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Create ComiC & manga art in PhotoshoP, Manga studio 5, sketchuP and more!
IFZ13 2013 PRINTED IN THE UK £7.99
Custom brusheshi-res psds and more
hours ofvideo tutorials
CharaCter artMaster the pro techniques to paint a Marvel
heroine, with manga artist Stanley Lau!
Dynamic Poses
comic rules
Draw heroes that swing off the page!
Sharpen up on foreshortening
Create amazing comic environmentsGive your comic heroines personalityUse perspective in your manga artDesign a hero with a strong silhouette
Manga skillsUse layer techniques to colour your manga art
photoshop
learn to…
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Creating comic and manga art is a fantastic way to hone your digital art skills. Whether you want
to learn how to draw anatomy, ink manga characters, compose environments or paint
expressive figures, mastering the fundamentals of comic art will improve your techniques
and skills as an artist.Inside this special issue of ImagineFX you will discover how to refine your line art with expert
artists including Stanley Lau, colour and ink using the latest digital software with Chester Ocampo
and learn how to mix 3D software techniques with 2D in order to plan your comic page environments
with 2000 AD’s Dylan Teague.If you want more inspiration, then we take a
look at DC’s two most iconic characters, Wonder Woman and Superman. We catch up
with artists past and present to discover why the designs of these comic legends are as relevant
today as they have always been.From inspirational art to insightful tutorials, Comic Artist is your ultimate art resource!
Ian Dean, [email protected]
WELCOME…
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| Editor’s Letter |
Comic Artist is a special edition of ImagineFX, the only
magazine dedicated to fantasy and sci-fi art. Our aim is to help artists to improve both their
traditional and digital art skills.
Visit www.imaginefx.com to find out more!
IFZ13.intro.indd 5 8/28/13 2:20 PM
The secret to Simone’s success is plain old hard work. Simone focuses a huge amount of energy on the subtleties of the shading
in his panels. In true Italian style, the Tuscany-based illustrator is all about chiaroscuro. “Occasionally, I also use pencils but 80 to 90 per cent of the time I use watercolour or acrylic, and I add a lot of water to the acrylics to use them as though they were watercolours,” he says in impeccable English, but with a strong Italian accent and a lot of passion. “Only seldom do I redefine, or clean up my shading with pencil. I’ll use a very soft pencil such as a 3, 4 or 5B.”
Simone has worked exclusively with Marvel since 2006, predominantly as a
cover artist, including various regular titles and mini-series starring the likes of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain America, Daredevil, the X-Men and Iron Man. He even co-created Romulus, a new villain for Wolverine to face.
However, his first break in US comics came after he went to New York to find work. Living in Brooklyn, Simone took the subway to Manhattan day after day
to show comic editors his portfolio. Just days before returning to Italy, his efforts were rewarded and he landed the gig on Grant Morrison’s Shining Knight mini-series for DC. “I think that was – and still is – the key moment in my entire career,” says Simone.
“It gave me the chance to work with one of the best writers, if not the best right now, in the comic book industry, from day one,” he continues. “That was a big challenge, but the biggest challenge back then was to be able to meet deadlines – that crazy fast pace that the American comic book market requires you to do.”www.simonebianchi.com
ARTIST INSIGHTGET INSPIRED
“One of the artists
whose work really
inspired me a lot
in trying to come
up with my vision
of Asgard was
Antoni Gaudi, the
Spanish architect.
His buildings were
a major inspiration
for me in coming
up with my own
vision of Asgard.”
“After a day’s work, I wash, and all those colours drip from my hands. It just feels great.”
SIMONEBIANCHI
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| Simone Bianchi |
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HOW TO USE FORESHORTENING
IN YOUR ART
PHOTOSHOP
Creating a dynamic and engaging character pose can seem either really easy or very complicated depending on how you choose to see it. For
me, it’s quite simple once I’ve broken it down into a process of steps.
There are an infinite amount of poses you can use for your character and it may seem impossible to settle on just one. However, look for a deeper understanding of the character’s personality and how this may affect their body language. I try to imagine what the motivation is for the pose, and how I can enrich that story. Sometimes it’s something as subtle as
During the initial layouts, I have a series of cues I try to hit for each thumbnail that will help in creating my final pose. For example, twisting the torso will usually convey movement. In this workshop, I’ll be drawing a portrait of Marvel’s X-23 using some of these dynamic cues and executing them in a simple step-by-step process.
Alvin made his mark in the world of comics creating art for Marvel, DC, Image and Udon Comics. He’s since moved into illustration for video games and multimedia, and teaches for Gnomon Workshop and Schoolism.www.alvinleeart.com
changing the direction of the eyes, or altering the expression of their hands. The devil’s in the details, and every aspect will strengthen your case.
Before getting started, I need to consider the dimensions of the image I’m working with. Being portrait or landscape greatly affects the overall pose. General guidelines in photography such as the ‘Rule of thirds’ also play a part in where the head may be in my layout.
Covering basic concepts in posing, foreshortening and finishes, ALVIN LEE shows you how he draws and paints a dynamic comic book character
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Workshops
Turn over to see how Alvin uses foreshortening in a dynamic pose…
VIDEO WORKSHOPON THE DISC
ON THE DISCWatch Alvin paint plus find his
process images and final artwork.
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Photoshop | Use foreshortening in your art
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WorkshopsVIDEO
WORKSHOPON THE DISC
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Several types of male characters populate the anime and manga universe. They range from the archetypal males seen in mainstream works to
the more complex and nuanced males of cult hits. One way to think about creating a male manga character is: imagine he has a masculinity-femininity slider (similar to Character Creation in a JRPG) not only for physical appearance, but personality too. Traditional male manga physical features such as ‘defined musculature’ can be combined with traditional female
costume design, and colour palette. For this illustration, I decide to go with an early-20s futuristic swordsman who can summon a holographic battle aura for his special attacks. He’s slim yet muscular, young but well-trained, and a little cocky. I have a rough back story for him in my head, and that’s enough to get started...
Chester Ocampo is a freelance illustrator based in Manila. True to his zodiac sign, he is quite the hermit crab, albeit with a multimedia entertainment shell. He wishes to rejoin civilization one of these days!chesterocampo.deviantart.com
personality traits like ‘nurturing’; the more unlikely the combination, the more atypical the character.
As for sci-fi elements, this is indicated through the character’s technology – is he a mecha pilot, a time-travelling warrior, a cyborg chef? Gadgets, powers, and special effects express the kind of science fiction story the character is involved in.
Unlike a full-length story that shows how a character behaves, speaks, thinks, and grows, the character’s heroism in a standalone pin-up illustration is implied through his facial expression, pose,
Leading comic and manga artist CHESTER OCAMPO reveals how he painted this hi-tech, special effects-laden action hero pin-up
DESIGN A MALE MANGA HERO
PHOTOSHOP
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Photoshop | Design a male manga hero
Turn over to see how Chester paints a futuristic hero…
ON THE DISCWatch Chester as he
paints his sci-fi hero
on the video, plus
find his custom brushes
and art on the disc.
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DRAWINGDYNAMIC POSES
PHOTOSHOP
Turn over to see how Dave creates an energetic image…
Wanting a dynamic and expressive image of Spider-Man, DAVE BARDIN creates a pose where the fun and feeling of Spidey’s character explodes off the page
Creating a dynamic pose for your characters is essential for breathing life into your illustrations. We all have our own unique way of standing,
sitting, walking, running and jumping. The characters you draw are no different.
The way a character moves and acts on the page can tell us everything we need to know about them with just a few lines. It’s
imperative that those lines look fluid, loose and natural. Each and every character that you draw has their own thoughts and feelings, and those emotions should be implied not just by the expression on their face but by their body language as well. This is why being able to create an interesting pose is important for drawing strong characters on the page.
In this workshop I will show you how to think through a pose making it exciting, and create an energetic illustration of Spider-Man.
Dave is a freelance illustrator, comic book and storyboard artist. His work has featured on many comic and pop culture websites. He has also done storyboarding work for television and music videos. www.davebardin.com
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WorkshopsVIDEO
WORKSHOPON THE DISC
ON THE DISCWatch Dave as he
creates his image of
Spider-Man and find his
brushes and process
images on your disc.
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Photoshop | Drawing dynamic poses
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ON YOUR DISCTo support our tutorials, your disc includes a wealth of resources to aid your creative
process. From how-to videos to step-by-step tutorial images, you’ll find this disc essential
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE...
Video tutorialsFollow artists’ tutorials with their video walkthroughs, including Stanley Lau showing you how to improve your workflow, Paco Rico Torres revealing how to create an original superhero and PJ Holden sharing his techniques for creating a greywash comic splash page.
Process imagesEvery tutorial in the issue is backed by the artists’ original tutorial images, sketches, WIPs and process images.
Final artworkEach tutorial’s final art is collected on the disc to study and explore. There’s no better way to uncover how an artist works than examining their work.
Custom brushesEmulate the style of our artists and develop your art using these brushes.
VIDEO TUTORIALS
ON THE DISC
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| Disc contents |
Your CD has been thoroughly scanned and
tested at all stages of its production, but we
still recommend you run a virus checker and
have an up-to-date backup of your hard disk.
Future Publishing does not accept
responsibility for any disruption, damage and/
or loss to your data or computer system that
may occur while using this disc or the
programs and data on it. In the unlikely event
of your disc being defective, please email our
support team at [email protected] for
further assistance. If you would prefer to talk
to a member of our reader support team in
person you are invited to call +44 (0) 1225
822743. If you have any comments about the
software we include, or you have suggestions
for software you would like to see in the
future, please email Scott Ewart at scott.
EDITORIAL IAN DEAN [email protected]
PAUL TYSALL ART EDITOR
CATHERINE HOOD PRODUCTION EDITOR
SIMON ARBLASTER CD EDITOR
CONTRIBUTIONSStanley Lau, Alvin Lee, PJ Holden, Tim Mcburnie, Chester Ocampo, Saejin Oh, James Ghio, Dave Bardin, Dylan Teague, Kris Anka, Cris Delara, Paco Rico Torres, Simone Bianchi, Xephonia, Olivia, Mark Schultz, Mike Mayhew, Genzoman, Elsevilla, Patipat Asavasena, Dan Vincent, Richard Hood, Darren Phillips
CONTACT USPOST ImagineFX Presents, Future Publishing Ltd, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW, UKPHONE +44 (0) 1225 442244EMAIL [email protected] WEB www.imaginefx.comTWITTER: @imaginefx FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/imaginefxCD PROBLEMS +44 (0) 1225 822743 [email protected]
SENIOR CREATIVES DAN OLIVER editor-in-chief, digital design
PAUL NEWMAN senior editor STEVE GOTOBED group art director – creative & techROBIN ABBOTT creative director JIM DOUGLAS editorial director
ADVERTISING +44 (0) 207 0424124CHARLIE SAID advertising sales [email protected]
JAS RAI sales [email protected]
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CIRCULATIONJANINE GRAHAM trade marketing executive
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PRINT & PRODUCTIONSTEPHANIE SMITH production co-ordinator
MARK CONSTANCE production manager
NOLA COKELY ad production manager
NATHAN DREWETT ad production co-ordinator
MICHELLE ROGERS operational purchasing manager
LICENSINGREGINA ERAK senior licensing & syndication manager
FUTURE PUBLISHING LIMITEDDECLAN GOUGH publisher
NIAL FERGUSON group publishing director
MARK WOOD chief executive
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© 2013 Future Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. The registered offi ce of Future Publishing Limited is at Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. All information contained in this magazine is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Future a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage.
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