Drawing The Details

At first, I used to go to comic conventions to show my work to comic book companies. I met quite a few artists during my visits. The last few times I went while I still lived in New York, I came home discouraged. I felt I was just not cut out for the whole comic book artist thing, at least not working for any publishers. So, I decided to start MY comic and tell MY stories. I wanted to be a comic book artist and it didn’t matter how I got there, but I was going to get there.

“My goal was to show my work
and let writers know
I was available and willing
to draw comics.”

I started working on pages for The Show comic and putting them out there for the world to see. One of the first places I shared my work on was DeviantArt. I shared my pages consistently in different forums and websites. My goal was to show my work and let writers know I was available and willing to draw comics. I used some of my penciled and finished pages from The Show comic. It wasn’t long before I began working with an independent writer/publisher from New York. And then another. Not quite a huge success story, I know, but I was doing the work I wanted to be doing, even if it was a temporary gig.

I know a lot of artists go to cons, get tables and sell their art. Most artists sell prints and original work of other intellectual properties. There is nothing wrong with that. Heck, I would love to make that a thing for me but unfortunately, I’m too stuck on telling MY stories and drawing MY characters. I want MY intellectual properties to be the ones you take home and drool over. I want MY stories to be the one you think about when you hear the word "Superheroes".

“I didn’t realize how insignificant
all the details I created
were until I zoomed out and to get
a better view of the entire page.”

As I’m working on Ghosts: The Corechasers, I find myself excited with every panel I draw; the third panel in particular. I have been noodling this page too much. I didn’t realize how insignificant all the details I created were until I zoomed out and to get a better view of the entire page. Sometimes I get lost in tiny details that don’t seem to matter in the end. But, I just love the way Argus looks, majestically sitting on her commanding chair. I’ll simplify this of course, now that I’m aware of it, but I may use this detail in a future panel. This is just one of the mishaps that come with working digitally. You can work so tight and close that you sometimes lose perspective of how the whole page looks. While working on this platform can be redundant and counterproductive at times, the final product is amazing. I use a Cintiq 12WX and a Macbook with Clip Studio Paint.

Do you draw? What’s your go-to medium or platform? Let me know down in the comments.