Question
Can you help me
depict a comic-book
explosion with more
force and impact?
Costas Borgas, US
Answer
PJ replies
Ideally you want an explosion
to dominate the panel or page
that you’re drawing, and
typically the explosion panel
will be the largest on a page. Picking a zero
point for the explosion (the point from
which an explosion radiates outwards)
on the bottom of the panel means you
can have a large amount of space to show
the energies bursting out. I’ll radiate blast
waves of power out from the zero point.
These are my primary forces, helping me get
a sense of the broad shape of the explosion.
I’ll add random arcs of debris shooting
out beyond the limits of the blast. The arc
gives the impression of movement and,
importantly, shows the impact of gravity.
Despite inking traditionally, I will often use
the Focus Ruler in Manga Studio to rapidly
add focus lines to a drawing.
SOUND EFFECT LETTERING
With sound effects the letter shapes can be more
important than the words. Here the explosion is
preceded by the crackle from an energy weapon.
I lettered the KA as sharp text, and THOOM!
as contrasting styles to create visual interest.Here I’ve added a little
white digital splatter to
add texture to the blast,
and enhance the feel of
a explosion taking place
on the water.Expert advice | Your questions answered
Artist’s
secretBehind these primary forces I’ll add
further zigzags of blast forces, weaved
together more tightly. These secondary
forces will help give a bit of dimensionality
to the explosion. I’ll start detailing here
any clouds of ash that the explosion may
be throwing off, too. Remember that
everything is radiating out of the zero
point. Usually I’ll ink the forces with a pen
so the details can be as tight as possible –
the tighter these forces appear, the larger
the sense of scale.
Finally, once I’ve done all this, I’ll
add some focus lines drawn from the
panel borders pointing towards the blast
radius. This will help make the explosion
appear brighter.