Ask Loston (Dr. Stupid Jr)...

[Bruce Lee]

Thanks for the links, Ian!


I can see Mike Royer ironing those KAMANDI pages. Heh.

You have to consider your inkers. They can make and break comic art. So making them happy by drawing on paper they can work on is something that needs to be considered.

[Bruce Lee]

Next.....!

[scmarooney]

Next.....!

Hey Loston, I have been meaning to ask you this for a while now. Recently I came across a drawing done by Dale Keown of (what else?) The HULK, (I think it must have been a commission he did for someone).

I'd seen this same drawing in a Rough Stuff magazine several years ago, admired it but didn't think too much about it at the time . Here's a Link: http://www.thedareart.com/2012/05/hu...ale-keown.html to the drawing in question.

I remember from the information "blurb" in the article with the drawing that Keown worked the drawing up with pencils in a full range of values, and then cleaned up any smears/mess with a kneaded eraser, and then, as a final step added highlights back onto the "finished" drawing with white paint.

What I am wondering (and hoping you might have some ideas on) is how I can add white paint to my drawings like Mr. Keown did in this illustration to make it "pop" like that? Any ideas as to his technique? The type of paint he was using (I am assuming gouache), and anything else he might have done to achieve that effect? I am under no illusions of suddenly being able to do this level of work, but figured it might be interesting to give it a shot?

Thanks for any answers, I love reading this thread for the wealth of knowledge you have about art and comic-art in general!

[Bruce Lee]

It looks like he used good paper, "B" pencils and was really careful with the details, keeping things as clean as was possible. A lot of pros use the kneaded eraser for clean-up. I do when I'm doing smudge pencil tonal drawings. I did on this piece, for instance:
http://www.lostonwallace.com/zatannacommission100.jpg
Then he applied the white to areas that were highlights, or that helped the muscles separate.

My guess is that he used either gouache, as you suggested, or a water based acrylic, which is just as likely.

On the Zatanna piece I did, I used a touch of white acrylic on the magic sparkles and on the inner edge of her coat to give the edge some width and separation. This sort of highlighting tonal work is fairly common.

[JDB1987]

I read through this thread and just wanted to thank you for it. I was once a lurker, now a poster and an artist looking to grow. All the advice and answers you've given on here have helped me the past month. As an artist trying to improve, I've felt so burnt and depressed at times, but I kept forcing it, after reading this thread, I learned to kind of relax by reading comic, studying art of fellow PJers, weightlift, social media, watch motivational videos until I feel the art juices ready to go.

P.S. I can't wait for the Inking tutorial!

[Bruce Lee]

I read through this thread and just wanted to thank you for it. I was once a lurker, now a poster and an artist looking to grow. All the advice and answers you've given on here have helped me the past month. As an artist trying to improve, I've felt so burnt and depressed at times, but I kept forcing it, after reading this thread, I learned to kind of relax by reading comic, studying art of fellow PJers, weightlift, social media, watch motivational videos until I feel the art juices ready to go.

P.S. I can't wait for the Inking tutorial!

Thrilled to hear that I've helped make an impact on your work! Just remember that drawing is about having fun. Listen to crits and comments, and work on areas where your art is weak. Draw things you don't normally like to draw. Get out of your comfort zones and learn to draw everything. Draw as often as you can. Nothing improves your skills at drawing like actually experience gained at the art table. Do all those things and you're bound to grow as an artist.

[The P.R. Man]

hey Loston, have you ever done any animation work or had any experiences with it?

[Bruce Lee]

hey Loston, have you ever done any animation work or had any experiences with it?

Only during my 1st year at the Joe Kubert School. I had an animation class, and we still did things on paper and acetate cells back then in 1994. My experience as an animator is limited, but I understand how to animate using the traditional methods. I've never done flash animation, and I've done very little in the way of 3-D modeling, etc. I can tell you that I didn't enjoy animation too much. I found it to be a bit dull. If I ever did anything in animation, I'd want to do 2-D storyboarding, concept art, backgrounds, or key drawings. Doing the in-betweens was a pain in the butt.

[JDB1987]

Thanks Loston. I do have a question if you don't mind answering it. As I've recently started posting on PJ and I notice I'm getting better and drawing things that I normally didn't thanks to the WSG and NYP'S Street Brawl. I know what is limiting me as I'd like to weigh in for pummel in by end of September.
Can you give advice on how I can actually study books such as Andrew Loomis Figure Drawing for all its worth, Bridgman Life to Drawing, Hamms Head and Figure, and Horgath Dynamic Figure drawing? I guess I'm feeling really down and out a little since I'm trying to plan a piece for NYP's next brawl Hellboy vs Lobo. I'm not fully understanding this cube method to create dynamifigures, foreshortening is really killing me. Do you also recommend drawing panels/poses from a person's favorite comic book artists or any rather in general to learn?
Sorry for the trouble and thanks again.

[Bruce Lee]

Thanks Loston. I do have a question if you don't mind answering it. As I've recently started posting on PJ and I notice I'm getting better and drawing things that I normally didn't thanks to the WSG and NYP'S Street Brawl. I know what is limiting me as I'd like to weigh in for pummel in by end of September.
Can you give advice on how I can actually study books such as Andrew Loomis Figure Drawing for all its worth, Bridgman Life to Drawing, Hamms Head and Figure, and Horgath Dynamic Figure drawing? I guess I'm feeling really down and out a little since I'm trying to plan a piece for NYP's next brawl Hellboy vs Lobo. I'm not fully understanding this cube method to create dynamifigures, foreshortening is really killing me. Do you also recommend drawing panels/poses from a person's favorite comic book artists or any rather in general to learn?
Sorry for the trouble and thanks again.

I recommend that you buy yourself a copy of HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY. Read it a few times, from cover to cover, then try drawing figures the way the book suggests. This book is a good basic book on how to draw dynamic figures. I feel certain that it will benefit you a lot. The paperback version of this book is very inexpensive, considering the wealth of knowledge you can find inside. Make no mistake, this book is a very good book on the subject of drawing dynamic figures. I learned to draw from it, as have thousands and thousands of other artists. It has a lot on the ball!

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Comic...the+marvel+way