Draw! #14 Summer 2007 (magazine review).
I’m rarely surprised when I come across comicbook artists that I’ve never heard of in ‘Draw!’ as there are a lot of them out there and Doug Mahnke is amongst those. Even so, as interviewed by Michael Manley back in 2007, he does present some interesting insights. With the older artists like Steve Ditko, their art was based on the 1950s fashion and why there was a lot hat-wearing in the early Spider-Mans. Then again, I tend to think artists draw what they are familiar with as they were taught.
The interview with cartoonist/designer Steve Purcell and his ‘Sam & Max’ work. An interesting aspect of his work is whether or not to keep earlier sketches let alone on loose paper in preference to sketchpads. I tend to prefer to the latter myself, mostly to keep things together but, really, I would draw on anything and curse when I did a decent design on lined paper and couldn’t reproduce it on plain paper. Purcell’s views on not needing an assistant because he would have to find work for them to do is again based on how much work you have to do and whether you need extra labour force.
Ovi Nedelcu created ‘Pigtale’ and goes over it and his career how he straddles the different markets in animation and comicbooks. With animation design, he fell into the market by luck and the right portfolio. His comments on creativity being knocked out of artists in class is rather telling. You would think the emphasis should be on what you need to develop for commercial art but I guess this is where the teachers tend to fail or they wouldn’t be teaching.
If you thought ‘Spotting Blacks’ is all about using ‘x’ marks to tell inkers where to fill in black on the comicbook page then Bret Blevins and Mike Manley shows how chiaroscuro, the contrast between black and white, can be used to control shadows and directing the reader to scan the page with some graphic examples. Don’t rely on the inker or colourist to get you out of mistakes and their boot camp here is really important to read.
Mike Manley’s visit to China with his fiancée and native land to also explore the comicbook culture over there which was and probably still is confined by its government. Its quite eye-opening how limited it is and contradictory got the better art equipment.
I’m not sure if this was filler or promo, but the opening part of a Roy Thomas interview from Alter Ego # 70 about his bring Conan to Marvel and working with Barry Windsor-Smith.
Probably the most important nugget in this issue of ‘Draw!’ is ‘Spotting Blacks’ but there is a lot to learn if you want to improve your drawing technique.
GF Willmetts
September 2020
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 90 page illustrated magazine. Price: $ 6.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6882. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 4.17 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com, www.draw-magazine.blogspot.com, www.penciltopencil.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_59&products_id=575
