David Nakayama says, “When it comes to style, I’m sort of a weird
case. I’m constantly playing with different styles – traditional comic
line art, photoreal painting, bold graphic shapes – always trying to
find the perfect custom look for each project I’m working on.” And it’s
on the cover of comics that this look really has to come together.
“As a cover artist,” says Nakayama, “I use colour in a few different
ways. For one, colour can help with the separation of elements in
your image, controlling how clearly it ‘reads’ for the viewer. Secondly,
colour can establish an emotional tone. So red conveys heat, anger,
and rolling motion, while cooler hues might give a sense of placidity
or sadness. Lastly, colour helps to focus attention. For example, I like
to save the brightest, most saturated colours for the most important
area of the image. If surrounded by duller, less intense colours, the
viewer’s eye will naturally go right there... it’s rare these days to have
any text on the cover other than the logo. So it’s sometimes possible
to stand out simply by using a text element that’s integrated into the
art. That’s always fun. In the case of interior panel art, I personally
prefer to use text as a supporting device and let the art itself do most
of the heavy lifting. Sometimes, a scene with no text at all can speak
the loudest.”
Daniel de Sosa admits: “I used to rely on colour to hide weak
drawings and paper over cracks, but now I just use it to accentuate a
piece. I mostly create work in black and white now, adding colour
overlays in via Photoshop only towards the end of working on a
piece. My comics improved a lot when I stopped using colour and
focused only on creating pages in black and white, and I recommend
this to all cartoonists who are just starting out. A piece should stand
on its own without colour. My stance on colour also has to do with
the fact that I self-publish most of my work, and printing in black and
white costs a fraction of the cost that printing in full colour does.
Basically, my view is if you are going to take the time to colour
something, make it count.”
The most challenging project Svetlana
Chmakova has worked on was “the manga
adaptation of James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard.
Not only because I had to fit an entire prose book
per just one manga volume, but also because the
settings were much more varied and different
than what I would usually write for myself. This
was a great opportunity for artistic growth,
because I was challenged to draw things I
normally would avoid!”
But even if Chmakova is working on her own
project, the feedback of others is vital: “I start
writing with concept sketches and snippets of
dialogue, which I then shape and type up into a
detailed script, complete with page breaks and
scene descriptions. I then sketch the script out as
storyboards/rough page layouts, so that I can get
a feel for the visual flow of the story. I usually
adjust the script a lot at this point, because what
looks good in the script may not necessarily
work as well visually. Once I am happy with my
storyboard, I send it to my editor for feedback,
and make further story adjustments as needed.”© David Nakayama© Daniel de Sosa© Svetlana Chmakova- COVER YOURSELF
- MAKE COLOUR COUNT
17. COLLABORATE
19. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
“Before starting the comic,” says Daniel de Sosa, “it’s good to have a model sheet
worked out, where you draw the character from different angles, and work out
various facial expressions. When designing a new character, I make sure to practise
drawing them over and over in my sketchbook until I can get them consistent and
have a good feel for showing their personality. These model sheets are also useful
to compare character sizes and heights so that it stays consistent. Overall though, it
is best not to worry too much about this. Storytelling trumps all, and the more you
draw your character the more consistent they will become until eventually it will
become second nature to you. Just look at Homer Simpson in the first episodes of
The Simpsons, to how he appears today. He looks very, very different, but everyone
still knows it’s the same character.”
TIPS FOR COMIC ARTISTS