the Science ofDesign
theScience of Art.
Jerry DeCaire is Presently Creating a "How-To"Book for Anyone who Wants to Learn HOW to Draw Comics! He is also Creating a Book Specifically Designed for Educators on How to Design a Comic Book Lesson/Program for their Students!
Step-by-Step Methodology: This isn't Magic! This is INTERDISCIPLINARY!
SEE My online video showing me draw a human head courtesy of the Morning Sun:
http://www.themorningsun.com/articles/2011/04/01/news/doc4d950f4da2a2a414313079.txt?viewmode=fullstory
The Science
Human anatomy
-The Human Skeleton and it's influence on proportion and the surface characteristics of bone and tendons at or near articulations or "joints".
-The Human skull and its corresponding head and facial characteristics from multiple positions.
-Facial features: A closer look: Eyes, Lips, Nose, etc.
-Hair: What makes for a natural look using a simplistic approach.
-Muscles: How they change depending upon the tasks they perform. Even gravity can effect the shape of a musle (and even fat for that matter). Learn the muscles points of origin and insertion and how each muscle does its job. This can be in-depth, but to draw muscles well, you should understand them. You will also learn how to "stagger" muscles for balance and convincingness (ie: The lateralis thigh muscle is always in a superior position to the medialis thigh muscle, etc.)
The Math
-The 3 P's:
Perspective / Proportion / and Position
As confusing as all this can be, you will be pleased to know that virtually any problem in your drawing can be traced back to the 3 P's. And there is one major credo that you must understand:
When PERSPECTIVE changes, PROPORTION changes. And POSITION deals with how the body and its limbs work in unison to create natural movement. We wouldn't want our superheroes to look unnatural, would we? Of course, we've all seen some pretty unnatural villains but even they follow certain rules to convince us that they are real.
-Linear Perspective:
1 point, 2 point, or 3 point Perspective: which panel calls for what and how these apply to the figure and virtually any other subject matter.
-The "Magic Box":
and the "1/2" method of drawing the human head and body without need of a photographic reference.
Let's take a look at that principle in action, but first, let's lay down what educator's call "scaffolding"- a simple and preliminary lesson prior to the more complicated lesson. Let's first determine where the features belong:
But C'mon, Give me a break! How often do you see a head in a comic book showing only a straight-on profile or full frontal face? We have to up the ante and show how we can determine where the features fall in a three-dimensional cube when we are looking at that cube from an aerial or ground level point-of-view. Let's choose the aerial view for demonstration purposes...
To find "center" on the "face" of a cube in perspective where the edges (Orthogonal lines) draw away from you diminishing in size until they reach an off-panel vanishing point where they converge, you must "X" the cube into subsequent "halves" to determine where the eyes, nostrils, and corners of the mouth fall.
Voila...
So how does the division of a cube into halves apply to the human figure? Glad you asked...
Once again the scaffolding has been laid and now it's time to deal with the more challenging stuff...
And this is only a straight on, One-Point Perspective view! Below is a sample of how to work with a figure's oblique characteristics (3/4 view). Sheesh! Maybe I should have stuck to drawing Charlie Brown when I was a kid! But I sooo like the superheroes! Don't you?
Above is a demonstration of Two-Point (Oblique) Perspective applied to the human form. You can see how geometric shapes assist in drawing complicated camera angles. This is a "Worm's Eye" view of the X-Men's Juggernaut.
-Gestalt Principles of Design
-Camera Angles: Mix it up to hold reader interest!
-Shadow Perspective: for Modeling and a 3-D "Feel". Stay true to your light source!
-Composition: Panel-to-Panel design and what makes for an excellent informal balance in your story page. Think "Gestalt".
-Storytelling: How to choose an "anchor" panel and compose corresponding panels to tell a story in sequential narrative and dialogue.
A Word of Advice from
Big John Buscema
John Buscema said it best when I asked him what's the best way to learn to draw comics. He, in his classic New York accent, replied
"There's three things you've 'gotta do if you want to learn how to draw comics: First, start drawing. Secondly, continue to draw. And thirdly, don't stop drawing." -John Buscema
You're so right Big John. And in another 200 years, I'll be as good as you!
Big John said to me and I'll say it to you...Draw Lightly!!!
Here's a couple of rough sketches to demonstrate the foundations of drawing. Loosen up, draw lightly and never commit too soon to paper. You can tighten things up by accentuating the lines that "feel" proper and eliminating the superfluous lines that are either non-dramatic or just downright erroneous in anatomy, placement, or proportions. This isn't wood-burning, it's drawing. Sketch and scribble LIGHTLY!
Galactus Clashes with the Celestial, Exitar! Does this look like a bad drawing to you? Are you saying to yourself, 'Heck, I can draw that!'. Look a little closer. This scribble represents the sound foundations of good anatomy and proportions. Details are superficial. Drawing a detailed drawing without sound foundations is like building a beautiful home without sound foundations-both the house and the drawing will fall apart without those foundations. Have you ever drawn a picture where you spent hours on it and it somehow just didn't feel right? I gurantee you it's a problem with your foundations. No amount of glossy detail can cure that problem. I prefer a sketchy drawing with excellent foundations to a detailed glossy piece with bad foundations any day of the week. Of course, having both is very nice; first create the sound foundations and then add the miniscule details. You'll find that if you do that, the time you invest in the details will then be well spent rather than wasted.
This is getting a little more defined but even this started out as scribbles. If I approached this stiffly this drawing wouldn't have nearly the anaimated sense of motion that it shows here.
I love the Fluffy hair and Classic Profile of D.C.'s Wonder Woman seen here but can you spot the anatomy problem? I like to sometimes showcase my mistakes to demonstrate that even a seasoned professional makes plenty of boo-boos. Her right arm sweeps outward to give her this dramatic pose but along with that movement her right pectoral muscle should follow and flatten out. By not doing this, it appears as if she is missing tissue and muscle mass between her shoulder and the pectoralis muscle-NOT GOOD! There is nothing wrong with the pose and that shouldn't be compromised but neither should proper anatomy. The challenge is to get that dynamic effect without drawing bad anatomy.
There's this post-modern philosophy out there that says bad anatomy is ok so long as the effect is there. I say the real challenge is to have both effect and good anatomy and if sound draftsmanship isn't there it lacks convincingness which robs you of effect due to loss of believeability. Would you agree? This is why I first draw lightly-it's a simple matter to go in and re-draw her to remedy the situation. If I had "wood-burned" this, I'd be spending long minutes trying to erase some very dark and heavy lines. I may have even been compelled to start all over again and since most of this drawing is ok, what a drag that would have been!
One more pointer: If you're spending too much time trying to correct underlying problems on your drawing, you'll save time by scratching that drawing and starting a new one with proper foundations. Yes, it's really true! It's easier to create a good drawing than it is to correct a bad drawing. I had to learn that the hard way.
I always wanted to see the HULK fighting an Elephant...Hah! Hah! The elephant's outmatched, for sure. And he looks worried. A full grown African Bull elephant can stand at 13 feet at the shoulder and weigh in at 6 tons of raw muscle-a more massive beast than T-Rex himself! But this is child's play for the Hulk. He's out to change this elephant's diapers!
There's a real sense of clashing here. Can you see why? We know the elephant was charging full speed due to the way his legs trail behind him. And the way the hulk leans into him, rather than away from him, as he makes contact with the green goliath suggests the Hulk is stronger. Drawings that are convincing are also DYNAMIC!
More Developed Pencils...
The Punisher hiding in a tree "sniper style (Guns and Vigiantalism not recommended for Real People in a Real World). Note how my pencils are getting "fleshed out" with more selected lines and added values and details. This is a worm's eye view and it poses certain difficulties that straight-on shots do not.
I was criticized by a fellow artist concerning this piece and how my anatomy was incorrect. I knew the criticism was unfounded as this particular drawing relied on a photo-reference. If you are forced to choose evidence over opinion-always side with evidence. This artist claimed the deltoid area looked incorrect due to the way the anterior deltoid mass raises up and bunches into a hardened knot. I tried to explain that too often comic artists see this static image of the human form in their heads always standing straight and never changing no matter what tasks they perform. This is unrealistic and only demonstrates the artist's naive (not stupid) appreciation of just how metamorphic, dynamic, and ever-changing the human form can be. Note how the Punisher's arm is upraised laterally. Try that move yourself and you will see your anterior deltoid muscle move to the locale you see here on the Punisher.
I was also once criticized by an editor who claimed this drawing of a man I did in a Punisher comic was incorrect because he had no neck. I asked him to look closer and note that there were two inescapable facts that made the neck virtually invisible: 1) this was an aerial shot (whenever you are looking on top of someone's head, their head mass will make their neck obscure) and, 2) this man was also wearing a parka for winter weather with the big fluffy collar. You wouldn't see his neck even if you were looking at him straight on.
Needless to say, if I were to follow this editor's advice, to give this man a visible neck, I would be have been forced forced to draw his neck as long as a giraffe's-NOT GOOD! I also pointed out to this editor that in any other drawing in my illustrated story you will find I draw necks just fine and especially when they are from a vantage point where you can actually see them. Do you think this won me some brownie points from this editor? Let's just say he never called me on another job.
I can't remember if it was Maslov or Piaget or another developmental psychologist who wrote about brain development and how you have to reach a certain stage to appreciate these ever changing dynamics. For example, when you ask a child to draw a railroad track, they will give you a flat aerial view where the tracks are equidistant from each other, or they will give you tracks at ground level and diminishing in size and off into the horizon until you can no longer see the breadth of the tracks.
If a child draws this angle...
...you can be certain they are early in their cognizant abilities to ascertain the dynamics of perspective.
On the other hand, most adults and some gifted children will give you this...
Can you see the analogy I'm giving? This is a gross example to a finer point: Perceptions are like opinions, everybody has one. And when it comes to draftsmanship, if not art, some opinions are more developed than others. When it comes to the scientific and representational appraisal of art some opinions are more accurate or representational while some are less accurate and depict a more fanciful or interpretive style or may be just simply naively drawn (depending specifically on what you're talking about). This rule doesn't so much apply to abstract works but to human anatomy and how closely your drawing matches up with known three-dimeensional information. When it comes to anatomical accuracy-I am NOT a postmodernist guru! So my point is, some people, and even artists, have a more subtle lack of understanding about anatomy, similar to the aforementioned perspective problem, but are quick to give critiques when they are not qualified to do so. So if you are criticised by anyone, consider who it's coming from, their experience, what they themselves produce, and their education. Their criticism may be wrong and if you take it to heart, you could end up drawing badly thinking it's the right way to draw and then carry that habit for as long as you live.
Am I saying that I never make mistakes? Of course not! I make plenty and you can read my many critiques of my own works here on my site. But never accept a critique on face value. People are human and their motivation for critquing your work may be less than sincere. You need to listen to what's being said and then refer back to reality; look at biology books, anatomy charts, photographs of the human form. Then match up real knowledge to that person's opinion to ascertain whether or not they are correct. If they are right, then make the appropriate changes to better your skills. There is no better teacher than nature-she's always right! Nature never has an opinion; she just has the facts!
And talk about mistakes, Superman's left knee-cap below is slightly dislocated. But is it so off that it warrants change? Deadlines can force us to overlook minor problems in the field of comic illustration. No drawing is perfect but rather, it is the percentages of the good qualities vs the bad qualities that determine if the drawing meets professional standards. If an editor likes you, your gross errors may be overlooked. If the editor doesn't like you, for whatever reason and even if your errors are minimal, you will be denied the job. That's just human nature and its why I recommend to any student to learn social skills as they count for far more than drawing skills to advance your career. George Lucas said the exact same thing!
Two heavy hitters, Thor and Superman. I'm a fan of them both but if we were to logically compare the powers of both Thor is headed for a big headache. Superman is so much stronger that for Thor to fight the man of steel would be comparable to me fighting Thor-it's no contest! Then again, there is an out for Thor here; Superman is allergic to magic, and Thor's powers are quite magical. It's the only card up his sleeve against the likes of Superman. By the way, drawing two combatants in close proximity with each other is some of the most challenging stuff -a real balancing act keeping things proportional and keeping contact of body parts convincing in their response to one another-a real scientific problem!
