Comic Artist - Volume 3 2016

PAINT HELLBOY

CARICATURE ART

Jean-Baptiste Monge shares his thought process for recreating a

comic classic, with a younger, cuter version of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy

A

s a traditional illustrator I

look on software as a tool

• a powerful one that offers
  countless possibilities in
  comparison to traditional
  media. The main advantage is simplicity
  of use and the option to undo mistakes at
  any moment without the fear of ruining
  your illustration. It’s simpler than oil,
  watercolour or acrylic paints, because
  you can step back. The only problem is
  knowing when to stop.

Like any medium, it has traps. You can

easily lose yourself in useless details and

quickly bury your idea. But you have

much more control over several aspects

of painting, including the composition

and what your picture is telling you,

which are by far the most important

points, before dealing with the detail.

In Photoshop, I have reduced the

selection of tools I use. My settings are

quite simple. Even though I have lots of

brushes I usually use five of them and

Jean-Baptiste

Monge

LOCATION: Canada

Jean-Baptiste

is an illustrator

and 2D and

3D character

designer

known for his goblin

and fairy artwork. He

divides his time between

his self-publishing

projects and different

animation studios.

http://www.jbmonge.com

the Smudge tool, which I prefer to the

Mixer Brush tool. I use masks, selections

and gradients a lot and, of course,

blending modes. I save often and

regularly f latten my layers to keep

the software running properly.

Recreating Hellboy, I’ll approach the

colour and light and make a volume

render in almost the same way I would do

using traditional methods, just quicker.

I’ll show you how to create an iconic

character on a simple background.

1

FIND THE IDEA

Hellboy has a lot of personality. To set the mood, I

sketch him in various poses from different angles. I doodle a

lot, so I always have my notebook and sheets of paper near

me, helping me quickly draw initial ideas for illustrations –

digital or traditional. This time, around 10 or so little sketches

give me enough to turn around an idea.

2

COMPOSITION AND CLEANING

A good picture tells a story. This is the starting point.

Colour, light and atmosphere all help, but the drawing and

composition are the base of your structure, so don’t neglect

them. I clean up the paper sketch, then I scan it at 300dpi.

Next, I fix a few imperfections in Photoshop.

PHOTOSHOP

GET YOUR

RESOURCES

SEE PAGE 146

PRO SECRETS

MANAGE

YOUR LAYERS

If you work with lots

of layers, organise

them using folders.

Take time to name

them clearly. This will

save you a lot of time

in the long run.

VIDEO

AVAILABLE

In depth | Hellboy caricature