I've been getting some nice e-mails and comments about my story. Thanks. (And keep 'em coming.)
But now, as promised, here's the second part of my interview with artist Tomás Morón. THIS PORTION CONTAINS SPOILERS. So if you haven't read the story yet, mouse your way over to the right and click on the story icon, read it, and then come back. (You'll be glad you did.)
I’m interested in your thoughts on the story “The Customer Is Always Right.” What do you remember about your first reaction to the script?
First, I thought it was a great story, and with 5 pages, the characters and the situations were great, too. And it has a werewolf!
Can you explain your approach to designing the characters in "Customer"? What were some of the things that stood out--that drew you in?
First, I read your desciptions and tried to approach the words and the sense they gave me. In the Ben character, I tried to reflect his fatigue for his situation and how desperate he was. In Donny, I tried to do the same--but with a character with low moral values and who does illegal things--so I tried to give him a threatening look. I hope I got it.
Oh, yes. Definitely. In bringing this story to life, what were some of the influences you drew from?
I don´t know, but I think I remember some of the Creepy issues or Terror stories from the seventies with that B&W and grays that were so strong.
Was there a part of the story that was more challenging than other parts?
Well, on the fourth page, many things happened, and it was hard for me to draw the panel where Ben faints, hits the table, and Donny stands up.
You've been drawing and teaching comics for awhile now: What kinds of classes do you teach?
I've taught for 15 years, and I've done a bit of everything. I teach classes on comics, inking, manga, and some years ago, history of comics. But now I do comics, inking, and manga.
What are some of the key things you stress to your students?
First of all, they have to think before drawing. And the most important part of comics is having the right layout to tell the story. If the panel or page don't work for the story, it is useless.
Does teaching illustration force you to raise your skills? I would think you'd feel a need to stay ahead of your students.
Yes, and if I discover some new technique or some new tools, I tell them and try to teach them the best I can. And I try to teach them how you have to interview with editors and how to show your portfolio and what you have to put in it.
What kinds of advice do you have for artists just getting started?
First, they must know that the job is great, but it means working many hours and you need to have a strong attitude. It's also important that you try to never fail to meet a deadline.
Who are some of the writers you would like to work with?
Robert Kirkman, Alan Moore, Dan Slott, Geoff Johns, and, of course, TDR Bach.
And finally, would you like to list some of the things you've worked on in the past and what you are working on now?
Well, in the comic field, I've worked for several Spanish and foreign publishers. I worked for Comicon doing the comics from Digimon for Germany. I did the inks for a Conan story for Marvel Italy, and worked in pocket comics for Semic with characters like Zembla. I also did a short story for an anthology published by Narwain Publishing from a Shannon Denton script as well as the comic prequel for the movie Zoom, Academy for Superheroes, published by Viper Comics. And finally this year, I was a part of an anthology named Fairy Tales that Chris Stevens edited and that was born in the Digital Webbing forums. I've also worked in publicity doing cartoons, children's illustrations, storyboards, etc. And now I’m working on children's illustation for Vimartic and doing a graphic novel for Kickstart comics.
Tomás Morón is also the artist on "The Customer Is Always Right," which you've hopefully read by now. (If not, click the link above.) Check out his fine work here: http://eldibujantesinpoderes.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label comics artist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics artist. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Four S's for Finding a Penciller
In the next couple of days, I will have some stunning artwork to show off from my first comic book story. But today, as I was reading some comments from other aspiring creators, it struck me that as writers the biggest thing standing in our way of making comics is finding somebody to draw them. Yet, in my short comic-book-making journey, I've already learned four easy steps to finding a penciller to collaborate with on a comic book. Let's call them The Four S's: Sift, Sort, Study, and Seek Out.
1. Sift: This should be the easiest step, but it's also time consuming. Go to Pencil Jack or digitalwebbing (you've joined those forums already, right?) and start looking at artists' portfolios. Sift through the many, many postings to find art you like. I say that this is the easy step because if you have script ready for drawing, you probably have a firm idea of the art style you're looking for. Don't like manga? Click and skip. Want something realistic or fantastic but not cartoony? Click and Click. You get the idea. Skip through until you find a style you like. (And remember, different stories might call for different styles. Also, a penciller's portfolio might draw you in, even if it's not the style you thought you were looking for.) Bookmark those portfolios.
2. Sort: Once you've found some potential collaborators, sort their portfolios by good, better, best--ranking them by talent/skill. There's a couple of things you want to look for. Pinups are awesome, but unless you are telling one-panel-per-page stories, you want someone who can do sequential art--i.e., someone with comic book page layouts; someone who is telling a story. Rank all the artists with sequential samples. At the same time, this doesn't mean you write off someone who only has pinups. If you dig their work, contact them and see if they have a sequential art sample.
3. Study: By this time, you should have just a handful of artist candidates. Study their sequential pages, really examine them critically. On second and third review, is their work as good as you initially thought? Also, read the posted "crits" from others.
But here's the main question you need to ask yourself: Do you have a good idea of what the story is without the dialogue, captions, etc.? A good comic book should be able to tell its story without words. Does this sample do that? Can you follow the story? Does your eye naturally flow from panel to the next.
On a secondary level, you should also see whether they showcase both action and "talking head" scenes in their work. You want to see both to see whether they can do dynamic action sequences and imaginatively stage a conversation. Also, look at their backgrounds. What's going on behind and around the main characters? A lot of artists will do nice figure work but then totally skip out on setting or they draw really bad cars or trees or whatever (as a result, they will not draw those in their samples).
4. Seek Out: Okay, so now you've picked the one or two artists you think will do the best with your story. Now you need to seek them out and contact them. This may be hard for some people--but it's the only way you're making comics, so you have to do it. As I've written before, comics are a collaborative effort. It takes a team to bring your story to life.
Write them a short e-mail. Tell them you like their portfolio. And here's the big part: don't just say, "Your Spider-Man pages were cool." Be specific. Tell them specifically what you liked about the pages. Reference their work, compliment them, etc. Let them know you are serious about creating comics by speaking in the language of comic storytelling. Then cut to the chase. Tell them you have a script you think they'd be good for, etc. Offer to give them a sample of your work, etc. It's all easier than it sounds. If they turn you down, and you will have people turn you down, move to the next person.
So there's your Four S's. Money, scheduling, setting expectations--are important, too, and I'll get to them in later posts. And at some point, I'll get around to elaborating on the above points as well--because if you want to make comics, these four items are key.
1. Sift: This should be the easiest step, but it's also time consuming. Go to Pencil Jack or digitalwebbing (you've joined those forums already, right?) and start looking at artists' portfolios. Sift through the many, many postings to find art you like. I say that this is the easy step because if you have script ready for drawing, you probably have a firm idea of the art style you're looking for. Don't like manga? Click and skip. Want something realistic or fantastic but not cartoony? Click and Click. You get the idea. Skip through until you find a style you like. (And remember, different stories might call for different styles. Also, a penciller's portfolio might draw you in, even if it's not the style you thought you were looking for.) Bookmark those portfolios.
2. Sort: Once you've found some potential collaborators, sort their portfolios by good, better, best--ranking them by talent/skill. There's a couple of things you want to look for. Pinups are awesome, but unless you are telling one-panel-per-page stories, you want someone who can do sequential art--i.e., someone with comic book page layouts; someone who is telling a story. Rank all the artists with sequential samples. At the same time, this doesn't mean you write off someone who only has pinups. If you dig their work, contact them and see if they have a sequential art sample.
3. Study: By this time, you should have just a handful of artist candidates. Study their sequential pages, really examine them critically. On second and third review, is their work as good as you initially thought? Also, read the posted "crits" from others.
But here's the main question you need to ask yourself: Do you have a good idea of what the story is without the dialogue, captions, etc.? A good comic book should be able to tell its story without words. Does this sample do that? Can you follow the story? Does your eye naturally flow from panel to the next.
On a secondary level, you should also see whether they showcase both action and "talking head" scenes in their work. You want to see both to see whether they can do dynamic action sequences and imaginatively stage a conversation. Also, look at their backgrounds. What's going on behind and around the main characters? A lot of artists will do nice figure work but then totally skip out on setting or they draw really bad cars or trees or whatever (as a result, they will not draw those in their samples).
4. Seek Out: Okay, so now you've picked the one or two artists you think will do the best with your story. Now you need to seek them out and contact them. This may be hard for some people--but it's the only way you're making comics, so you have to do it. As I've written before, comics are a collaborative effort. It takes a team to bring your story to life.
Write them a short e-mail. Tell them you like their portfolio. And here's the big part: don't just say, "Your Spider-Man pages were cool." Be specific. Tell them specifically what you liked about the pages. Reference their work, compliment them, etc. Let them know you are serious about creating comics by speaking in the language of comic storytelling. Then cut to the chase. Tell them you have a script you think they'd be good for, etc. Offer to give them a sample of your work, etc. It's all easier than it sounds. If they turn you down, and you will have people turn you down, move to the next person.
So there's your Four S's. Money, scheduling, setting expectations--are important, too, and I'll get to them in later posts. And at some point, I'll get around to elaborating on the above points as well--because if you want to make comics, these four items are key.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
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