Future Tutorials

[Bruce Lee]

I hope to finish the THING tutorial in late Spring to early Summer. That one is going to be a lengthy tutorial, so I hope you guys will enjoy and benefit from it. I'd never make the claim that I was a great Ben Grimm artist or anything like that, but I do know a few great tricks and insights that are sure to help you draw a bashful Benji Grimm that is familiar to all. Consider it a Thing 101 tutorial, meant to spell out some of the basics, point out some key observations about drawing the character from head to toe.

In the meantime while that one's awaiting the finishing treatment, I'm still interested in hearing more tutorial ideas, so lets hear 'em, folks! I'm not terribly interested in doing tutorials on anatomy and other things that can typically be found in a good "how to draw" book, so keep it interesting.

Thanks!

Loston

[Bathill8]

Hey Loston, always appreciate your tutties man! I wouldn't mind seeing a tutorial on drawing Captain America's shield from a couple angles. Us amatuers tend to draw it as a flat ellipse and can't quite get the beveled feel to it or wrap the stripes around the center star piece correctly----heck, even a lot of good pro's screw it up....any chance of getting one on that down the road? ....then Daredevil and horny heroes and villans. Horns can prose a problem as well. Just tossing some ideas out there. Thanks again for all you do with the help man!

[Bruce Lee]

The Captain America shield is an interesting one, Bat, but I think Jeremy Dale might know of a program or something that can be used to get Cap's shield just right. I'll check with him and see if he does or not. If not, I'll see what I can do.

Loston

[scmarooney]

Let me chime in as well, Loston, and say how much I enjoy your tutorials. (I've even printed a few out and posted them on the wall near my drafting table). I think a cool tutorial might be on "metallic effects" like the Silver Surfer's "skin" or the reflection/shine off of King Arthur's Excalibur sword.

[Bruce Lee]

Let me chime in as well, Loston, and say how much I enjoy your tutorials. (I've even printed a few out and posted them on the wall near my drafting table). I think a cool tutorial might be on "metallic effects" like the Silver Surfer's "skin" or the reflection/shine off of King Arthur's Excalibur sword.

That's a decent idea, and one I will certainly consider doing. Reflective metal effects sounds like a decent step by step tutorial. I could demonstrate reflections on some characters like the Silver Surfer, Iron Man, and objects like Cap's Shield. Wouldn't hurt to do a couple everyday objects like cars, guns, and bladed weapons either. Thanks!

[Macksamillyon]

Loston.. this one may be a bit to simple... but i have the hardest f'n time gettin the worms and birds eye view perspective right... ive tried the vanishing point like i remember from art classes but it always looks bad .

[Bruce Lee]

Loston.. this one may be a bit to simple... but i have the hardest f'n time gettin the worms and birds eye view perspective right... ive tried the vanishing point like i remember from art classes but it always looks bad .

Wormseye POV are the toughest to pull off, because it's rare that we view things from this extreme angle. Birdseye POVs are more commonplace though. For instance, you could look over the railing of the second floor of a shopping mall and see people walking below you, or you can simply look out of a window from a level above a person or object and get the gist of things. So if you have trouble drawing people from a birdseye pov, it's not too tough to figure out ways to practice such an angle. With a wormseye shot, you might try taking a few photos of friends. Lie down on your back with a camera, and shoot a few shots to practice from.

Naturally you can find reference photos at these angles too. Google is your friend, so don't be afraid to look for some visual help every now and then.

Don't discount sports periodicals for good photo reference opportunities. Sports magazines always have great photography of figures in motion. Magazines like rock climbing magazines might have great POV shots, and so might surfing, skateboarding, and other such magazines.

Photo reference isn't the answer for all drawing problems, but if you use it correctly, you should be learning from it. Tracing photos isn't helpful, but copying photos for practice is, and using photos to help you fill in the gaps in your drawing might teach you a thing or two.

Gene Colan was one of the best artists in comicdom for drawing great wormseye POV shots. He was one of the few brave enough to use them on a regular basis, so you might want to check out some of his comics, Macksamillyon.