 41
 THE DARK ART OF
BATMAN The Dark Knight may be 75 this year, but
Gotham’s vigilante remains an enigma. Here
are the art styles and storylines that
made him a comic book legend

T
he 27th issue of Detective been drawn in countless styles and survived
Comics appeared on thousands of strange perils. Yet he remains
America’s newsstands at once an inspiration and an enigma.
during May 1939. Its The main Batman series today, drawn by
bright yellow and red Greg Capullo and written by Scott Snyder,
cover featured a caped figure swinging into still harks back to the original character of
view and two gangsters in the foreground. the late 1930s and early 40s. Two years ago,
For 10 cents, American kids could forget the DC rebooted Batman as part of its New 52
All artwork © DC Comics unless stated

Depression and the war brewing in Europe, scheme and Batman faced a cult of assassins
and enjoy 64 pages of hand-drawn action. in the Court of Owls storyline. There in the
Eye-catching? Certainly. But who could artwork he’s got that square-ish face, gritted
have predicted that this oddly dressed teeth, an expansive cowl and shadows all
character would become an icon of the around – just like back in the day.
modern age. For 75 years he’s entertained Of course, square faces were the only
millions of fans in print, on the radio, on kind the original Batman creator Bob Kane
TV, in cinema and in video games. He’s could really draw. And those shadows

42 June 2014
 © 2005 Warner Bros

BLACK & WHITE

A stark piece of concept art
for the film Batman Begins
by British artist Jock.

June 2014 43
 GOTHIC LEGEND
An internal panel by Edward Hannigan from
Legends of the Dark Knight, which became
the third ongoing Batman title following the
success of Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989.

concealed his draughting deficiencies RA’S AL GHUL grittier he is, the better for
along with baddies such as Doctor Death, Reducing the number me,” says Tony S Daniel, who
of clown villains in the
Hugo Strange, The Joker and The Cat. Yet comics, Neal Adams first worked on the Batman
Bill Finger’s writing gave Batman and his helped create the assassin series in 2007. “I think
chief Ra’s al Ghul.
alter ego Bruce Wayne humanity. He hones Batman has a lot of anger
his intelligence to become a great scientist within. The murder of his parents shaped
and detective, and develops the physique of Bruce Wayne into the man he became, and
an Olympian. They’re attributes needed to created Batman. Batman shouldn’t smile.
protect Gotham’s backstreets from the kind Bruce Wayne can. And when he does, that’s
of scum who killed his parents. his real mask, to me.”
This vision of Batman resonates strongly Juxtaposed with Superman – a
with today’s artists. “The darker, bigger and benevolent alien with supernatural powers

The darker, bigger and

grittier he is, the better.
Batman has a lot of anger SOUTHERN NOIR
Batman headed south to Florida to bust up a gang of
gunrunners in the Haunted Lighthouse of Death story.

beyond our world – Batman is human and this discipline and these grandly altruistic
his strength comes from within. “I think qualities in ourselves.”
readers identify with Batman because
he’s a regular man – he isn’t an alien, a WHOLESOME STUFF
god or a mutated superhuman,” says Yet not long after his inception, the tougher
Jonathan Duran, who’s the founder of face of Batman was put to one side. In those
Comicsastonish.com. “When early stories, Batman shot and killed people
faced with devastation and – strong stuff for 10-year-olds. Under
loss, he focused on a single scrutiny from US censors, there was
HAUNTING goal, and through his own pressure across publishing to tone down the
In August 1971,
Irv Novick and Dick
willpower and determination sex and violence in titles aimed at children.
Giordano mixed pencil was able to build himself to the peak of Batman and his sidekick Robin – created by
shading with more classic
line art for this spooky
human potential. That’s an obvious draw Kane’s assistant Jerry Robinson – became
Detective Comics cover. for people, because we would all love to see wholesome and heroic.

44 June 2014
MEET THE MAN WHO
MAN t
REDEFINED BATNeal Adams abou c artist
We asked hugely influential comi and more…
his vision of Batman, designing Ra’s al Ghul

What was your characterisation of Batman

when you started drawing him in the late 60s?
Well, he didn’t hang around in the daytime in long
underwear. He had a cape that flowed like
Dracula’s cape. He was drawn more realistically.
He had good anatomy. He was a better detective.
In fact, he was always a good detective, but when
you make a cartoon of it you hardly even notice. Batman is, after
all, the Sherlock Holmes of today. He is Sherlock Holmes and an
Olympic champion if you want to put the two together.

So what did you want to change about the Batman in the

comics, as opposed to the TV show?
We decided we were going to make the real Batman – a Batman
who was involved in real cases with semi-real people, and for a
while we would avoid the clowns, because they really don’t
reflect well on Batman. When we began to consider reviving
Two-Face and The Joker I had a long conversation with Julius
‘Julie’ Schwartz at DC and I said: “Julie, look, before we get into
the clowns, don’t we need a Moriarty?”

Is that where Ra’s al Ghul came from?

Yes. Julius came in one day and he said: “Ra’s al Ghul!” and
I said: “Okay, Julie, it sounds Arabic to me, what is it?” And he
said: “Well, it’s our villain. That’s our Moriarty. He’s just an evil
genius who wants to help the world, and unfortunately he’s
willing to sacrifice lives to do that.” So I went off and indeed
created the look of Ra’s al Ghul that we know so well in the
comic books now.

You recently revisited Batman in your own series,

Batman: Odyssey. What were you aiming to do with
the artwork there?
Well, I wanted my artwork to be worth the money they were
paying me, which was a lot more than they were paying me
back in the old days. So I went into a lot more detail with
things and it became richer and fuller. I always felt the work
I did was worth reading a second time and a third time. In this
I nailed it. I nailed the richness of it. If you hit Aquaman you go:
“Wow, this is interesting”. You get to see dinosaurs – there’s so
much in there. It’s an exercise in the artist’s joy, and that
particular artist is me.

What are you doing next?

HOMAGE TO A
I’m about to do a Superman series that’s going to include the KANE CLASSIC
Batman 227, published in
New Gods. This will be a six-part Superman series, and it 1970, is Neal’s homage to
involves New Krypton, it involves New Genesis and it involves Bob Kane’s cover art for
Apocalypse and Dark Side, and it’s a romp and it’s a tribute to issue 31 of Detective
Jack Kirby from yours truly. Comics, from 1939.

THE MAN BAT BATMAN: ODYSSEY

In Detective Comics issue 402, Neal drew a story Expressive and postmodern, Neal both wrote and
featuring one of his favourite characters: Man Bat. drew the artwork for Batman: Odyssey.

June 2014 45
 WATCHING THE
DETECTIVE
Artists like (left to right)
Joe Orlando, Irv Novick
and Norm Breyfogle
created striking covers
during the 70s and 80s.

ACTION PACKED
Internal panels from
Legends of the Dark
Knight issue 2, drawn by
Edward Hannigan.

ROBIN’S DEAD? That year saw the height of camp Batman

Just as with Paul with the TV series starring Adam West.
McCartney in The
Beatles, rumours of Eartha Kitt, Cesar Romero and Burgess
Robin’s impending death Meredith played Catwoman, The Joker and
have flourished in many
of Batman’s storylines. The Penguin, respectively, with ‘BIFF!’ and
‘POW!’ comic-type overlaid on the fight
scenes. “It was a satire, it was
funny, it was a take-off of the
campy side of comic books,
and it was successful for
what it did,” says Neal Adams,

You could see the writing on

the wall. This was not going
to be a serious Batman
who started drawing Batman for DC during
the mid-60s.
He continues: “But at the end of the first
show when Jill St John leapt into the
cyclotron in her go-go outfit, and Batman
They were made honorary members Wonderland-like feel with giant clocks, said, ‘What a way to go-go,’ you could pretty
of the Gotham Police Department. They typewriters and playing cards. much see the writing on the wall. This was
supported campaigns to sell war bonds By the late 50s, there had been an alien not going to be a serious Batman.”
during World War II. The dynamic duo alter-Batman, Zebra Batman, Negative
foiled the plans of The Joker, Two-Face and Batman and even Rainbow Batman, with MONEY TALKS
The Penguin, but the villains became a different coloured costume every day. However, the series did spell serious money
clown-like and their schemes were just Questions were raised about his sexuality, for DC. Issue 183 of Batman came out in
bizarre. Artist Dick Sprang had Batman and so Batwoman was introduced in 1956 August 1966 to coincide with the broadcast
duelling with knights and teaming up with as a possible love interest. Yet Batman just of the first episode, with artwork by
the Three Musketeers. His bright panels couldn’t find a mate, not even the Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella. It sold
thrived on cinematic angles and set pieces. knockout kisser Poison Ivy, an eco- 1,134,000 copies, compared to 351,000 in
He introduced a surreal, almost Alice in terrorist who arrived in 1966. August 1965. Revenue poured in from

46 June 2014
 NOLAN’S BATMAN
GARGOYLE
Concept artist Jock

COMES TO LIFE Knight

brought the gargoyle pose,
so favoured in the comics,
to his concept art for
Batman Begins. The Dark
Concept artists discuss adapting audie
for a more modern movie-going nce

Going from comic book to silver screen is anything

but easy for a Golden Age hero, and what works for
film-goers doesn’t always impress hardcore fans of a
given comic book character.
Christopher Nolan’s recent run of films – Batman
Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises
– has certainly been a success. The Scottish comic
book artist Jock, who’s worked on numerous Detective Comics
covers, was drafted in for some concepts for the first film. “My
brief for that was to imagine a real guy in a bat suit, and what he
might look like in a Gotham environment. I hadn’t seen Christian
Bale’s costume or anything, so I had total freedom to come up
with different shots. It was to show Christopher Nolan where
the comic artists were coming from, to inform his decisions with
the suit. It was interesting applying a comic aesthetic to a more

© 2005 Warner Bros

real-world approach.”
Moving on to The Dark Knight, it was Rob Bliss
who contributed to the film’s most notable character,
The Joker. “You just start drawing, producing as much
of it as you can with the hope that someone above
you in the food chain likes some of it,” says Rob, whose
main comic book influence was Simon Bisley. “It
changes every time depending who you are
working with. The ideas just come out of your head or
conversation as you’re talking it over.”
He continues: “My approach with The Joker was to try
and produce someone who looked crazy, like a person
who was half hyena. I was mainly interested in him
from the neck up. The Joker was a great character
in that film, but I’m not sure how close mine is to
the one in the film. Heath Ledger’s is probably
more functional. The one in my head was
barely holding it together.”

MAKING TWO-FACE
UNHINGED
s
© 2005 Warner Bro

Another Rob Bliss piece,

Concept artist Rob Bliss helped this concept of the creation
director Christopher Nolan of Batman’s arch foe
settle on a look for the Joker Two-Face set the feel for
and his bank-robbing goons. the movie bad guy.

June 2014 47
 THE JOKER: DIARY OF
A GIGGLIaNG MADMAN
tortured soul, but he’s not getting
Bruce Wayne may have he’s in town…
any light relief from this clown whenever

Batman’s nemesis The Joker first

appeared in issue 1 of the Batman
comic, in 1940. He had a white face, a
perpetual grin and everything about
him shrieked ‘fun gone wrong’.
In February 1978 The Joker took
centre stage on the cover of Detective
Comics issue 475, holding two fish as though they
were pistols. Sinister and scary but loopy enough to
be funny, the plot tells of how he’s poisoned the fish so
that they develop faces just like his. Then he demands
a cut of all fish sales in Gotham.
Recent decades have seen a far darker side to The
Joker, epitomised in the 1988 graphic novel The Killing
Joke, pencilled by Brian Bolland and written by Alan
Moore. The following year, Dave McKean and Grant
Morrison’s Arkham Asylum arrived. Dave had painted
the 128-page treat in his inimitable multimedia style.
Here The Joker and Two-Face take over the asylum.
Of course, while Batman is obsessed with keeping
The Joker behind bars, the mad clown himself is
obsessed with bringing down the bat. This is reflected
in artist Jock’s striking, graphic cover for Detective
Comics 880. “I just wanted to try and show the most BAT OUT OF HELL
In July 2011, Jock’s cover
unhinged Joker image that I could. The guy is a total
nutcase, so I feel I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ON A SCALE OF ONE TO CRAZY demonstrated that The
Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin worked on Joker’s very existence is
make it slightly unsettling to look at,” he says. The Laughing Fish, a kooky Batman classic. defined by his old adversary.

countless items of merchandise, too –

costumes, figurines, Batmobile toys,
scripts, but I just want to tell you this: don’t
have anything happening in the daytime
Neal Adams was drawing
sunglasses, lunchboxes…
While DC counted its money, Neal
because Batman doesn’t go around in the
daytime. And Batman doesn’t walk through
superheroes who looked
pondered Batman’s troubled soul. doors. He can come out of a closet, he can like real people
He pushed to work on the Batman and come through a window, but he doesn’t
Detective Comics titles, but was constantly walk through doors because that’s just not
rebuffed. Then editor Murray Boltinoff Batman,’” explains Neal. character was gradually steered back
offered him The Brave and The Bold, towards the darkness.
which featured Batman alongside various WELCOME TO THE DARKNESS “Neal Adams was drawing superheroes
other DC characters such as Aquaman, Fan letters arrived saying that the only real who looked like real people,” states
Sgt. Rock and Deadman. Batman was the one in The Brave and The Jerry Bingham, artist on the 1987 graphic
“Murray said: ‘Shall we change the Bold, so editor Julius Schwartz soon moved novel Batman: Son of the
scripts?’ So I said: ‘No, don’t change the Neal on to the key Batman titles. The Demon. “The Joker handed
someone a cigar and the
explosion killed people. His

BATMAN TIMELINE cinematic style seemed

1939 1940 1943 1954 1958 1966

Issue 27 of Detective With Bob Kane on Drawn by Jack Burnley, Artist Dick Sprang loved Pretty much anything In August 1966, issue 183
Comics appeared with pencils and Bill Finger the cover of Batman to draw giant-size could happen to Batman of Batman was released
a new hero nobody had writing the stories, issue 16 displays Batman objects. Here he plays on during the Silver Age – as to coincide with the
ever seen before on the Batman got his own and Robin in an iconic Two-Face’s famous coin long as it didn’t involve television series that
cover. Bob Kane had comic in spring 1940. pose that has since been toss motif, only the coin overt sex or violence. In started on ABC that
been inspired by pulp Robin and The Joker recreated by artists such is massive and Batman Detective Comics issue month. Carmine Infantino
magazines such as The participate as Batman as Alex Ross. The issue and Robin are strapped 251, with cover art by and Murphy Anderson
Shadow, and a 1926 silent kills three giants introduced Bruce’s butler, to it. Some iron spikes Sheldon Moldoff, he was went to town on the
film called The Bat. marauding in Gotham. Alfred Pennyworth. complete the scene! turned into an alien. small-screen tie-in.

48 June 2014
 perfect for the time, and his 1970s comics SON OF THE DEMON
will always be the definitive Batman for In 1987, Mike Barr and
Jerry Bingham produced
me. No one has improved on the the first Batman story
character, visually, since.” that went straight to
graphic novel format,
Photo by Pinguino K

Neal managed a gradual skipping release as

shift towards realism, tinged comic episodes.
with horror, in the 1970s. But
the real revolution took place
in February 1986 when
Frank Miller delivered the first of six comics
entitled The Dark Knight Returns.
Each issue was 48 pages – 20 more than
an average comic – with a proper spine.
Frank was thinking like a novelist, not a HUSH
The flirtatious relationship
comic book writer. A 55-year-old Batman between Batman and
comes out of retirement with shadow, Catwoman comes to the
fore in the 2002 storyline
fear and human frailty placed at the Hush, drawn by Jim Lee.

1978 1980 1986 1988 2002 2008

It had happened time The Untold Legend of Chunky and haggard, During Mike Mignola’s Originally drawn in issues In May 2008, writer
and again, but with issue Batman was a three- 55-year-old Batman time on the title, DC held 608-611 of Batman, the Grant Morrison gave the
300 of Batman, Dick issue limited series drawn returned under the a phone-in vote on Hush storyline by Jeph comic world the smelling
Giordano and writer Dave by John Byrne and penmanship of Frank whether or not Robin Loeb and Jim Lee made salts with his RIP story,
Vern Reed threatened an written by Len Wein. It Miller in The Dark Knight, should live or die. an impact thanks to drawn by Tony S Daniel.
end to the character. In it, was one of the very first a special limited series Readers narrowly elected the latter’s detailed The first issue, Batman
Batman and Robin limited series in comic that changed comics to kill the character off, pencil work and shading, 679, featured an
battle a criminal band books – an idea taken forever. This is the cover hence Mike’s iconic Death and Batman’s romance outrageously slick and
called Spectrum. from television. to the second issue of six. in the Family cover. with Catwoman. unusual-looking cover.

June 2014 49
SILKEN SPIDER
Batman learns of the return of Ra’s al Ghul from the
Silken Spider in Grant Morrison’s Batman number 670

fore of the story, not to mention the

character’s moral code.
“I wanted to create things that would
last,” Frank says in a Goodreads interview.
“They were still stuck on the yellow circle
on his chest and then I came up with an
excuse for him, dramatically, to lose his
costume, so that he showed up with just
a big old bat on his chest, which he’s
worn ever since.
“Somehow I’d internalised the idea that
you can throw the pamphlet over your
shoulder and say goodbye. If your story’s
28 pages long, that’s great. If it’s 148 pages
long, that’s great,” he adds.
Batman became a craggy, cynical, bulky
redeemer of Gotham. “When Frank drew
Batman, he made him this big, bulky tank,”
says Canada’s Jason Fabok, who’s drawn a THE NEW 52
The new issue 27 of Batman, with artwork
whole range of recent Batman titles. “His by Greg Capullo, explodes with colour as Batman
fists look like they would tries to solve a mystery dating back to World War II.
smash your face in with one
punch. He doesn’t need super
powers in order to hurt
you. But at the same time, you
know he’s on your side. He’s fighting for the
good guys. He has a high moral code, and
When Frank Miller drew
sticks to it.”
Neal also loves Frank’s Batman. “He
Batman, he made him this
pushed even more grit into it and I really big, bulky tank
appreciated what he did. To a certain extent
he took what I did and pushed it further,”
he says. “I think that was very classical. I’m The Joker was explored in The Killing Joke
surprised that more people haven’t done by Brian Bolland and Alan Moore.
older Batman stories after Frank did it
because I think it’s a great character.” BAT YEAR
Single issues of The Dark Knight 1989 was dubbed The Year of the Bat, with
Returns were reprinted time and again, Tim Burton’s Batman hitting the big screen.
as was the graphic novel that combined Gothic and mysterious, Burton’s film
them, and soon other artists were starred Michael Keaton and flirted with the
exploring Batman in new ways. Jerry campness of the TV series. However, Anton
Bingham and Mike Barr’s Batman: Son of Furst’s concept artwork brought a vision of
the Demon was the first graphic novel to Gotham that would inspire future comics.
NEW SKILLS appear that wasn’t a compilation of prior “Recently I sat down and watched the
Up and coming Batman artist Dustin Nguyen’s comics. In it, Batman’s liaison with Ra’s al original Tim Burton Batman film and
work in Batman 28, under the New 52 banner.
Ghul’s daughter results in a son. In 1988, realised just how much that movie

50 June 2014
IT’S MIL LER TIM E
top comic artists and aficionados about
If you ask today’s and again…
the art of Batman, one name crops up time

“Frank Miller’s astounding being blown away,” he says. “I always like

one-two punch combo of Batman to be drawn rather big however, so
The Dark Knight Returns and I think I gravitate towards the imagery of
Year One with David Frank Miller. But I try to keep in mind that
Mazzucchelli was a key I don’t want to look like my influences.”
moment in Batman’s history,” Tony continues: “When
says Jonathan Duran of people tell me my work
Comicsastonish.com. “Both of these stories reminds them of Frank Miller,
managed to refocus the character and took that’s not what I’m going for.
all the gravitas that people were once again I’m always looking to craft my
beginning to ignore and put it under a take on Batman to be the
magnifying glass, cementing – for better or most natural for me.”
for worse – a darker take on the character.” Jerry Bingham’s artwork for the graphic
In the first of Frank’s two ground-breaking novel Batman: Son of the Demon was in
graphic novels, The Dark Knight Returns progress in 1986 when The Dark Knight
looks at an older Batman as he comes out of Returns came out. Although he’s always
retirement, cynical and disappointed with admired the Neal Adams Batman the most,
the world around him. It was written and he instantly knew that Frank’s work was a
drawn by Frank. game changer.
Year One, meanwhile, was written by “Frank altered Batman forever,” says Jerry.
Frank but pencilled by David and was “His isn’t a drawing style I’d seek to emulate,
originally printed in Batman issues 404 to but I remember as I was working on Son of
407. It takes a look at the damaged psyche the Demon, getting those first issues of The
of the young Bruce Wayne as his parents are Dark Knight Returns in the mail and being
murdered. The ambition in the writing, and in astounded by what I was reading. I knew it
the artwork, brought maturity and creative was breaking new ground in many ways.”
credibility not just to Batman but to comic
books in general. It inspired artists and made
them crave working on a Batman title.
Tony S Daniel agrees. “I remember seeing
YEAR ONE
Written by Frank Miller and drawn by David Mazzucchelli,
Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Year One shed new darkness on Batman’s origins.

ACHES AND PAINS

Frank’s Batman is older and
THE DARK KNIGHT RIDES AGAIN chunkier, and pays for his
Frank Miller couldn’t resist having his knight on acrobatics the following day.
horseback in The Dark Knight storyline in 1986.

June 2014 51
 THAM in Nguyen’s
L’IL GOvisua PLAYFUL
lly diverse, Dust
Keeping Batman
With a naive approach to the
nce artwork, L’il Gotham by Dustin
comic is squarely aimed at a younger audie Nguyen brings a child-like quality
to his artwork, which is meant to
appeal to a younger audience.
Colourful, expressive and
sketchy… not words you’d
associate with some of
Dustin Nguyen’s influences
such as Frank Miller and
David Mazzucchelli.
However, the Vietnamese-
American artist came up with a new
concept for DC when he started
designing some Batman snow globes in
2006. That idea never took off but the
sketching he did around the project
developed into a whole new take on
Batman. “I wanted to take a break from
dark, moody Batman,” he explains.
DC Digital decided to experiment
with a download-only Batman comic.
Dustin was asked to create both the
artwork and the stories for a series
called L’il Gotham, where Batman and
the other inhabitants of the city face
various not-so-noir adventures.
“I wanted to keep the look and feel of
the sketchier style I’d been doing. It’s all
done with watercolour and coloured
pencils for line work. It’s looser to keep
that same energy going,” says Dustin.
The lower age-range targeted was
something he had to adapt to. He
continues: “It was a bit tricky at first
– not so much the illustrative side, but
more in the stories and premise of the
book. Most characters in Gotham are
pretty dark, with some gruesome past
stories that have made them who they
are. So we’ve sort of had to work around BOBBLE HEAD
those, and pull apart the funny, lighter
side of things. A lot of it is dark humour
DIGITAL Toy designs were an
L’il Gotham started life as a digital-only publication, but because of influence on Dustin’s
polished into colourful panels.” its popularity DC made it available to its regular print readership. novel-looking series.

influenced not only my approach to What Batman really needed was

drawing Batman, but also my life,” says cohesion. With thousands of storylines
Jason. ”It made me a lifelong Batman fan behind him, how could fans make sense of
and introduced me to the comics. This Batman? Scottish writer Grant Morrison
vision of Batman has influenced my work took on the challenge. With stories such as
most. I still love that costume, how the RIP, in 2008, Morrison mixed the
character moves, and the world that Tim ridiculous Silver Age concepts in with the
Burton built.” more serious realism that followed.
Three further films were made with “I really enjoyed working with Grant,”
Keaton reprising the role again in Batman says Tony S Daniel. “He would take these
Returns, followed by Val Kilmer in Batman old, sort of psychedelic ideas and

I base Gotham on the way

Christopher Nolan presented it in the
newer films, to give it a modern feel
Forever and George Clooney in Batman & modernise them. It made me go back and
Robin. Together, the pictures grossed over find them, to try and figure out what he
$1 billion. Meanwhile, on television, was up to in RIP. There was a lot of
Batman: The Animated Series reprised background to research for the fans and
comic book stories, in the bold graphical that is partly what made it so special. It
style of Bruce Timm, between 1992 and was such a layered story.”
1995. A new generation was introduced to Batman continues to be one of the richest
Batman. In comic shops, Batman Black and franchises in any medium. Based mainly on
White appeared in 1996. In each issue, the work of Julius Schwartz, Neal Adams
different artists drew Batman in their own and writer Denny O’Neil in the 1970s,
DAWN ARCHER styles, from Moebius to Frank Miller, Walt Christopher Nolan’s films Batman Begins,
In Greg Capullo’s cover art for Savage City, the second chapter of Batman: Zero Year,
the Dark Knight adds a bow and arrow to his personal arsenal. Simonson to Simon Bisley. The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises

52 June 2014
 MODERN BATMAN
Some recent covers by
Tony S Daniel, who’s
one of today’s top
Batman artists.

BATMAN 66
The nostalgia around the 1960s TV series is so strong
that there’s a monthly comic done in that camp style.

DETECTIVE COMICS
The New 52 issue 1 of Detective Comics – a new
beginning with this striking Joker cover by Tony S Daniel.

have been hugely successful, netting over

$2.3 billion at the box office. The Dark
Knight won two Oscars. Meanwhile, there
are 12 Batman and Batman-related titles on
the newsstand. Nolan’s rendition of
Gotham resonates with current artists.
“I base Gotham on the way Christopher
Nolan presented it in the newer films, to
give it a modern feel,” says Jason, who’s
working on the new series Batman:
Eternal. “For Batman: Eternal, I hope to
pull some more gothic elements into the
visuals and to take things to another level
again. I always try to push myself with
every issue I draw and change things
I don’t like. This is the biggest project I’ve BATMAN BEGINS AGAIN
The Batman comic was reset in
done and I want it to be the best. This is 2011, with Greg Capullo drawing a
going to be one epic story, and I feel fans storyline called the Court of Owls,
written by Scott Snyder.
will really dig into it and love it.”

June 2014 53
 PRESENTS
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NOW
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2014
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Discover the skills you’ll This month’s artists will Loopydave’s glamorous
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Issue 106 March 2014 Issue 107 April 2014 Issue 108 May 2014
We all judge a book by We celebrate artists This issue we explore
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Beckert show you how travelled. Han-Yuan Yu Kingdoms with a Game
to compose a fantasy adds beautifully detailed Of Thrones special.
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June 2014 55
LOCATION: New Jersey, US
ALUMNI: Stephen Bissette,
Dave Dorman, Steve Lieber,
Alex Maleev
WEB: www.kubertschool.edu

The son of Joe, Adam Kubert has

made a name for himself mainly
drawing characters such as X-Men,
Hulk and Wolverine at Marvel.

STUDIO PROFILE

THE KUBERT SCHOOL

How an iconic cartoonist left a legacy extending far beyond
the pages he created, and inspired several generations of artists

oe Kubert says he received $5 Joe founded the Joe Kubert School of Jersey – an old 23-room mansion built

J a page for his first paid gig as

a cartoonist. That was good
money in 1938. That was great
Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1976.
“I’ve always had the thought that it
would be great if there was a formal school
in the early 1900s. It had a carriage house
with two apartments over a four-car garage,
set in over seven acres of land. It was, he
money for an 11-year-old. situation where an aspiring artist could gain and wife Muriel decided, the perfect place
It was the beginning of a glittering career this knowledge,” he said in a 1994 Comics to set up a school.
that would take the American comic-book Journal interview. “I knew nothing about When Joe died in August 2012, sons
artist from Manhattan’s High School of setting up a school, or curriculums, or Adam and Andy – respected comic artists
Music and Art to the Comic teaching… that abysmal in their own right – took
Book Hall of Fame – via DC ignorance was devoid of fear. over the school. They
Comics and his own So I just rolled ahead.” pride themselves in staying
creations, including Tor, Son Joe spotted a house for sale true to their father’s vision.
of Sinbad and Viking Prince. in his hometown Dover, New “It really hasn’t changed,”

56 June 2014
 STUDIO PROFILE

THE KUBERT SCHOOL

The students at the school
are taught a range of
disciplines relating to the
comics field. ALUMNI
ADVICE
Kubert graduate Steve
Lieber share his memories of
the school, and explains why
it works so well
What was your time
at Kubert like?
I was in the comics and
illustration programme
at the Kubert School
from 1987 to 1990.
I went in completely ignorant of even
the basics of art. I didn’t understand
how to draw basic forms. I didn’t
know how perspective worked. I had
never drawn with a brush. I’d never
been exposed to basic colour theory.
I had a faint grasp of storytelling
from reading lots of comics, but I
couldn’t tell why some things
worked and some things didn’t. At
the end of my three years there, I
landed a storyboard job at the very
first ad agency I visited, and I’ve
been a steadily employed freelance
artist ever since. I can’t say anything
about what the school is like
today, but at the time they gave
me exactly the education
Dave Dorman’s art has graced I needed to launch my career.
the covers of everything from
Star Wars to Aliens, Indiana What are your lasting memories
Jones to Heavy Metal. of your time at the School?
My main memory of the Kubert
School – or the Joe Kubert School as
it was then – is of long and very
intense discussions with a few of my
classmates. We’d spend hours and
hours discussing what we’d learned,
scrutinising and criticising each
others’ work and sharing our
obsessive interests.

What advice would you give

to those thinking of enrolling,
and what will they get out of
their time there?
My advice would to be to get as
much extra feedback as you possibly
© Lucasfilm

can from the teachers you click with.

Just because you did something for
one teacher doesn’t mean another
can’t give you a critique on it. Also,
the hard-ass, highly demanding
I knew nothing about teachers are very often the best
ones. You should seek them out.

setting up a school, or
curriculums, or teaching
Andy Kubert has
worked on high-profile
titles for both DC and
Marvel, and is busy
tackling DC’s Batman
line of titles.
© Oni Press

Alex Maleev has carved

out a niche with his
instantly recognisable
style on comics such as
© DC Comics

Daredevil, Moon Knight

Comic book illustrator Steve Lieber
and Scarlet for Marvel,
remembers his time at the school fondly.
and more recently,
drawing Batman at DC.

June 2014 57
STUDIO PROFILE
Scott Kolins made his name
drawing The Flash for DC.
He has just finished a run on
DC’s comic series Threshold.
© DC Comics

says Andy, whose own credits include

Everyone who studies at the school
Batman & Son and Marvel 1602. “The has the opportunity to hone their
passing of my father leaves a huge gap – skills in subjects such as digital
painting, using state-of-the-art tools.
not only with the school but within our
family. Both he and my mom are sorely

Many of our applicants

missed. We run the school pretty much
the same way my father did.”
It clearly works. Stephen R Bissette
(Swamp Thing), Dave Dorman (Star Wars,
would rather focus their
Indiana Jones), Steve Lieber (Whiteout and
Hawkman), Alex Maleev (Daredevil) are
energies simply on cartooning
just some of the school’s esteemed alumni. and nothing else
It’s a family-run business with a family-
run feel. Where Andy and Adam took over leader Mike Chen explains. Ralph Morales has built
up a reputation as one
the running of the school from father Joe, “That’s first-year, second- of the most in-demand
Andy’s wife, Theresa, has taken over from year and third-year superhero artists
currently working, and
their mother Muriel. Class sizes are small. students combined.” his work has been seen
One-on-one instruction is paramount. Mike says the Kubert in titles such as JSA,
Action Comics and
“We have 95 students in total,” course School is unique in its purist approach to Identity Crisis.

© DC Comics
cartooning. He says courses similar to the
ones that Kubert offers are available
elsewhere, but usually only as part of “large
and impersonal liberal arts programme”
and often imposing lessons in other
© DC Comics

unwanted subjects and disciplines as a

condition of enrolment.
“Many of our applicants would rather
focus their energies simply on cartooning,”
Mike says, “and nothing else. And we are
the only accredited school dedicated to
training students in all aspects of the
cartooning business.
“This is the only one focusing directly on
the mainstream comics medium,” he
continues, “Marvel, DC , Dark Horse,
Dynamite-type titles. But we also facilitate
other storytelling genres and mediums
along with self-publishing ventures. We try
to cover as many bases as possible.
© DC Comics

Teacher Andy Kubert

“The team and I are committed to
leads by example, continuing what Joe started in 1976 and
as his captivating vision
Amanda Conner has worked on Power Girl and Birds of Batman and Robin
the School’s future is bright. It’s a fitting
of Prey for DC and X-Men Unlimited for Marvel. ably proves. tribute to Joe.”

58 June 2014
 STUDIO PROFILE

THE KUBERT SCHOOL

Adam Kubert has
worked not just for
Marvel, but also
DC and Dark Horse. LIFE AT
KUBERT
Adam Kubert on what to
expect if you enrol with the
illustrious Kubert School
“The Kubert School has
a very varied curriculum.
In its first and second
years it includes
subjects such as basic
drawing, the human
figure, narrative art, methods and
materials, advertising and lettering.
In the third year of its full-time
programmes, it also teaches subjects
such as sequential storytelling, the
business of art, and advanced
techniques and creation of style.
As well as its full-time teaching,
The Kubert School also offers
correspondence courses, summer
sessions, Saturday classes and
evening classes. Evening classes
teach topics such as life drawing,
basic drawing and graphic
storytelling. The school’s teachers
include Andy Kubert and myself,
illustrator Brian Buniak, illustrator
and cartoonist Mike Chen and
established comics artist Jan
Duursema. We offer a range of
experience and skills to students.”

© Marvel

American artist and

writer Timothy

© Comico the Comic Book Company

Truman honed his
indelible wild-west
style at Kubert.

Art by Mike Chen, illustrator, cartoonist and

academic supervisor at Kubert School.

© DC Comics
© Rick Veitch

© IDW Publishing.

During Tom Mandrake’s career he’s worked

on DC’s The Spectre and Martian Manhunter.
Kubert graduate Rick Veitch says Joe Kubert had
a profound influence on his life.

June 2014 59
 PROFILE
Simone Bianchi
COUNTRY: Italy

chi
Comic book illustrator,

ian
painter and art instructor

e B
Simone has worked for

Simon
DC and Marvel,
contributing to titles such
as Detective Comics, Green Lantern
and Wolverine. He lives and works in

k,
Tuscany, with studio manager, art

hi s sk etch bo o dealer and wife Gloria Bianchi.

pens up mposition
www.simonebianchi.com

bo ok artist o
omic d co
The Italiana cmasterclass in process an
giving FANTASTIC FOUR
“This sketch was inspired by Alex Ross’s profile composition.
Originally, Sue Storm was in the foreground. But I thought it
was more interesting to bring the characters together, to draw
them like flames.”

© DC Comics
© Marvel

SUPERMAN AND BATMAN

“I gave a static framing to an idea of the two characters’
weight and importance in the comic Olympus.”

60 June 2014
 © Marvel
Sketchbook Simone Bianchi

INHUMANS
“Another example of a Fantastic
HULK
HU
“In the final version cover
Four-style composition. It’s more static you only see the big Hulk,
because I wanted to give the right because my editor considered it
weight to this royal family.” more effective. In my original
composition, his figure was
incorporated into his
profile.”

15A
“This sketch is a
© Marvel

conventional
headshot: there are
obviously simpler, more

“There are simpler solutions, but

instinctive solutions, but
doing things the hard
way often leads to

doing things the hard way often new and exciting

ideas.”

leads to new and exciting ideas”

© Marvel

June 2014 61
 ics
Com
© DC

© Marvel
THANOS
“I wanted an iconic framing of this
character; it had to convey his
satisfaction looking at the destroyed
Titan’s ruins.”

BATMAN
“I tried to achieve a more realistic
way of rendering the battle in motion. In
the lower part of the sketch is my attempt
at reinterpreting the iconic sight of
Batman on a gargoyle.”

“I wanted to focus on
the main theme:
Thor not being able
to raise his hammer”

62 June 2014
 Sketchbook Simone Bianchi

THOR
FOR ASGARD #6
“This was the last cover I had to
do for my Thor For Asgard run,
and I wanted to focus on the
main theme: Thor not being able
to raise his hammer. It’s floating
over the column because the
lighting seemed, to me, the
best solution to conclude
the run’s last chapter.”

© Marvel

WOLVERINE
ORIGINS
“These covers were
inspired by my run on
Detective Comics. These CAPTAIN
extreme close-ups
reveal the creases on AMERICA
“This is one of the few cases where
Deadpool’s mask,
for example.” I managed to leave a larger empty
space, compared to the size of the
characters. It’s an experiment
that I want to try again
in the future.”
© Marvel

© Marvel

Want to share your sketches? Then drop us an email, with a selection of your artwork, to
sketchbook@imaginefx.com, together with some information about yourself.

June 2014 63
 Willow by Cris DeLara
CGWorkshops Instructor

Online Learning 2014

VFX and Entertainment Design

CGWORKSHOPS
cgworkshops.org
 DOWNLOAD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am
WIPS • FINAL ART • VIDEOS • BRUSHES

Workshops assets
are available…
Download each workshop’s WIPS, final image and
brushes by visiting this link. And if you see the video
workshop badge, you can watch the artist in action, too.

Advice from the world’s best artists

66
This issue:
66 Add texture
and grit to an image
Ken Lashley portrays a
determined-looking Batman
in a dastardly hall of mirrors.
70 Portray a clash
of contrasting cultures
Artyom Trakhanov draws
advanced explorers fighting
a group of cavemen.
72 Create dynamic
comic scenes
Mukesh Singh’s piece sees
Wolverine take on a horde
of katana-wielding ninjas.
76 Develop your
art on the canvas
How George Pratt created an
image of Rose Red as a cover
for Fables, with instruction
from the title’s creators.
70 72 80
80 Embrace change
to build an image
Sean Andrew Murray
explains the techniques he
uses to construct a landscape
that evolves as he paints.
84 Getting started
in SketchUp
Mark Roosien shows you
how to begin in 3D, using
the intuitive Push/Pull tool.
86 Improve your
keyframe skills
Film and video game artist
Kan Muftic depicts an
emotional scene in a story.

June 2014 65
 Workshops
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am
WIPS • FINAL IMAGE• VIDEO

ADD TEXTURE AND

GRIT TO AN IMAGE
A defiant Dark Knight faces off against multiple visages of his long-time
nemesis the Joker, in DC Comics artist Ken Lashley’s striking image

here was a time when I treated the way you should start. If I had my own and am rather proud of that

T my digital canvas just like a

traditional canvas. I’d work
without layers and build up
followed the recommended path to
painting digitally, this would have slowed
down my growth quite a bit. Ken Lashley
piece. It was done digitally on my Cintiq.
I noodled in some places and then realised
that I was working too close to the image.
the image through my line work and filled ImagineFX is the magazine that COUNTRY: Canada I had done these beautiful details in the
areas. I didn’t concern myself with layers, I picked up when I was starting to learn Ken, known
scene, but when I zoomed out it was all
but that became problematic as I moved and improve my digital art skills. By this online as but impossible to see them. Still, that’s just
forward and tried to make changes. time I was well into my career as a Ledkilla, has part of the learning process.
been working
These days I’m continuously traditional illustrator when I made the Diving in and making mistakes paid
in the field of
improving my use of layers and applying decision to tackle the digital canvas. comics and illustration off for me – funny as that may sound. You
different digital art techniques. Yet I still I’ve learned a lot over the years. The last for over 20 years. He’s have to be willing to make mistakes and
busy doing covers for DC
treat each digital painting as a single- work I did for Lucasfilm was for the produce awful-looking results, so that
on titles such as Earth 2,
layered image. To me it’s the easiest way annual Celebration event in Germany. Superman and Ravagers. someday you can look back at them and
to figure out how to do it. I think that’s I painted Groovy Galactic Love all on http://ifxm.ag/ledkilla recognise how much you’ve improved.

Make a rough start on the image

1 I usually start a painting assignment with a series of roughs, probably four or five.
My role as a cover artist at DC is to develop as many ideas as possible. Sometimes
they’re off the beaten track, yet some have the potential to influence the original
concept. Take this cover, for example. I was given lots of different ideas to play with, and
the broken glass fun house was just one of those.

Batman™ and The Joker™ © DC Comics

ion
Hue/Saturat
Ctrl+U (PC)
)
Cmd+U (Mac
l possibilities
Explore visua
ange the
by quickly ch
flat colours of
nd
the backgrou

66 June 2014
In depth Texture and grit

June 2014 67
 Workshops
Just a tool from the digital art box Time to call in extra art help
2 I decide to produce the image digitally, using my Cintiq. I was 4 This is turning out to be an interesting job. I have a monster deadline with a
very lucky to be given one by a co-worker, because he wasn’t using it – number of other jobs on the go, so I decide to bring in my team on this project to help
lucky me! It took me the best part of seven month to learn how to use by laying down flats. It becomes a collaborative effort. Andrea Errico, my colourist, lives
it properly. I didn’t just grab a stylus and start drawing on it right away, in Italy so this piece has a real international feel!
either. I was a little intimidated by it, to be honest. The solution was to
change how I looked at the device. It’s just a tool to produce art,
nothing more, nothing less.

Deselect Laye
rs
Ctrl+D (PC)
Cmd+D (Mac
)
Quickly remo
ve a selectio
and move to n
another one,
for a more ef
ficient
art workflow.

Achieving the right feel in the image

5 Now the colour flats are in place. I like the feel of the piece at this point – I can
see what the final is going to be after just a few selections and adjustments. The next
lighting stage sets up the tone. Sometimes it’s not about being true to the subject matter,
but rather establishing a certain feeling or emotional tone in an image. You can’t colour
Superman and Batman the same way. If you do then it just won’t feel right.

A gritty scene
3 By creating loose-looking roughs
I’m able to work out the image’s colour
scheme and general layout. From here Mistakes are
I progress to the pencil stage. I then good for you
Don’t be afraid to make
decide not to ink the illustration; it makes mistakes. Photoshop is a
more sense to colour over the top of my tool, your Cintiq is a tool,
line art. I don’t want my image to feel like your computer is a tool;
they’re not going to
a page from a real comic book. Instead,
make you a better or
I’m keen to for it to have a hybrid worse artist. You have to
appearance, and I can achieve this by learn how to use the tools
of the trade. In other
keeping the raw pencil marks visible. It
words, don’t be afraid.
adds to the texture and grit of the piece.

68 June 2014
 In depth Texture and grit
Exploring colour options Making the Dark Knight pop
6 The highlights in this painting are crucial. At the moment there are a lot of flat 8 Batman’s face really changes when we add the highlight.
tones, and the colour palette is subdued. Myself along with my colourist try a crazy red I thought the figure was completely finished, but then realise that he
in the early stages on the glass with yellow in the area surrounding Batman, but it’s just doesn’t pop out of the scene. So I take a white or a true light, or a rim
too strong a look that doesn’t play well with the rest of the piece. So we go back to the light, and place it inside the framework of the image. The result: the
opaque greenish colour I came up with during the rough stage. If you look closely Dark Knight comes to life. As soon as I do this, the image progresses
there’s a hint of Joker green in the final piece. The fun house could have been stronger from a solid piece to something that’s both striking and strong.
in some areas, but overall I’m happy with the effect.

Discussions over glass

7 Here’s the most crucial part of the cover: the broken glass. This area takes the
most amount of thinking about. There’s lot of back and forth between myself and the
ImagineFX team. We throw ideas around as well as colours, but in the end it’s a more
traditional approach that wins the day. Indeed, I think this makes the image.

Quick turnaround
9 I manage to complete this image in
under 48 hours. The one thing about
comic book work is that it has to be done The right tools
fast. I’ve done illustration work for It’s almost impossible to
work today without an
Lucasfilm and other clients that’s taken FTP site, a scanner and
weeks, but this was a true comic Photoshop. You can’t do
assignment. Sometimes you only have the job without the
proper tools. l’m asked to
hours to get a piece or page completed. scan in and send WIPs all
I’ve done covers in as little as three hours. the time. Clients assume
I think the longest I’ve ever had to work I’m capable of doing this,
so you have to be ready
on a cover is a couple of weeks, and that’s to be your own
always when I’m working on licensed production team. As for
properties such as He-Man. There’s always traditional tools, l use
hard leads like a 2H or 4H
more back and forth because of the
– they don’t require as
extended approval process. But when much clean up after you
you’re working on the superhero books scan. The softer leads are
great for drawing, but
you have to get in and get out, and get
harder to scan.
things done quickly.

June 2014 69
 Workshops

SHOW A CLASH
OF CULTURES
Brush strokes
I love the particular feel when my
colour strokes look like they were
done with the actual dry brush, just
like my traditional inks on the line art.
Those clouds were coloured from the
strict black layers at Manga Studio,
and this enables me to preserve the
sharpness of each stroke I need.

Artyom Trakhanov draws advanced

explorers fighting a group of cavemen,
Artyom
Trakhanov in a scene from the comic UNDERTOW
COUNTRY: Russia
his is a spread from a comic In essence, it’s a space exploration story

T
As well as
series called UNDERTOW in reverse, with the group of underwater
drawing
comics and (written by Steve Orlando, creatures in their bulky landsuits, filled
Panels without
freelancing on
drawn by myself and with water, exploring a completely alien
any panels
a commission Even when a comic page is just
basis, Artyom runs a published by Image Comics). world that’s teaming with humans from one picture spread without panel
weekly Russian UNDERTOW is a story about a modern the Stone Age and dangerous creatures. separation, there’s still the
webcomic series called opportunity for timing and
water-breathing Atlantis civilisation, and The story continuously gives me the
MAD BLADE and also advanced eye movement that you
works on UNDERTOW a group of rebel scientists, warriors and chances to draw weird and gritty stuff. can direct. These red circled areas
for Image Comics. artists escaping from its cruel regime. This piece from the third issue of our are equivalent of in-cut comic
http://ifxm.ag/trakhanov panels, emphasising the act of
Those people search for the new life for series (out now), for example, shows an
violence of the battle. The crowd
their group, and even go to the forbidden ambush carried out by the ravenous
© Image Comics

on this spread is intentionally

Dry Land to discover how to breathe air cavemen, as they attack our Atlantean coloured in monotone, enabling
and set up a colony. explorers at dawn. the composition’s centre to stand
out in the lights of the rising sun.
The red elements make it possible
to anchor the secondary attention
of the reader.

70 June 2014
 Artist insight Clash of cultures

How I create…
A BATTLE
SCENE AT
SUNRISE

Inking in Manga Studio

I don’t use any interesting custom brushes in
Photoshop, and my Manga Studio arsenal is
pretty standard, but here’s a hint: I often want to
emulate my traditional inks with the digital
Page layout
instruments of Manga Studio, and so may you.
Create a new layer with the Black attribute, and 1 In this tiny thumbnail I’m
try drawing with the standard Pen, Brush Pen building the composition of the page
(Light), and a Pattern Brush called Large and also trying to catch the feel and
Airbrush for the scratchy shadows. Adjust the motion of the scene. That’s why I always
last two with the Change Width option (set break down the full issue in colours with
Thicken To Specified Width to at least 0.14mm), these tiny roughs (many comic artist do
and the very authentic dry brush will be at your these only in black and white). These
service. You can also try changing the Dark layouts are crucial for the body of story,
Brush Pen options, but I think that by itself it’s and most of my conceptual decisions
really dull and far too simplistic looking. are made during this stage.

Detailed sketch
2 This is my pencil stage! I love this
step because when painting digitally
you still have a ton of work ahead of you
after this, but in comics you usually just
need to cement your sketch. I draw the
cavemen separately, and then combine
them into one composition. I like the
feeling of uncertainty in this spread: the
Atlanteans seem to be handling the
attack, but there’s a lot of wild humans
to deal with, and our heroes’ postures
indicate sheer exhaustion.

Colour palette
I never aim for realism in my colouring.
Get inking
I want my comics to be vibrant and
eye-catching, but also atmospheric.
3 Usually I do 90 per cent of
UNDERTOW with traditional ink. But for
And so I still try to ‘stylise’ the reality.
a piece this large I print some of the
The beautiful sun looming from the
main parts of the pencils on A4 paper,
horizon means that the next pages will
ink it with a couple of brush pens, scan
all be painted with red palette of the
it, compose my working file and then
morning sun, but here I try to catch
finish it with digital inking. I do most of
the first light’s movement. In addition,
my digital work in Manga Studio EX 4.0,
I don’t like leaving all the line art
because it’s ideal for black and white
totally black, so there are a lot of
graphic and colour flats. The final colour
nuances of darker shades of colours.
rendering takes place in Photoshop.

June 2014 71
 Workshops
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am
WIPS • FINAL ART • VIDEO • BRUSHES

CREATE DYNAMIC
FIGHT SCENES
Everyone’s favourite adamantium-enhanced mutant takes on a horde
of katana-wielding ninjas in Mukesh Singh’s
ingh’s action-packed artwork

here was something about the in Japan. The underlying guiding forces

T rippling, confident energy

in a drawing that opened a
gateway of possibilities to the
will be the essence of the character, the
superhero genre and a classic comic book
splash page that features multiple Mukesh Singh
seven-year-old me. It was the front page of characters. I’ll go through the basics of COUNTRY: India
a Superman comic book drawn by the my workflow, and look at my decision-
Mukesh, aka
inimitable Gil Kane. The dynamic pose, making process while painting the scene.
Nisachar,
the taut muscles, the sheer believability of Composing an image with multiple loves comics.
what was just ink on frayed paper sparked characters is often a challenge. My He also
believes
a flame that guides my work to this day. solution is simply to treat every figure as
there’s a doomed planet
In this workshop I’ll show you how the hero. They’re not just a bunch of pixels exploding right now, and
I develop an image of a fight between and inks and graphite. They’re a living a small rocket with an
Wolverine and ninjas belonging to The being. Believe it yourself and your infant Superman is
headed for Earth.
Hand, a supervillain organisation based drawings will, too. Onwards! http://ifxm.ag/m-singh

Stream of consciousness
1 Without worrying about accuracy, I scribble a few sketches to explore the
characters and the layouts. The aim is to visualise the ideas as they develop in my head
as fast as possible. I look for force and dynamism, but also clarity. Because the image
will feature multiple figures, I start with Wolverine’s stance to maintain the focus on
him, and then work out the reactionary poses of the ninjas around him.

Gamut Warni
ng
Shift+Ctrl+Y
(PC)
Shift+Cmd+Y
(Mac)
Use this in Co
lor Picker to
highlight colou
rs not
available in th
e CMYK
colour space.

Bringing things together In the palm of The Hand

2 I refine the doodles and develop colour keys for the thumbnails, roughly 3 The first thumbnail of the four I draw works out the best in my
working out the overall colour scheme, mood and lighting for the images. Fortunately, eyes. It features an easily identifiable, front-on pose of Wolverine at
Wolverine’s costume colours are different to those of the ninjas, so this will help to the centre of the image, striking out at one ninja, classic Logan style!
make his figure stand out. Deciding on an image’s colour scheme beforehand, however You might notice that some of the ninjas are arranged like the fingers
loosely, will help you to make appropriate decisions come drawing time. of a hand. I say might, because it’s meant to be a subtle feature.

72 June 2014
In depth Dynamic fight scenes

June 2014 73
 Workshops
Narrative details
7 Because I’m working digitally
I treat the pencil and ink stages
interchangeably, tweaking details here
and there. I show some tearing in
Wolverine’s costume to indicate that some
time has passed since the fight started.
I overlay it on top of the anatomy
drawing, which helps me visualise how
the costume and its design elements
flow over his body.

Maintaining energy
4 Dividing up the
I decide to revisit the layout. Once
again, I scribble Wolverine’s figure first 8 composition
and then arrange the ninjas around him. Save your Wolverine’s inked drawing is
I try to keep the energy of composition
selections on a separate layer, while the
To save selected
consistent with the thumbnail. portions of your image ninjas are inked as three
that you’d like to access separate groups on different
later on, go to Select>
Save Selection.
layers. This will help save time
Alternatively open the during the colouring stage.
Alpha Channel dialog
and press the Add New
Channel icon. Photoshop
will add it as an alpha
channel in the file.

Time to get serious

5 I add another layer on top of my
sketch, essentially light-boxing it. To
better see the results I convert the red of
the sketch into cyan using the Hue/
Saturation tool. I draw Wolverine without
his costume to check his anatomy. I keep
his traditional short and bulky frame,
exaggerating his fingers to almost twice Soft proof
the size of those of the ninjas. I want to preview
Ctrl+Y (PC)
obscure Wolverine’s feet because showing Cmd+Y (Mac
)
them kills the impact of his action. I Gain a rough
idea of what
the image wi
redistribute the other ninjas while trying ll look like
when printed
.
to avoid tangents, which can be a problem
for an image with multiple figures.

Split the workload down the middle

9 I thicken some of the figure outlines to define them more strongly. I ink the
background elements, as well as filling it up with less-detailed ninja figures. I normally
don’t go this heavy during the inking stage (even this level of inking is considered
mid-level by industry standards) because my current style uses colours for the heavy
lifting. For this artwork I split the workload 50/50 between them.

Refining the drawing

6 I redo the ninja near Wolverine’s feet because his horizontal pose
kills the main action line going from the bottom left to the top right of
the image. I could fix this during the colouring stage because his
costume is red and will blend in with the rest, but I redraw him all the
same. I arrange the weapons of the ninjas in a way that complements
and draws attention to Wolverine. Similarly, all the ninjas are looking
towards his direction, which adds one more layer of focus to his figure.

74 June 2014
 In depth Dynamic fight scenes

10 Flatting my colours
Using the Lasso tool I select each
DOWNLOAD
RESOURCES
figure and apply a flat colour on a separate
layer, saving them as a selection. I then
collapse the flat colours into two levels:
foreground and background. I add a layer
PHOTOSHOP
group for the ninja groups, Wolverine and
CUSTOM BRUSH:
the background. Then I select the saved PENCIL THICK BRUSH
Alphas and add them as masks for the
group folders. This will ensure that the
colours won’t show up beyond the white
I use this for most of my
portions of the group layer mask. I then colouring works in
discard the superfluous flat colour layers. Photoshop. It’s versatile
enough to mimic matte 14 Further refinements
I add another pass of tweaking to

11 Rough colour pass media such as pastels

and transparent ones like
the figures, going over each to refine the
Using a large grunge brush I add markers. Play around strokes, shades and highlights. As in my
some colour splotches as a rough pass. with the settings first. original thumbnail I use dull, dark tones
Think of it as using tinted papers for your in the background to add punch to the
pastels and pencils or laying in the first, saturation of the foreground figures. I use
big wash of a watercolour painting. the reds of the ninjas as the overall basic
Because a large portion of the image will mid-tone of the image, the yellow of
feature the ninjas’ red costumes, I decide Wolverine’s costume for the portions
to use some shades of reds ranging from facing the light, and the blue of his
crimson to vermilion for this pass. costume for the shadow portions.

15 Detailing minor elements

I add colours to the swords, chains and other miscellaneous
elements in the drawing. I apply some blood splatter to Wolverine’s
costume, which adds one more touch of drama to his figure. Using a
Curves Adjustment layer, I then tweak the highlights and the shadows
to bump up the contrast. This is essential because whatever colours
I see on my screen will print about 20 per cent darker.

12 Colouring on the canvas

I quickly add transparent colours, between 30 and 60 per cent Opacity, to
Wolverine’s figure using Photoshop’s standard Pencil thick brush. I layer in the
colours, essentially mixing colours on the canvas itself. Then I quickly lay in a mid-
neutral tone of red for the shadow parts and a light reddish-orange tone for the lit
portions of the ninjas. I use the angle of the light to gauge which parts will either be
in shadow or light. This stage gives me a good idea of how the overall colour scheme
and the values will look in the final image.

13 Coaxing the forms

I continue to push towards light Previewing
tones for the lit area and dark tones for the print colours
If your image is intended
shadows. Part of Wolverine’s face and for print it can be useful
upper torso should be in shadow, but to convert it every once
because he’s the main figure I ignore it. To in a while, to shift the
colours to CMYK. You
diffuse the focus on his figure so that he can do this by going to
doesn’t stand out too much, I distribute
his costume colour scheme elsewhere in
Edit>Convert to Profile
and then choosing your 16 Finishing up
As a final step I add some
CMYK preset. Repeat the
the image. I use the dull blue shade for the atmosphere to the image using a large
same process to return
gear portions of the ninja costumes as well the artwork colourspace wispy brush. This helps recede the
as their skins. I finish the spiked ninja first back to RGB. Thanks to background and pops out Wolverine
ace colourist Alex Garner
and then use the tones and colours from and the foreground ninjas. And now my
for this tip!
his figure for his companions. one-sided fight scene is complete!

June 2014 75
 Workshops
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am
WIPS • FINAL IMAGE

DEVELOP YOUR ART

ON THE CANVAS
Discover how one artist is able to bring their own style to an established
comic series, as George Pratt
ratt explains how he paints a Fables cover

or a long time now I’ve enjoyed covers being supplied by John Van Fleet, characters. I felt the main thrust of the

F the artists that Vertigo has

used for the Fables comic
covers. James Jean’s covers
Greg Ruth and Dan Dos Santos. Pretty
good company!
Shelly forwarded me some notes by George Pratt
piece was the fight between Rose Red and
Prince Brandish. I chose to focus entirely
on Rose Red and the feeling that her
were spectacular and João Ruas is no writer Bill Willingham, which gave me COUNTRY: US battle is also an inner struggle.
slouch. I had heard that João had left the a clear sense of the story. They were George
I’m a traditional artist and decided to
series and was surprised – and pleased – originally looking for a Battle Royal scene teaches full- work the final in oils, although I blended
when Vertigo editor Shelly Bond decided with quite a few characters from the time at in other media. Working with Shelly on
Ringling
I should create a cover for Fables issue series. Not quite the type of image this cover was a joy. Her insights were
College of
127. Mine would be the last of that I produce, really. My images are more Art and Design, and wonderful and she was pretty hands-
particular story arc, with the other three iconic, dealing with one or two during the summer off throughout the process.
months spends time with
the Illustration Academy
in Kansas City.
Sketch with photos
1 Before I send sketches I’ll work out
http://ifxm.ag/g-pratt

ideas very simply, focusing more on

gesture than actual drawing. Once I’m
happy with a few of these I’ll go ahead
and shoot reference to work from. I shoot
digitally these days and work from black
and white images. I’ve included two of the
reference shots here with the blessings of
the model, Onoh. My sketches are never
very detailed and luckily the editors
I’ve collaborated with trust my instincts
enough to work with looser sketches.

Taking the next step

2 I was hired to do this cover as I
was leaving to go teach at the Illustration
Academy, which I do every summer in
Kansas City. We have life drawing two
nights a week there and I was able to hire
Onoh to pose for Rose Red. Turns out
she’s a fan of the series, so she was
excited to work with me on this. I spent
a good deal of time playing with the light
while shooting. Moving it about
constantly looking for something that
All images © Vertigo

would solidify the silhouette and

accentuate the forms nicely. It’s designing
with the light – pushing shadows and
trying to show more with less.

76 June 2014
In depth Guide your art

June 2014 77
 Workshops
A thorny situation Beginning the final image
3 There are three sketches that I’m happy with. The first is of a 4 Using the same reference that I used to produce the sketches, I begin the piece as
nude Rose Red with a sword hacking her way out of a forest of thorns a pastel drawing using Nu-Pastels. Working on toned paper I focus on the silhouette of
and roses. The second was of Rose Red in battle armour, the third was Rose Red, paying particular attention to the figure’s gesture, tonal values and
of a nude Rose Red with a sword in protective fetal position inside of a temperatures. I’m concerned with detail at this point, but rather a sense of solidity with
giant heart. I was surprised that they chose the nude of Rose Red in the the figure as a volume – its presence.
giant heart, although they asked me to put her in another setting
because one of the other four covers by John Van Fleet, unbeknownst
to me, contained a giant heart. So I sort of combined the first sketch
with the last sketch and placed her in a womb of thorns.

Apply varnish layers

5 Once I’m happy with this initial statement, I seal the piece with Krylon Crystal
Clear spray, lightly dusting it on top of the pastel in several coats. When this is dry
I brush Spar varnish (Sail Boat polyurethane) over the whole piece. You need good
ventilation for this because it’s very toxic. I use a cheap brush when I do this because it
has to be thrown away afterwards. I put two coats of this on the piece, letting each dry
completely. This is usually several hours for each layer. Spar varnish lends a nice yellow
glaze over the piece and also creates an interesting surface to paint on.

Don’t be
clever, be clear
One of the things that
helps my students is
pushing the idea of the
power of the silhouette
and how it should be
self-descriptive. I don’t
focus on details, but
rather the whole image.

78 June 2014
 In depth Guide your art
Mass and shape with oils
6 I then paint the figure, bringing in more juicy paint in some areas. Again, less
is more and I’m not painting details as much as mass and shape. I’m working to hold
my figure’s silhouette and to play with edges in a substantive way. A softer edge to
USE WHATEVER
enable the eye to travel past and turn the form. A harder edge for the eye to bump up
BRUSH WORKS
against and follow, directing the eye to a point of interest.
As far as brushes go
(since this is a traditional
piece), I like Filberts and
flats, and will use
whatever I have at hand.
Sometimes I’ll make use
of nice brushes such as

9 The home stretch

For the final attack I need to bring
sables, but I’m also
happy painting with
synthetics. I have a
in the thorns. Using a paint roller
Raphael Kolinsky Sable
or brayer, I roll Carbon Black etching ink watercolour brush #2
around the figure. Using Gamblin’s and #3 that I use for
detail work, like eyes.
Gamsol, I then pull the ink from the
image, allowing the greenish colour
below the black to be revealed and
creating the vines and thorns in the
process. I need only to add some
highlights and paint in a few opaque
vines to give them a little more presence.
I paint the hair next. I want it to be less
about reality and more an interesting,
punchy shape.

Pushing and pulling

7 Lots of subtle work with
temperature here, as I tackle the warm and
cool relationships to turn the forms, and
push and pull the viewer’s focus. I’m
constantly painting, then destroying,
obliterating one passage to get to
something better. Sometimes I’ll paint
something that I’m very happy with, but
in trying to save that passage you can
destroy the rest of the piece. So you have
to not be so precious, and be willing to kill
the thing you love to make a better piece.

A splash of red
8 Most of my attention is on the face,
pushing the expression and colour, letting 10 Scanning for reproduction
I scan the final piece on my home scanner (Epson 1640 XL
this be the spot of detail that would lock 12x17-inch) using Silverfast software. I have to scan images of this size
the viewer’s interest. I spend a great deal in about four to six scans, then let Photoshop’s Photostitch feature put
of time working the warm and cool them together seamlessly. I then tweak the final file, pushing the
relationships, and paid particular contrast a bit, so the final file is darker than the original. Compare the
attention to the eyes and lips. I see the red detail of the vines with the printed cover and you’ll see that the
hair as being the final touch on the piece, background was darkened quite a bit. There’s no digital manipulation
although that comes later. of the image other than playing with colour and levels.

June 2014 79
 Workshops

80 June 2014
 In depth Embrace change
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am
WIPS • FINAL IMAGE • BRUSH

EMBRACE CHANGE
TO BUILD AN IMAGE
S
Sean Andrew Murray
urray explains the range of techniques he uses
to construct an urban fantasy landscape that evolves as he paints

ities – whether real or of the piece to guide you is essential to evolve and grow over time should

C imaginary – are a subject

I often tackle in my art. But
I especially love creating deep Sean Andrew
making successful, dynamic images.
Just like natural environments,
architecture-based environments should
factor into your design choices.
Showing what daily life is like in your
city scene is a great way to add depth to
layered, fantastical city scenes. In this Murray be designed in an organic way that draws the image, but it can also be fun to show
COUNTRY: US
workshop I’ll demonstrate my various from the same principles as those used in some sort of conflict or narrative event to
digital drawing and painting techniques, Sean is a character design, creating an interesting draw the viewer into the world you’re
and you’ll see how an idea can evolve freelance interplay of shapes and negative space. depicting. City scenes also provide the
concept artist
over the course of working on an and illustrator
Urban environments are fascinating chance to tell multiple stories.
illustration or concept. Being willing to who’s worked because they combine elements of nature, Here, I’m going to depict a scene from
modify or throw elements out that aren’t in the game industry for engineering, architecture, anthropology, the world I created for my upcoming
over 13 years. This year,
working is key. Allowing the momentum culture, art and history. The way cities book: Gateway – The Book of Wizards.
he’s releasing his first
self-published illustrated
book called Gateway:
Roughing it The Book of Wizards,
Changing gears
1 To start off, I use a fairly large,
which was funded
through Kickstarter.
3 After struggling with a few
versatile flat brush to block in a basic http://ifxm.ag/sa-murray attempts to tighten and refine this initial
layout with interesting positive and composition, I finally decide to try
negative shapes. I establish a simple something else with characters that aren’t
horizon line and some quick perspective as close to the foreground. Sometimes you
lines, but I don’t like to go overboard have to recognise when an image is
because worrying too much about fighting you, and fight back by changing
plotting precise perspective lines for every the approach. I remove the characters
building ends up killing a fresh, dynamic from the foreground and rough in a new
composition. I use staggered horizontal composition. There’s now a more dynamic
and diagonal lines to lead the viewer’s conflict between an Imperial Inquisitor
eye around the image. and a thieving wizard fleeing the scene
with a coveted book of spells.
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RESOURCES

PHOTOSHOP
Places everyone
2
CUSTOM BRUSH:
FLAT_WIDE_SOLID
Once I’m happy with the basic
background layout, I begin to integrate
the characters in the foreground and
This brush is made using
a flattened Hard Round
middle ground. I imagine a
brush. Using the pen tilt confrontational scene between a magic-
feature, it makes thin, wielding Fish-person, and a portly
crisp straight lines, or
chunky wide lines for
pistol-packing passer-by with an armful
versatile sketching. It’s of groceries. I want the characters to
like a calligraphy pen, be expressive and eye-catching, to get
only bigger. The brush
people interested in looking closer. In
enables you to sketch at
different widths without addition, a bystander taking a smoke
having to either switch to break while leaning on a pedestal in the
a new brush, or change
background will draw the viewer deeper
the diameter constantly.
into the image.

June 2014 81
 Workshops
Introduce colour into the scene
6 Once I’m satisfied with the drawing, it’s time to start adding colour. In a layer
underneath the drawing, I block in a basic colour scheme. Right away I produce
something I like, but sometimes this process can take a while as I experiment with
different palettes. I also usually work on the image fairly zoomed out, perhaps even on
a separate scaled-down copy of the image. This ensures that I only focus on the overall
image, instead of getting caught up too early on details.

Don’t forget
Layer Blendi
od es
ng
4 your lines
M
(PC & Mac) I’m primarily a line artist, so to execute
Cursor keys p
to quickly ste a finished painting with confidence,
Enables you t
ugh differen
thro I require a fairly tight, finished drawing
des for
blending mo
your layer. first. I use a medium thickness Flat Round
brush with little or no fade to it to make
my lines. Usually, I’d go one more step
and print this out on paper to draw even
tighter lines with a 0.3mm mechanical
pencil, but I want to keep this piece all-
digital. I focus on the middle and
Play with background elements first.
your sketch
Sometimes you have a
sketch that works in
some places, but not in
others. A good habit to
get into here is chopping
up your sketch and
putting the pieces on
different layers. This
enables you to push and
pull different elements of
the image in different
ways. You may want to
bring the characters
forward while dropping
In the spotlight
the background further
back, for example. This
7 Using light is a great way to focus
flexibility is the advantage
the viewer’s eye in the right places,
of working digital!
especially with complex environment
scenes. I imagine a warm setting or rising
The stars of the show
5 Next I use a tapered inking brush to draw in tight line work for
sun’s light bouncing off of the buildings
on the left, while dropping the buildings
the foreground characters. These lines are more refined and darker on the right into shadow. I also make sure
than the ones I use in the middle and background. I’m trying to mostly that my characters are popping off the
define shapes, volume and design, and not use line work to do much background using contrast. Note that the
shading in this case. At this stage, the foreground elements are on a dark figures in the foreground pop off the
layer separate from the background elements. This makes it possible to background, which is mostly made up of
play around with the layout and the Opacity of both. bright saturated colours.

82 June 2014
 In depth Embrace change
Copy All Laye Start the smoke
Ctrl+Shift+C
Cmd+Shift+C
rs
(PC) 8 machines
(Mac)
Instead of me
rging Layers of fog and mist can be your best
down or flatte
ning, paste friend, or your worst enemy. They can
the merged
image be used to push elements into the
into a new lay
er.
background using atmospheric
perspective and to enhance the depth
of your scene, but applie too much
and things can quickly get out of hand.
I use separate layers to mask or erase
out foreground elements. I’ll sometimes
Pick colours even have separate layers for middle
from within ground, background and distant
I don’t really use colour
palettes. Instead, I tend background atmosphere, and then
to establish my colours in
a small colour study. But
play around with the Opacity of each
layer until I’m happy with it. 10 Achieving the right textural quality
At this stage I’m painting in a lot of information and defining the textures of the
I do like picking colours
from within the image
surfaces and materials in the image. I also place a paper texture over the entire image
once I’m happy with the and set it to Overlay at 50 per cent. It helps to bring some cohesion to the entire piece.
direction of the piece. The slight noise of the paper texture bridges the gap between the variety of painted
This prevents me from
straying too far from the
surfaces, and helps to downplay the look of digital paint.
original colour study,
which could end up
killing the piece. If you
do introduce a new
colour, make sure you
vet it by zooming out
and comparing it to
earlier versions.

Get the balance right

9 Now is a good time to balance my colours in the piece before
I head into the finishing touches stage. I feel like the image is too
saturated, so I play around with the saturation levels, even creating
a saturation Adjustment layer. I then tone down the saturation in
the background and sky, while keeping the saturation for my
foreground characters so that they pop. I also tone down the fog
again, in order to show more activity in the water.

Adding those all-important details

11 Finally I add in some fun details to the image, such as signs and people walking
across the bridges. I also go around the piece to see if there are any areas that just have
glaring omissions. Honestly though, a piece like this could be worked on easily for
another five or six hours if you really wanted to, but it isn’t necessary seeing as how the
image works as is. A good rule to keep in mind is that you should be able to stop
working on an image at just about any point along the process and feel proud of it.

June 2014 83
 Workshops

GETTING STARTED
IN SKETCHUP
SketchUp’s intuitive Push/Pull tool will help you take your first
steps on a three-dimensional canvas, says Mark Roosien
oosien

he aim of this new series of the Push/Pull icon from the toolbar and

T Core Skills is to introduce the

2D digital artist to an easy-
to-use 3D software. SketchUp
click an object’s surface on your screen.
This makes it possible to either push the
surface away from you, or pull it towards Mark Roosien
THE PUSH/PULL
TOOL IN ACTION
A B C
enables you to achieve great-looking you. Even when you’re unfamiliar with COUNTRY: Netherlands

results quickly. It’s free for personal use, SketchUp, the Push/Pull tool will enable Mark is a
so if you haven’t done so already, you to create a simple 3D model – let’s say self-taught
download it from www.sketchup.com. a rudimentary house – in just a few artist who
jumped from
By using the Push/Pull tool, you can minutes, and over three easy steps, as I’ll traditional
manipulate 3D objects very easily. Select demonstrate here. media to SketchUp seven
years ago. He specialises 1
in nuts ‘n’ bolts sci-fi art.
http://ifxm.ag/mroosien
Draw a rectangle
1 and pull up
Start by creating a new document and
selecting the Rectangle icon in your 2
toolbar. To create a rectangle on the
ground, just click and move the mouse
until your rectangle has the desired
shape. Now select the Push/Pull icon.
Place the cursor on the rectangle, click 3
and pull the rectangle up by moving
In this article I use the Rectangle tool (A),
the mouse. You just turned a 2D surface the Line tool (B) and the Push/Pull tool (C).
into a 3D object. When you click a surface with the Push/Pull,
it becomes highlighted with blue dots (1).
Draw a roof and push Move your mouse to the right and the
2 Draw the outlines of a roof on the front of the object, using the Line tool from the
triangle slides to the back (2). When you’ve
reached the back, the message ‘Off-set
toolbar. Start at the lower left and draw the line upwards towards the middle. SketchUp Limited’ will appear on your screen. Click to
make the triangle disappear (3), or use the
will show you the centre point. Now draw a line towards the lower right. Use the Push/
Eraser tool. A slanted surface remains.
Pull tool to push both triangles towards the rear of the object.

Create a home
3 Draw some outlines on the side of the house. Select the Push/
Pull tool and place the cursor on the side of the house. Now pull, just
like in step one, to create a decent-sized extension to the house. It’s
really that simple. Hold the scroll wheel while moving your mouse, to
have a look at your model from different angles.

84 June 2014
 GET A FREE ISSUE WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO
IMAGINEFX! SEE PAGE 32 FOR DETAILS

Cynthia Sheppard shares

her evocative art secrets
www.sheppard-arts.com

Myths & legends

Discover new stories and be inspired by tales
that have influenced generations of artists
Also
God of the sea iPad creation Monochrome Block by block
Dave Kendall Create an unusual Tran Nguyen paints a How to quickly
captures the Earth- mythological fantasy portrait image concept and build a
shaking power of creature using iPad’s using a muted palette structure for a fantasy
Poseidon in a SketchBook Pro with in colour pencils vista with master artist
stunning scene. illustrator Mark Behm. and watercolour. Raphael Lacoste.

ISSUE 110 UK ON SALE FRIDAY 23 MAY 2014

June 2014 85
 Workshops
DOWNLOAD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am
WIPS • FINAL IMAGE • BRUSH • VIDEO

IMPROVE YOUR
KEYFRAME SKILLS Film and video game artist Kan Muftic depicts a scene
in a story and conveys emotions through gestures

Kan Muftic
COUNTRY: England
ilms, TV programmes, video This is what I love doing the most, photographs, resulting in a quick and
Kan is a film
and video
game concept
artist who’s
F games and even 30-second
adverts need great stories. In
most cases, these stories are
because it requires all of my skills:
composition, light, colours, character
design, anatomy and suchlike. It’s also
dirty painting. Indeed, I do that myself a
lot for my clients. However, in this
workshop I won’t use any photographs
worked on written and handed over to an artist, important to mention that keyframe because I believe a lot of originality
Godzilla, Guardians of
whose task is to transform the words into illustration doesn’t always require a becomes lost through photo-bashing. It’s
the Galaxy, Edge of
Tomorrow, Residue, a single example of engaging imagery: the huge amount of detail, as long as it our responsibility as artists not to let this
Batman: Arkham Knight, keyframe. The main goal here is for the describes the scene. speed technique take over the more
and Batman: Arkham City.
image to be able to tell a moment of the These days it’s quite common to traditional approaches, and to paint
http://ifxm.ag/k-muftic
story without any additional description. achieve this by combining a collection of whenever possible.

86 June 2014
In depth Keyframe skills

June 2014 87
 Workshops
Curves
Ctrl+M (PC)
)
Cmd+M (Mac
st ways to
One of the be
Read and digest the script s and correct
1 The first step I normally take is to read the script. It’s a incredibly important stage
adjust value
colour in Phot
oshop.

because it sets up everything I do from now on. For the purposes of this workshop
I conjure up a moment in a story called The Pyjama Knight. Jack is sitting on his bed at
night, staring at Clownface and his friend Chubuscus. A strip of light from the hallway
indicates a slightly open door and Jack’s fear of the dark. Clownface is saying, “They
have taken everything. We have no one else to go to, Jack…”

Imagining the scene

2 I don’t just jump in and start doodling. Drawing is a form of communication,
therefore I think first before I start saying anything with images. I relax with a cup of
tea, close my eyes and imagine the scene unveiling in front of me. And soon, the DOWNLOAD
important questions start popping up. Where would I observe this from? How do those RESOURCES
Colour base
characters behave – are they hectic or calm? What do their voices sound like?
5 Moonlight will illuminate most of
the room, so I create the base with a
simple bluish tint. I do that by going to
PHOTOSHOP
Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and
CUSTOM BRUSH:
TEXTURED SQUARE
checking the Colorize box. Then I play
around with sliders, finding the right
tone. I always establish my base colour
from the predominant light source. If this
I made this brush a while
were an exterior scene set in daylight,
ago and I’m using it a lot.
It’s not too crisp, not too I’d start with a warm colour.
round, not too textured,
but just right for pretty
much everything.

Sketching out ideas

3 Having answered some of those questions, I decide to go for a Spielberg meets
Miyazaki type of scene. A fragile kid is visited by some bizarre but friendly characters
from a different realm. They’re seeking Jack’s help, which is the main point of this
Begin blending
keyframe illustration. So I centre the two characters around Jack’s bed, which will make
him stand out as a protagonist – and the eventual hero of the story. 6 Now that I have my base, I move the Color Picker slightly
towards grey and start blending in the warmer tones. I say warmer tones
because grey next to a cool colour appears warm. I don’t jump straight
to reds and yellows – instead, I approach them gradually to keep the
overall harmony. This is usually the messiest part of my process.

Start crisp
and clear
It’s one thing to create
your personal art and
Warming up
experiment with abstract
shapes, but even if you’re
7 I decide to bring in more warmth
very skilled at it, your to the room, because I don’t want the
clients can’t tell what a scene to look frightening. I create a new
messy sketch is going to
become. Crisp edges are layer and set it to Overlay. Then I pick an
easier to blend into earthy colour and start blocking it in from
smooth and lost edges the lower left corner, away from the
(and it’s harder to do it
Designing the light
4 I always try to use light as a design tool, just like I do with shapes and colours. In
the other way around). A
simple black and white
window with the cool moonlight. I place
my strokes where I believe the cool light
this scene, I want to illuminate the room with the moonlight, but I also want to have a sketch with a clear value doesn’t reach. However, there has to be
hierarchy usually does
secondary light coming from the hallway. Cool moonlight will complement the warm the job.
some mixing, so I carefully blend in the
interior light. For this stage, I use very flat but clear values – all in black and white. strokes with the background.

88 June 2014
 In depth Keyframe skills
Apply rim lights for clarity’s sake
8 I want to further downplay the bluish tint, so after warming the room up I add 12 Interesting faces
As I mentioned earlier, I want to
bluish rim lights that suggest at outdoor light. They also help to define edges and the make those two characters slightly
location of objects. When doing this stage, the colour progresses towards the colour of strange-looking but friendly. I’m making
the light, not just towards plain white. I still keep everything fairly low in saturation. Clownface look very gentle, adding large
lashes and a harmless mouth expression.
Chubuscus gets more puppet-like features,
such as nose and chin. Getting his facial
expression to look tense is tricky.

13 Wall poster
Jack is a bit of a geek and I imagine
him being a fan of video games. Perhaps
that’s where he meets strange people who
reveal incredible mysteries, maybe even
an unseen world that Clownface and
Chubuscus are from. And what if there’s a
yearly gathering of similar-minded kids
like Jack? Surely he would have some sort
of poster as a memory or a statement?

Color Balanc
e
Ctrl+B (PC)
Cmd+B (Mac
)
Use this shor
tcut to
quickly unify
colours
Hallway light
9 I roughly place in a stripe of warm
in your imag
e.

light coming from behind Chubuscus and

over the bed and Jack’s face. The idea is to
lead the viewer to Jack and present him as
a character who’s hiding in the shadows.
All of this works on a subconscious level 14 Refining Clownface
I work on some details, mainly his
and it’s exactly the kind of thing that helps face. I add a hint of his upper teeth, which
tell the story better. Some of the light is instantly gives him more personality. I get
reflected on Chubuscus and Clownface. caught up in rendering his hands, but
realise what I’m doing and simplify them

10 Body language
Jack stays slightly obscured by the
so as to not break the overall distribution
of the detail. As I darken the whole Power of
sketching
stripe of light, but I want the other two environment, some of the highlighted Never underestimate the
characters to be expressive and connected features pop out. I’m achieving quite a flexibility of sketching.
to Jack. Clownface is a gentle giant while cartoony palette and I’m happy with it. It’s very tempting to
grab photos, but they will
Chubuscus is a bundle of energy. When never enable you to
telling stories with characters, posture is
everything. Jack is displaying insecurity, 15 Finishing up
I tweak the colour scheme towards
quickly change
everything in the picture.
Very often, and
Chubuscus is curious and Clownface is yellow and place superhero toys in the particularly in the film
exposing weakness. lower left corner, for more visual interest. industry, you’ll be
Next I fix the wallpaper and make the expected to use photos
for your concepts. I
clouds on it smaller and cleaner. I add
would advise telling your
details here and there, but don’t overdo it clients that you’ll add
because I want to keep the focus on the them later on in the
process, once the layout
scene as a whole. And there it is. Our
has been established.
Pyjama Knight keyframe illustration.

Window projection
11 I decide to get rid of the bright patch behind Clownface. It’s an unwanted focal
point and also it isn’t quite accurate. So I simply paint it out by extending the colours
and the tone of the wall on the left. I want to make this fantasy encounter as realistic-
looking as possible – even if that sounds like a contradiction in terms!

June 2014 89
 ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
75 YEARS OF BATMAN!
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 Artist’s
Choice Award
Art resources with a five-star
rating receive the ImagineFX
Artist’s Choice award!

The latest digital art resources are put

to the test by the ImagineFX team…

PRODUCT
5
ON TEST S

HARDWARE
92 Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
Samsung throws everything it’s
got into the fledgling maxi-tablet
category. But will it succeed?
BOOKS
94 The Art of Rio
An insight into how concepts for
Rio and its sequel were created.

95 Shepard Fairey, Inc.

The legendary US street artist
deconstructs the power of graffiti. TRAINING
97 ZBrush for Concept
95 The Art of Castlevania Artists Vol 2
– Lords of Shadow Ben Mauro’s second guide to ZBrush
Discover the dark art that’s behind in concept art is so complete that
the remake of this classic game. you might not need the first part.

RATINGS EXPLAINED Magnificent Good Ordinary Poor Atrocious

June 2014 91
 Reviews

Galaxy Note Pro 12.2

STAR STRUCK Yes, it’s significantly cheaper, but is that enough of a reason to consider
Samsung’s latest über-tablet as a serious alternative to Wacom’s Cintiq Companion?
Price £649 Company Samsung Web www.samsung.com Contact 01932 455 000

acom’s Cintiq Companion screen is of a far higher resolution; Ultra The Galaxy Note Pro of Google’s Android operating system,

W – reviewed in our January

issue – has a lot going for
it. As well as functioning as
HD (2,560x1,600 pixels) instead of
normal HD (1,920x1,080 pixels). We’ve
seen Ultra HD resolutions on laptops
12.2’s large size makes
it slightly impractical,
but that’s the price you
pay for so much screen
which is the one that finally catches up
with Apple’s iOS in terms of ease-of-
use and slick aesthetics. Samsung then
real estate.
a dedicated digitiser, it can be and monitors, but having it packed into overlays Android with its TouchWiz
unplugged from your computer and a tablet is an incredible experience. interface, which fluctuates between
used as a standalone Android device. Load up an image and you see every being useful and being annoying. If
Samsung’s styluses are
However, its biggest drawback is its brush stroke in fine detail, and you co-created by Wacom,
we’re honest, we prefer the stock
ridiculous price tag: a wallet- notice minute details in even the which can be a little Android installation on Wacom’s tablet.
dismissive about the
emptying £1,200. Samsung’s Galaxy humblest of cameraphone pics. The standard of its rival’s
Samsung’s styluses are co-
Note could be the next best thing – Galaxy Note Pro runs the latest version drawing instruments. developed with Wacom, and the latter
and it’s half the price.
At 12.2-inches it’s smaller than
Wacom’s 13.3-inch tablet, but its

92 June 2014
 Hardware Tablets
New to the Galaxy Tab Pro is a TABLET ROUNDUP
faux-leather plastic case. We
like the feel of it, but the fake THE BES
BEST
T OF
THE
THE RES
RESTT
stitching is a bit cheesy.

Weighing up the competition

in the tablet market

Panasonic UT-MB5
Web www.panasonic.co.uk
Price £4,000
The 20-inch
behemoth is
powered by
Windows 8 and
is aimed at professionals. Its 4K
display is sure to wow everyone
Slide the stylus out and the
who lays eyes on it. It also boasts
tablet automatically launches a a stylus with pressure sensitivity,
little menu to choose common
stylus activities, such as
and it’s built to Panasonic’s
capturing a portion of the rugged Toughpad standards.
screen or making quick notes.

Sony Xperia Z2
Web www.sony.co.uk
Price £399
For those who
don’t want to
remortgage for
Panasonic’s
monstrosity, consider the
waterproof and dust and scratch
resistant Z2. Although it lacks a
stylus, a cool feature enables you
to use a traditional graphite
pencil to draw on the screen.

Samsung Galaxy
Tab Pro 8.4
As well as packing
32GB of internal
Web www.samsung.com
storage, there’s a Price £349
micro-SD slot, so you
could potentially add The 12.2’s little
another 64GB. brother is easier
to slip into a

Load up an image and you see every large pocket or

small bag, for half the price. It still
brush stroke in fine detail – in even the includes cool features like the
same 2,560x1,600 resolution,
humblest of cameraphone pics Features
n Screen size:
a colour depth of 16 million and
12.2 inches an 8-megapixel camera, and is
n Screen resolution:
believes the magic pen supplied with apps. ArtFlow, an art app that’s unique 2,560x1,600
far more affordable, too.
the Cintiq Companion is far better than to the Android platform, unsurprisingly n Processor:

Nvidia Tegra Note 7

1.9GHz quad-core
anything Samsung does. We’re inclined works really well, with a decent grasp n 3GB RAM
to agree, but we still find Samsung’s of pressure levels, instantaneous n 32GB storage space
n Operating system: Web www.nvidia.co.uk
styluses pretty darn good. They use responses and effective use of the Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
Price £140
clever magnetic fields, so they can run large screen. n Size: 0.8x29.6x

without batteries and still have a usable The problem Samsung’s got is
20.4cm This is Nvidia’s
n Weight: 730g
button. They also feature pressure- that the Galaxy Note Pro is simply n Wireless type: first venture
sensitivity, enabling you to subtly too broad in its uses to be as good
802.11a, 802.11b, into tablets. As
802.11g, 802.11n
adjust the flow of virtual ink or paint. as Wacom’s dedicated art tablet. n Cameras: you’d expect, it
While Samsung’s S Note software Android’s art software is catching
8MP rear, 2MP front packs a super-fast mobile
n Sensors:
includes a variety of brushes and up, too, but we still prefer ArtRage Accelerometer, Geo- processor, but the boon for
pencils, it’s a bit too much of a general and Procreate on the iPad to ArtFlow
magnetic, Gyro- artists is the Nvidia DirectStylus,
sensor, Light sensor,
note-taking app to be suitable for with a pressure-sensitive stylus. The Hall sensor which is responsive and includes
digital art. Autodesk’s SketchBook Note Pro may be great for looking at advanced features such as
Rating
hasn’t been updated for a while, and it images, then, but it’s not so good for finger and palm rejection.
lacks the pressure-sensitivity of other making them.

June 2014 93
 Reviews

The Art of Rio

CARNIVAL ART Discover the illustrations and designs behind
Blue Sky’s animated hit children’s film Rio and its sequel Rio 2
Author Tara Bennett Publisher Titan Books Price £25 Web www.titanbooks.com Available Now

s the colourful and charming The first chapter – and the best of

A world of Blu, the rare Blue

Spix Macaw, returns to the
big screen in Rio 2, fans
the lot – is on characters. These pages
are overflowing with inspirational
imagery, including rough sketches,
can now enjoy the artistry behind early concept art, paintings, final
both movies in this lavish 192-page renders, sketches of gestures and
hardback. Featuring over 300 pieces poses, the detail of which you could
of concept art, character sketches, pore over for hours. The dedicated bird
paintings and interviews with artists, section in this chapter is particularly
this is a detailed, predominantly noteworthy, featuring beautiful
visual guide to how Blu and co were illustrations of all kinds of species of
brought to life. Blu’s feathered friends, complete with a
The book opens with an engaging stunning early colour variation chart by
forward from Carlos Saldanha, the film’s artist Vincent Di Ngugen. There’s no The tongue of Charlie the anteater, a henchman
director, who passionately describes denying the amount of wonderful from the second film, gave him extra personality.
how both movies ended up being a love artwork on these pages. However, we’d
letter to the vibrant city of his childhood. have like to have seen some initial on to lush, colourful landscape painting
And how, even though having only storyboards from both films, along and illustrations. True to Rio’s roots, it’s
From basic body
three Brazilians in a visual crew of over shapes, the art team
with a few more early iterations of here where you can see the amount of
300, each artist became immersed in used a range of crest certain characters, just to see how influence the city had on the film’s
designs and colouration
Rio’s colourful culture, which inspired a to produce these exotic
each was developed over time. artists, with the essence of Brazil’s
wealth of amazing artwork. song birds. The copy that runs throughout the capital captured in the most beautifully
book is extensive but not imposing, stylised way, making it recognisable
and doesn’t distract from any of the while not resorting to photorealism.
artwork. With interesting movie facts As an accompaniment to Rio and its
and insights from the film’s artists, it’s upcoming sequel, this book does a
definitely worth a read. beautiful job of showcasing the
The locations section is also well amazing craftsmanship and talent
done. It opens to multiple pages of behind both films.
intricately drawn pencil sketches of
buildings and interiors, before moving RATING

94 June 2014
 Inspiration Books

Shepard Fairey, Inc.

STREET LIFE This luxury hardback provides a comprehensive insight
to the career of one of the most influential street artists of our time
Author G James Daichendt Publisher Titan Books Price £25 Web www.titanbooks.com Available Now

f you have even the slightest

I interest in street art, then

you’ll almost certainly
have come across Sheperd
Fairey. The man behind OBEY and
the famous Obama Hope artwork,
Sheperd is one of the most famous
street artists in the world and this
lavish book documents his rise to
success in incredible detail.
Behind every piece of Sheperd’s
artwork is a story that, in turn, means
there’s a considerable amount of copy
in this book, which includes a wealth of information on everything from his written vertically and covers almost a
inspirations and the origins of OBEY to third of the imagery on show –
interesting facts about the artist, such something that’s entirely unnecessary.
as when he was arrested. Luckily, these are few and far between,
The majority of the artwork is given with the majority of the photography
the space it undoubtedly deserves, allowed to bask in its full glory. For
with every piece commandeering at Sheperd Fairey and street art fans alike,
The artist’s familiar
least one full page, printed in rich this comprehensive guide to the artist’s
OBEY image originated colour on thick, glossy pages. However, career is a real treat.
from a street campaign
that used an image of
there are a couple of double-page
Andre the Giant. spreads accompanied by a quote that’s RATING

The Art of Castlevania – Lords of Shadow

GOTHIC BEAUTY Featuring hundreds of hauntingly beautiful
illustrations, this book is a veritable tomb of dark and macabre art
Author Martin Robinson Publisher Titan Books Price £30 Web www.titanbooks.com Available Now

ased on the multi-

B generational video game

series developed and
published by Konami, this
gorgeous hardback takes readers on
a visual journey through the
supernatural world of Castlevania.
With the subject set in AD 1047, this
fang-tastic book is rich in gothic and
medieval imagery, including concept
art, game stills and promotional
material, all of which are printed on
thick, luxurious paper, showcasing the
detail of each beautifully. The artwork has been well-chosen to For such a dark subject, the book is
highlight the talents of the artists who surprisingly rich in colour. The bestiary
worked on the game. In particular, the section highlights this particularly well,
opening section that focuses on with vibrant imagery of zombies,
Dracula is stunning, and the descriptive gargoyles and other hideous creatures.
copy accompanying each design Overall, this book is a visual treat, a
equally engaging. Many of the major masterclass in dark and macabre art,
Almost a quarter of
Castlevania figures are revealed in and a must-have for horror and
the book is devoted detail, but it’s the exquisite imagery of supernatural fans alike.
to exploring the
environments that
non-Belmont clan character Laura that
feature in the game. leaves a lasting impression. RATING

June 2014 95
 DIGITAL ART
INSPIRATION
PHOTO EDITING

WEB DESIGN
GRAPHIC DESIGN
3D DESIGN

www.creativebloq.com
Join us now on Facebook & Twitter
96 www.facebook.com/creativebloq www.twitter.com/creativebloq
 Inspiration Training
Ben Mauro’s second visit into the land
of 3D concept art shows him creating
this creature, pose and props.

In the early model

(above), sections are
coloured for easy
masking-out.

ZBrush enables Ben to

portray his designs
in a realistic manner.

ZBrush for Concept Artists Vol 2

BODY-BUILDER Ben Mauro’s second guide to ZBrush in concept
art is so complete that you might not need the first instalment
Publisher CDW Studios Price $49 Format Download only Web www.cdwstudios.com

hange has come to the field pose from its initial neutral stance to

C of concept art. In this video

series, Ben Mauro shows
how 3D packages such as
one that brings out its personality.
Taking this two-step approach saves
time because you can do more
ARTIST PROFILE
BEN
ZBrush help him to deliver the
realism that art directors now ask
sculpting with the symmetry function
activated, which ensures that the
MAURO
him for, even at the character design anatomy is properly thought out.
stage. The first part (which we The audio suffers from the same Ben is a concept designer and
reviewed back in issue 99) showed affliction as the first part, noticeably digital sculptor. He recently left
Ben creating a prototypical bust switching between a live workshop and Weta Workshop in Wellington,
for a creature design; in the second a later recorded session. But on the New Zealand, and now works at
part, the design is expanded to the upside, the edits are less frequent than Treyarch in Singapore. Ben has
entire body. Topics covered last time, making this a more enjoyable contributed to game projects, TV
There’s a degree of overlap n ZBrush overview experience. There’s also more scope and films such as The Hobbit
n Blocking out
between the two videos, with both n Sculpting detail
for questions from the audience, which Trilogy, Elysium and Valerian.
showing the basics of ZBrush for n Setting the pose always yield some great insights. Before working at Weta, he worked
n Adding costumes
newcomers, then blocking out the and props
If you’re looking for a broad as a freelancer for many clients,
form, sculpting and refining detail, n Lighting and overview of ZBrush’s role in concept including Lucasfilm, Rhythm &
materials
texture-painting and Photoshop post- n Painting the skin
art, this is complete enough to make Hues, Activision, Universal
production. However, the extra length texture the first part redundant – although Pictures, Sony
n Post-processing
of this instalment (it’s over 90 minutes effects
anyone looking to dig deeper will still Pictures Animation,
longer than the first) gives Ben room appreciate the earlier video’s emphasis Insomniac Games,
Length
to explore other areas. 222 minutes
on character design. For most viewers, Design Studio Press
To give an example, there’s a however, this is a pretty definitive and Vishwa Robotics.
Rating
particularly useful session where he exploration of its topic, from an artist
www.artofben.com
uses ZBrush to change the creature’s who really knows his stuff.

June 2014 97
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INSPIRATION AND ADVICE FROM THE WORLD’S BEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS

This issue:

100 FXPosé Traditional

The best traditional art revealed.

104 Creative Space

We visit Central Park Sketching.

112 Anatomy advice

Learn to control your values.

FROM INSPIRATION TO
FINISHED
114 First Impressions
Edward Howard arranges colour.

SCULPTURE
Devon Dorrity demonstrates the process
of bringing a tree spirit to life Page 106
June 2014 99
 FXPosé SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL FANTASY ARTISTS

Sergio Lopez 1
LOCATION: US
WEB: www.themainloop.com
EMAIL: sergiolopez@themainloop.com
MEDIA: Oils

“I enjoy discovering new

vistas,” says Sergio.
“Setting up my easel.
Creating a piece on the
spot. There’s no better way
to discover the truth and essence of a
scene than by standing before it and
studying it carefully.”
The Santa Rosa-based artist is
equally enamoured with the female
form, his still-life oil paintings alive with
colour and swathed in light.
A compulsive sketcher, Sergio’s work
is a compelling mix of observation and
imagination. He’s exhibited paintings
throughout California, around the US
and in numerous publications.

IMAGINEFX CRIT
“You don’t just
stare at these
paintings. With
the split vision of Angel
Face my eyes scan to see
a woman in motion. It’s
disconcerting, but when
they rest, it’s the colour,
light and patterns that
flood in. Clever stuff.”
Beren Neale,
Digital Editor

1 A
ANGEL FACE
Oil on linen, 22x30in
“This painting was shown in Sarasota,
Florida, for the American Masters
Invitational Show. I was really proud to
show alongside some big names in the
fine art world, such as Jeremy Mann.”

2 PARHE
PARHELIA
Oil on linen, 30x24in
“This is part of another series of mine,
Natural Patterns, which has also been
well received.”

100 June 2014 FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com

 FXPosé Traditional art
2

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 101

 FXPosé
Allen
Allen Williams 1
LOCATION: US
WEB: www.ijustdraw.com
EMAIL: ijustdraw@gmail.com
MEDIA: Graphite

Illustrator and concept

artist Allen’s credits
include Guillermo del
Toro’s Pacific Rim and
Darren Aronofsky’s Noah.
When the American isn’t helping shape
Hollywood blockbusters, he turns his
hand to paintings and drawings that are
characterised by their dark elements
and surreal themes.
Every piece begins in graphite –
a medium that, the artist says, doesn’t
cover his page but “infects” it. “Many of
my drawings grow out of organic or
chaotic experimentation. This led to the
phrase ‘graphite-infected paper’ – which
is how I describe my work.
“I’ve tried as many different brands
of graphite and paper as I can find and
I love collecting different types of
materials, but almost any pencil will do
and almost any paper.”

1 THE GIFT
Graphite on Stonehenge Paper, 8x10in
“This was an exploration of figure and
chaos that grew out of a central point.
Like a virus.”

2 IF BEAUTY WERE A BOOK

Graphite on Stonehenge Paper, 14x16in
“What if the Beast found his freedom in
the love of a book, like so many people.”

3 T
THE ENOCHIAN
Graphite on Stonehenge Paper, 14x16in
“Your spirit is my arrow. As you fight the
battle of your daily existence, I fight the
demons behind your woes. My only
weapon is your spirit, your being. I am
only as strong as you. So many times
I have drawn my bow on your behalf,
but not loosened my arrow because you
would not let go.”

SUBMIT YOUR
ART TO FXPOSÉ
Send up to five pieces of your
work, along with their titles, an
explanation of your techniques,
a photo of yourself and contact
details. Images should be sent as
300DPI JPEG files.

Email: fxpose@imaginefx.com
(maximum 1MB per image)

Post (CD or DVD):

FXPosé Traditional
ImagineFX
30 Monmouth Street
Bath
BA1 2BW, UK

All artwork is submitted on the

basis of a non-exclusive
worldwide licence to publish,
both in print and electronically.

102 June 2014

 FXPosé Traditional art
3

IMAGINEFX CRIT
“The detail in
Allen’s art –
the texture, the
light and shade – is
stunning. I can see
why Del Toro’s a fan:
they both blur the line
between fairytale and
horror, the majestic
and the macabre.”
Gary Evans,
Staff Writer

FXPosé submissions to: fxpose@imaginefx.com June 2014 103

 Creative Space
HEY YOU!
Are you a part of
a regular art class or
group? Email us at
mail@imaginefx.com
if you want to
feature here!

CENTRAL PARK
SKETCHING:
NEW YORK CITY
Meet the art group dedicated to depicting New York City in all its glory.
Central Park Sketching organiser JESSE RICHARDS tells us more…

Y
ou’ll find Draftsmen’s beginner or distinguished pro – a place
Congress on the fourth to draw regularly, inexpensively and
floor of New York’s New without pressure.
Museum. Conceived by There are no formal critiques. Just
experimental Polish artist an informal “atmosphere of mutual
Paweł Althamer, the collaborative appreciation,” Jesse says. People talk.
exhibit was a white space that visitors Share ideas. Make friends. Feel like
have slowly but surely covered with they’re part of something.
drawings and paintings. Local art group “I find artists are extremely shy and
Central Park Sketching was recently asked nervous and embarrassed about the
to leave its mark on the installation, and quality of their work,” the organiser
duly obliged. explains. “It’s irrational, and its causes
Tom Kovalski, with Jesse Richards are fascinating to ruminate on. But, on
The two great passions in
assisting, founded the group in 2007. a practical level, it prevents many people Jesse Richards’ life are art and
that no one minds if they are the worst
Jesse has since taken over organising from attending anything. A lot of my New York, which he combines artists in the world – and that the concept
as organiser of the Central
duties, but its original ethos remains: time is spent reassuring people that we Park Sketching group.
of best or worst in expressive art doesn’t
to provide artists – whether absolute are a non-judgemental community, and even make any sense.”
Jesse is passionate about New York
City and what he likes to describe as
its innumerable “nooks and secrets,
surprising history, stunning architecture
and beautiful parks”. But before Central
Park Sketching there were hardly any
groups dedicated solely to drawing the
Draftsmen’s Congress: an installation
by Polish artist Paweł Althamer, at
city’s landscape. The get-together was a
New York’s New Museum. direct response to this.

104 June 2014

 Creative Space Central Park Sketching
Incredibly, Draftsmen’s Congress
was once entirely white space –

ART
until visitors and art groups were
invited in to decorate .

A TA
AT TACK
ACK
Central Park Sketching’s all-out
assault on Draftsmen’s Congress

Kerri, from Staten Island, working

on a rather rakish-looking dog.

Whether pro artist or

fledgling doodler, all are
welcome to make their mark
on this unique installation.

Anika, who likes to work in multiple

media, taking it to the walls.

Mercedes Vega
Villar says that
Central Park
Sketching is the
perfect excuse to
indulge her love
of drawing.

Deborah Graham
stands proudly by
her finished work.

However, the group has gradually

become a victim of its own success. Once
it could sneak into parks and museums
unnoticed. Now it turns up in such
numbers that arrangements must be
made well in advance. Jesse isn’t
complaining. “We’re now the largest art
meet-up in the world, and every day more
and more people join the group, so I only
see it continuing to grow and expand.”
For more details on Central Park Sketching, All smiles from Cheri Dannels as she works
The members of Central Park on her colourful addition to the exhibit .
visit www.meetup.com/sketching. To see Sketching jumped at the chance to
Jesse’s work head to www.jkrweb.com. pay a visit to Draftsmen’s Congress.

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DOWNLOADD RESOURCES http://ifxm.ag/goth109am

DOWNLOA WIPS • FINAL IMAGE

Clay
SCULPT A WOOD
NYMPH BUST
From inspiration to finished sculpture, DEVON DORRITY
demonstrates the process of bringing a tree spirit to life

F
rom the time of my early youth how important it is for sculptors to find
ARTIST INSIGHT specific subject matter that’s exciting to
Queen of the
I’ve been enamoured with Seas was
PROCURING A MODEL featured in
fantasy art. In seventh grade, them. Sculptures, depending on their
You might also try Spectrum 20.
my middle school’s art teacher complexity, can take hundreds of hours
asking a model if they
brought in Frank Frazetta to do to complete. If you aren’t excited about it
would like a sculpture
a live painting demonstration. I was in their portfolio. Many
then you can’t expect others to be, either.
awestruck. Since then, I’ve rarely been will provide reference I also want to stress the importance
able to complete a work of art without photos at no charge if of getting good reference material. For
adding an element of the fantastic. they like your work. human anatomy, you need multiple
Along the way, I’ve discovered that if ModelMayhem.com is a angles of the same model and pose. The
you stay true to what inspires you, others good place to start. human form is too complex to do an
stop to admire the view, even if the accurate sculpt without reference. For this
subject matter is foreign to them. When project, I’m collaborating with Zienna
working on Queen of the Seas, I began Eve, a beautiful young model from
with a very classical pose from a beautiful Denmark. Her natural beauty provides
model named Jessica. But when I started the initial inspiration that will sustain the
with the tentacles, many thought I was vision while developing the final concept:
ruining it – yet when it was finished, it a spirit of the forest takes hold on a tree,
captured the attention of people who and causes a transformation, allowing it
wouldn’t otherwise appreciate fantasy art. to commune with man.
It was later featured in Spectrum. In this workshop, I’ll show the Devon is the president and CEO
For this workshop, I want to show how materials, tools and techniques to of hh2 Web Services, a mobile
an aspiring sculptor goes about making a kick start your sculpting project. From software company that serves
classical bust with a touch of the fantastic inspiration to final lacquer, I’ll show the the construction industry. He
thrown in for good measure. Before we processes you can use to sculpt something lives in Utah, and sculpts in his spare time.
start with the steps, I’d like to emphasise you can proudly put on display. www.ddorrity.deviantart.com

106 June 2014

In depth Sculpting

June 2014 107

 Workshops

MATERIALS
ARMATURE:
n Threaded steel rod
n Steel base and wood
screws
n Styrofoam ball
n Wood doll head
n Aluminium armature
wire (16 gauge)
n Aluminium armature
wire (10 gauge)
CLAY
n Super Sculpey Firm TOOL TIP
Gray BLUNT EDGES
n Apoxie Sculpt Use a wooden doll head
FINISH to blunt the steel rod and
n Bronze C metal prevent it from punching
voating through the top of
n Tiffany Green patina the sculpture.
n Verde Green
non-ferrous wax
n Black non-ferrous
3 Plan your armature
wax I build my armature at a specific scale so that it makes measurements
n Brown non-ferrous easy. In this case I use 1:2 scale. The steel rod enables me to attach it to any sort

1 Find your inspiration wax of wood base. The Styrofoam ball is for structure and bulk.
It doesn’t matter where it n Blue iridescent
comes from, but it must excite you powder
enough to complete your sculpture n Clear Guard
protective lacquer
project. In this case, it was a digital
painting from my brother, Dennis.

4 Assemble the armature

I cut out enough space for the doll head and shove the rod into the
Styrofoam ball. I use 16-gauge aluminium wire to secure it in place. I then coat
it in Super Sculpey and use a heat gun to harden it.

2 Get reference material 5 Building a profile

I regularly visit a studio where a group pays a model to I start the build up by sculpting an initial profile. I print out a photo at the
come in and pose. Photos aren’t as good as a live model, but right scale and make sure my profile matches the model. I then start building
they’ll work in a pinch. In this case Zienna provided lots of photos. the basic structure of the skull.

108 June 2014

 In depth Sculpting

6 Sculpting the basic

facial features
I take my time sculpting the details of
the face. I constantly refer to the
profile, side view and three-quarter
reference views for accuracy.

7 The head and neck

It’s important to get the shape
of the skull right. Don’t rush to work on
the hair – it’ll come soon enough. If
you don’t get the skull looking right
now, you’ll have to redo it all later.

8 Hair strategy 9 Adding style

Sculpting the hair takes a long I take the time to get critiques
time. Don’t try to sculpt individual from those I respect and make
strands of hair. I focus on the large adjustments. I come up with the idea
clumps and stylise the strands. I use to make the sculpture into a tree. The
armature wire when necessary to hold idea of turning wind-blown hair into
up the strands. tree limbs begins to take shape.

June 2014 109

 Workshops

11 Hardening the clay

Super Sculpey must be hardened at 200+
degrees Fahrenheit. I boil it in a large 60-gallon pot
on my kitchen stove. It doesn’t quite fit, so I cover it
with tin foil and the top steam hardens.

TOOL TIP
QUICK COATING
Spraying on the bronze
coating is easier than
brushing it. I use a cheap
spray gun meant for
car body work, and
a compressor.

ARTIST INSIGHT
ARMATURE WOES
I purchase a threaded
steel bar from the
hardware store and
embed it inside the
base, replacing the
straight bar I started
with. It was a pain, but
it was worth it. Deon
Duncan, a sculpture

10 Finish what you started friend of mine, said it

12 Applying the bronze coating
No one appreciates a sculpture you never finish. Put in the best: “You always fight The coating is actual bronze powder in an
time. Put in a few hours a day, even if you’re not in the mood. In the armature.” acrylic binder and a hardening agent. After curing,
some cases, this means sculpting in the kitchen, or late at night. I scrub it with steel wool to make it shine.

110 June 2014

 In depth Sculpting

13 Spraying on the patina

I go outside and spray on the
patina, where it reacts with the metal
surface. I could make the reaction
stronger by further scrubbing with
steel wool to expose more of the metal.

14 Applying the wax 15 Finishing touches ARTIST INSIGHT

Once the patina has dried I apply the blue iridescent PUBLICISE YOUR ART
I apply the Verde Green wax powder by hand in selected areas. Don’t forget to get
generously and allow it to set up for a I then spray the whole sculpture with professional photos
few minutes. Then I scrub it back with several coats of protective lacquer. taken. Spread the love.
cloth to reveal the bronze underneath. Finally, I use the Apoxie Sculpt self- Let others enjoy the
Note that this type of wax hardens hardening clay to fill in the gaps after fruits of your labours.
on permanently. attaching it to the base.

June 2014 111

 Workshops
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WIPS

Pencil Ballpoint pen Charcoal

LEARN TO CONTROL
YOUR VALUES
CHRIS LEGASPI shares his expert advice on how to shade your figures
with realistic values, which will take your art to the next level

V
alue control is what gives three distinct values shapes: shadow values away from the light are darker and
MATERIALS
drawings and renderings (darks), half-tone (mid-tone) and light. values closer to the light become brighter.
that beautiful feeling of These value shapes are what I’ll use as a n Smooth newsprint I’ll use a subtle wash of charcoal and a
light and shadow. To guide during the rendering process. paper brush to add a smooth gradation of tone
n Carbothello pencil,
control values, I must first Next, I can begin to draw the shapes that becomes darker as the forms move
black (or Conte’ B) or
train my eye to accurately see values. I see. During the early stage, I’ll ignore the away from the light source. Finally, I’ll use
Willow charcoal
I also want to be clear about where the subtleties and variations with the shadow white charcoal on the brightest areas to
sticks (medium grade)
light source is, and identify the darkest and half-tone, instead filling them with a create highlights. If fall-off is done is well,
n Kneaded eraser
and brightest areas of the scene. single, uniform tone. As the drawing it makes the rendering feel believable.
n Bristle brush, round
To better see the values, I’ll squint at develops, I can then add subtle variations #4 (or 6)
Chris is keen to share his
the model or subject. This will simplify to help me render and model form. n White charcoal pencil knowledge of art and picture
the values I see, and big masses or shapes To complete the rendering, I want to (or white pastel) making. You can see more of his
of values will start to appear. I identify enhance the illusion of fall-off, when n Ballpoint pen work at www.freshdesigner.com .
n Sketchbook

1 Observing value shapes Design small

To control values I must first shadow shapes
observe value shapes accurately. to describe form
Squinting helps me to see the
simplified value shapes and patterns.
Next, I’ll group the values that are close
together into big masses of dark, mid-
tone and light. It’s these value shapes
that I’ll use to render the drawing. Half-tone shapes

Shadow shapes
Make value of
shadow block-in
consistent
Ignore subtleties and variation
in shadow and make shadow
tone clean and uniform

2 Block in the
EXERCISE shadow shape
LIFE DRAWING
I start my value renders with the
Draw a value study from shadow shape. To begin, I’ll design the
life. A three-hour (or shape to emphasise form and plane
more) pose with single changes, especially in the small detail
source lighting on the areas such as the eyes. Next, I’ll ignore
model is ideal. the nuances I may see, instead filling
Squint to see big value shapes the shape with a uniform dark tone.
Light shapes
112 June 2014
 Artist insight Value control
Lighter half-tones in Highlight Values become
upper regions (brightest Light source brighter towards
bright) light source

Light (1)
Light
half-tone

Darker half-
tones near
core shadow

Darker half-
tones in
lower regions

3 Half-tones
The next shape is the half-tone.
Half-tones have many subtleties and
variations, but I prefer to simplify the
half-tones at this stage into one
uniform tone. I’ll use a slightly darker
tone only on the areas that are
furthest away from the light and for
transition areas near the core shadow.

Light value in Highlight

upper regions Dark half-tone/
shadow

Light (2)

Dark accent
(darkest dark)

Darker shadow Think of light

within the on face like light
core shadow on an egg
Dark accents at ARTIST INSIGHT
occlusion shadow areas BLEND THOSE EDGES Half-tone
To achieve smooth Values become
4 Full value range gradations, use a bristle darker as forms
To complete the render I’ll need brush to blend and move away from
a full range of values from the darkest soften the edges the light
dark to the lightest light. I’ll add the between value shapes.
5 The principle of fall-off
lights and highlights in the upper For bright highlights, Fall-off means that values become darker as forms move away
use either white
regions and then the darks in the core from the light, and brighter towards the light. In my drawing, I add a subtle
charcoal or pastel.
shadow and dark accents. The dark dark gradient from the bottom up. Then I brighten the highlights closest to
accents help the make the shadow the light to give a dramatic and realistic feeling to the rendering.
areas recede.

June 2014 113

LOOKING FOR
THIS ISSUE’S
RESOURCES?

6
SEE PAGE

First Impressions
Edward Howard
execution came into focus, and I was
The US artist tells us finally able to translate what was in my
mind to canvas. I still get great pleasure
what his main goal from listening to people tell me what
is when applying they believe the story of the piece is, and
I also love seeing them make new
different colours discoveries when they view it in person.

to a flat surface… What are your painting rituals?

Organisation and preparation are
imperative to me. When I begin a piece
You’re a kid. You see a I already know my palette, I’ve already
painting that changes done colour studies, have determined
everything. What are you my colour gamut, and know my
looking at? composition and lighting down to the
Frederic Remington’s last centimetre of canvas. I use as many
The Stampede. I was intoxicated by the references as I can, to study the interplay
art, and it – and many other works – fed of light and shadow, texture and depth.
my desire to pursue art. I also marvelled Painting is hard enough without having
at Antonio Mancini’s Resting, John to guess on the fly. I just want to focus
Singer Sargent’s An Interior in Venice and on painting. I don’t want to have loose
Frank Brangwyn’s Buccaneers. All these ends in my head while I’m working.
works say so much with such beautiful
and seemingly loose brushwork. They What’s wrong with the industry?
don’t paint things, they paint the mere A lot, but recently there’s been a
suggestion of things. The viewers concerted effort by many to begin the
unconsciously fill in the blanks. process of reform. I’d recommend all
I remember being stunned by that little aspiring illustrators to look at Art PACT
realisation, and I’m still in awe of it. (www.artpact.com), a community
dedicated to helping the illustrator
Name one person who’s helped you navigate their way through the industry
on your way? SECRET REVEALED evoke an emotional response. The quest and help them achieve a living wage.
Rachel, my wife, is my biggest fan and This is the painting that Edward for the artist is to convey this non-verbal,
considers his first success at
my greatest critic. I’m here because she visualising the composition he
visceral message more precisely. What advice would you give to fantasy
had faith in my ability. Everyone has saw in his mind’s eye. artists just starting out?
that one person who’s their cheerleader, Do you remember the first image where Paint what you love. Paint what drives
who supports them and keeps them you thought you’d nailed it? you. Paint what inspires you. When you
pushing onward. Secret Revealed seemed to strike a chord do that it will come through on canvas.
with people. I feel like my technique and People will see that passion and will
Who’s tried to get in your way? be drawn to your work. And don’t be
Me. I’m my own worst enemy and I’m my own worst enemy and afraid to explore different genres,

perhaps my harshest critic

perhaps my harshest critic. This can be different styles. What’s on the canvas is
good and bad. The good is that I always something that no one but you has ever
ask the highest standards of myself. The seen before. We want to see what your
bad is that my standards might be too unique ideas and dreams are. Don’t hold
high, resulting in very few pieces ever back – paint them!
making it out the door. However, the
more experienced I become, the more What’s the first thing you teach a pupil?
I learn to not get in my own way. Don’t guess. Trust me, you’ll almost
always get it wrong. Try to observe it in
Your art is always evolving – what’s the nature and then replicate that on canvas.
most recent experiment you’ve made? The amazing thing is that if you get it
I’m coming to the realisation that I’ll right, it probably won’t be noticed by the
probably always be experimenting. viewer at all. It’s only when you get
When you step back you realise all you’re things wrong that the viewer notices.
doing is applying different-coloured Edward Howard lives and works in Los
viscous pigments to a flat surface and
DISCOVERY Angeles. He’s a graduate of the American
This recent painting eschews the artist’s
hopefully in the end you’ve arranged usual fantasy trappings in favour of more Academy of Art and studied at the Florence
emotional beats.
those colours in such a manner as to Academy of Art. www.efhoward.com

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