Christopher hart the ultimate guide for comic book artists (drawing.cutting.edge.anatomy)

55,948 views 145 slides Aug 12, 2011
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DRAW

CUTTING : EDGE

ANATOMY:

ARN.eBook

DRAWING
CUTTING EDGE

ANATOMY

THE ULTIMATE REFERENCE GUIDE FOR COMIC BOOK ARTISTS

CHRISTOPHER HART

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Thanks to: と

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Ron Adrian: 40, 41, 103-108, 111, 112, y
Ben N 7 の ゝ

Darryl Banks: 1, 2, 36-39, 42, 43, 52,53, 57,
"70-73, 75-80, 83-96, 100-102, 114-115,
will Conrad: 16-17, 27,30, 51, 55,
58-63, 74, 81, 82,122, 125-129,

Kerone Grant: 10-13, 15, 18-21, 31-35 / \
Christopher Hart: 110, 130-135 ( NL ~
‘Adriano Melo: 44-47, 54,56, 64-69 、
Pop Mhan: 6, 8, 9, 14, 2-26, 28, 23 nt pe
Nicola Scott: 48-50, 97-99, 109, —
113, 116, 117 = S

Cover color: MADA Design, Ine
Cover art: Darryl Banks (
Interior color: Brimstone

Senior Editor: Candace Raney
Proc Eno: lea Plexo

Designer Be il rap Dei. ne
Production Manager len Greene

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Copy © 2008 stare, LLC

Lubrary of Congres Cataloging-i Publication Data
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‘rowing cuting edge anatomy: the ulimate reference guide for
"Sen 0323020082 0)
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Printed in he United states of America

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‘ARN. eBook

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INTRODUCTION

THE FOUNDATION
THESKELETON
THE MUSCLES
THE MUSCLES IN PROFILE
SIMPLIFYING THE BODY (WHEN

ROUGHING OUT À POSE)

EIGHT HART
BODY SHAPES: MEN... NO WOMEN
BODY LANGUAGE

MUSCULAR DETAILS

THE PRIMARY MUSCLES
INACTION

TREEeU

EXTREME VEINS

DRAWING VEINS THAT POP

PRIME LOCATIONS FOR
'SUPERVASCULARITY

SURFACE MAPPING

THE EFFECTS OF UGHT ON THE BODY

THE HEAD AND NECK
LE
THE MUSCLES OF THE FACE
‘DRAWING THE VES
MALE EYES VS. FEMALE EYES
THE TYPICAL MALE HEAD
DROP.DEAD GORGEOUS HEAD LTS
‘DRAWING THE EARS.
THE MAIN NECK MUSCLE
THE MAIN NECK MUSCLE IN MOTION

THE WEAD, NECK. AND
'SHOULOERAREA

NIENIS

6

8

15
»

2
»
7
ES
ES
x0

a


THE CHEST AND ABS
THE RIB CAGE
THEMALETORSO
WASHBOARD ABS
THE MUSCLES ON TOP OF MUSCLES
ARNS DOWN
ARMS UP
THE FEMALETORSO
‘PPOSING FORCES
THE FEMALETORSO IN MOTION

THE BACK AND SHOULDERS.
UPPER BACK, RELAXED
(Baus DOWN)
UPPER BACK, FLEXED ARIAS UP)
‘SURFACE RENDERING
CONTRACTING THE BACK MUSCLES
COOL comic 800K Poses
FORTHE BACK
THE MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS
‘OFTHE SHOULDER
THE SHOULDERS IN MOTION
COOL COMIC BOOK POSE
FOR THE SHOULDERS

THE ARMS AND HANDS

AR BONES

GENERAL MUSCLE INTO
BICEPS AND TRICEPS

THE TRICEPS IN ACTION

THE FOREARM

PUNCHING: THE FOREARM
TWISTIN ACTION

COOL COMIC BOOK POSES
FORTHE ARMS

HE MANS

‘DRAWING EXPRESSIVE HANDS.

VARIOUS HAND POSES

ARNeBook

52
A
se
ss
56
se

70
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n



8

es

ses

%
2

THE PELVIS, LEGS, AND FEET 100

THe Pes 101
THELEG BONES: ANOvERVIEW 102
LEG sasics 103
sioe view 108
THELEGMUSCLESINGULK 105
THE FEMALE LEG 106
SIDEVIEWOFTHEFEMALELEG 108
Bekvew 10
FUsctES m
FEMALECALF MUSCLES 12
DRAWING FEET m
THE BONES OF HE FOOT ne
SHOES AND 20015 16
THE COMPLETE LEG us
THECOMPLETEFEMALELEG 120
ELEMENTS TO PRACTICE — 12
HOWTO BEGIN mm
RENDERING THE MUSCLES m
WOMENANDTHESARTORUS 125
LATSANDAGOOD BACK VIEW 126
IB CAGE POSES 17
KEEPING IT SIMPLE 18

STARTING OUT: THE ASHCAN
AND OTMERSTRATEGIES. 131
SWITCHING SIDES Bs

comms WARNER,
‘DARK HORSE COMICS 10

SCOTT ALLE, DARK HORSE COMICS 142

NDE

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NTRODUCTION

The trend in comics today is toward more
extreme figures whose muscles are bigger
and more defined than ever. While this
creates powerful, exciting comic book
characters, it can present a problem for the
artist, who needs to become more familiar
with stylized, cutting-edge anatomy.

If there's one thing above everything else
that comic book artists must know, it’s how
to draw the human figure. Therefore, many
‘comic book artists stock up on anatomy books
but are often disappointed with their
purchases. Why? Because anatomy books
typically illustrate the muscle groups on
mannequinlike figures, standing at attention;
‘the moment you draw a figure in an action
pose, the positions of the muscles change—
and the example in the anatomy book is of
no use to you.

You need a book that gives detailed
examples of anatomy as it appears in all
the typical comic book poses you might
draw. And, you need enough examples so
that you'll start recognizing the correct
placement of the muscle groups. That's the
point at which understanding takes the place
of memorization.

In addition, most anatomy books show the
muscles on figures on which the skin has been
removed. That's great if all you want to do is
draw cadavers. But in the real world—and the
comic book world—people walk around with
their skin on. And the skin and fat layers have
the effect of masking the deeper and less-
defined muscles. Why should you have to
guess which muscles show through to the
surface? This book lays it out for you in black

and white so that you can compare the
‘muscles without the skin to the muscles with
the skin (referred to as surface anatomy).
You'll even learn how to draw the muscles as
they appear through clothes and costumes.

This book is highly readable—maybe the
first highly readable anatomy book. Most
only use the Latin names of the muscles,
making things hard to remember and even
harder to understand. In this book, you'll
not only get the Latin names of the muscle
groups, but also the regular, everyday terms
for them, as well. For example, if a muscle is
labeled scapula, Ill also tell you that this is
the shoulder blade.

You'll also learn how to draw a variety of
body types and how to adjust the posture as
‘the body ages. And so that you'll have plenty
of examples on which to practice, this book
has many step-by-step illustrations of original,
exciting comic book characters that
incorporate the muscles and anatomy you'll
be learning

The book closes with two invaluable
sections: The first describes the steps to take
to get published in comics so that you don't
have to invent the path to success—its all
explained to you, in detail; you'll learn exactly
how to capitalize on each success in order to
reach the top strata in the business. The
second features three amazing interviews
with editors from two giants of the comics
industry: Marvel Comics and Dark Horse
Comics. You'll get insider viewpoints on
how the comic book business works, how
to approach editors, and what the most
important qualities are in a comic book artist.



AmNeBok

t will show you

tours are where

‘When you take a look at Mr and Ms Bones here, do
‘the following: Notice how the rib cage actually widens
toward the bottom before tapering back in a itl,
‘Observe how much space there i between the lowest
fib and the pelvis. Note how thick the joints are at the
‘elbows and knees. All good things to be aware of

‘The male skeleton is slighty larger than the female
skeleton, with thicker bones. The main difference sin
‘the pelvis (hips) Men's hips ae taller from top to
bottom, but narrower from side to side than women’s
hips. Women's hip are widest where the femur
(thighbone) meets the pevs. That's where a big



THE SKELETON

ball-and-socket joint (the outermost point of which
isthe great trochanter) i located, Okay, 39 the bones
have complicated names. Relax, This int biology lass.
You don't have to memorize a thing. No one's going
te quiz you. What you want to notice s the angle

of the bones and their base shapes: Notice how

the collarbone dps at the center where it meets

the sternum (breastbone). Note how the femur
(thighbone) angles inward as it approaches the knee
area but the tibia (shinbone) travels straight down,
Also note how large the shinbone i atthe bottom.
That's what gives the ankle is mass

FEMALE
are signe

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THE MUSCLES

‘You can't fight bad guys unless you have big biceps— Andnotea new point to remember here. The
and à few other oversized muscle groups. Again, secret to drawing strong characters Is threefold: make
there's no need to memorize these. Just familaize ‘em wide on top, narrow atthe wast and big in the

Yourself Each group of muscles interiaces with legs Look to "bunch" the short, more compact

muscles ofthe upper torso (the abs, pecs, and
del. Look to create striations (long Ines of
definition) on the longer thinner muscles of

the legs (the thigh and calf muscle).

the next group, and so on. Il go through each
individual muscle group step by step ina clear,
‘easy-to-follow method 50 that youl get
“Go slow” isthe key to our approach.

te

POR MADR cers

For

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BACK
The “i

stands for atissimus dos) dominate the back. The
Shoulders top the lat off with even more width. The

“aps

ives the neck a hunched look, which i excelent for

highlighting brute strength. The gastrocnemius (cal)
isthe biceps of the lower leg and bulges accordingly.
The external obliques (what your giriend derisiely
«alls your love handles are actualy muscles that you
‘would see if you ever lost those lst ten pounds.

let (you bodybuilders know that lts

(more bodybuilding lingo forthe trapezivs)

gus areas
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FRONT BACK

"Women have a higher percentage of body fat than When comparing female anatomy to male anatomy,
men Gust don't tell them that). On comic book figures, he fist thing you'll notice is that her las don't give
Jou indicate this body fat by creating fuller curves her that wide-back look. Also, her traps aren't an

Wihout high definition. Thats not to say that the accentuated muscle group because she needs a ong,
Comic book woman is soft but her muscles are long supple neck to retain her femininity. Never draw her
Sd lean and dont “bunch” like the muscles ona external obliques as separate muscles, as they appear
Comic Book man You don't want her looking ike a on a man; there's no "bump out” of the obliques.

female profesional bodybuilder. Think more in terms And, she has wide hips and ful, muscular thighs. Als,
‘Ofer Being a toned athlete with looks that could Kil, square-—not drooping shoulders are a feminine look

3 Ouquus eens
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AmNeBok

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SIMPLIFYING THE BODY (WHEN ROUGHING OUT A POSE)

When roughing out an initial
pote, there's no need to focus
‘on getting the muscle groups
Justright. At this stage, you're
‘only looking for a good pose. ¿3
‘Why work to get all the
individual muscles right when
you might not even lke the
the character? es
so oF tee
Simplified poses, choose the
‘one you like best, and then
refine it before sculpting the
muscles. Simplified figures are
made up of only the major
body parts, hinged together
by Bal and socket joints.
Note: When professional
artists use simplified figures,
hey don't generally draw as
Cleanly as the examples on
‘these two pages. Their lines
are sketcher and looser,
wich comes with years of
experience. Some artists will
use ot of detail in sketching
out a particular area of the
body as thes them to
visualize the pose better.
(Others wil simplify it further,
for example, drawing the rib
cage as an oval. Others use
Stik igure lines t indicate
the arms and legs. Everyone
has hi or her own method,
The only requirement is that
the simplified sketch conveys
the feeling of the pose

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BODY SHAPES: MEN...

In addition to age and height, body type also creates and
defines specific characters. While there are some normal
looking figure in cutting-edge comics, note that the Hero,
the Brute, andthe Villain are al just that much more ーー
[pumped up. That what makes them cutting edge Gi

REGULAR JOE

EVILGENIUS

AmNeBok

… AND WOMEN

With male comics characters,

Youcan mold her bodes
Into many different shapes, FIGHTER
producing a wide range of hera try
fool charactor snot so ine mae

VOLUPTUOUS
sy with women. Women sde
in comies are, by and large, Feu ec
aci even the 222 と 2 mm

Especially the villa
Voluptuous Vixen and the
Villainess are much more
atwactive in cutting-edge
‘omic. So, you have less
latitude in ahering the body.
You can't draw brutich women
or vou lose the attractives.
Therefore, the changes ely ess
on body types and more on
pose, costume, and attitude

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AmNeBok

BODY LANGUAGE

HOPE/DETERMINATION

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Here's where the rubber
meets the road: drawing

the muscles in action.

When a character runs,
punches, throws, of lifts,
specific muscle groups are

taxed far more than others

and, therefore, require

more definition. The:

muscles in use bunch

up and the veins pop

and become more articulated,
This makes the pose come alive.

THE PRIMARY MUSCLES IN ACTION

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EXTREME VEIS

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he DRAWING VEINS THAT POP

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PRIME LOCATIONS FOR SUPERVASCULARITY

Both the forearms and upper arms, as
Well as the neck, are the most popular
places to exaggerate vascularity gives
the characters an edge to their look. You
‘an go as far as you like, even placing
popping veins on the upper legs and the
Chest too. Bodybuilding magazines are
9004 reference for ths type of approach
Rugged, tough characters look more
extreme if they have supervascularit.
‘Characters with popping veins have,
by definition, extremely Itte body
fat. You cannot have a character with
supervasculaity unless he is extremely
defined (Le. fat fre) to begin wit.
Supervasclarty its not a popular look
for women—not even powerful
‘women asi just ugly on them.

(we

CA

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THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON THE BODY

When you shine alight on à
characte, shadows result And, its
‘these shadow that add the drama
to an image, not the light itself
Shadows add cool look and a
‘sharper edge. They highlight the
contours of the body. And when
you have a good. looking character
th a Killer body, that certainly
Goes hurt

"The typical approach so think
of alight source as coming from
above. And that's usally the case,
inthe form of sunlight or interior
‘overhead lighting But to create
more dramatic shadows, you must
introduce more light sources. In
addition, sometimes varying the
intensity ofthe light sources
achieves a moody effect.



O

ONE LIGHT

SOURCE

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Pr

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Shapes la
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Do the light sources have to be
logical? In other words, can you
dramatically light someone who,
byall accounts, isin a room with
‘only one overhead light source?
‘The answers yes, usually; Readers
don't think about where the light
comes from and will accept the
light source asa figurative
interpretation ofthe emotions of
‘scene rather than asthe ieral
‘effect of light from a bulb hitting
an object. However if your
‘character isin a darkened room,
bathed in shadow in one panel
better think twice before you bathe
er in light in the next one, You
don't want it to ook like someone

icked on a switch and suddenly
apped her with floods,

TWO OPPOSING
LIGHT SOURCES
one ht sure
‘elon te moo ot
ee men

AmNeBok

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THE MEAD

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THE SKULL

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THE MUSCLES OF THE FACE

DRAWING THE EYES

When focusing on the details of the human body, the first

order of business I the most important feature of the face: trs
the eyes. Eyes can make a characte look beautiful, seductive, 3 is

e, mane, charismatic or determined. Well drawn eyes give owen eeu
Characters that extra sparkle thot makes them memorable sm

Remember that the eye ia three dimensional sphere inside
‘the head. The eyelids tugged overit Is this stretching of the
(geld that creates he almond shaped look of the eye. The
upper eyelid slants down severely near the tear duct Both
upper and lower eyelids have thickness, o each i drawn as
double ie, or with one thick blak ine o indicate lashes.
“he lashes become thicker toward the outer edge of the eye
The eyebrow i drawn on an arch that dips at both ends
‘Wy practicing the eyes on this page. The various angles and
expressions wil give you a greater understanding ofthe form.

hewn of te toa DOS tas eee

©)

AmNeBok

MALE EYES Vo. FEMALE EYES

‘The male eye is narrower
and more rectangular
‘whereas the female eye it
more tear shaped. Draw
the male upper eyelid
with a heavy line but the
ower eyelid witha thin
‘one. Both eyelids on the
female eye are drawn
with heawy ines.

It's sometimes
thought erroneoushy—
that thick eyebrows are
only for men. But fuller
eyebrows are great for
sawing attractive
‘women, to. some
famous models, such as
Cindy Crawford and
Brooke Shields have
fuller eyebrows, which
draw attention tothe
eyes and can underscore a
Sultry look. Penci-thin
‘eyebrows have litle
impact

expression, such as shock or pre.

&

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ARN.eBook

Some anatomy books start with an
gg shape for the head. I want to be
kind, But what can ay except, don't
suggest it Look at ths guy head,
Does it look lke an egg to you? So,
why start with an egg? The jaw is
Sleek and angular, the chin square

‘Additionally, artists draw horizontal
and vertical lines across the head as
guidelines to help place the features
evenly. You don't want one eye lower
than the other So, its good practice.
Note that the horizontal guidelines
‘curve around the head, and are not—
1repeat not-—drawn a straight ines
Additional here are quick guides to
check your propartions: The overall
head width five eyes across. The
eyes fall midway down the head. The
width of the bottom of the nose is
equal to the space between the two
eyes. The tops ofthe ears are even
with the eyebrows (but you can't see
the ears inthis image) The bottoms
ofthe eas are even with the bottom
‘of the nose. The width ofthe mouth
Suen its at rest matches the amount
fof space between the pupils

AmNeBok

PROFILE
Drawing the eyes out of proportion is a common
mistake that can immediately ruin a good drawing. tn
profile, the eye is even with o lightly below the bridge
Of the nose. Many people put it above the bridge and
Can't figure out whats wrong with their drawings. They
Ajust the eyebrow, the nose, the mouth. They wander
the dty streets at night, mumbling out loud, picking
pencils out of garbage cans. Sometimes, the answer
[sas simple as adjusting the placement ofthe eye.

Note the thickness of the neck in both the profile
and 34 views if there's one thing most beginners
get wrong it's drawing too thin a neck

3/4 VIEW—FROM BELOW
A my favorite angle, ts fun to draw because you
realy fee like you're caring a sculpture on paper.
Why is that? Because tis view is tee-dimensional
‘The front and side views are basically fla poses, but
here we get real sense ofthe roundness of the head.

The biggest pitfall to avoid if you're to lead a happy,
Aufl ife is letting the features wander all over the
face. And its not easy. You no longer have the simple
task of drawing the features in the center of the fac,
{you do in the front view. You don't have the luxury
‘of placing al ofthe features on the edge of the face,
2 you do in the side view. So, what do you do? You
draw a centerline vertically down the middle of the
face from top to bottom (ee construction drawing).
This is a guideline that separates the left side ofthe
face from the right. I curves withthe angles ofthe
face, a if you had laid a sting over the head. Now
you can go ahead and place the features on the
‘entering, and everything will line up

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THE TYPICAL FEMALE HEAD

KU aa view

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DROP-DERD GORGEOUS HERD TILTS

INTENSE BEAUTY

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ANOTE ABOUT THE
BRIDGE OF THE NOSE

DRAWING THE EARS Z

REAR ANGLE

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THE MAIN NECK MUSCLE

A fist lance, the neck looks lke
‘web of small muscles that are
impossibly complex and beyond
the powers of mere mortals to
comprehend, But as with all parts
ofthe body very few of the
muscles actually show through to
the surface ofthe skin—and we're
Only concerned with the muscles
that do. The neck sno exception
to this. So, what you realy need to
remember is the most important
muscle ofthe neck. es called—
are you ready for thist—the
termoceidomastoideus Say that
five times fast It occur on both
sides ofthe body and attaches to
‘the pit ofthe neck, where the
<allarbones meetin the middle
Whichever way the head turns,
‘the sternoceidomastoideus wll
always travel tothe pit of the
neck, Take ook atthe examples.

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THE MAIN NECK MUSCLE IN MOTION

©)

AmNeBok

TUE CHEST.
PASS

0. mn
to intimidate, These are the
hyperdeveloped muscles of

the body, and they form highly
dynamic muscle groups—meaning, )
that their shape and definition A
¿álangeas the ody moves.


e

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BASIC CHEST STRUCTURE

a/a vie

ala vien

ont ot
eo dt tod te mel

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THE MALE TORSO

‘on men, the chest is the power center of the torso "While impressive chest muscles indicate power—
A well.developed chest conveys a sense of might even brute force—the abdominals (or ab, for those of
‘without it male character are not impressive. (In. You who watch way too many infomercials) convey a

fact cowardly characters often have sunken chests) Sense of inner strength, Lean abs are a sign of vii
‘A proud chest needs size and a good shape, but more By combining defined chest muscles with washboard
han that, the chest also needs to fitcorectlyinto abs, you can create formidable, cutting-edge comic
he adjacent muscle group the shoulders. book characters

D

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WASHBORRD ABS

‘The abdominal muscle group is made up of four
muscles sectioned into two columns. These columns
travel up the front of the body in the hollow ofthe
rib cage. To create this ideal comic book ook, keep in
mind the following three positioning benchmarks

(1) the line of he collarbone andthe ine

ofthe chest are roughly parallel (2) the nipples
‘are ata 45-degree diagonal from the pit of the
neck: and (3 the bel button appears just above
‘the lowest pair of abdominal muscles.

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ARMS DON TA ~

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ANOTE ABOUT DRAWING.

{Chisel the drawing into place with darker lines.
‘Then, erase your sketch marks, o as some pros
do, put your original on a ight box and trace
Over only the good lines. if your first or second
‘attempts aren't to your liking, crumple ‘em
Up, toss ‘em, and start over There no need
0 stay with one drawing if its not working.
‘Give yourself the freedom to star fresh Its
amazing how we can get ourselves into a rut

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ARMS UP

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THE MALE TORSO IN MOTION

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THE FEMALE TORSO

QU

important in creating an atractive
character, but you should omit the
Fi muscles Trash ‘em, When a
‘woman looks so defined that you
an see her rib muscles, she doesn't
Took strong, she looks starved. The
bottom ofthe rib cage leads to the
waist, which Is narrow, but the hips
Should be wide as wide asthe
shoulders, or even a it wider,
Women's hips are wide to allow
‘them to give birth; and they ook
ten wider because of the contrast
th the arrow waist. Dont give
het superdefined abs, unless you're
purposely trying to gros someone
Out Instead, indicate her stomach
tea with long, seek, vertical lines
inthe shape ofthe entire, overall
abdomen.

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OPPOSING FORCES

The db cage and pelvis can move in opposite ‘adds drama to the pose, Thats not to say that there
directions, causing one side of he body to contract aren't effective static poses, such a à man standing
or crunch and the other side to expand or stretch. _stllin grief with his head hanging low. But there
Poses that involve these opposing forces have the something inherently compelling about watching the
potential to be very dynamic. Anytime you can give humanfonm striving, reaching, or struggling even
our character a bend, wist or stretch, do tit ‘though it may be only a subtle movement.

FRONT VIEW

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THE FEMALE TORSO IN MOTION

Take a look at the construction drawings for each of these poses
You!

ing forces at work in every one, Th ig and
* convey motion. In addition, poses
led a

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No doubt, in your endeavors to draw the human

figure, the back has given you trouble. To be sure,

you know the back has shoulder blades. But what

about muscular characters who actually have muscles

on their shoulder blades? You can't use your own back for
reference, because after all, not many of us have three-way
mirrors, except tailors. So here's the information you need.

UPPER BACK, RELAXED (ARMS DOWN]

‘The back sa contradiction—a blending of ‘groups. Note thatthe shoulder blades push
massive muscles, long muscles, and smaller he trapezius muscles up
‘muscles. in addition, some of the muscles have “The shoulders are a unique group of muscles in

{Quirky characteristics. For example, the trapezius that they are equally visible fom the front side,
‘muscles along one that starts at the base of the and back of the body. The shoulder blades are
Skull. bunches a the upper back, but then islong covered by three muscles (the infaspinatus, teres
and lea in the small ofthe back. Same muscle, minor and teres major) that can bunch together or
but it act almost as three separate muscle ‚reich, depending on the postion of the arms

3 Bu ano FORTIN

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UPPER BACK, FLEXED (ARMS UP)

ER

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LOWER BACK

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SURFACE RENDERING

‘when you draw the figure, remember that there's a layer
of fat and skin covering the muscles. Therefore, you have
‘to be a litle les specific about each muscle group 一 even on
‘ill-defined figures—than the anatomical drawings earlier
inthe book, This approach requires some artstry There's
no “correct” way to render the back. Some artists want to
Bulk up certain muscles while minimizing others. Let your
knowledge of anatomy be guided by your creative decisions

The image here shows one approach, alternating thin ines
with heavy ones.

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CONTRACTING THE BACK MUSCLES

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COOL COMIC BOOK POSES FOR THE BACK

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THE MAJOR MUSCLE GROUPS OF THE SHOULDER

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DELTOID MUSCLES—REAR VIEW
Notice how the deltoid seems to wrap around the

arm muscle. Ifyou lok atthe illustrations, you’ see
thatthe deltoid is really a teardrop shape that wedges
into the arm, between the biceps and triceps



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SURFACE RENDERING OF
DELTOIDS—FRONT VIEW
Inthe front view, the shoulder has a
well-rounded look and shows itself 10
be sizeable muscle group, Even though
there are thee heads to s deltoid, you
Should not think of them as separate
muscle groups Rather, use the three
heads as places where you can add
definition lines to the shoulders,

Note the acromion on the larger
image. The spot where the acromion
bone meets the clavicle causes this small
but noticeable bump that apparent even
on muscular figures and women, 1's the
‘knob where the spine ofthe scapula
attaches to the clavicle (collarbone).
That's nght your shoulder blade is
attached only to your collarbone, and
owhere else on the body! Amazing!

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COOL COMIC BOOK POSE FOR THE SHOULDERS

76-78, start by
‘then define the

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ARM BONES

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GENERAL MUSCLE INFO

THE MUSCLES BETWEEN THE BICEPS AND TRICEPS

THE TRICEPS IN ACTION

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PUNCHING: THE FOREARM TWIST IN ACTION

COOL COMIC BOOK POSES FOR THE ARMS

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THE HANDS

Expressive hand

E

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DRAWING EXPRESSIVE HANDS

Hands express dramatic attitudes. So, its not enough character feeling when his face reveals nothing. So,
‘what makes hands so ficult 10 draw? Really, es the

placement of the knuckles, or joints. You

{tackle that before you draw the fingers.

to get the anatomy ofthe hand ight hands must
ako reflect a characters inner thoughts or intentions. have to

‘Sometimes, a fidgeting hand may te you what à

VARIOUS HAND POSES

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Maleand, > 7 comic book

characte alike require thick, well-shaped leg
muscles, On men, muscular legs show strength. On
women, mo Sex. appeal, Characters with

superdefimedieg muscles reflecythe work of artists
'whOJreall y Know fieir stuff. Bugppe legs have,
attach 106metHing. And there!

have an understanding ofthe pel

THE PELVIS

THE LEG BONES: AN OVERVIEW

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Some of these muscle groups may
be familiar to you, as you may have
noticed them in drawings or even
on your own legs. The leg muscles
on he average person are usually
‘more defined than any other
‘muscle group. This is because we
{se our leg muscles every day to
{arr lots of weight—the upper
body 一 whereas other muscles often
don't lift anything heavier than a
bagel and cream cheese (and
therefore remain underdeveloped),
The anterolateral muscle group
in the upper legis the one that
Contains the quadriceps, which is
the most commonly known and
easily recognizable muscle group
The quardriceps group has four
major muscles the rectus femoris
(the middle muscle), vastus lateralis
(the upper outer muscle) vastus
medias (he lower inner muscle,
and vastus intermedius (the lower
‘uter muscle). The anterolateral

group aso contains the tensor
fasciae atae which you can think
of as the hip muscle.

The sartoris is perhaps the most
important leg muscle when i
comes to creating the contour of
the upper leg. runs diagonally
rom the outer top of the thigh
tothe lower inner thigh area. ts
What gives the inner thigh its
Shape. You can see evidence of this
muscle on most poses as it “pulls”
the contour of the thigh muscles
from the inner knee outward
toward the hip. gives the vastus
medialis its teardrop shape.

Commit this one to memory!

‘And finaly, next to the sartorius
and inthe inner thigh are three
more muscles: the pectineus the
‘adductor longus, and everyone's
favorite, the adductor magnus. You
can draw definition lines along the
boundaries of each muscle if your
characters extremely defined.

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LEG BASICS

SIDE VIEW

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THE LEG MUSCLES IN BULK

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THE FEMALE LEG

A you draw superdefinition in the female

‘on defining —but only partially—just à few
basi leg muscles. When it comes to the
muscular outline ofthe female leg, however,
You give up nothing by showing the shape
Of the muscles. The legs must have the
Well shaped outline ofan athlete
As you continue to look at the many leg
poses on these pages, you should begin to
Fecognize the muscle groups. Thats how you
know thatthe concepts ae starting to sink in
Note: You don't have to commit the muscles
‘numbered 5, 6,7, and 8 (psoas lacus,
pectineus, adductor longus, and gracilis) to
memory as they are too narrow to be defined,
‘even on an extreme character.

‘ists ures

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SIDE VIEW OF THE FEMALE LEG

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THE TROUBLE SPOT: THE KNEE

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BACK VIEW

You don't see the backs ofthe legs
à hole lot because artists don't
‘raw them that often, First of al,
IV hard to recognize a character
from the back: The face int visible,
‘The hairstyle can't be seen clearly.
And, the styling of the costume
‘and any insignias happens more
‘om the front ofthe figure
‘ofcourse, there are times when
ts necessary to show the back of à
character And, even from the rer,
you can recognize some muscle groups
that are alo visible in the ide and
front views since many of the leg
muscles wrap around the legs.

E

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CALF MUSCLES

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Okay. here’ the deal with the feet
The inner anklebone is always
higher than the outer anklebone,
The balls ofthe feet are comprised
of two areas inner and outer, with
the inner area (the one behind the
big toe) being the larger of the
two. The toes descend in length
from the middle toe downto the
Pinky toe; on some people, the
Second toe i at least as long asthe
big toe, and sometimes longer, The
arch occurs on the inner side ofthe
foot between the heel and the ball
ofthe foot, and its even more
pronounced when the foot sin
high-heeled shoes or boots. The
heel sticks out slightly,

L

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9

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DRAWING FEET

THE BONES OF THE FOOT

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cm

=
=
=
=
=
=
er
=
=
as

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CLOTHED CHARACTERS

hands To draw this uy’ outfit,
don't try to define all the.

e character stands in high
heel, the caf m

‘when the toes are pointed: this
‘occurs ot in arborme poses.

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THE COMPLETE FEMALE LEG

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=! EN NM EN

‘you have no doubt begun
to understand some muscle
groups that used to mystify
you. And that's wonderful.
This section contains
additional helpful
details that will help
you finesse your drawings.
Keep in mind that you
should try to not be a slave
to the anatomy of a character.
You still have to draw creatively.
Anatomy should be a tool that
helps you to draw convincing
characters—and the characters,
costumes, and poses must
come from your imagination,
not from an anatomy book.
Draw a cool pose and then cor-
rect the anatomy; don't draw
every muscle during your initial
sketch. Choosing what and how
to define the muscles is a cre-
ative choice. It's an artistic
choice, and its your choice.

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RENDERING THE MUSCLES

First, define the muscle groups
and the areas ie the rb cage—
through which the skeleton
"shows" (ors dose tothe skin
surface and not covered by layers
of muscle). Then add density to
the muscles by making some lines
thicker and some areas darker.
Next, shade the muscles further
by again darkening and also
lengthening the lies. To finish,
allow the dark area to bleed
together so that there is 5050
mix of light and dark areas

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ESARTORIUS

thigh is very thick

LATS AND À GOOD BACK VIEW

‘The huge “las” (atisimus dors) on this character
give him his impressive statue. In this pose, the back
Curves toward the reader because the figure holds his

arms infront of his body. This curving action causes his
‘shoulder blades to spread out, giving him even more
Width Note how far down the back the lats go. The
Sine should be visible all he way down the back, but
is drawn with a broken line so that it doesnt became.
‘overemphasized and detract from the back muscles,

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RIB CAGE POSES

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No matter how complex the muscles may look, the basic
pose of each of these characters is sraightforward—it,
has to be If the pose tse is comple, it willbe hard to
ead, and adding muscles on top of it would only make
it more confusing. Good poses are basi poses, as you.
‘an see from the intial sketches here,

KEEPING IT SIMPLE ae
Ge

ュー ン

BE CREATIVE!
Remember that you can adjust these
characters to your personal taste,

facing page could have the legs and
tall of a lizard. These are only starting
Points the rest is up to you,

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i

AFD

For artists who want to get published,
there's nothing so mysterious as how
to get started. It sometimes seems as
if you have to invent the road map
for success all by yourself. Thankfully,
that's not the case. There's a tried
and true career path, but many artists

f 1

waste lots of time because they
discover it only by trial and error. This
section will save you lots of wasted
time and frustration. You'll learn how
to get published and what your next
steps should be as you climb the
ladder in the comic book biz.

STARTING OUT: THE ASHCAN AND OTHER STRATEGIES

How do you get someone to take
notice of you, let alone hie you?
You could always show editors
your portfolio at comic book
Conventions. That's a great way to
doit. But more and more, artists
‘ate opting for a method that brings
‘thee presentation toa higher level
Inthe hopes of being taken more
Seriously by an editor. They do
something 00100 an ashean, which
can be given away at conventions
or mailed as part of a submission
Package. An shcan ia set
published, short comic book sample.
Don't confuse it with a sel published
comic book, distributed to comic

book retailers. The ashcan is mot
tobe distributed for sale; and its
‘not printed on comic book stock
(paper) It may be eight to twelve
pages. can contain portfolio.
Pieces, but main, WS a vehicle to
Show off an artist’ skill at drawing
Sequential art (the panel-by-panel
Scene format of comic book ar. It
Should involve welldrawn, original
character, and a number of scenes
‘with mood, energy, and action. It
Should show how you can handle
dialogue with interesting shots—
not just "talking heads”

The advantage ofthe ashean
‘over the traditional portfolio that

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It gives the editor a sense of your
ablity to deliver material in the
form they want. also shows that
You understand the medium and
All is elements, such as dialogue
balloons, panel, and layout
scans are almost always done

in black and white for expense
reasons. And you most likely have
o do the penciling as well as the
inking, lettering, and printing,
Most people get ther ashcans
printed at local print shops on copy
Paper Editors understand what an
ashcan is and don't expect it to be
Printed on authentic comic book
stock with a glogy cover.

DOING BACKGROUNDS
You can start off doing
backgrounds for an established
artist. Basically, you should ask to
do anything the artist doesn't want
o do. To get this work, submit your
Portfolio or ashean, Make sure you
have a business card, or print your
contact information on the ashean
or portfolio (never send original
ar. You wi also have more luck
Starting out by submitting your
Stuff tothe smaller independent
Publishers. The idea is just to get
Published. An unpublished artist
san unknown quantity. Being
Published in any form gives you
more creibiity,

Ne)

BEING THE FILL-IN ARTIST
Once you've established a relationship with an
ars, editor or publisher, you may inquire about
doing fil. Fin work is needed when an artist
takes a break from a book. Someone has to keep.
the series going, Ifthe flHin swell received,

it may tum into a regular gi.

DRAWING POSTERS AND PINUPS
Publicity and promotional materials are always being
churned out by publishers. Doing these “one shots”
ls good way to establish a working relationship.

GETTING HIRED ON A BOOK!
‘You've taken every job as an opportunity to improve
and show how good your tuffis And now its being
recognized, The publisher offers you a regular gig

On a book. But you're not going it alone anymore
Rot of people are involved with putting the book.
together. It's team, without the jerseys. And you'll
become acquainted with the other team members”
work, even you dont speak to al of them individual

+

SELLING YOUR ART
if your work on a monthly book has gotten your
name in front of the public collectors may be
interested in buying your original artwork. You can
setup a Web site, where you can sell your published!
‘omic book art online, Some artists alto make extra
money by doing private commissions for collectors
Ebay #2 popular site for artists without Web sites to
sell their originals.

$

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MAKING PUBLIC APPEARANCES
‘When you start getting established, it's your turn to
‘appear atthe conventions, This is important, at
Keeps you in the public eye infront of your target
audience. Convention appearances are publicized,
which also ads to your prestige. And, people will
buy your book just so they can have you sign it.
‘Alin lifes good. But walt, it gets even better

WrrT Mos Arsen

SIGNING AN EXCLUSIVE
Wa publisher ikes your work:
enough, he or she might ask
you to sign an exclusive
eal which prohibits you
‘rom taking work with
another publisher. This
means youre guaranteed
regular work sometimes.
alot of work, but you can
egotiats for more dough

BRANCHING OUT
Many comic book artists go into doing storyboards
for the movies. Storyboard artists are very well
Compensated, and it's nice change of pace. You
‘an alo do storyboards for commercials. Some artists
o into video game or toy development t's a good
Financial strategy to have multiple sources of income,
‘Also if you've signed an exclusive agreement with à
‘omic book publisher, you're more likely to get
permission to do outside work it doesnt compete
‘with your comic Book work and-and this isa big
and lt wort slow you down,

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LICENSING THE RIGHTS
Your book may get attention
from the Holywood community.
Hollywood always looks to comic
books for more material and
‘many, many popular films were
fist comic books. Try to hold onto
‘as many rights a you can when
you sll your idea to a publisher
Otherwise, Hollywood will deal
rectly with your publisher and
ut you out entirely from the
book you created. Ouch!

‘CREATING SOMETHING NEW
‘You can create something new
when you've established your
crediblity tothe point where you
‘an pich a new idea for a comic
book to an editor or the publisher.
If they buy t—success!—you've
launched your own series!

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You can aso flip and become part of
management, Many successful comic book "
artists become editors or editorcontributors
You commute to the office, drink too much
Coffe, and tell other artists what to do, But be
Kind and remember where you came from,
Being an editor gives you the chance to
interact with many top-notch artists and
ters. You oversee many books. And besides,
¡ts nice to have someone else pck up the tab
for your heath care ~

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Tc

NTEDVIEW/C

a

en you think about comics, you
anthep but ave tons of great
Mare characters pop into yout head
The fantastic character designs, the
extreme anatomy, the coo try Ines
give go tal, Marvel unique in
{his busines he gold standard that
remains on the cating edge Marvels
‘mares characters re favorites in
‘very medium, from comi book to
‘mover totelevton to video games to
Semi aray of marchant In this
Segment Marve editor Mike Mar has
en gracious enough to share hi
experience and insights into the world
comics rom at techniques and
‘rowing anatomy to breaking into the
unes and industry trends. know
ou get alot fom his alt of
DOT

Chris Hart: What's your background,
and how aid you come to work a
‘Mike Marts: My career at Marve!
Began inthe erty nineties uni vas
fin college As journalism major |
knew wanted to ether write or eat
Comics and after doren orto
usuel attempt at submitting
Series to Marvel emroledin their
dora allege internship program. |
‘Spent suo semesters an editorial
stant which eventual led to an
sta editor position within the Ion
Marsa Four office stayed at
Marvel or about three yeaa an
stat then served small int a
‘Wizards promotions decor, then two
eat os an eo for Acclaim Comic,
nd then finally came Da home to
Marvel os an editor in 1899.

{Ge wnat do you enjoy mot about
being a comi aitor

Mrs hará pinpoint one thing
there ae so many hing about beng
am editor enjoy the freelance talent
Working onthe comic, the constant
eed tobe creative, the pressure ofthe
desde and mating sure a book gets
ut the printer on time, But
Suppoue had to mark one thing as
imp favorite, 1 have o say the
Continual dance of tying to make a
projet interesting andes 110
gie al the things that editors handle
in any one gven day but Keeping
‘things exiting and new for the readers

AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE MARTS

EDITOR AT MARVEL COMICS

always seems to e the most important
and. therefore the mos enjoyable

‘ck wat are some of your favorite
‘worked on?

‘The X Men were my childhood
heroes, so have to ay the characters
and ties Im working on now ae my
sortes New X-Men, Uncanny Xen,
Ener Inthe pat, Ve enjoyed my time

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‘working on Deadpool, Waherie, and
Wolverine: Origin

peca something” shat makes
Marvel character so appesing?

IM realy gos back to Stan Lee and
Jack Kibys overall phlsophy on
Maret heroes at they should be
[characters] readers coud latte
Sure Spider Man could be fighting the

SN
xm)
E)

he or Kraven on any given night of
hewee But Peter Parker had to
ory about geting home in time for
‘inns, to! Spidey had git problems,
‘the X Men were outa, Darede vas
Bindnane of Stan and ick
personal handicaps that made readers
Ferembe them a more human thon
PP

Gt How important ia sold graso of
anatomy ana igure drawing tothe
come book ett?

Ma Crema There are many
different things that go into the
(making of reat comic bok at
Soyteling. page composition,
pespectve, and contras to name justa
Feu Bu without» sold foundation of
‘the anatomy af he human body, an
artis wll have along way o o before
ihe or she canbe considered a
profesional

weaknesses you se in anatomy and
Figure drang when looking at
postion of spin ari?

Me À ior of comes back to just
base misunderstanding ofthe human
body and how at in diferent
scenaros and situations: test in
motion throwing a punch, e Faces
and hands re alway he erdest 301
tend to see ether lines on the part
‘of hands or jus extreme

Insinterpretaion ofthe human ace
An that's not 0 sy that these att
[rent eying her hardest they are
“Theyre jus extremely cl things to
ups and is work th each month
ho already have it master.

‘What do you want tose ina
portato?

M: More han anything, ! want see
1319008 balance of arte elements
Dontshow me aporto fal of
pinup or splash pages that’s going to
ve me n des of how wel you can
Sequential tell story. Also, thik
bout being pecfcin showing pices
‘hat relate to our overall goat your
lifelong dream sto be a pence dont
Show me your stile paintings fom
the seventh grade. While wl how
me that youre wel rounded, 0160
going to give me the impresion that
Youre unsure of what you want to do
and what you wont to be. An editors
Times xtemal precious, especially at
2 convention sobe extremely selective
ae

In what pieces you show and what they
ate. Always put you best pieces or
your more recent up front Sometimes
An cor wont beimprened with
‘the or Se ees inthe fs fo
pages and wil wish you good uc,
‘heh sl ely stink you saved your
best pices or ast Try to put youre
Inthe mind of the editors and figure,
Out what ineyre thinking or what
erre looking for Ty to make your
best impression as quis you can

Be cordial, Wendy and most especial
be receptive t rim. An editor vil
ever want to give work to the guy
{ho mutters under hi breath and
‘wale off mn a huff because he ws told
his anatomy needed work Mom etre
have earned their rank and know what
‘theyre talking about hey ve worked
‘withthe best att in the busines and
nou what typeof an art wl sella
book. Take her etic and takt
‘wel And f they dort ve any nk

‘tit important that comi Book
rst have formal attaining, or an

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they be etage
Mi Is not away necessary have
Seen some outstanding stork come
from guys and gis who have never
had any ar waning whatever butt
hay hip. My aduce to anyone
Starting out isto get some form of
bratesionl taining, whether ts
fellege evel art courses, instructional
Videos or howto Books ike ths one
“Get as much instruction and
Information fom profesional ou
poso can Look mto internship at
ny type of business that's related to
artwork Think about being an
Apprentice tos local ars study the
ea past masters [o ar and
usan] a vine, Paso,
Rocker not juste atest gue of
거야 0 Captain America,

(eat are some ofthe major trends
Inthe comic book indus ana where,
do you see things heading inthe
fre?

M's à dut hing to ty and
predict where peoples ate wl un in
omic artworks if knew for sue, 1d
Says have the est artists working on
{the ight comics and everyone would
Shane De happy! But tats never quite
the ese. its tough gouging where at
‘tends wl take te indus
{Conventions and comic book ores are
‘sual the best arenes to Figure out
‘hors hot and whats not Some trends
iAemedto have died out bit over the
past decade "bad gi” artwerk o the
Image era “inyourace™ type of syle
Spring o mind, le others have
femained content, or tthe very
leas suse longer than people
intl thought think mort people
ave been surprised at how long the
(rent animstedmanga rend has
Femoined strong. And certain
realise” sis ie Alex Roses
Painting; or Neal Adams and Ban
Fre’ work will probably always
remain song, Butin the end think
Sway comes down o how strong the
opel beneath the current af
tend Animation an and Japanese
manga ae grounded in song
Sopena, hich probably why
Weye both remained strong, Other
past ends that have gone th way of
{he dinosaur however wee probably
based more on dynamic and impact.
thon anything ee,

e Marvel has 20 many successful
‘haracters that have been tumed into
movies. When you create new comic

book characters how important ist
that they be adaptable 1 lm
roles? And wnat rate à 9004
monte character?

RME There 0101.01 elements
that go into the creation ofa new
race anim not saying thot
movie and TV adaptability rent
things ator think about when
reaming up the net Spider-Man,
Bun may aren't the fst things. Fst
and foramen, wel yo rte»
‘trong character that people an
relate to, Wil reader Ike this
‘character? Wl readers eat 10
‘hat ti character does in i
AGy fe? Wil readers be
Surprsed—and peasedsith the
‘while under pressure? These ae a
questions we ask ourselves as
Creator before ing headlong
into the character poo. And the
treation comes out strong and
Fete and tete... el hen
ter things ke movi and TV
Seaptabity wil amore
automatic} follow.

‘i: How important iit for aspiring
Dts to goto conventions ond
network rather than do evrything
by ma

Rs ot esteril bat it
Important. The facet-face meeting

focus usual nds up being making
Sur the next ae of Uncanny
Wem ook good reads well and
‘ets out tothe printer in tine to
Set into your hands Conventions
Sh the other hand, are a whole
“ferent story. My primary purpose
for being there sto meet and
fee and network with al types of
{alent-new and od ve made
Plenty of connections at
Eonventons ovr the years that
fave blosomed into longstanding
profesional relationship, and
‘more than» few of Marvels ete
{tots got the big break le
Showing ther artwork to an editor
‘tone of the big cons

“iat being ad, you find that
asan artist you cant make the
Hong drive tothe net big show,
don despair Mal and e mal,
‘spec are both great ways of
‘homing your artwork, Alo think
about exhibiting yur artwork on
your homepage and send editors
Your ink This always works great
sth an editor or flow artists worth vi me My computer sra gest
Tar mor than the submission by mal, ook at me more than my Gien
To matter how good ofan artstyou does, so anaspiing atts
‘re Admittedly, my tack of unopened homepage Ink pops up in front of my
‘ubmisons is ually prety high And. face on my computer, 14 much rather
ies not out of ak of interest in finding ick on and find ut what nde
th next Joe Madurer; ts jut ht than start opening that daunting stack
le Um in the ofce,my primary of submissions.

AmNeBok

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS WARNER

EDITOR AT DARK HORSE COMICS

Dark Hore Comic hat
‘grown fem edging
Busines to one ofthe top
Comic book publishers in
‘continual pushed the
envio fing the ak
Sein
Breathtaking come book
after breathtaking come
‘sroundbreaking original
fast of characters, Dark
Horse hasan amazing
Stable of comes bated on
and move characters
his ismer and Scott
Ali are both editor at
Dark Horse Comics and
experiences th you
were

the characters and
books you have worked
‘on for Dork Hoi, and
hat are you working
EW: a artist andor
Black Crom The

‘aro Wire wich
created, Comes
“Greatest Word x Star
Wars Ghote ete Asan
editor ve worked on à
ton of tt, especialy à
loto! great manga
ch a Ghost he
Shel Aka, and astro
working on Berserk,
Tezuka projects and à
variety of noncomis,
Chis Mart Wo war Book projet

your route to becoming
An editor at Dark Hore?
Chris Warner. ra
Number oyes td
Kou Mike Richardson,
and Randy strate, wih
om Pd cllaborated
Geste and ived ora
we fist broke int comics
When Mike and Randy,
decided to start comic,
Pushing woes
fing intra

‘ct: Tas book focuses
‘on anatomy for come
‘emphasis does Dak
Howse place onan
arts grasp of

fake wth a and
ser

1 important. but
Knowing figure
draning ie
goes where, proper

pence (Moon Knight Alien Legion, eighties. split time between Dark proportion.ete Figure drag
Doctor tango) and they asked meto Mars taff and feelance work for knowing how the figure looks
(Geste the lead feature (Bock Cros 2 number of years and eventual ‘motion, how the mutes ook in
‘haracter had been kicking around Became a fulltime sta eo, era positions, how the body

bt had not yet developed into fined balances you dont have natura
Stories) for DS fst comie Book, Dark CH: At what age did you discover command of ligue dera. You cant

ose Presents, Afer moving back to cames, and when did you actualy think fake
Portland in te late eighties and doing about making à career of?

lot more relance work Dark Horse EW: Some of my ess memories are CH: When spiing artis get hei fist
Asked me 1d bo interested in doing of being read Disney comics by my 900. fel brea nthe business wha ings

Some freelance editorial work, since! had profesional ambitions when Iwas would you suggest they do to Caps
hada profesional background in young wed to break nto the business on I and impres thelr elton?
draning writing, andinking comics Inmy early twenty, then sortoflan CW This Is Ihe most acetate sion |
and had profesional editorial and interest ncomis asa profesion unt Know relating to fecancng. and
production experience, having worked my te twenties when caught the 100 percent ue. Thee ate tives
foranoncomiespublaherin the early bug again. qualities aitor re ooking or aná

(we

LES

AmNeBok

you have two of them, youl be able to
Imaintan a career in coms (or
‘probably any creative fe bg talent,
FO so dependability, and great
(race. you have fabulous talent
andare a good person, but youre
“Shaky on deadlines, an eitr wi
commode yout tl posible 11
Sours extremely talented and never
ris à deadline, but you area complete
Jerk, youl stil get work youre an
erage talent, but you never mis à
dean and are great to work with,
You ahway be working But you con
be the most talented guy on We planet
Put youre à flake and a punk,
ertualy you be sun out ofthe
busines youre a deadline machine
ut an drow and you're miserable to
work ith, youre done. And being the
cet guy in the word went help You
{loue an undependabie mediocty
Se, choose any two: good, dependable,
ince And you're al hee, you've
{Going to make aot of people happy
Snda lot of money.

‘Ht: Suppose hat someone has
Portfolio of drawings ready to 90,

Now would you ade someone to go
bout tying to land that fst job?
{ewe Fast show the samples to working
profesional preterably artists, to see
youre ready to take the next sep
you have had someone with
knowledge give you a sli indication
yowre probably wasting your time
‘ding wrk push o sowing
Lancon international or Ward
‘World, An editors nt the fst person
Inthe busines you want 0 see your
Work Most dos aren't att and all
they can dis ive you thumbrp or
thumbs down, hey dont have the
Growing knowledge to real tll you
sat you need to do nany ut the
Fonden strokes Almost al local
Conventions and al regional
Conventions have guest artists. show
‘hem your work, and a or 100
percent honest opinions they tll you
Youre recy you're probably reagy in
Tact you are ready many ats wl
help you out by puting you in contact
wth tel ers Thats how got my
ist break infact, and how anumber
of ati got ner break by showing me
‘ror at conventions when was à

‘Hit important for arts tose up
{heir own Web te a form lei
promotion?
Eire lu but nt essential. Comics
SS prety small busines, and an thot
hard to end your uf to publishes
regular intervals. or penclers
‘ine, good alt, fl see copes
In han eok a thousand times better
than sanned reduced 724p jpeg any
‘ay an att has air in
ation outside of comes. tik
a ic ste an abolute must Al,
ityou'e doing regular stores on your
‘un, a Website great because e
{Shows your dicton tothe form,
nd publishing onthe Web sar les
perse tan printing physical comics
you do havea ste, make sre
youre dating regulary aly you
fan (“Sketch ofthe Day” for
Instance. Give editor a reason to come
back on her ou rather than
Brombeating them wth emai
{Githough if you've established a
‘apport with certain editors by all
‘means drop them an eal when
Youve updated your te) And make
{darn sre your e working before
You pot it up and start contacting
ios Nothing s more of puting
han having someone send you Ink.
‘nly to have an Under Construction
Page pop up or a interface where

AmNeBok

links dont work or where overly
“ambitos entry screen Fash movies ort
ane an editor time, The ite sould
Took good but let me get tothe ato

ak peyou find that some talented,
young aris fall into he trap of being
9008 a drawing men or women but
mot both? What do you do, ar an
itor you encounter sut à
problem?

Ei There are some very talented
ts who de wel drawing characters
‘tone gender and not he other
‘General you ty t lea to a ats’
Strength and not make ionment
hat el ona strength particular
ar doesnt have One of the major
‘hallenger for an editor to find nent
hose ae ually appropriate for
ne material. Thi doesn mean that à
parla book requires a spec
ous ye but that whatever yl i
‘employed underscores the mood, the
content ofthe work No matter hove
alented nt every art appropriate
foceveryanignment and ng one of
the biggest pital of many er, he
dest hee the same people, of
“name” people, regalos of whether
their work might aa minh the
aa,

AN INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT ALLIE

EDITOR AT DARK HORSE COMICS

Chris Mart How dit
You become an efor at
Dark Hore?

Scott Ale: ar ing
inPortand, where Dark
pubishingacome
Bere Tha got the ew
me, an nappened to
Fun out of money right
‘when they needed à
1009 enough o inherit
Hellboy wen anather
‘eto left and thi set
my career olin.

i Have you as
been irene in
40000
ton Store ha had
Be Varo coms butt
Flank ier Weine

‘at were you one
‘ofthe kde who
ways doodle and
Bis notebook paper?

te nat are some of
he functions of omic
book editor

SR changes rom book to book, but
Sometimes you have to come up with
he try yourselt or mse the writers
‘deus long Sometimes you ar jus
there to make sure the story works on
"own ment, or that he tel the
Story wel that the nis guing you
Ins or hel best work Sometimes,

you're chasing down payment of

you have to fie people and youre
$y laine he ne 9

Cte How much ime do you give a
omic book artis to complete apkal
omic book. And how many actual
pages of ar are mea

(we

SA: The average comic here is twenty
‘wo pages pus cover, but cant give
You much af an average of hot ong it
Fakes them to dot gues the average
oy these day might ake five weeks,
Which means you Rave to be
Fesourceful te keep a monthly book on
Schedule. ut most of what Dark Hore
docs minier, so we can schedule
around an artists sped, and lt of
or takes to eight weeks 1 de à
ook. new guy starting out wl ind
msi hard presed to get work thes
that lou though

‘ct How often do you speak to an
Artist during the process?

5A: Also depend, but on average rd
fay once a week. Theres one guy ony
alto when he turas the fied book

AmNeBok

In and say ts pete
Other people ato
every day Depends on
‘heir personal needs and
how much have to sty
on them to get the book
‘ut of tem like
{aking omy artis sot
Tike ¡have to all or
heyre paying

Nintendo
Do the rt and the
inker speak dec with

exc einer about the
projet they are doing
ony tothe eter?
the editors eto keep
‘one another but when
hire a pence
‘general sk him who
Be want tink hin hs
probably the guys
‘end, ana they
probably talk mote than
hey ak tome Which is
gen

Ch: your an aspiring
ars, aná youre ata.
omic book comento,
aná you've got oly one
tom a major comic book publaher,
hat shoul you dot prepare?

SAL amples that are gonna knock my
Socks of Sic to ten great pages that
{eal tell the stores theyre yng to
{el ang show tht the artist can raw
Anything. ut fan arts work not
{otal up to profesional standards
‘dont show edho Show protessnal
rt, who can ge much beter
duce about howto get beter fan
Barts ot good enough to get work
orto at least mke great impression
with his for er work, then hong an

‘cH: Where do you see comio in
Generale heading in he future For
‘ramp, there strong push toward

manga Uapanese comics) and graphic

SAL think graphic novels are the wave
‘Stee future, but he future ain now
ie need le mare evolution to get
there Right now they dont work out
Financial going straight to socalled
graphie novel at siping the
cmc book. tink the manga care
‘ile vai, has gt to taper of Soon,
nd hapefuy mat will make more
People ut forgeting about coms
nd manga altogether would be

amibletohave gained this ground
and lue But think publishes are
Being much more shrewd about what
hey pla we don9 everyting ey
posable think he wil tramite to
‘ore widely accepted and widely read
AR form, think standards were kindof
tow for whl, but now there sme
Amazing work coming out ond much
Ice medi work,

Cis wnat are some ofthe projects
{you're working on at Dark Hore?

‘SA: My big thing i Devis Footprints,
ty coat wed series th Poul Lee,
Brian Horton, and Dave Stewart ain't
paying the bls, but keeps he lights
nine my sll part ofa horror
Tne rm overseeing, wich includes
Mike Mignols Helboy tut, Ene
Powells The Goon, and various things
wth steve Ne, ncuaing te Cal
McDonald saris with Bon Templesmith.
Between these books, and Conan and
Buty, which are my ob anses,
ve ot my hands fll But 3 sti
lov, o Fm happy

AmNeBok

pprentceshp 131,198

Sm muecas
eps, 60 87, 89
ass, 87,88
‘orca, 88, 90-09
cops 80.86, 7,8, 89
ones, 85
ow potion, 54,68, 71
poses o, 94-96
Fases posto, 54, 0-61,
72.08.12

attaining. 188

Armor sales 132

can ve polo, 191

back
Tomas. 12,78
posos lor, 7-70.
‘Stace rondorng, 74
back muscles, 1, 12.51
“arms sown, 7
arms ried, 72,128
3
tower back 73
back ow, 80, 10,126,
aly baton 6
ps, 60 87,88
ody
ago and, 15
age 16:17
[gh and shadow on 94-95
shapes, 1819
Estos ures, 14
alton a
ais and anges, 20-90
Body language, 20-21
boots and shoes, 16-117.
CD

musee, 1, 11-112, 17
mp moton, 24
‘racers
Bocy language, 20-21
ody shapes 18-19
ost, 199-199
neat mue
“arms cow, 8
arms raised 54, 60
Shoulders and 55

E

carbone (av) 13,59.
EN

came book conventions, 133,
KO

comic book ers, 13, 137,
03

coronas, 87

Dark Horse Come, 140-149
19106 500 shor muse
ES

Cd
‘common weaknesses, 138,
1010.
nal sath 9,123
Pen
ace mapping, 51-33

ee
Erg er

“yes, 001.00
mundos, 28
proponen, 42, 6
foot mac?
fin work 132
fg weapon motion, 25
Term, 86, 00-95

graphie novel. 143

ands, 96-99
hauling moton 20

ting motion, 2
oes 102,109,120,
Pe

leaping meten, 23
leg muss
ack vow, 10
Im bay characte, 105
call MN 17
erate, 106-108, 125
groups. 103
PPT
Si wow 104, 108

に 3
Bones, 102
OH
femal, 106-10, 120-12,
135
gan 19
ao, 102, 109,120
cong ghia, 1
ting mason, 24
Hort sures, 34-85

manga (Japaneso comics), 143
Mano Comes, 197-199
Mars. Miko, 197-199
maso
“donna, 55 6,5, 62,
En
nacion, 29-26
omar, 91-93
0000
mas on muscis con
000
ook, 49-51, 50
pe 13
‘on cage, 57, 88, 62
Stages of muscular, 27
‘women, 1219
Sos als sm muse;
back muscos; cost mos
«es; og muss; shoudor

Pas, 64-65, 101, 120
Porto, 131,138,141
owes

or ams, 94-85

AmNeBok

posos o 127
PO
rang moion 23

jams muscle, 18,125,
‘Sealing wal motion, 25
‘Shadows, 34-35
Shoes and boots, 16-117
‘Shower ade, 79,81
ada muecas
‘ams down 58
armo rises, 72
Front vw 58 55,1
pans. 13,79
osas, 82-83
YO
sip poses, 14
soon &
Setting, 59,123
PE
‘mo, 7
Sp oto scapula, 79
Saring out satopes,
1812188, 198, 199, 40-141
onboard ait, 39
suce mapping, 91-39
gern on op moon,

tig, tomate, 125
tree quarto vow, 3, 45,54
tooe, 15,14
eo
Teme, 69-69
ma, 55-82
trapeze muslo 51,71, 72,
=

ei, 80 86 8, 89
alos and teri, 20-00

ms, Cs, 140-141
MS so, MT
mo, 96
Back, 12,78
Body shapes, 19
Er
yes 40
0
ead tie, 46-47
9057
igh eos 117
tops, 106-109, 125
me, 12-18
toro, 63-69
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