A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s,
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in
collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors and lettering in the book, under the supervision of an editor.
In the
American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form, and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout (positions and vantages on scenes) to showcase steps in the plot.
Tools and materials
A penciller works in
pencil
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...
. Beyond this basic description, however, different artists choose to use a wide variety of different tools. While many artists use traditional wood pencils, others prefer
mechanical pencil
A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...
s or drafting leads. Pencillers may use any lead hardness they wish, although many artists use a harder lead (like a
2H) to make light lines for initial sketches, then turn to a slightly softer lead (like a
HB) for finishing phases of the drawing. Still other artists do their initial layouts using a
light-blue colored pencil
A colored pencil (American English), coloured pencil (Commonwealth English), pencil crayon, or coloured/colouring lead (Canadian English, Newfoundland English) is an art medium constructed of a narrow, pigmented core encased in a wooden cylindric ...
because that color tends to disappear during
photocopying
A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers u ...
.
Most US comic book pages are drawn oversized on large sheets of paper, usually
Bristol board
Bristol board (also referred to as Bristol paper or super white paper) is an uncoated, machine-finished paperboard. It is not named after the city of Bristol in the southwest of England but rather after Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, a ...
. The customary size of comic book pages in the mainstream
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
comics industry is 11 by 17 inches. The
inker
The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production.
The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...
usually works directly over the penciller's pencil marks, though occasionally pages are inked on
translucent
In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale (one in which the dimensions a ...
paper, such as drafting
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
, preserving the original pencils. The artwork is later photographically reduced in size during the printing process. With the advent of digital illustration programs such as
Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
, more and more artwork is produced digitally, either in part or entirely (see below).
Notable creators and their techniques
Jack Kirby
From 1949 until his retirement,
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...
worked out of a ten-foot-wide basement studio dubbed "The Dungeon" by his family. When starting with a clean piece of Bristol board, he would first draw his panel lines with a
T-square
A T-square is a technical drawing instrument used by draftsmen primarily as a guide for drawing horizontal lines on a drafting table. The instrument is named after its resemblance to the letter T, with a long shaft called the "blade" and a sh ...
.
[Kirby, Neal. "Growing Up Kirby". ''Hero Complex'' (July 2012). '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''. pp 22 and 24.
Arthur Adams
Arthur Adams begins drawing thumbnail layouts from the script he's given, either at home or in a public place. The thumbnails range in size from 2 inches x 3 inches to half the size of the printed comic book. He or an assistant will then enlarge the thumbnails and trace them onto
illustration board
Paperboard is a thick paper-based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in, or 12 points) than paper and has certain superior attributes ...
with a
non-photo blue pencil
A blue pencil is a pencil traditionally used by a copy editor or sub-editor to show corrections to a written copy.
The colour is used specifically because it will not show in some lithographic or photographic reproduction processes; these ar ...
, sometimes using a
Prismacolor
Prismacolor is a brand of professional visual arts supplies originated in 1938 by the Eagle Pencil Company (then taken over by Berol), and currently manufactured by Newell Brands. Prismacolor products include, colored and graphite pencils, soft ...
light-blue pencil, because it is not too waxy, and erases easily. When working on the final illustration board, he does so on a large drawing board when in his basement studio, and a lapboard when sitting on his living room couch. After tracing the thumbnails, he will then clarify details with another light-blue pencil, and finalize the details with a
Number 2 pencil
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...
. He drew the first three chapters of "
Jonni Future
Jonni Future is a fictional comic book heroine, who appeared in the pages of ''Tom Strong's Terrific Tales'', a series published under writer Alan Moore's America's Best Comics line of comic books for Wildstorm Comics. The stories were written by ...
" at twice the printed comic size, and also drew the fifth chapter, "The Garden of the Sklin", at a size larger than standard, in order to render more detail than usual in those stories. For a large poster image with a multitude of characters, he will go over the figure outlines with a marker in order to emphasize them. He will use photographic reference when appropriate, as when he draws things that he is not accustomed to.
[Cooke, Jon B]
"The Art of Arthur Adams"
Reprinted from ''Comic Book Artist'' #17, November 15, 2001[George Khoury and Eric Nolen-Weathington. ''Modern Masters Volume Six: Arthur Adams'', 2006, TwoMorrows Publishing.] Because a significant portion of his income is derived from selling his original artwork, he is reluctant to learn how to produce his work digitally.
Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...
is known to use
F lead for his pencil work.
J. Scott Campbell
J. Scott Campbell does his pencil with a
lead holder
A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...
, and Sanford Turquoise
H lead
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion (mechanical), abra ...
, which he uses for its softness and darkness, and for its ability to provide a "sketchy" feel, with a minimal amount of powdery lead smearing. He uses this lead because it strikes a balance between too hard, and therefore not dark enough on the page, and too soft, and therefore prone to smearing and crumbling. Campbell avoids its closest competitor because he finds it too waxy. Campbell has also used
HB lead
HB or Hb may refer to:
Academia
* H-b index, an extension of the h-index used in determining academic impact
* H-B Woodlawn, a secondary education program in Arlington, Virginia, US
* Hathaway Brown School, an all-girls private school in Shaker H ...
and F lead. He maintains sharpness of the lead with a Berol Turquoise sharpener, changing them every four to six months, which he finds is the duration of their grinding ability. Campbell uses a combination of Magic Rub erasers, eraser sticks, and since he began to ink his work digitally, a Sakura
electric eraser
An eraser (also known as a rubber in some Commonwealth countries, including South Africa from the material first used) is an article of stationery that is used for removing marks from paper or skin (e.g. parchment or vellum). Erasers have ...
. He often sharpens the eraser to a cornered edge in order to render fine detailed work.
Travis Charest
Travis Charest
Travis Charest (born 1969) is a Canadians, Canadian comic book artist, comic book penciller, inker and Painting, painter, known for his work on such books as ''Darkstars'', ''WildC.A.T.s'', ''Grifter (comics), Grifter/Shi (comics), Shi'', ''WildC ...
uses mainly 2H lead to avoid smearing, and sometimes
HB lead
HB or Hb may refer to:
Academia
* H-b index, an extension of the h-index used in determining academic impact
* H-B Woodlawn, a secondary education program in Arlington, Virginia, US
* Hathaway Brown School, an all-girls private school in Shaker H ...
. He previously illustrated on regular illustration board provided by publishers, though he disliked the
non-photo blue
Non-photo blue (or non-repro blue) is a common tool in the graphic design and print industry, being a particular shade of blue that cannot be detected by graphic arts camera film. This allows layout editors to write notes to the printer on the ...
lines printed on them. By 2000, he switched to Crescent board for all his work, because it does not warp when wet, produces sharper illustrations, and are more suitable for framing because they lack the non-photo blue lines.
Travis Charest
Travis Charest (born 1969) is a Canadians, Canadian comic book artist, comic book penciller, inker and Painting, painter, known for his work on such books as ''Darkstars'', ''WildC.A.T.s'', ''Grifter (comics), Grifter/Shi (comics), Shi'', ''WildC ...
FAQ: "What materials do I use?"
The Official Unofficial Travis Charest Gallery. December 1, 2000. Accessed August 30, 2010 Charest usually prefers not to employ preliminary sketching practices, such as layouts, thumbnails or
lightbox
A lightbox is a translucent surface illuminated from behind, used for situations where a shape laid upon the surface needs to be seen with high contrast.
Types
Several varieties exist, depending on their purpose:
* Various backlit viewing d ...
ing, in part due to impatience, and in part because he enjoys the serendipitous nature in which artwork develops when produced with greater spontaneity. He also prefers to use reference only when rendering objects that require a degree of real-life accuracy, such as guns, vehicles or characters of licensed properties that must resemble actors with whom they are closely identified, as when he illustrated the cover to ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Embrace the Wolf'' in 2000.
Adam Hughes
The penciling process that artist
Adam Hughes
Adam Hughes (born May 5, 1967) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as ''Wonder Woman'' and ''Catwoman''. H ...
employs for his cover work is the same he uses when doing sketches for fans at conventions, with the main difference being that he does cover work in his sketchbook, before transferring the drawing to virgin art board with a lightbox,
[Coulson, Steve]
"Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt2 - The Process"
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010 whereas he does convention drawings on 11 x 14 Strathmore bristol, as he prefers penciling on the rougher,
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
surface rather than smooth paper, preferring smoother paper only for brush inking.
[Coulson, Steve]
"Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt3 - The Tools"
YouTube. May 15, 2006; Accessed September 8, 2010 He does preliminary undersketches with a
lead holder
A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...
,
[Coulson, Steve]
"Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt1 - The Idea"
YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010 because he feels regular pencils get worn down to the nub too quickly. As he explained during a sketch demonstration at a comic book convention, during this process he uses a Sanford Turquoise
4B lead, a soft lead, though when working at home in Atlanta, where the humid weather tends to dampen the paper, he sometimes uses a
B lead
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...
or
2B lead, which acts like a 4B in that environment.
[ However, his website explains that he uses 6B lead, with some variation. For pieces rendered entirely in pencil, he employs a variety of pencil leads of varying degrees of hardness.]["FAQ"]
Just Say AH! Retrieved November 11, 2011. After darkening in the construction lines that he wishes to keep, he erases the lighter ones with a kneaded eraser
Two kneaded erasers. A newer eraser is on the left, and an older eraser on the right. The older eraser is darker due to the charcoal.html"_;"title="graphite_and_charcoal">graphite_and_charcoal_dust_that_has_become_incorporated_into_the_eraser
A ...
before rendering greater detail.[ For more detailed erasures, he uses a pencil-shaped white eraser, and to erase large areas, he uses a larger, hand-held white eraser, the Staedtler Mars plastic, which he calls a "thermonuclear eraser", because it "takes care of everything".][
]
Joe Quesada
Artist and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada
Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...
begins with sketches much smaller than the actual size at which he will render the final drawing. He employs a Cintiq drawing tablet
A graphics tablet (also known as a digitizer, digital graphic tablet, pen tablet, drawing tablet, external drawing pad or digital art board) is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a spec ...
when he desires to do a "tighter" digital layout of an illustration. When sketching figures, he will sometimes use photographic reference, and incorporate the photos directly into his sketches during the process of finalizing a layout. Once he makes a final decision on a layout, he will then print it out at full size, and use a light box to pencil it, sometimes altering elements in the design such as lighting or other details.
Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and writer. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as ''Action Force'' and ''Death's Head'', before gaining prominence on American titles ...
begins with multiple rough sketches employing different camera angles on paper with a blue pencil, which traditionally does not photocopy or scan, and then selects the desired elements from the rough sketch with a graphite pencil. After picking the initial shapes, he will further emphasize his selections with colored pens, continuing to attempt different variations. He will then, depending on how late in the day it is, either redraw the illustration on a sheet of layout paper or use his lightbox to tighten and clean up the drawing, emphasizing that the lightbox should not be a mere exercise in tracing, but an opportunity to refine or change elements in the drawing to make it "clean" enough to be inked.Hitch, Bryan
Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and comic book writer, writer. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as ''Action Force'' and ''Death's Head'', before gaining prominence ...
. ''Bryan Hitch's Ultimate Comics Studio'', Impact Books, 2010
When Hitch transfers the drawing to the final art board, he does initial layouts with a 2H pencil, which he feels provides the necessary accuracy and detail, and uses an erasable blue pencil to mark panel frames and vanishing point
A vanishing point is a point on the image plane of a perspective drawing where the two-dimensional perspective projections of mutually parallel lines in three-dimensional space appear to converge. When the set of parallel lines is perpendicul ...
s, which he introduces after the rough stage. He chooses not to put too much time or polish into this stage, preferring to work quickly, lightly and instinctively. He uses a mechanical pencil with 0.9mm 2H lead at this stage for fine outlines and detail work, and a traditional pencil for more organic work, including softer lines, shading large areas and creating more fluid motion. The "best tool of all", according to him, is a traditional pencil cut with a craft knife
A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes.Peterson, Harold L., ''Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World'', London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd., , p. 1 Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with du ...
, which he says can produce a variety of marks, and be used for detail, shading and general sketching. Hitch believes the best results combine both the mechanical and the knife-sharpened traditional pencil.[
Hitch is particular about his studio workspace, which does not contain a TV or sofa, stating that such things belong in the lounge for relaxation. Despite using a professional drawing board, he emphasizes that any inexpensive board large enough to hold the paper is sufficient, as he mostly uses a piece of roughly cut chip-board leaning on the edge of his desk. He uses an Apple iMac desktop computer, ]flatbed scanner
An image scanner—often abbreviated to just scanner—is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting or an object and converts it to a digital image. Commonly used in offices are variations of the desktop ''flatbed scanner'' w ...
and Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
to modify his artwork digitally.[
]
Simone Bianchi
In contrast to Hitch's work environment, artist Simone Bianchi says that he cannot work unless he is listening to music, which he does via stereo speakers placed above his drawing board, and an extensive music collection in his studio. Bianchi uses extensive photo reference and a lightbox to give his artwork a realistic look. He uses a wooden drawing board that he used to draw on flat, but angled it due to back pain that he began having in 2006.
Marc Silvestri
Another artist who listens to music while working is Marc Silvestri
Marc Silvestri (born March 29, 1958) is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He serves as CEO of both Top Cow Productions and Image Comics.
Early life
Marc Silvestri was born on March 29, 1958 in Palm Beach, Florida.Rosenberg, ...
, who says that he listens to down-tempo chill music while working, in contrast to the alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
he listens to at other times.["The Third Degree: Marc Silvestri". ''Point of Impact''. Image Comics. October 2012. p. 27.]
Erik Larsen
On the Biography & Bibliography page of his website, Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel ...
explains that he uses a Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 2H pencil, and a Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser. However, on the site's Frequently Asked Questions page, he states that he uses a standard Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencil with HB lead, explaining, "It's mushy as all hell but it doesn't slow me down like a harder pencil would."
Amanda Conner
While reading each page of a script, artist Amanda Conner
Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Ha ...
does tiny thumbnail sketches with stick figures corresponding to the story indicated on each page, in order to help her design the page's layout. She then does tighter, more elaborate sketches, though still fairly small compared with the finished artwork,[Salavetz, Judith; Drate, Spencer. ''Creating Comics!'', 2010, Rockport Publishers, pp, 34 and 35] approximately 4" x 6",[''Creator-Owned Heroes'' #5 ]Image Comics
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...
. October 2012. and then blows those up on a photocopier
A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers u ...
to the proper original comic art size, which is 10 inches x 15 inches. She then uses "very tight pencils" to light-box
A lightbox is a translucent surface illuminated from behind, used for situations where a shape laid upon the surface needs to be seen with high contrast.
Types
Several varieties exist, depending on their purpose:
* Various backlit viewing d ...
it onto Bristol board
Bristol board (also referred to as Bristol paper or super white paper) is an uncoated, machine-finished paperboard. It is not named after the city of Bristol in the southwest of England but rather after Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, a ...
, if she intends to have it inked by her husband and collaborator, Jimmy Palmiotti, but will do the pencils "lighter and looser" if she intends to ink it herself, as she already knows how she wants the artwork rendered.[ Conner has created her own paper stock and blue line format on her drawing paper, because, she explains, she likes having those configurations pre-printed on the page, and feels that "sometimes the rough is too toothy and the smooth is too slick." The stock she uses is the 10" x 15" Strathmore 500 series, but she also orders a custom 8" x 12" stock because she sometimes finds those dimensions more comfortable and easier to work on more quickly. She also finds the Strathmore 300 series "pretty good" likes its nice texture and greater affordability, but says that must occasionally content with getting a "bleedy batch". Conner uses mechanical pencils with .03 lead because she found it easier to use than regular pencils that require her to stop and sharpen them frequently.][
]
Gene Ha
Once artist Gene Ha
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...
obtains a script, he makes "tiny" thumbnail sketches of each page, and then makes layout sketches on shrunked copies of comic art board, two per page. It is at this stage that he works out the light/dark balance of the page. Though he says about 90% of his artwork are done without photo reference, he will sometimes photograph his friends pose as the central characters, or use a full length mirror to draw himself. He renders minor characters from his imagination. Irrespective of how much sunlight he has on a given day, he prefers to use a 500W incandescent photo lamp, though he believes a 500W halogen lamp is also adequate. He prefers to use a lead holder
A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...
with H lead
A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion (mechanical), abra ...
for sketching, and 2B lead for shading, which he sharpens with a rotary lead pointer, believing that such leads can be sharpened better than a traditional pencil. He blows up a scan of each page layout to 8.5" x 11", and draws "tight" pencils on top of these, which are then scanned and printed on 11" x 17" inkjet paper
Inkjet paper is a special fine paper designed for inkjet printers, typically classified by its weight, brightness and smoothness, and sometimes by its opacity.
Manufacture
Some inkjet papers are made from high quality deinked pulp or chemical ...
in faint blue line. He prefers Xerox
Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
paper because he feels that the surface of marker paper tends to get smudgy or oily. When importing art to modify in his computer, he uses Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
.
Jason Shiga
Artist Jason Shiga
Jason Shiga (born 1976) is an American cartoonist who incorporates puzzles, mysteries and unconventional narrative techniques into his work.
Early life
Jason Shiga is from Oakland, California. His father, Seiji Shiga, was an animator who worke ...
penciled his 2011 graphic novel ''Empire State: A Love Story (Or Not)'' with a yellow No. 2 pencil on copy paper, before transferring it with brushed ink via a lightbox.[Shiga, Jason. ''Empire State: A Love Story (Or not)'' Abrams Comicarts; New York: 2011]
Jonathan Luna
Artist Jonathan Luna
Jonathan Paul Luna (October 21, 1965 – December 4, 2003) was an Assistant United States Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Luna had been stabbed 36 times with his own pocketknife before he dro ...
uses 14 x 17 Strathmore Bristol board, which he cuts into 11 x 17 pieces on which to draw. He draws using a 2H pencil, and after inking his pencils with a Micron pen
is a Japanese manufacturing company headquartered in Morinomiya-chūō, Chūō-ku, Osaka, which produces a variety of stationery products as well a wide range of art materials. Nevertheless, Sakura is mostly known by its marker pens, such as t ...
, he edits his line work on a graphics tablet.[Interview with the Luna Brothers at]
Midtown Comics
Midtown Comics is a New York City comic book retailer with three shops in Manhattan and an e-commerce website.Gustines, George Gene (May 8, 2019)"As Comic Book Industry Grows, Smaller Publishers Learn to Adapt" ''The New York Times''.Gustines, Ge ...
; YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
; May 13, 2010
Marcio Takara
Artist Marcio Takara
Marcio Takara is a comic book artist known for his work on books such as ''Incorruptible'', '' The Incredibles: Family Matters'' and ''Dynamo 5''.
Career
Takara has named Stuart Immonen and Jim Lee among his artistic influences.
From 2010 to 2 ...
begins his pages with 7" x 5" ink thumbnail sketches with which he shows his overall ideas to his editor. When he begins the actual pencils, he keeps them "loose", because he will eventually ink over them himself, and does not require greater specificity. The penciling stage is the fastest stage for Takara, who does all of his pencil work with an HB 0.5 mechanical pencil, completing two or three penciled pages a day, sometimes even inking all three by the end of the day.
Chuck Austen
Writer/artist Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen (born Chuck Beckum)
Kees Kousemaker's Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved November 14, 2011. is an Ameri ...
did his work on '' Elektra'' entirely on a computer. He prefers uses mostly Macintoshes, but also uses PCs. When using a Mac, he uses '' Ray Dream Studio'', and when using a PC, usings '' 3D Studio Max''. These allow him to take three-dimensional models and break them down into simplified two-tone line forms. He purchases the models from catalogues, or uses ones that he built for ''Strips'' using in ''Hash'' or '' Animation:Master''. After importing the models into ''Studio'' or ''Max'', he arranges the angles and other aspects of the scene before rendering them, such as placement of background objects or modifying gestures, while the computer corrects elements such as perspective, foreshortening
Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...
, proportions, etc. After the files are rendered to Austen's satisfaction, he assembles them into page form using Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
, completing details that the modeling programs cannot perfect, such as facial expressions, hair, filling in blacks, rendering clothes and wrinkles, etc. To finish the art, he will either print out the "pencils" directly onto Bristol board and finalize them with an HB Tombow pencil and ink them with a #2 nib, or will apply the finishes in Photoshop.[Giles, Keith (September 6, 2011)]
"Austen in the Machine: Chuck Austen Interview"
Comic Book Resources.
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and ''Making Comics'' (200 ...
also does his work almost entirely on a computer tablet
A graphics tablet (also known as a digitizer, digital graphic tablet, pen tablet, drawing tablet, external drawing pad or digital art board) is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a spec ...
. Although he sketches his layouts in pencil, the remainder of his work is done digitally, explaining in his 2006 book ''Making Comics
''Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels'' is a book by comic book writer and artist Scott McCloud, published by William Morrow Paperbacks in 2006. A study of methods of constructing comics, it is a thematic sequ ...
'' that he had not used traditional materials like Bristol board, pens or brushes in years. After sketching layouts, which he says are "pretty tight", and include the full script, he scans them into an 18-inch tablet/monitor to use them as a guide for lettering them in Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design program developed and marketed by Adobe Inc. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud (Adobe's shift to month ...
. After completing the lettering, he exports the files to Photoshop, where he fully renders the art at a resolution of 1,200 dpi
A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replaceme ...
, creating between five and fifty layers of finished art before flattening it into a single black and white bitmap
In computing, a bitmap is a mapping from some domain (for example, a range of integers) to bits. It is also called a bit array
A bit array (also known as bitmask, bit map, bit set, bit string, or bit vector) is an array data structure that c ...
, plus a greyscale
In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysca ...
page, if needed.
Fiona Staples
Another artist who does her work almost entirely digitally is Fiona Staples
Fiona Staples is a Canadian comic book artist known for her work on books such as ''North 40'', '' DV8: Gods and Monsters'', ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'', '' Archie'', and '' Saga''. She has been described as one of the best artists working in the in ...
, who switched to that process several years prior to beginning her work on ''Saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
'', though her process for that series is different from previous ones, for which she characterizes it as "one intense, ongoing experiment." She begins with thumbnails, roughly drawn on printed paper templates. During this stage Staples does not use reference, but does so later in the inking stage. During the thumbnail stage, she gives copious thought to the layouts and staging, making it, in her words, the most important part of the process. After scanning the thumbnails, she enlarges them and uses them as rudimentary pencils, and "inks" over them in Manga Studio
Clip Studio Paint (previously marketed as Manga Studio in North America), informally known in Japan as ,A clipping of the Japanese pronunciation of its name, ''Kurippu Sutajio Peinto''. is a family of software applications developed by Japanese ...
, and later colors the art in Photoshop. One of the advantages Staples sees in working digitally is the ability to dispense with tight pencils in favor of making corrections in an ad hoc manner, as she finds penciling in great detail and drawing such art a second time in ink to be boring.
Chris Samnee
Artist Chris Samnee
Chris Samnee is an American comic book artist. He received the 2011 Harvey Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his work on the '' Thor: The Mighty Avenger'', and won a 2013 Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for his work on '' The Rocketeer: ...
uses 300 series two-ply Strathmore Bristol board. He does not use non-photo blue pencils or any other equipment purchased at specialty stores for preliminary sketching, but uses .9 mm mechanical pencils that he purchases from Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
. He describes his pencils as "just awful", and inks them himself, as he cannot envision giving them to someone else to ink.["Chris Samnee: The Devil is in the Details, Part 1"]
Toucan Blog. May 31, 2013.
Workflow and style
A comic book penciller usually works closely with the comic book's editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
, who commissions a script from the writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
and sends it to the penciller.
Comic book scripts can take a variety of forms. Some writers, such as Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
, produce complete, elaborate, and lengthy outlines of each page. Others send the artist only a plot outline consisting of no more than a short overview of key scenes with little or no dialogue. Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
was known to prefer this latter form, and thus it came to be known as the Marvel Method.
Sometimes a writer or another artist (such as an art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
) will include basic layouts, called "breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
s," to assist the penciller in scene composition. If no breakdowns are included, then it falls to the penciller to determine the layout of each page, including the number of panels, their shapes and their positions. Even when these visual details are indicated by a script, a penciller may feel when drawing the scene that there is a different way of composing the scene, and may disregard the script, usually following consultation with the editor and/or writer.
Some artists use a loose pencilling approach, in which the penciller does not take much care to reduce the vagaries of the pencil art, leaving it to the inker to interpret the penciller's intent. In those cases, the penciller is usually credited with "breakdowns" or "layouts" and the inker is credited as the "embellisher" or "finisher".["Bullpen Bulletins", '' Marvel Two-in-One'' #52 (Marvel Comics, June 1979).] According to former Marvel editor Gregory Wright, was a noted penciler whose breakdowns included all the structural essentials that enabled inkers to complete the art. Other pencillers prefer to create detailed pages, where every nuance that they expect to see in the inked art is indicated. This is known as tight pencilling.[
]
See also
* Letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comi ...
* Colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Comics terminology
Visual arts occupations
pt:Arte-finalista