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In need of Comic drawing tutorials
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Posted
You may find something on YouTube - there were several books on this general area, I don't know if they're still in print; try taking a look at the Amazon website (you don't have to buy from them if you don't want to). The trouble with buying the older books is that they'll refer to a standard and type of comic-book drawing that was current when they were published but may not be in demand now, so be on the lookout for contemporary publications.
Posted
I'm afraid I can't help much here but may I add that comic drawings and, indeed, cartoons, are a great discipline for any artist to take up. Cartoons are what I would call an exaggerated shorthand version of the subject (usually the human face and body but not always). They teach the artist to demonstrate the subject with minimal information in a simplistic format. I have found that they are a great help in applying the same techniques to my serious work and have greatly assisted me in loosening up. I know some artists prefer a 'tight' approach to their work but for those who wish to loosen up I would certainly suggest they spend a little time while playing around with cartoons and comic drawings whenever they get a few spare moments.
Posted
There are shedloads of videos on Youtube, but the big starting point seems to be what software you're going to use - Photoshop costs money; Gimp is free.
You'll need to sift through the Youtube content; there's a lot of timelapse footage showing you a drawing of an individual character.
Books - try Ebay too
But do let us know how you get on.
Posted
If you want to make a living doing this, you'll need skill with pencil and paper AND with all the software you can lay hands on - it's just the way things are going these days.... Michael might remember cartoonists like Fougasse, 'Wash', and Giles of the Daily Express - they worked with pen or brush and ink; many cartoonists still do; Steve Bell at the Guardian, the Independent's and Observer's cartoonists, Martin Rowson. It's a huge skill...
On the major point Michael raised - yes, absolutely: I started by drawing cartoons - at school, at the age of 5, I used to draw cartoons on the back of my arithmetic paper when I got bored (as I always did whenever 'sums' was on the agenda). But little Miss Millam was very patient, even if she did keep saying "Woe betide you!"...
I think one of the best ways to get a likeness - well, for me anyway - is to start with a cartoon drawing of your subject - it helps you to see the prominent points that are key to understanding the geography of a face: and that stops you just drawing a generic shape then trying to fit your subject into it, which has never attended my efforts with success. As one artist said (it was R O Dunlop, I think) 'Exaggerate, exaggerate - you'll usually find you've been very tame in the end': and I think he was saying in his way what Michael is saying in his - take liberties with the reality if you want to capture it, don't creep around it carefully as if you were drawing a map..... cartoons are a brilliant way to loosen up.
Posted
Talking of great cartoonists, my all time favourite was Gerald Scarfe, what tremendous political drawings he did, Mrs.T, Ted Heath, you name them, they were all brilliant.
No software needed here, just a scratchy old dip-in nib pen, some black Indian ink and a sheet of Bristol board; not forgetting all the blobs and splashes that these almost forgotten dip pens produce, he left them on for all to see and they contributed to his instantly recognisable style.
This is a very competitive field to be in, you will as Robert has said need drawing skills, great drawing skills in fact and a lot of luck to progress into publication if that is your goal.