Hulk vs. Batman in the "Birthday Boy Bash"

This Saturday was Nathan's 2nd birthday party. It was quite exciting. The Hulk and Batman showed up.

Studies after the Masters

This is a very special sketchbook. Twenty-one years ago, it was a gift to me from my cooperating teacher, Dana Twigg. He illustrated the frontispiece with cartoon drawings of me. Then he had the students and teachers in the school sign it and write any words of wisdom they had for me. It was a large format hardcover sketchbook -- the nicest I'd ever had.

What would I put in it? I have a bad habit of starting sketchbooks and ripping pages out of it for whatever reason. I didn't want to do that with this one. Then I recalled some advice from one of my professors, Dale Witherow. My rendering was okay, but my compositions were weak. He suggested keeping a sketchbook of studies from the masters to analyze how they put pictures together. That's what I decided to do. I've worked in it on and off since then.
I also enjoy collecting quotes of artists. Usually, on the same page as a study I'll include something the artist said.

The Mighty Andar -- Stranger in a Strange Land

One of my favorite artist blogs is the Gurney Journey, by artist James Gurney. He's currently holding a challenge he calls Art by Committee. He posts a random selection of a science fiction novel and asks any willing artists to interpret it visually.

This week's challenge is to illustrate this scene.

"Stone emitted a kind of bark -- ha! -- and showed his teeth again."

We have no idea what novel it came from or anything else about the story. Here's my submission:
I guess this is my take on Planet Hulk or Prisonbreak. I don't know. This could be the beginning of a story though. That's why I like these types of challenges. They suggest new directions to go with my comics I wouldn't have considered.

It's Hammer Time! -- Comic Covers Do-Overs

I'm starting a new series of drawings that, until I can think of a better name, I call Comic Covers Do-Overs. Basically, what I do is take a comic cover that inspires me and that I find striking in some way. As I copy it I analyze the composition and the conventions of the genre, hoping I can absorb them into my subconscious and use them some day. I redraw the cover in my own goofy style.

I like comics of all types, but I miss something that comics had when I was a kid. Yes, they were hokey and over the top, but many of the artists and writers were willing to not take themselves too seriously and wrote and drew with their tongue firmly in cheek. I'm having a good time drawing these and I'm finding that it helps me get out of a rut when it's tough to get started on a new project.

Who Says that Artists Never Copy?

Picasso's copy of a Velasquez painting

Lichtenstein's copy of a Picasso painting

Artists never copy, right? Not so fast. Let's look at some quotes from some famous artists:

"An artist should not be allowed to draw so much as a radish without the constant habit of copying the old masters." - Degas.

Renoir also had great admiration for the master artists of previous generations and made copies of their work throughout his career.

"When we look at the work of the old masters, we have nothing to congratulate ourselves on. What marvelous craftsmen they were! They knew their job; that's the whole secret. Painting isn't dreaming; it's primary a manual drill and one has to be a good workman." - Renoir

Now certainly they weren't recommending that we copy someone's work and try to pass it off as our own, but I think the way art is taught in our time, it leaves out the benefits that can be gained from making studies like these artists did.

There seems to be two kinds of copying that great artists of the past recommended.

1. Copying to learn, as is described above, and

2. Copying to find your style. I think this is what Picasso meant when he said,

"What does it mean for a painter to paint in the manner of So-and-So or to actually imitate someone else? What's wrong with that? On the contrary, it's a good idea. You should constantly try to paint like someone else. But the thing is, you can't! You would like to. You try. But it turns out to be a botch...And at the very moment you make a botch of it that you're yourself."
-Picasso (Parmelin, Picasso: The Artist and His Model, and other Recent Works,
1965, p. 43)

When we do try to copy works by others, we see something distinctively different in our own that keeps cropping up. It's like something is pulling you away. This could be a revelation of individual style. Picasso was saying, pay attention to those things and run with it.

The PH Scale in Cartoons

Marissa just got finished with a masterpiece of a project for her 8th grade Science class. Her assignment was to make a poster illustrating the PH Scale. This makes these great little manga style characters. This is just a small piece of it, showing familiar items on the scale including (5) acid rain and coffee, (6) milk and urine, and (7) pure water. Great job, Marissa!

Comics in Class

One of my co-workers gave me a copy of the April 25 Time Magazine for Kids. The cover story is on the "Power of Comics" and asks the question, "Can cartoons turn kids into superreaders?" The whole story can be read online here.

This month's issue of Instructor has an article about comics as well. They recommend a comics lesson as the last lesson of the year -- with a challenge to students to create a comic over the summer. Here's a quote from the article about why comics in the classroom is such a great idea:

Moreover, students known for behavior problems during typical reading and
writing activities were the most engaged during comic book lessons. “Suddenly
these kids became leaders,” says Bitz. “They collaborated and started to work
together to become part of education, whereas before they were shut out.”
Creating comic books is an opportunity for kids who struggle with reading to
excel because, says Bitz, “it’s not about speed. It’s about the story and about
how creative you can be.”