How to get started?

Hi everyone, I just joined this community. I'm aspiring to be a comic book artist. I got the writing part pretty much covered, but it is the figure drawing that I need to work on. I recently read the post where it was advised that Focused drawing practice is most effective. Problem is I'm not sure where to focus, as I'm generally thinking I should learn to draw figures well. Is this bad? Should I begin by setting a goal for doing an x number of gesture drawings, and then focus towards specific body parts, or just start with a body part of choice and develop from there into complete gesture drawings in the end? I would be thankful for anyone who could give me their templates on practice goals and runs so I can use them as a guide.

First off, Hi!

Let me see if I understand. Sequential art (including comic books and graphic novels) have two main somponents: the writing and the art. You say you've got the writing covered. Are you the writer, or are you a part of a team? Do you want to work on your own projects, or join someone elses?

My reason for asking is this: if you are the writer, the main concern you've got in being the artist in in matching the tone you've set in your head. This is a stylistic consideration that can take into account your lack of experience as an artist. In other words, you can make your inexperience in art a part of your style. Let the errors in your execution be a part of your style, and grow artistically as the series progresses. J. O'Barr, who wrote The Crow, worked this way. If you compare the beginning art in Issue 1 with the art in the final Issue 4, you'll see a massive development in his rendering and inking.

If you plan on working with a writing partner or as part of a team, you'll need to make sure that your artistic skills, whatever they currently are, will fit with the imagined final product. Make certain before you get too stuck in that your output is going to mesh with the vision of your team members. Be open to having your art be shaped by the input of others. Don't get defensive when suggestions are made to alter things, or when people need something else.

As a published author, I know the feeling of having someone else's art paired with your writing, and having it not be at all what you'd have suggested. As an artist, I insist on reading the manuscript before I do a cover or an illustration, and I also insist that the author has the approval on concepts and final product. As an author, I'd want that myself (but rarely get such a situation).

So tell us more about where you are, artistically, so we can give you more focused advice, if you'd like.

Good luck!

• Complexigon edited this post on May 25, 2019 3:31pm.
• Complexigon edited this post on May 25, 2019 3:32pm.

Thank you very much for the response. Artistically wise, I'm an amateur, and no where close to perfecting my skills on drawing human anatomy. I wishe to have enough skill to be able to render my own characters and such, and from what I have heard from others so far, it basically involves a lot of practice.

Thus far, I've been following the 30 minute practice courses on the site. My goal is to be able to capture the human body's proportions and structures accurately enough to have a decent mannequin from which I can build into greater details.

As such, I laid out a small short-term goal in that I should try to get at least a 1000 gesture drawings mainly focusing on proportions (by doing the 30 minute course on a daily basis) etc. I intend to supplement my practice during the weekends by doing readings from resources such as Steve Huston's Figure drawing for Artists, and Jeff Mellem's How to Draw People. I'm hoping that by doing consistent practice I can get to Level 2 of what is shown in this link (the 2nd image from the left): Stages of Development I wish to go through

Once I get there, I wish to then begin digging down into the details and focus on individual body parts.

This is where I'm so far.

In regards to proportions, have you checked out "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth" by Andrew Loomis? It's available as a free PDF and it's been doing alright by me. It's covers a lot of different topics but proportion is the first.

• Gibberibberish edited this post on June 13, 2019 9:55pm.