Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:
Sorry, it's been about a week since I posted last but like I have said before in the past, real-life (so over-rated in my opinion) gets in the way.
As I have been talking about those who inspire and those with style as far as comic book work is concerned and illustration elsewhere it became apparent to me that I have been doing a lot of collecting of artists' work.
There was a time when all I would do is collect comic book work based upon an actual artists style like say for example Frank Miller so when he jumped ship from daredevil and start working for DC on his Ronan Comic then I followed him to Darkhorse and when “Sin City” hit in a DHP or Darkhorse Presents. I was hooked; I really like the stark black-and-white style that he was putting down and it reminded me of Milton Canada for a little bit but as the work went on especially with a big fat kill that really nailed it for me it was a great comic and I was much enthralled with his work “A Dame to Kill For” was another one and that was awesome. Working at the art retail store at the time when these books came out I highly recommended his work along with Mike Mignola was “Hellboy.”
Hellboy was like the kind of comic that I would’ve picked up when I was a younger kid but I just couldn’t stop waiting for the next issue to come out in the design and the pages and everything again another black and white with seldom use of any kind of gray tone which set this book apart again this was a book that I highly recommend to people who is looking to get into comics.
And then again there’s always the 50s throwback which for me is Mark Schultz. His work is very reminiscent of Al Williamson and Wally Wood he did has done some great pen and ink with some washes that are reminiscent of the work that you had seen in early Frank Frazetta‘s work. I mean this guy is a modern 50s comic book illustrator to the highest degree he is also a really good storyteller.
It seems funny to me moving on from collecting comics to collecting comic artists in their work and there’s a distinct difference between a comic book artwork is all sorts of random illustrations thrown into a volume in chronically their work throughout the decades a collector of Comics, on the other hand, is just picking up issue one through however long the comic book run goes for before concludes. Yes, I think the biggest difference between the two, at least it is for me.
But you have to ask yourself how does all this collecting help you as a “struggling comic illustrator”?
I am glad you asked.
With many illustrators typically you’re only gonna get like a handful of illustrations and I do mean literally a small handful of illustrations that will show you the viewer how the artist constructs their images on the page. I’ve seen it in Al Williamson's work with a couple of these kinds of images, I’ve also seen it in Jack Kirby's work with some of his minor corrections on "The Demon", "Omac" or "Kammandi, the Last Boy on Earth". But I think the person who shows what lies underneath all their illustration is Mark Schultz. He uses a non-photo blue pencil to outline and show the images in their most basic forms and how they focus on one main point of an illustration or a comic book page it really sets up a great idea and how the dynamics are done with complexity and direction - scratch that - Focus of intention.
For me, the dissection of these images in each other perspective are books and everything gives me an insight into something that I hadn’t incorporated into my own work making my own style which kind of comes full circle to work my friend Lynn was telling me about art style a couple of blogs ago.
It was something that an associate of mine years ago tried to figure out but he was so wrapped up in detailing he forgot the most important thing about making a story - moving it forward.
But Schultz put it out there. He could tell a story in one image as he did with "Storms at Sea" or tell the narrative through sequential panels HOWEVER changing the tone and not as much detail because it would take you away from the action at hand like watching Jack Tenrec run through a jungle forest to confront a poacher. As seen in “Xenozoic Tales”.
In his art collections, he shows the conception of the illustrations to a tightly penciled rough to completion. What I love about these reveals is that he shows focus with penciled vanishing points.
In all the time that I have been working as an illustrator, I have never really given much thought to that - ever. I think that I was always caught up in the mood of the piece of artwork that I was working on and moving on to the next panel to see how the characters that I was working with would flow emotionally not the technical stuff.
I am getting better about that now as I work on things but the mood and emotion I am always going to get caught up in.
I am still picking up books and scouring them for bits and pieces that I can incorporate into my work.
And I hope that never stops.
And with that, I am out of here.