Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

João Bosco is an Brazilian artist who has some of his work published in Nightwing # 135, 136 and 137 and Heroes for Hire v2 # 11, 12 and 13. He has provided two images to share for this post. Check out more of his work at http://boscoart.blogspot.com.

Green Lantern Sequential Work
Like the sequence and the flow of the story. A very nice piece.

Black Cat
You can never go wrong with a sexy Black Cat pin-up.

When some people think of graphic novels, they think of comics and balk at the thought of reading a “superhero comic“. Blog site pornokitsch provides a couple of great recommendations to get people into the medium who may not want to read the standard “superhero stops evil bad guy” plot. I agree with his picks (e.g. Fables / Kingdom Come / Death : The High Cost of Living) but would add a couple more to the list :

Pride of Baghdad – Brian K. Vaughan & Niko Henrichon
An amazing story about freedom with lions!

Bone – Jeff Smith
Epic masterpiece for those with the taste of high fantasy (or Tolkien fans looking for another Lord of the Rings story to sink their teeth into.)

Sin City – Frank Miller
The classic film noir graphic novel of a city with colourful and dangerous characters. The tough guy, the femme fatale, the innocent victim, all reside in Sin City with their own stories to tell.

Another Green Tea Ice-Cream from a sushi shop in Sydney’s northern suburbs. Except this time wafers instead of cornflakes were used and this version was topped with fresh strawberries. The ice-cream was home made and was very delicious!

This will be the first of many posts focused on comic writing (graphic novels). Comic writing is a very different art form from a short story, novel or even a movie script. Like all forms of writing, there are things that various people extol you should or shouldn’t do. Over the next few months, I will be covering various styles of scripts in panel to panel breakdowns. Today’s post will focus on narratives.

nar·ra·tive (noun)
1. A narrated account; a story.
2. The art, technique, or process of narrating.

What is a narrative?
In comic book terms, it’s the “voice” telling the story that’s not the dialogue. It can be an external narrative e.g. “The next day, our hero awoke with a splitting head” or an internal narrative e.g. “Waking up wasn’t easy with this splitting headache“.

How to write a good narrative?
Comic books are a very visual medium. Nearly everyone will say in this medium, “DON’T TELL! SHOW!“.

As such, using narratives to describe the scene “He was shocked to see a giant gorilla” is unnecessary. Describe the panel and let the artist do the work. e.g. “Panel 1 – Focus on Matt’s head. Look of shock and disbelief. Background scene is chaotic with bystanders looking on. Giant gorilla is crossing at the pedestrian crossing. Cars have stopped to watch spectacle.” If the artist has captured the panel well, the caption “He was shocked to see a giant gorilla” is redundant.

So . . if you can’t use narratives to describe the scene or what is happening, what should you use it for? There are different approaches but I’m really part of the less is more.

Narratives can be used to extend the story beyond what can be drawn on the panel. This can be used to capture the subject’s thoughts e.g. “I mustn’t let the evil bad guy know I’m hurting, have to keep looking tough and gritting my teeth” or further detail a particular scene e.g. “As Matt gazed upon the city, he recounted how he’s seen it change from a slum into what it is now“.

In the first case “must grit teeth“, the panel would show the subject acting tough but give an insight to exactly how’s he feeling and in the second example “slum“, although the panel would should a vibrant city, the writer can impart a little bit of history. In both cases extra information is used to enhance the storytelling by providing more information.

Homework
Aww . . damn . . how come we have homework to do? Well this is fun homework! Be sure to check out Straczynski’s writing coupled with John Romita Jnr’s artwork for an excellent example of how to tell a story without using narratives or any dialogue at all! One of my favorite issues!

Gamer chick and New York resident Heather Ryerson has provided two pieces to showcase her work. Love the manga influences in the work especially the big eyes! Her colouring in both pieces are great although very different, with the first a darker style in the moon glow and the second much softer as though in a “dream-like” sequence.

Showcase 1 :

Showcase 2 :

How did you get the name Wassy?

It’s a nickname my husband gave me way back in high school when we were dating and has stuck since then.

Thanks! I just had to know. So how did you get into the artistic field?

I’ve always been into studying and creating art for as long as I can remember. But after leaving high school, pursuing art as a career didn’t really enter my mind. I tried out liberal arts, psychology, and human services during several years of college. Nothing seemed to fit. During this time I kept producing artwork as a hobby and eventually started doing commissions because I was getting so many requests. I FINALLY had a “duh” moment and realized I was truly happiest when creating pieces for others, so decided to seriously pursue illustration as a career.

That’s fantastic! It’s always great when you have the moment of clarity in knowing what you want to do as a career. What happened next?

I had a two-year setback when I became something of a medical mystery and developed macular degeneration, first in my left and then right eye. I was (and still am) incredibly fortunate to be under the care of an amazing retinal specialist who was able to save most of my vision. While I have a completely blind spot and an area of distorted vision, I’ve learned how to work with my vision changes. I have a good prognosis now and my doctor is also a real encouragement.

Wow, I’m glad you didn’t give up and kept going with it! So besides illustrating, what do you do for fun?

I love gaming (especially RPGs), movies, comics, and anime. Another large passion of mine is music, specifically progressive rock/metal. It’s REALLY hard for me to name a single favorite band… but I guess my holy trinity would be Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Opeth. If a band I like is anywhere in the northeast, you’ll definitely catch me headbanging in the audience! I am a concert ADDICT. I was able to meet Dream Theater and give them some artwork last May.

How would you describe your work? Any artistic influences?

I’m my harshest critic by far, so sometimes when I describe my work, it contains many expletives. But otherwise I’d describe it as a blend between American comic styles with definite anime/manga influences. I love exaggerated proportions/features. Chris Bachalo is one of my biggest influences. I’m also a very large fan of CLAMP work with their liquidy, flowing style and extreme attention to tiny details. I do also like to try styles I’ve never tried before and experiment in as many mediums as I can. A few other of my faves would be Adam Hughes, Yoshitaka Amano and Brian Froud.

Artistically . . what do you enjoy doing? Sequential work? Pin-ups?

My artistic self-indulgence is pin-ups. I LOVE pin-ups. LOVE THEM. I’ll soon be starting a personal project featuring courtesans of all different regions/time periods done as pin-ups. I can pin-up and run wild with outfits! I would really REALLY love to do art for Playboy one day. They showcase some truly awesome talent for interesting pieces.

Thanks for your time! Heather was nice enough to provide a quick step by step guide for an inked archer. I mentioned a more “action” pose of a female archer shooting off some arrows. Check it out at the end of this post.

For more information check out her site :
http://www.wassyart.com

She’s current open for commissions :
http://www.wassyart.com/commissions.php

Sketches to establish pose:

Detailed sketch on selected pose :

Inked Archer :

In support of the March of Dimes, Troy Parke will be attending the Sports card / Collectible show at the Tacoma Mall Days Inn in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday, March 7, 2009.

The below sketch card will be donated. In addition Troy will be sketching for fans from 10am – 5pm with all proceeds benefiting the March of Dimes.

For more information on the charity:
http://marchforbabies.org/

In support of the March of Dimes, Troy Parke will be attending the Sports card / Collectible show at the Tacoma Mall Days Inn in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday, March 7, 2009.

The below sketch card will be donated. In addition Troy will be sketching for fans from 10am – 5pm with all proceeds benefiting the March of Dimes.

For more information on the charity:
http://marchforbabies.org/

In support of the March of Dimes, Troy Parke will be attending the Sports card / Collectible show at the Tacoma Mall Days Inn in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday, March 7, 2009.

The below sketch card will be donated. In addition Troy will be sketching for fans from 10am – 5pm with all proceeds benefiting the March of Dimes.

For more information on the charity:
http://marchforbabies.org/

Jarrod a good friend of mine, has allowed me to post some of his life drawing work. His work is impressive to say the least.

The shading and how certain parts of the face is illuminated and the shadows gives it real depth.

I’m especially fond of his hand detail, it’s very difficult to draw hands but I think he’s really got it in this sketch.

A charcoal sketch of a woman’s back.
The lines are very bold and captures her curves well.

Sometime last year I posted a photo of a Green Tea Cappucino with heart design on the froth. On a recent visit I noticed the design had been changed to flowers. Still tastes great!

Troy Parke :
Also previous featured artist Troy Parke will be at the Sports Cards / Collectibles Show at the Tacoma, WA Days Inn on March 7 and 8. Be sure to drop by if you are in the area.