Draw! #18 Fall 2009 (magazine review).
Before you ask why have I upped the number of early ‘Draw!’ issues I’m reviewing, its mainly because buying as a bundle means I have more of them than the other magazines I bought at the same time. Economical cheaper, but a lot to read.
The first interview editor Mike Manley this time is with Serbian-born comicbook artist and former professional guitarist R.M. Guerra who moved over to Europe to avoid his country’s conflicts. I have to admit that I’ve never come across Vertigo’s ‘Scalped’ or other companies he’s worked for but reading about his art technique is quite insightful. He relies on working out the logistics of the page in rough pencils and detailing in inking to keep the energy and enthusiasm for the work.
He also doesn’t mind completing pages out of order when the muse catches him which might make some of you artists out there think and shake things up a bit. His comments on observing and understanding what he is drawing should also sink.
James Carter was designing ‘Batman: Brave And The Bold’s animated characters at the time of this issue of ‘Draw!’ and explains to Mike Manley how it needed to be softer than ‘The Dark Knight’ film. His discussion on the different Batmans over the year is very convincing.
For those getting into the industry, his pointers on adapting your portfolio to what you need to present makes a lot of sense, including showing some unfinished work so your construction can be seen. It’s also unlikely that you would get in as an animator but working your way up from the bottom seems to be the best way to learn and for them to see what your strengths are.
Brett Blevins shows how to do life study and drawing and colouring in 20 minutes. I know when I attended classes years ago I was doing quick illustrations whereas the rest of the class were spending over an hour on a single illustration which I never thought was beneficial to learning.
Finally, Mike Manley runs through lessons in how to make the human figure more dynamic and playing around with the shapes. Even if you know some of the techniques, there is much to learn here.
GF Willmetts
December 2020
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $ 6.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6882. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 6.95 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com, www.draw-magazine.blogspot.com and www.penciltopencil.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_59&products_id=788
