Workshops
3
Worked-up illustration
The thumbnail is enlarged and traced onto
the illustration board with a lightbox. I decided to have
the soldier’s head explode through the border in the
first panel, to give the kick maximum impact. I also
placed the female character in front of the borders on
the last panel to keep the foreground/middleground/
background consistent, since I had the male character
behind her break the border.2
Thumbnail layout
Small layouts, or thumbnails, are drawn in sets
of four on sheets of 8x11-inch typing paper that I’ve
quartered to the proportions of the final drawing board.
After studying the sketches I made on the script page,
I meditate and visualise the best angles to ‘shoot’ each
scene, floating the camera around the action in my head,
and decide how to arrange the panels in the most
dynamic and readable way possible.1
Panel by panel sketches
I print out the script and roughly sketch out the
action in each scene as plainly as possible right on the
page. Nothing fancy. No crazy angles. This is a great
way to work out poses, spatial relationships, and the
progression of action from panel to panel.FROM SCRIPT TO ILLUSTRATION BOARD
Lewis takes the writer’s draft of a page in Bloodshot and turns it into fully rendered artwork10
ACTING AIDS
A good visual storyteller is
adept at conveying character intent
and emotions through their acting.
Pay attention to body language
and facial expressions. Be careful,
though. There’s a fine balance
between being too dramatic and
unintentionally comical, and too
dull or flat. A full-length mirror set
up next to your drawing desk, a
hand mirror, and a digital camera
are essential aids for capturing the
right gesture and expression.9
ZOOMING IN
AND OUT AGAIN
This page depicts an intimate scene
between two characters. I opted to
go with a simple grid panel layout
and kept the camera position
relatively stationary, instead creating
visual interest and enhancing the
drama by zooming in and out on
the action inside the borders.