Perspective “Cheat Sheets” for Comic Book Artists

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One of the wonderful things about drawing is that it allows you to create the illusion of a three-dimensional space on a flat, two-dimensonal piece of paper. But pulling this off is not as easy as it looks. It is not uncommon for artists to struggle when attempting to create a convincing sense of depth (or “perspective”) in a drawing. When I was in art school, I knew more than a few art students who wore berets only to cover the bald patches in their scalps that resulted from them pulling their hair out every time they tried to draw something in perspective.

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Artist David Chelsea wrote a book called Perspective! For Comic Book Artists that I’ve found to be helpful. In addition to explaining the concepts of the vanishing point, one-point perspective, two-point perspective, three-point perspective, and foreshortening, the book includes some great “cheat sheets” in the back. Chelsea has gone to the trouble of drawing seven detailed diagrams for artists to use when figuring out the perspective of, say, a series of skyscrapers or the interior of a room. There are two charts each for one-, two-, and three-point perspective, and one chart that shows a series of circles receding into the background. These diagrams alone are worth the price of the book.

Being a busy freelancer with tight deadlines, on more than one occasion I’ve used the diagrams to give me fast and accurate perspective. In my pre-computer days I enlarged each diagram onto an 11×17 sheet of paper and taped it onto my light table, then taped my drawing over the top. Now that I draw digitally, I’ve scanned each diagram into Photoshop and when I need them I just paste them into my drawing, enlarging/cropping them as needed. Then I sketch over them on another layer.

If you do a lot of perspective drawing, especially with crazy camera angles, seven perspective charts may not be enough to cover all your needs. But if you only draw in perspective occasionally, they can be a terrific time saver. You can buy Perspective! for Comic Book Artists at Amazon.com.

New! Portable Cintiq Is Coming…

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Thanks to the Drawn! blog, I’ve just learned that Wacom, Inc. is manufacturing a smaller, portable version of the Cintiq. To that I say “Yipee!”, “Awesome!”, and “Woo hoo!”

Earlier this year my studio went all-digital. I traded in my traditional drawing board for a Cintiq, which lets me draw and paint directly onto the computer screen. It’s greatly simplified my production process and shaved a little working time off of each project. I can make changes faster than I could on paper, and I don’t have to tinker with scanning and then cleaning up my artwork.

The only major drawback comes when I travel. I travel often and almost always have to take freelance work with me. I’m not about to travel with my Cintiq, it’s far too large, fragile, and expensive to toss into a suitcase. So I have to travel with a klunky assortment of traditional and digital tools to meet the deadlines. I usually pack paper and pencil, a small lightbox, my scanner, my laptop, and a wacom tablet for coloring (I’m not very fast at drawing with the Wacom, but I can color with it fairly quickly). That’s a lot of junk to haul around, requiring two pieces of carry-on luggage (my laptop bag, and a small suitcase padded with towels for the scanner). I then have to cross my fingers and hope that wherever I wind up staying has an empty surface large enough for me to spread everything out. It’s a major hassle.

All of it could be replaced with a tablet-PC , but I’m a Mac user and (unfortunately) Mac’s don’t make tablet PC’s. There are rumors that Apple will be unveiling a tablet computer in the near future, but similar rumors have been circulating for several years and Steve Jobs is on record as saying Apple has no plans to make such a device. The closest thing available is the Modbook, which is a MacBook that’s been converted into a tablet by a company called Axiotron. Early demo models received rave reviews, but there have been endless production delays and customers who placed orders back in January are still waiting for their Modbooks.

Now, finally, I have hope. Wacom has announced the Cintiq 12WX, which is a small, portable “sketchbook” version of the Cintiq. It appears to have all the features of a regular Cintiq, including scroll pad and programmable buttons. The pressure-sensitivity of the pen is 1,024 levels, the same as a regular Cintiq. The 12.1 inch (diagonal) screen will be a manageable size, a little bigger than a 9×6 sketchbook. There’s buttons on both sides (for lefty’s and righty’s), so my only concern would be making sure the whole thing is small enough to fit inside a standard computer bag. Although I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t.

(UPDATE: You can read the Cintiq 12wx press release, which details all the specs, here.)

There’s a low-res YouTube video that shows the Cintiq 12wx in action. I’m having problems embedding the video into my blog, but you can watch it here.

So far the Cintiq 12wx is only available in Europe, and apparently won’t ship before Christmas. But hopefully we can look for a US version early next year. The UK Amazon.com website lists a selling price of £829.98, which is roughly $1,700.00 $999.00 American (and much cheaper than a Modbook). Looks like I’ll be asking for cash gifts this Christmas!

(UPDATE: You can order the Cintiq12wx for only $999.00 American here.)

“Disney Adventures” Magazine Shutting Down

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As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the magazine industry has seen better days. Overall readership is on a slow decline, resulting in lower subscriptions and lost advertising revenues. It looks like C. F. Payne is not the only artist being affected by it. I just learned that Disney Adventures, the snazzy comic-book magazine, is officially no more. The November issue (currently in stores) is the last one to be published by the company.

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Here’s the announcement from Ad Age, as quoted by Heidi MacDonald on her blog “The Beat”:

Disney Publishing attributed its decision to an effort to better focus resources and maximize long-term growth potential through new magazine and book initiatives.
The demise of Disney Adventures, which was introduced for tweens in 1990, closely follows the end of fellow child soldier Nick Jr., which MTV Networks closed with the April issue. It isn’t clear that there’s any particular exodus of children from magazines, but proliferating competition and rising costs are knocking out big magazines at a fairly regular clip these days; adults for their part have lost Premiere, Jane, Life and Child so far this year.

This is disappointing news. Disney Adventures has been a fun comic-book magazine consistently loaded with quality artwork. It’s one of the few magazines at the checkout stand I would actually pick up and thumb through. Occassionally I’ve even bought a copy just so I could drool over the artwork and keep up on the latest “trendy” art styles for kids. Recently I’ve even thought about putting together a submission package to send them in hopes of landing some work. Looks like that will never be. (Ya snooze, ya lose.)

Fellow fans can still enjoy some of the Adventures content. According to Wikipedia, Disney Press recently released theme-based collected volumes of various Disney Adventures comics (96 pages each):

Comic Zone Vol. 1: Lilo & Stitch
Comic Zone Vol 2: Gorilla, Gorilla
Comic Zone Vol. 3: Disney’s Tall Tails
Comic Zone Vol. 4: Kid Gravity

Magazines have traditionally been a solid and consistent place for illustrators to find work (although they don’t pay what they used to). Someday in the future I’d like to write a blog post about the effect of the decline of print media on illustrators.

Thanks to Tom Bancroft for the heads-up. Also, check out Tom’s blog which he runs with fellow artist Rob Corely. It’s nifty!

C. F. Payne Ends Reader’s Digest Run

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(Art by C.F. Payne. Copyright © Reader’s Digest.)

For the last four years every issue of Reader’s Digest has featured an illustration by award-winning illustrator C. F. Payne on the back cover. Payne is an exceptional illustrator, and his charming pieces for Reader’s Digest hearken back to the spirit of Norman Rockwell but with a modern twist. My wife and I recently started subscribing to Reader’s Digest, and I’ve always enjoyed flipping the magazine over to see Payne’s gorgeous illustrations.

I just cracked open the December issue (featuring the illustration shown above), and was surprised to read this on the bottom of page 11:

Thank You, C. F. Payne!

For over four years, C. F. Payne, our back-cover artist, has delighted readers with surprising snapshots of modern American life. “And to All a Good Night!” is his last scene for Reader’s Digest. We hope you love it. We will feature Payne’s work from time to time in this magazine, and you will still be able to view his gallery and purchase prints at rd.com/cfpayne.

I don’t know the actual reasons behind the decision, but according to this blog Reader’s Digest is struggling financially and decided not to renew Payne’s contract so that they could instead sell advertising space on their back covers. If true, it is indeed disappointing news. But the reality is that magazines in general have seen a decline in readership over the past few years. As more and more people do their reading online, the magazine industry is in a mad scramble to keep their publications profitable.

Personally, I will miss seeing Payne’s monthly illustrations. His work is delightful and stunning, and whenever I see it in print I always pause in admiration. But Payne fans can take heart. Payne is very prolific—besides Reader’s Digest he has done illustrations for TIME, Atlantic Monthly, Money, Boy’s Life, and The New Yorker, in addition to several advertising campaigns—so you can be sure his work will continue to pop up regularly in various publications.

To view a gallery of Payne’s work for Reader’s Digest, or to order prints, click here. You can view more of Payne’s work on the website of his rep, Richard Solomon.

Interview With Illustration Instructor Marshall Vandruff

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Fanboy Radio is a weekly radio show/podcast devoted to comic books. I don’t really read comic books anymore, but the industry has some amazing artists whose work I enjoy following. Fanboy Radio interviews a lot of them, and it can be inspirational to hear the various creators talk about the industry and their work.

A few months ago Fanboy Radio did something a little different: they interviewed an art instructor. Marshall Vandruff is a gifted educator, and his classes on illustration, comics, and storyboarding are quite popular. Several of his students have gone on to make a big splash in the industry.

I listened to this interview on my iPod during a recent drive to Kansas City. I didn’t think an interview with an art teacher could be all that fascinating, but I was wrong. There is something about the way Marshall Vandruff talks that really inspires you and makes you want to strive to be a better artist. (He had some thoughts about skill versus talent that I thought were especially insightful). I can see why his classes are so popular. If I didn’t live halfway across the country I would definitely sign up for one.

You can listen to the interview on the Fanboy Radio website, or through this iTunes link (look for episode #395).

For more information about Marshall Vandruff, visit www.marshallart.com.

Advice For Building A Career As An Illustrator Or Cartoonist

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My friend and fellow illustrator Paul Fricke recently sent me a great link:

Advice for building a career as a freelance artist and/or paid cartoonist by Dave Roman

Dave Roman has been working at Nickelodeon Magazine for the last nine years. He is also a frequent lecturer at the School of Visual Arts. This article summarizes his advice for art students just starting out in illustration, comics, and/or cartooning. I’ve been freelancing for over ten years now, and I agree with what Roman has to say. His article is packed with good advice for the beginner (or even the not-so-beginner).

Along the same lines, here’s another great article I’ve blogged about before:

17 Lessons on Freelancing by Megan Jeffery.