Draw! #27 Winter 2014 (magazine review).
I didn’t really know who artist Dave Johnson was until the mention of ‘100 Bullets’. His interview here covers his background in design in animation and probably his line economy. There’s a sharp contrast to the next piece where Jerry Ordway shows how he builds a figure pin-up up from scribbles to refinement. I know when I draw, I tend to build up from structure but here is a useful reminder that if you read enough ‘Draw!’ magazines, you’ll come across artists who match your own style and learn from the rest.
In a similar vein, we also have an interview with British born Steven Silver, who migrated to America when he was 10. If ever there was an example of an artist who has his foot in many camps, Silver is your man. At 18, with no set portfolio, he took examples of his drawings showing caricatures and life drawings and got trained on the job of caricatures. By networking, Silver later found work at Warner Bros as a character designer but still kept his other work going at weekends so he wouldn’t have a cashflow problem when projects ended.
There’s also a portfolio of his work here. In many respects, there’s a lot to be learnt here from his work ethnic and avoiding being a ‘company man’ and lacking rights in any design creations.
Finally, a larger piece than normal, Mike Manley and Bret Blevins explore foreshortening using examples from their own work as well as a variety of different artists. Considering how much comicbook art relies on exaggerating characters a little when throwing their fists forwards and odd angles, if you have any problems blocking this in, this is the real nugget to learn from here. Then again, you should have been taught some of these aspects when learning how to draw the human figure in the first place and see everything as shapes.
Even so, this is always a learning exercise with a little exaggeration in both showing what is there and what is needed to see what is there as opposed to knowing what is there.
GF Willmetts
May 2021
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $ 8.95 (US). ISSN: 1932-6882. Direct from them, you can get it for $ 3.00 (US))
check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com, www.draw-magazine.blogspot.com and www.penciltopencil.com and Draw! 27 : TwoMorrows Publishing, The Future of Comics and LEGO™ Publications
