Here are some pages from my comic/webcomic project "The Outworlder" (he's the guy in black). I know my cityscape needs a lot of work. Any other feedback would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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Of course, there's nothing magic about computer lettering: if used poorly, all it does is allow bad lettering to be done more quickly. To get an idea about what makes for good or bad lettering, I'd recommend some great tutorials from the following websites:
Balloon Tales, the free resource forum of the Comicraft lettering studio (which also sells lettering fonts). They have a glossary of lettering terms, a guide to the process of lettering, and a lot of computer tips on how to create specific lettering effects.
"Comic Book Grammar and Tradition", an article by the Blambot.com lettering studio. The site also has dozens of free lettering fonts for download, as well as fonts for sale.
Ralph Ellis Miley said:
@ Michael- Don't hand letter your comics. There are so many programs that provide word ballons, letter fonts, etc. Contact Kevin Yong and he can direct you to those programs.
Many thanks to Buzz, Alec, Steve, and Kevin for making this such a thought provoking fourm. I have definitely enjoyed it. Having known all of you, I know that you are men of God and I know the spirit in which you share with one another. All of you are of a humble heart and God gives grace to the humble. And special thanks to Michael, not only in his service to our country, but also the humble spirit he has shown in receiving our comments, critiques, and suggestions.
My apologies to you if anything I said came across as rude or disrespectful, because that certainly was not my intent. Sometimes inflections can be read into written words that are not there. I do appreciate that someone of your background is willing to work with those with a desire to learn, even if I don't always agree with your methods.
Calvary Comics said:
Kevin Yong said:
To the pros and teachers- I've been teaching art for 30 years to secondary school children. Many of my students are not naturally talented. I can't tell you need to improve and point out the problem and leave them to their own devices. I provide instruction directed at the different modes of learning. It may be verbal, tactile, or visual. So, when we get a request for advice, no matter what the talent, we should not only give critique, but also give instruction. The students in my class are not all artists, but I do provide instruction, no matter the talent level. If one wanted to go to art school, we would put together a portfolio and send it in. I had a student who had very little talent, but loved art. I took her in my advanced class and she flourished. I didn't have the heart to tell she had no talent, but she loved to draw and she improved. Then I have had some very talented artists who were lazy and I didn't take them in my advanced class. As a teacher, it is my job to provide instruction. The student's grades range from A to Fail. To offer realistic critique and not instruction is not being a teacher, but a critic. Critics are not required to provide instruction, but to critique. Those who are teachers, they provide instruction.
I can only speak for myself, Steve. I never advised any of these men (cited above) who preceded me in this life. Obviously, they had abundant talent, and proved their detractors wrong. As for my personal experience, in eighteen years of teaching college art, as well as eleven years actively involved with Christian comics "scene," I have not seen any subpar talents suddenly (or slowly) rise to professional level. There have been modest improvements in some cases, yes, but in the end, still mediocrity. I'd love to see the contrary happen, and desire to the best for my students, my peers, and for you. But in the Christian comics scene I have seen a lot of "zeal, but not according to knowledge," and many have ended up getting very hurt, bitter, even blaming God, because (in part) no one told them like it is. No one gave honest counsel---only 'positive' perks. I don't want to be a part of 'passing the buck' in that regard. A good critic doesn't ignore errors and just give advice on what books to read, etc. That's an incomplete picture. Many budding artists don't even know what questions to ask, and cannot see their work objectively. I'm thankful for the counsel of older, wiser mentors that I've had in years past, and am willing to impart some of the same, as time permits, to our siblings here who ask for critiques.
Kind regards in Christ Jesus,
Alec
Like everyone has already said, practice practice practice... and especially practice drawing non-comic book characters. Getting a feel for "regular" human poses and anatomy provides the groundwork to build on when creating the more exaggerated work of superhero characters.
For background elements (cars, guns, buildings, other items), I've heard of at least one professional artist who goes beyond just having stock photos as references and instead keeps a collection of detailed toys and model kits near his drawing board. That way, when he needs to know how a motorcycle looks when tilting at a 45 degree angle on a sharp turn, he is able to simply position the model and see the perspective for himself as something tangible rather than simply guessed at. It's the same premise as those articulated wooden mannequins to help artists visualize poses from multiple perspectives.
Take the advice for what it's worth, seeing as how my own professional credits are in writing, lettering and post-production. (I was the kid who grew up on the opposite side of this discussion we're having now. That is, everyone in my art classes always told me I had raw "talent", and yet I knew inside that I lacked the temperament to do all the years of training it would take to bring it to a professional level. So I ended up following a career path that allowed me to express my creativity in ways other than drawing and painting, and God has blessed it.)
And yet, despite those flaws, somehow the author of Twilight still gets published. There's no artistic justice in the world, I tells ya. ;)
Not to put words in Steve's mouth, but I think his concern isn't that we should sugar-coat our critiques of actual flaws in an amateur artist's current work, but rather that we shouldn't presume to tell the amateur artist that he has no future potential. I agree with your quoted example: not all aspiring artists have the natural talent to be great, but they can learn to be better.
We all just need to be clear about what feedback we're asking for, and realistic about what is required to improve. (Be it an improvement from amateur to professional, or merely from untrained amateur to better amateur.)
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