Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

Brooklyn born Frank A. Kadar currently lives in Englewood, NJ with his 8 year old Daschund. There are two pieces of work he’s showcasing to illustrate his pencils and inking techniques.

Pencil work of Black Cat

I like the feel of this piece! Frank did a great job capturing the subject as well as the wind rushing through her hair. Love the attention on the subject as well as on the background.

Pencil and inks of Phoenix

Similar to the first piece, you can see the time and effort Frank has put in to show all the details especially with the background.

When did you first get into comics?

My dad bought me my first Spider-man comic and I fell in love with comics ever since. I can remember starting to draw, more like doodle, at the age of 5. After I graduated from high school, I went to the Joe Kubert School of cartoon and graphic art. It was the best 3 years I had in any school. I was taught by the best, including from the master Joe Kubert himself.

How was it like at Joe Kubert?

I loved it at the Joe Kubert school. I was amongst great peers and teachers. We all shared the same common interests. It was very inspiring to be there. Everyone had different styles and talents and we all pushed ourselves to get better and better.

That’s awesome. So what did you when you graduated?

After I graduated, I did some freelancing and landed a job doing production work translating manga for various companies including Marvel comics. Through that job, I did some sketch cards and colored in some covers for Marvels Spider-man and X-men manga line. After that job, I actually got involved with the NYC nightlife. I started designing artwork, logos, flyers for various clubs and DJs. In the process, I became a DJ for about 6 years. I retired in 2006 to focus more on my art and it was the best decision I made. Right now I’m an assistant art director at my current job for 8 years. In the meantime, I’m currently building up my portfolio to hopefully work in the comic book industry again. It was so much fun and I would love to do my own graphic novel someday.

Wow sounds cool being a DJ and enjoying the nightlife! Anything else you do for fun?

Spend time with my dog and with my friends. I also like to cook and try new different types of food. Beat the newest game on Xbox 360. I’m usually down for anything fun that doesn’t kill me.

Getting back to your work. How would you describe your artwork?

I would describe my artwork as something that would make people go “wow thats awesome!” or something to that effect. I try to make it as if my art was going to be published and people would buy it up in a second just for the art. My dream is to paint book covers and movie posters. That’s the first thing people will always see. Even for movie posters, most people, including me, have seen a kick ass movie poster and say, I will see that just because of the art. Drew Struzan does that for me and he’s one of my biggest influences. Some of my other influences are Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Brian Bolland, Chris Bachalo, Alex Ross, Joe Jusko, Simon Bisley, J Scott Campbell, Arthur Adams, Travis Charest, Adam Hughes, Frank Frazetta, Tim Bradstreet, Bruce Timm, and Oliver Coipel.

That’s a great list of artists. What’s your current occupation?

Well in my current job, I’m assistant art director/graphic designer/production artist. What I do is I assist the art director and I design artwork for in-store displays, trays, and cartons. You can see most of them in supermarkets, malls, newsstands, Staples, Costco, Walmart and department stores. Some of our major clients are John Frieda, L’oreal, Johnson & Johnson, Trident, Dentyne, Stride, Pilot and some other well known brands. Basically you can say I’m the unknown artist with my art everywhere to be seen. We don’t inspect portfolios. Its sort of a typical 9 to 5 job but dealing with the production industry.

You mentioned earlier that you would like to create your own graphic novel. Care to elaborate?

I had this idea brainstormed since high school. I have the characters created but they always go through redesigns over the years. I have a general plot outlined too but that also keeps going through changes too. The story will be pretty epic and it would have a beginning, middle and end. It will be a sci-fi story. It would start with an alien invasion but not your typical one that has been done before then the whole epic saga would unfold from there until the death of the characters. Well right now, I can see it all as personal work but hopefully that will change in the future. It would be great to hook up with an established writer to flesh out details. Also, I don’t know if it would be set up as an actual comic book style or not. I want to do something different that hasn’t been done or rarely done these days. Someday it will happen!

How about established characters? Who would you love to get your hands on?

One of my other dreams is to work on Spider-man or Batman in some shape or form. I also have a story idea for both characters to cross over which hasn’t been done before which I think would be awesome.

Thanks so much for your time and for sharing your artwork! Wish you all the best in your future endeavours!

For more of Frank’s work check out http://shadowchaser076.deviantart.com/ or email him at shadowchaser076 [at] yahoo.com.

Nicola Scott is one of the more prominent comic artists currently living in Sydney. She’s currently exclusive on DC having worked on Birds of Prey and Secret Six. I was lucky enough to meet her during her appearance at Free Comic Day May 2008 where she was nice enough to draw a Wonder Woman sketch for me. During her talk she revealed she wanted to become an actress prior to picking up the pencils. Her most memorable on air appearance was as the Southern Comfort Bourbon girl.

Love Free Comic Book Day. *happy sigh*

Easily the best Portugese egg tarts from “little Portugal” in Sydney. Delicious flaky pastry with fantastic egg custard filling. The secret taking it from good to exceptional is the light dusting of cinnamon on top. Unfortunately each tart is pretty pricy so it will be a once in a while treat rather than something regular. *sigh*

Last week I finally picked up the TPB of Marvel’s Secret Invasion which collates all eight issues of the series. The story is written by super scribe Brian Michael Bendis (of Ultimate Spider-man fame) and pencilled by the amazing Leinil Yu.

I’ve been keeping my head under the proverbial rock to make sure the story wasn’t spoiled for me. I didn’t want to accidentally find out who was and who wasn’t a Skrull. The build up was fantastic as the invading Skrulls enacted their “master plan” to conquer Earth, however, the final ending was a let down with the “clean up” happening too quickly and a lot of loose plot ends too conveniently tied up. The art is fantastic with Leinil Yu at ease with drawing multiple characters at various angles on the same page!

In summary, amazing art and a fantastic start but the ending was a little bit of a let down. Still worth checking it out.

41 year old Timothy Rees from Cornwall, England has produced some amazing sequential pieces to showcase in between his job as a substitute teacher at local primary schools.

Tim’s Marvel submission highlights his sequential storytelling skills. Unfortunately due to the size restrictions, a lot of intricate details were lost in the below jpegs from the high resolution scans. However, it’s still amazing work!

Marvel Submission 01

Marvel Submission 02

Marvel Submission 03

What happened with this submission to Marvel?

I got the standard, “thanks but no thanks ” letter. I also showed my portfolio to Michael White (DC art editor) a year ago at a convention in the UK . . . where he was moderately constructive. Since then, I’ve really just been too busy! I would like to produce new portfolio pages sometime this year, as work and other commitments allow.

I hope you keep updating your portfolio! I know it’s cliche but the next big break could be just around the corner. Besides comics, what else do you enjoy?

I enjoy music . . . pretty much of all types, I guess. I tend to particularly go for quirky female vocalists, so Kate Bush and Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, are big faves. Big fan of musical theatre and theatre in general. I love movies, particularly big, loud sci-fi and action . . . Starship Troopers is my default favourite movie. To Kill A Mockingbird is the film that can make me cry . . . a great film of a great book. I like being thrilled and entertained when I’m at the movies, but more thoughtful dramas are also really important. When I’m not drawing, or teaching, I’m a bit of a slob, so I’ll be watching some tv!

How long have you been drawing?

I’ve been drawing pretty much all my life, and always had a very active imagination! I was always drawn to action and adventure-type scenes. I used to love drawing dinosaurs and cave-men fighting each other . . . which obviously never happened, but I think I’d been watching One Million Years B.C. on TV! When I was about 5 years of age, I discovered comics . . . UK reprints of Marvel comics to begin with. I remember one particular series was called Marvel Comics Weekly, and featured Ditko-era Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and possibly the Hulk. Later, I got into The Avengers, particularly Captain America, who remains my favourite Marvel character. So, the dinosaurs made way for Cap and his friends! Since then, very few days have passed when I haven’t drawn something.

You must have been sad then with what happened to Steve Rogers (Captain America) after Civil War. Feel a little bit like a psychologist asking this but most people got into comics when they were kids. Were you the same?

I have two brothers and two sisters, and I’m next to the youngest. We all played together as kids, and particularly with my brothers, we played a lot of action/superhero games. I did pretty well at school being a fairly studious type, and that eventually took me to college and teaching. All through that time though, I harboured the dream of working as a comic-book artist. I found some writer contacts who were around my age, in their early twenties, and we produced numerous stories in the UK small-press (or independent press ), such as Time Rogues (writer Tim James) and Secret Lives (writer Lee Davis). Teaching took up most of my time though, so my artistic development was somewhat faltering!

What would you consider as your artistic style?

I would call my style cartoon realism. It’s basically classic US-style artwork, but with a little UK attitude, and the occasional manga-style flourish. Having said that, I tend towards a fairly sleek style, and my full-on pencils (when I don’t intend inking myself), are highly detailed and rendered . . . I’m a typical Scorpio control-freak in that respect! I LOVE to draw dramatic action scenes, as I feel I can just let my imagination and artistic-eye run wild. My drawing always gets a sound effects track running through my head. I always strive to achieve maximum drama, and see the figures I draw as actors, with me as the slightly too-demanding director!

Did you pursue any formal training?

I have a degree in Art and Art History, which I loved doing (most of my work was in figurative sculpture), but as far as comic-art goes, I’m self-taught. I just absorbed so much from my formative years as a reader/artist, it can’t help working it’s way from my memory, down my arm to my pencil and then the board. I sometimes find myself saying, “I’ll Miller this scene!”, or, “Let’s go Alan Davis on this guy!” Apart from those two greats, I’d give Kevin Maguire, John Romita Jr. and John Byrne as my key influences, along with Michelangelo and Burne Hogarth.

With your intention to “break in”, is there any of your works out there?

Over the last 3 years, I’ve begun to get closer to where I wish to be in the industry . . . namely getting paid, rather than doing it for the love of! I produced two issues for a yet-to-be published martial arts series in the UK, which was cool because Alan (Batman) Grant scripted them. I have completed three issues of “The Cadre” for Mat Nastos, but that series seems to be on hiatus for now. I was one of the lucky entrants for Arcana’s “Dark Horrors II” anthology last year, which was great. I have also provided the artwork for a 22-page prequel to the Brit-flick “Ten Dead Men”, which is to be a DVD extra, when the film is released later this year. That was an interesting challenge, because the writer/producer wanted a sort of “Sin City” feel to it…so it was all stark blacks and whites. I tried to get something half-way between me and Frank Miller . . . not to say I in any way deserve to be set alongside FM, but that’s what I aimed for! I’ve done an 8-page story for Queeroes with writer Tony Smith, loads of (quite detailed) breakdowns for a graphic novel set in the sleazier side of Hollywood, and I’m currently working on a submission which is straight-up superhero fare. It’s all go here at Rees Towers! I’m very lucky, in that I’ve been able to produce a quite varied range of work, particularly in the last year or so. I am hoping to get even more in the future!

Thanks so much for your time. All the best in the future and looking forward to see your name attached to a comic in the near future.

Tim is available for commissions with very reasonable rates. He’s a gifted mimic, so feel free to ask for a David Finch Captain America or a Kevin Maguire Power Girl. His email is timothyrees [at] tiscali.co.uk

Check out his website http://www.timreescomics.com for more of his work.

In the spirit of the movie, I will try and explain the role of games and competition to men. A friend recently approached me and couldn’t understand the actions of her husband.

Scenario :
Her husband had stayed up all night to beat a high score set by her on a tennis game (Nintendo Wii). He was sleep deprived and sullen the next day but after hours of late night effort had his name at the top of the leaderboard. She just couldn’t understand why he would do it?

Is it just a game?
The phrase “It’s just a game” is not quite correct. Unfortunately most men want to win and take it from a fun activity to do or die. This is relevant as it applies to everything from backyard cricket to computer games to eating challenges. Similarly this attitude also applies to any adopted sporting teams. Most men understand that they are not playing (or even know the players personally) but it’s their team and as such they feel the ecstasy of a win and the disappointment of defeat.

Hopefully this clears up a misconception . .
For women let the man in your life have their games. Also try and soothe the disappointment when their team loses because it can be that important.

He’s Just Not That Into You
Only at the Movies! Now Showing – Feb 12
http://www.facebook.com/roadshow-films-au

Following on from Valentine’s Day, something sweet to get your teeth into. Baklava consists of layers of pastry filled with crushed nuts and held all together with honey or syrup. Using various shapes and nuts, you can get a variety of textures and tastes.

There’s a pastry shop which specialises in this delicacy and I picked up an assortment to feast through. None of the pieces lasted past dinner.

Update 16-Feb-09 :
There have been absolute horrific devastation in Victorian bushfires in Australia where lives and homes have been destroyed. For those with a little to spare please contribute to Red Cross or other organisations. Also spare a thought to all the animals who have perished or been seriously injured and donate generously to the RSPCA.

On this special day, Mike Crichlow provided this site with a Valentine’s Day image. Lucky Pookie.

For any aspiring artist, Mike’s story is a must read. It’s a difficult industry to get into but with perserverance and hardwork, anything is possible. Thanks Mike for the telling of a truly inspirational life story and all the best for your future endeavours.

Where are you from originally?

I was born in Guyana (South America) and then moved to Barbados at the age of one. I stayed in Barbados until the age of nine, and then moved to America (good ‘ol US of A). I lived in Maryland *really* close to Washington DC (go Redskins!) from nine to twenty-three years old (and as such most of my personality was formed during this time – “Don’t be a bamma, yo!”). Moved back to Barbados for four years working as a teacher and in August 2008 moved to California to pursue being an artist full-time. So far it’s been pretty good as I’m currently working as a comic book and storyboard artist in Pasadena, networking like crazy and constantly seeing people way prettier than myself.

When did your love affair with comics begin?

I fell in love with comics at about the age of fifteen. I just remember getting paid an allowance and cycling to the local comic store to spend ALL the money as fast as possible on comics. Just loved it. I remember how well Catwoman was drawn particularly, but I didn’t start memorizing artists or creators until high school.

Haha . . I wasted a lot of my allowance on comics too. What happened in high school?

While in High School, I met a few like-minded people and we put together our own comic of sorts – The Outlet. Man, those were good times. We actually felt like real superstar artists! Once the book was done, I’d be walking down the hallway and just get stopped by random people (especially cute girls) and be asked to sign the book. All of a sudden, the nerd that nobody noticed was a superstar signing autographs. It was a taste of stardom, and respect, the likes of which I’d never felt before . . . and is probably one of the reasons why I’m an artist today.

I struggled for a LONG TIME to decide to do comics full time. I love comics, but felt that being an artist was just a dream. The market was too small and selective . . . and I’d have to get WAY better. I mean, in a world of Jim Lee and Joe Maduriera, who would come to *me* to draw something? I struggled horribly from age 22 to 25, and just made the decision (I can actually remember the day) that I was going to get into comics or die trying.

Did you consider art school?
Or perhaps other formalised training?

I’ve often thought about going to art school. I’ve never been, but I think I would learn a lot from the experience. What I would want is a mentor to teach me “the ways of the master”, not a teacher with limited office hours. What I DIDN’T like is the fact that the teachers are there primarily to keep you in school. They not going to tell you that you suck, they want you to stay! So, I honestly couldn’t see myself paying TONS of money to go to a school where my art would be on the back burner of “get good grades”. I’ve always thought that it was ABILITY that was important, not so much a piece of paper from a school. So, I gave myself school… and studied like my life depended on it.

I started studying anatomy way into the night, like 2 or 3 AM usually. I started posting my stuff on forums all over the place, just trying to get my name out there (the internet is the most brutal yet loving teacher, since anyone can say anything about your art). Eventually some writers noticed my stuff and asked if I was interested in drawing books for them. This is how I got started, got practice working from a script, dealing with an editor and stuff like that. No paid work yet, but I was eager for the practice. I learned SO MUCH working on my first book. I was working full-time and going to school in the evenings when I drew my first comic. As such, the entire comic was drawn between midnight and 4 AM. Ha! I called it my ‘Batman’ shift. I’d stumble into bed and get up at 6:30 AM to get to work for 8:15. This went on for months.

All the thoughts and struggles you can imagine went through my head working on that book: Is this supposed to be this hard? Why am I working so hard on something I’m not getting paid to do? Is anybody going to buy this after all this work? Where is all this going? Am I wasting my time? If I was going to make it, wouldn’t I be better by now? All that stuff… and more. But I just kept on drawing.

After all the hardwork and late nights . . what happened when the book was released?

When the book came out, it was an instant success. It sold out immediately and people were asking for more. It was such a relief after all that work. Between work, school and church I drew as much as I could, and put out my first sketchbook ‘Shy Girl and Friends: Volume 1″ in early 2008. It didn’t do nearly was well as the comic, but taught me a lot. For example, the audience for sketchbooks is not the same audience for comics. I thought they were one and the same. Sketchbooks are much more of a “specialty” item. Art collectors buy sketchbooks. Anybody can buy comics. So, all in all, it was a good learning experience, and the sketchbook did open some big doors for me. I mailed some to my friend in CA to take to ComicCon (I’m still in Barbados at this point) who got some into the hands of editors at Viz as well as other comic publishers. They said that they liked it, and opened doors of communication heretofore closed – Email and such. For that, if nothing else, I’m glad I did the sketchbook. (and I’m working on a second one right now.)

What was your next step after that?

So, I moved to California on August 27, 2008, with nothing but two bags of clothes and a dream to draw comics. Although I knew no one, I just jumped in and started talking with people. I was scared, but I didn’t fly all the way out here to fail. I learned of a networking party, with lots of Hollywood writers, producers and directors and such. It cost $40 to reserve a seat (which is TON if you’re now starting over in a new country) but I paid it and went.

I was SO SCARED in there, but I just introduced myself and tried my best. Tons of people actually came to me, which was awesome (since sometimes I was too scared to go talk to other people). I got eleven business cards that day. I emailed everyone back with my info and work. Of those, three responded to me and ONE actually wanted to meet to talk about various projects he was working on. I met with him, he liked me, and I’ve been drawing comics and storyboard stuff for him (for Universal Studios) ever since. So, I’ve been making a living from the money I make drawing comics for a little under three months. I tell ya, life is a funny thing.

Would you consider now that you’ve made it?

No!!!! I still want to get so much better, it hurts. I wish I could draw as easily and gracefully as a lot of these other guys out here (and what am I going to do once this project is finished?). I’m still studying anatomy and developing my style all the time. I’m *still* trying to figure out exactly what I want to draw like. Sometimes I feel realistic, others I feel cartoony. But I like pretty girls, so there’s the constant for you. Ha! What excites me the most is the future. If I keep drawing and studying, what would I be able to draw like in 5 years? How much can I learn? How much better can I be? Those are the questions that drive me. God is faithful. At the end of the day, you just gotta keep moving forward… and see where it takes you.

That’s an incredible journey you’ve been on!
One last question . . why artists do you use as inspiration?

Wow, the list is so long I don’t know where to begin. Here’s a few of them: Carlos Pacheco, Bruce Timm, Joe Maduriera, J. Scott Campbell, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Satoshi Urushihara and tons of other anime guys in there too.

Thanks again for your time.
Wish you all the best!

Be sure to check out Mike’s deviant art page or website to check out more of his work.

Deviant Art :
http://michaelcrichlow.deviantart.com

Website :
http://mikecrichlow.com

You can also purchase his sketchbook here :
http://www.lulu.com/content/2938524

Heroes has returned for 2009 and it sees Nathan enacting his plan (from the last episode in 2008) to capture various people with abilities under the auspices of national security. The tone was very different for this episode and it felt a lot more like the first season in terms of mystery and suspense. An interesting start and I’m waiting to see what develops.

Ip Man follows the story of Bruce Lee’s teacher from his idyllic time in China before World War 2 to his escape to Hong Kong. The movie prior to World War 2 is much more light hearted however with Japanese invasion, the movie takes on a much darker tone. The Japanese not content to simply oppress the Chinese in this movie, set up a tournament where they can fight for bags of rice.

This is standard kung fu movie fare with amazing choreography. Donnie Yen excels as the stoic Yip Man with some brilliant fighting scenes including a sequence in which he faces 10 men at the same time. Fortunately no CG was used to “enchance” the fight scenes, this one is very old school in its approach.

Worth checking out if you enjoy this genre of movies.