The Dc Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics
by Klaus Janson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Klaus JansonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-06-01
ISBN: 0823010287
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Book Reviews of The Dc Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics
Book Review: Review of the DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics
Summary: 5 Stars
I was reading Klaus Jansen's book, the "DC Guide to Pencilling Comics" and the "DC Guide to Inking Comics", and really found them to be "must have" books, full of extremely useful information, on setting up art pages for comic books. One of the things the books say is to concentrate on one discipline or the other, but not both at the same time. Later on, after you've mastered both, then you can do both parts of it.
The author Klaus Jansen decribes how he goes about setting up his layouts for a comic book page. Of course, every artist works differently, and Klaus Jansen doesn't draw characters quite as large, or bold (using the "grid layout" for the panels)as Marvel and DC's legendary artists: Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, John Romita, or Sal Buscema. Today, the artists seem to cram as many panels per page as they can. Klaus Jansen was also the Inker on Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight" graphic novel. Klaus now does his own drawing and inking, as well as teaching comic book illustration.
Here is a very brief description of what's covered in this book:
About the comic book drawing phase:
The aspiring comic book artist (whether drawing or inking) need about 2 scenes of comic book pages, to submit as samples. Each scene should be about 2 or 3 pages of those comic book 11" x 17" pages. They are 2-ply or 3-ply smooth bristol pages. Normally the comic book companies supply the blank 11" x 17" pages.
But you can also buy them for [...]. (I've bought page packs from them before)
The method that the book author Klaus Jansen recommends is to start doing very rough layouts, or doing thick black marker sketches only, of what will go in each panel, on separate white or vellum paper. Saved the rough penciling for the next step. Then put these rough, thick marker drawings, and the blank comic book page over a lightboard and then rough-pencil the drawings onto the comic book page. This allow you to re-arrange or edit what you see. You'll want to make some room for word balloons. From here, you would start to do more cleaner drawings, and refine the details working from rough passes to finished passes on the pages.
Each comic book company works a little differently:
Marvel Comics artists don't work from finished comic book script pages. They get an outline only, and they work from that. The penciled-in art work is done next.
The author recommends being very dependable, by turning in the penciled-in pages (like every 3 pages), to the Editor, and not waiting until the whole 22-pages are completed. That way, the Editors can set things in motion, and pass them on to the Inker. Then the Letterers gets the pages after the Inking has been finished.
DC Comics will take photocopies of the rough penciled-in art pages, and use it as a guide to making the design of the word balloons. Then, the rough art pages are given over to the dept which does the word balloon. After the word balloons are put on the rough pages, the rough art is given over to the Inker, so that person can get on with his or her part.
Being aware of deadlines, and making regular contact with the Editor is very important.
Editors are the ones who can assign a new artist work. Another comic book artist can only recommend or introduce a new artist to an Editor, but the Editor assigns the work.
The Comic-Con conventions and other ones are a great place to bring samples and meet Editors.
It's important not to have an "attitude", and keep an open mind when talking to Editors and other Artists that you work with. Chances are the your early work will suck, and Klaus Jansen says not to bother to defend your work, not to explain it, and not to make excuses about it. Time is short, so the proper thing to do is just ask "what can I do, to make it better", and to accept constructive criticism.
Also, aspiring comic book artists should not write their own scripts, when drawing and submitting comic book page samples. If you can get an existing comic book issue script to work with, that would be best. (Some have been posted on the internet).
Klaus Jansen says that "there's a tendency for artists to write to their own strengths, and draw what they know". The Editors would notice this. Editors like to see how versatile the comic book artist is, and know if they can draw many things, whether it's characters, anatomy, settings, and objects. Quiet scenes or action scenes.
The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics
Summary of The Dc Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics
America?s leading comic book publisher brings its superstar creators and classic characters to the second in an authoritative series of books on how to create comics. The art of Klaus Janson has endured in the ever-changing comic book industry for over 30 years. Now this talented artist brings that experience to the most critical step of effective comic book storytelling: pencilling.Covering everything from anatomy to composition to page design, Janson details the methods for creating effective visual communication. Step by step, he analyzes and demonstrates surefire strategies for comic book pencilling that are informative and exciting. Using DC?s world-famous characters, he illustrates the importance of knowing the fundamentals of art and how best to use them.
The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics is packed with a wealth of tested techniques, practical advice, and professional secrets for the aspiring artist. It is a valuable resource for comic book, graphic novel, and storyboard artists everywhere.
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