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Create ComiC & manga art in PhotoshoP, Manga studio 5, sketchuP and more!

IFZ13 2013 PRINTED IN THE UK £7.99

Custom brusheshi-res psds and more

hours ofvideo tutorials

CharaCter artMaster the pro techniques to paint a Marvel

heroine, with manga artist Stanley Lau!

Dynamic Poses

comic rules

Draw heroes that swing off the page!

Sharpen up on foreshortening

Create amazing comic environmentsGive your comic heroines personalityUse perspective in your manga artDesign a hero with a strong silhouette

Manga skillsUse layer techniques to colour your manga art

photoshop

learn to…

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Creating comic and manga art is a fantastic way to hone your digital art skills. Whether you want

to learn how to draw anatomy, ink manga characters, compose environments or paint

expressive figures, mastering the fundamentals of comic art will improve your techniques

and skills as an artist.Inside this special issue of ImagineFX you will discover how to refine your line art with expert

artists including Stanley Lau, colour and ink using the latest digital software with Chester Ocampo

and learn how to mix 3D software techniques with 2D in order to plan your comic page environments

with 2000 AD’s Dylan Teague.If you want more inspiration, then we take a

look at DC’s two most iconic characters, Wonder Woman and Superman. We catch up

with artists past and present to discover why the designs of these comic legends are as relevant

today as they have always been.From inspirational art to insightful tutorials, Comic Artist is your ultimate art resource!

Ian Dean, [email protected]

WELCOME…

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| Editor’s Letter |

Comic Artist is a special edition of ImagineFX, the only

magazine dedicated to fantasy and sci-fi art. Our aim is to help artists to improve both their

traditional and digital art skills.

Visit www.imaginefx.com to find out more!

IFZ13.intro.indd 5 8/28/13 2:20 PM

The secret to Simone’s success is plain old hard work. Simone focuses a huge amount of energy on the subtleties of the shading

in his panels. In true Italian style, the Tuscany-based illustrator is all about chiaroscuro. “Occasionally, I also use pencils but 80 to 90 per cent of the time I use watercolour or acrylic, and I add a lot of water to the acrylics to use them as though they were watercolours,” he says in impeccable English, but with a strong Italian accent and a lot of passion. “Only seldom do I redefine, or clean up my shading with pencil. I’ll use a very soft pencil such as a 3, 4 or 5B.”

Simone has worked exclusively with Marvel since 2006, predominantly as a

cover artist, including various regular titles and mini-series starring the likes of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain America, Daredevil, the X-Men and Iron Man. He even co-created Romulus, a new villain for Wolverine to face.

However, his first break in US comics came after he went to New York to find work. Living in Brooklyn, Simone took the subway to Manhattan day after day

to show comic editors his portfolio. Just days before returning to Italy, his efforts were rewarded and he landed the gig on Grant Morrison’s Shining Knight mini-series for DC. “I think that was – and still is – the key moment in my entire career,” says Simone.

“It gave me the chance to work with one of the best writers, if not the best right now, in the comic book industry, from day one,” he continues. “That was a big challenge, but the biggest challenge back then was to be able to meet deadlines – that crazy fast pace that the American comic book market requires you to do.”www.simonebianchi.com

ARTIST INSIGHTGET INSPIRED

“One of the artists

whose work really

inspired me a lot

in trying to come

up with my vision

of Asgard was

Antoni Gaudi, the

Spanish architect.

His buildings were

a major inspiration

for me in coming

up with my own

vision of Asgard.”

“After a day’s work, I wash, and all those colours drip from my hands. It just feels great.”

SIMONEBIANCHI

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| Simone Bianchi |

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HOW TO USE FORESHORTENING

IN YOUR ART

PHOTOSHOP

Creating a dynamic and engaging character pose can seem either really easy or very complicated depending on how you choose to see it. For

me, it’s quite simple once I’ve broken it down into a process of steps.

There are an infinite amount of poses you can use for your character and it may seem impossible to settle on just one. However, look for a deeper understanding of the character’s personality and how this may affect their body language. I try to imagine what the motivation is for the pose, and how I can enrich that story. Sometimes it’s something as subtle as

During the initial layouts, I have a series of cues I try to hit for each thumbnail that will help in creating my final pose. For example, twisting the torso will usually convey movement. In this workshop, I’ll be drawing a portrait of Marvel’s X-23 using some of these dynamic cues and executing them in a simple step-by-step process.

Alvin made his mark in the world of comics creating art for Marvel, DC, Image and Udon Comics. He’s since moved into illustration for video games and multimedia, and teaches for Gnomon Workshop and Schoolism.www.alvinleeart.com

changing the direction of the eyes, or altering the expression of their hands. The devil’s in the details, and every aspect will strengthen your case.

Before getting started, I need to consider the dimensions of the image I’m working with. Being portrait or landscape greatly affects the overall pose. General guidelines in photography such as the ‘Rule of thirds’ also play a part in where the head may be in my layout.

Covering basic concepts in posing, foreshortening and finishes, ALVIN LEE shows you how he draws and paints a dynamic comic book character

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Workshops

Turn over to see how Alvin uses foreshortening in a dynamic pose…

VIDEO WORKSHOPON THE DISC

ON THE DISCWatch Alvin paint plus find his

process images and final artwork.

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Photoshop | Use foreshortening in your art

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WorkshopsVIDEO

WORKSHOPON THE DISC

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Several types of male characters populate the anime and manga universe. They range from the archetypal males seen in mainstream works to

the more complex and nuanced males of cult hits. One way to think about creating a male manga character is: imagine he has a masculinity-femininity slider (similar to Character Creation in a JRPG) not only for physical appearance, but personality too. Traditional male manga physical features such as ‘defined musculature’ can be combined with traditional female

costume design, and colour palette. For this illustration, I decide to go with an early-20s futuristic swordsman who can summon a holographic battle aura for his special attacks. He’s slim yet muscular, young but well-trained, and a little cocky. I have a rough back story for him in my head, and that’s enough to get started...

Chester Ocampo is a freelance illustrator based in Manila. True to his zodiac sign, he is quite the hermit crab, albeit with a multimedia entertainment shell. He wishes to rejoin civilization one of these days!chesterocampo.deviantart.com

personality traits like ‘nurturing’; the more unlikely the combination, the more atypical the character.

As for sci-fi elements, this is indicated through the character’s technology – is he a mecha pilot, a time-travelling warrior, a cyborg chef? Gadgets, powers, and special effects express the kind of science fiction story the character is involved in.

Unlike a full-length story that shows how a character behaves, speaks, thinks, and grows, the character’s heroism in a standalone pin-up illustration is implied through his facial expression, pose,

Leading comic and manga artist CHESTER OCAMPO reveals how he painted this hi-tech, special effects-laden action hero pin-up

DESIGN A MALE MANGA HERO

PHOTOSHOP

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Photoshop | Design a male manga hero

Turn over to see how Chester paints a futuristic hero…

ON THE DISCWatch Chester as he

paints his sci-fi hero

on the video, plus

find his custom brushes

and art on the disc.

IFZ13.tut_ocampo.indd 71 8/29/13 10:57 AM

DRAWINGDYNAMIC POSES

PHOTOSHOP

Turn over to see how Dave creates an energetic image…

Wanting a dynamic and expressive image of Spider-Man, DAVE BARDIN creates a pose where the fun and feeling of Spidey’s character explodes off the page

Creating a dynamic pose for your characters is essential for breathing life into your illustrations. We all have our own unique way of standing,

sitting, walking, running and jumping. The characters you draw are no different.

The way a character moves and acts on the page can tell us everything we need to know about them with just a few lines. It’s

imperative that those lines look fluid, loose and natural. Each and every character that you draw has their own thoughts and feelings, and those emotions should be implied not just by the expression on their face but by their body language as well. This is why being able to create an interesting pose is important for drawing strong characters on the page.

In this workshop I will show you how to think through a pose making it exciting, and create an energetic illustration of Spider-Man.

Dave is a freelance illustrator, comic book and storyboard artist. His work has featured on many comic and pop culture websites. He has also done storyboarding work for television and music videos. www.davebardin.com

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WorkshopsVIDEO

WORKSHOPON THE DISC

ON THE DISCWatch Dave as he

creates his image of

Spider-Man and find his

brushes and process

images on your disc.

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Photoshop | Drawing dynamic poses

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ON YOUR DISCTo support our tutorials, your disc includes a wealth of resources to aid your creative

process. From how-to videos to step-by-step tutorial images, you’ll find this disc essential

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE...

Video tutorialsFollow artists’ tutorials with their video walkthroughs, including Stanley Lau showing you how to improve your workflow, Paco Rico Torres revealing how to create an original superhero and PJ Holden sharing his techniques for creating a greywash comic splash page.

Process imagesEvery tutorial in the issue is backed by the artists’ original tutorial images, sketches, WIPs and process images.

Final artworkEach tutorial’s final art is collected on the disc to study and explore. There’s no better way to uncover how an artist works than examining their work.

Custom brushesEmulate the style of our artists and develop your art using these brushes.

VIDEO TUTORIALS

ON THE DISC

114

| Disc contents |

Your CD has been thoroughly scanned and

tested at all stages of its production, but we

still recommend you run a virus checker and

have an up-to-date backup of your hard disk.

Future Publishing does not accept

responsibility for any disruption, damage and/

or loss to your data or computer system that

may occur while using this disc or the

programs and data on it. In the unlikely event

of your disc being defective, please email our

support team at [email protected] for

further assistance. If you would prefer to talk

to a member of our reader support team in

person you are invited to call +44 (0) 1225

822743. If you have any comments about the

software we include, or you have suggestions

for software you would like to see in the

future, please email Scott Ewart at scott.

[email protected].

EDITORIAL IAN DEAN [email protected]

PAUL TYSALL ART EDITOR

CATHERINE HOOD PRODUCTION EDITOR

SIMON ARBLASTER CD EDITOR

CONTRIBUTIONSStanley Lau, Alvin Lee, PJ Holden, Tim Mcburnie, Chester Ocampo, Saejin Oh, James Ghio, Dave Bardin, Dylan Teague, Kris Anka, Cris Delara, Paco Rico Torres, Simone Bianchi, Xephonia, Olivia, Mark Schultz, Mike Mayhew, Genzoman, Elsevilla, Patipat Asavasena, Dan Vincent, Richard Hood, Darren Phillips

CONTACT USPOST ImagineFX Presents, Future Publishing Ltd, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, BA1 2BW, UKPHONE +44 (0) 1225 442244EMAIL [email protected] WEB www.imaginefx.comTWITTER: @imaginefx FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/imaginefxCD PROBLEMS +44 (0) 1225 822743 [email protected]

SENIOR CREATIVES DAN OLIVER editor-in-chief, digital design

PAUL NEWMAN senior editor STEVE GOTOBED group art director – creative & techROBIN ABBOTT creative director JIM DOUGLAS editorial director

ADVERTISING +44 (0) 207 0424124CHARLIE SAID advertising sales [email protected]

JAS RAI sales [email protected]

MARKETINGPHILIPPA NEWMAN group marketing managerphilippa.newman@futurenet,com

CIRCULATIONJANINE GRAHAM trade marketing executive

RICHARD JEFFERIES international account manager

PRINT & PRODUCTIONSTEPHANIE SMITH production co-ordinator

MARK CONSTANCE production manager

NOLA COKELY ad production manager

NATHAN DREWETT ad production co-ordinator

MICHELLE ROGERS operational purchasing manager

LICENSINGREGINA ERAK senior licensing & syndication manager

FUTURE PUBLISHING LIMITEDDECLAN GOUGH publisher

NIAL FERGUSON group publishing director

MARK WOOD chief executive

Printed in the UK by William Gibbons

Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0) 207 429 4000

We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from well managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. Future Publishing and its paper suppliers have been independently certified in accordance with the rules of the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).

© 2013 Future Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. The registered offi ce of Future Publishing Limited is at Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. All information contained in this magazine is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this magazine. If you submit unsolicited material to us, you automatically grant Future a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in all editions of the magazine, including licensed editions worldwide and in any physical or digital format throughout the world. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for loss or damage.

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