PLUGGED IN!spotlights comic book professionals working in the Video Game industry, offering in- valuable tips for those thinking of venturing into the field, or anyone interested in the inner workings of both comics and gaming. It fea- tures Superman scribe ELLIOT S! MAGGINcandidly talking about the early days at Atari, along with JIMMY PALMIOTTI(Ash, Jonah Hex), CHRIS BACHALO (Death: the High Cost of Living, Uncanny X-Men), MIKE DEODATO (Wonder Woman, Amazing Spider-Man), and RICK REMENDER (Fear Agent, X-Force), all discussing their work on current generation video game hits like DEAD SPACE, PROTOTYPE, ARMY OF TWO: 40th DAY, BULLETSTORM,and DC UNIVERSE ONLINE!In addition to current comics professionals, author KEITH VERONESEconducts first-person conversations with artists and writers who made the leap to working in video games full-time, including an in-depth interview with TRENT KANIUGA (CreeD)about his career at BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, working as one of the architects of the long awaited DIABLO III! So whether you're a noob or experienced gamer or comics fan, be sure to get PLUGGED IN when it ships in March 2013!
(128-page trade paperback with COLOR: $16.95 • Digital Edition: $5.95) Ships March 2013 from TwoMorrows Publishing
Order online at: www.twomorrows.com
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elcome to another installment of Comic Book Bootcamp. This time around we are going to cover the eye, which poets have called “the window to the soul.” The human eye is the first thing we look at when looking at someone’s face, being it a drawing or in life. We “look people in the eye” and are suspicious of people who don’t look at us back in the eye. It’s the key for expressions, and emotional attitude, and acting, especially for the artist.As a result the eye is probably the feature that is drawn more often than any other by artists from antiquity to the pres- ent because it is our window to the world, our focus or portal, the view both inward to the psyche and outward. The eye is also a feature than many artists struggle to draw—along with the human face—to get the expression and position in the head just right. One of the most common mistakes in drawing the eye stems from drawing the form of the head as an egg, which it is not.
SeeinG
tO
by
Bret Blevins and Mike Manley
If we were to draw the head as an egg and then try and fit the eyes on, we would end up with a very strange and alien looking creature.
The only part of the head that is “round” is the cranium. The rest of the head is comprised of a series of blocks and planes.
One of the most common mistakes artists make in drawing the eyes in the head is that they often draw the eye more as a decal on the face, rather than as an eyeball in its socket within the skull, so the eye lies flat on the surface. This affects the perspective of the face. Most of the times you will be draw- ing a face, you will be drawing it in perspective, and that will have a crucial effect on the scale and placement of the eyes set into the head.
The form of the eye itself is always the same, with any differences being due to variations in the sex, age, and racial char- acteristics of the muscles, eye lids, etc.
Important details to remember are: • The upper lid is thicker than the lower
(see Figure 1).
• The cornea is slightly raised from the surface of the eyeball in a convex spheroid shape (see Figure 1). • At the outside, the upper lid folds
over the lower; at the inside, the up-
per and lower lids are separated by a small triangular pad of flesh (see Fig- ure 2). The outer meeting point of the lids is higher than the inner, except in extreme old age, where gravity and a loss of elasticity can cause a dropping fold that is lower on the outside. • The lashes grow from the farthest
protruding edge of the lids; they do not meet or touch the eyeball (see Figure 2).
• The eyes curve back around the skull as they approach the side of the head, retreating from the front plane of the face. This allows us to see via a “sidelong” glance, looking to the side without turning the head (see Figures 3 and 4).
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(Figure A) A drawing of the human skull to show the form of the skull, the orbital fossa, the mandible, etc.
(Figure B) In this simplified drawing of the skull, you can more easily see the blocks, curves, and planes of the form. (Figure C) A drawing of the human eyeball in its socket.
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A
B
C
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• The eyes work in tandem with the eyebrows to create expression, and should always be treated together as one drawing problem (see Figures 5 and 6).
This gesture sketch on the left (Figure 7) communicates an attitude with very simple symbolic caricatured shapes. In the sketches below (Figures 8, 9, and 10), more anatomy has been added, but the expressions are conveyed by the big, simple shapes of the eyelids and eyebrows. The rest of the features accent the attitude, but if you cover the lower parts and just view the eyes, you can see how much emotion is carried by them alone.
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CURV ED CUR VED STRAIGHTER ST RAIGHTERRemember that the visible portion of the eye revealed by the lids is not perfectly symmetrical. The lids curve most at the upper-inner and lower- outer edges, and are straighter at the lower-inner and outer-upper edges. (Trying saying that sen- tence correctly five times very fast.)
Including a highlight is very important. The healthy, living eye is always wet, and the highlight is a reflection of the light source. Multiple sources create multiple highlights, but it is best to use artistic license and limit yourself to one unless a specific effect is re- quired; too many highlights in the eye tend to make the person look disoriented or ine- briated. This single highlight can appear any- where in the eye, but it is most effective if it is within or overlaps the black pupil; the strong contrast clearly conveys a spark of animation.
Eyelashes radiate out from center Upper lashes thicker Shadow of upper lid Iris lighter opposite highlight
Here I’ve shown how much expression can be conveyed by the simplest indica- tions of eye shape and glance direction. Here, again, you can cover the mouths and see that the essential information is in the eyes. Once you understand the anatomy of the eye, it is easy to start with this kind of gesture indication and construct a more realistic drawing by keeping these big shapes in mind.
Remember that the direction of the eyelashes radiate out from a center point within the eyeball.
This illustration from the title sequence of the second Garfield movie shows how clearly simple circles-within-circles can communicate emotion in cartoon designs. In extreme stylizations like this, the eyebrows aren’t crucial; cover Humpty Dumpty’s and his expression isn’t compromised.
I included this Ghost Rider page because of the extreme distortion of the eyes in the transforming character. The unequal sizes and different pupil shapes make the expression more wild and hysterical.
Here both characters’ eyes are half-closed, but the dif- ferent angles of the upper lids and eyebrows create two completely different attitudes.
Garfield ™ and © Paws, Inc.
Ghost Rider ™ and © Marvel Characters, Inc.
These shots of elderly Bruce Wayne from the Justice League episode “Epilogue” show how very slight variations in the (very stylized) eye shape and tilt can underscore dialogue and convey thoughts and emotions of the character. Animation design concentrates the anatomy of the eye into strong, simple shapes, but it is amazing how much human emotion can be conveyed with these limited means.
I’ve included some life drawings, done very quickly from the living model, to show how the knowledge we’ve discussed can be utilized in very quick notations and still convey an essence of life and consciousness. The head portion of this figure draw- ing was literally committed to paper in seconds—it is just a sketch—but my understanding of structure allowed me to convincingly dab and jot a few marks that place conscious eyes in her head, and even suggest her thick but light colored eyelashes.
Very simple indications surely placed will create convincing mass. A close look at the shut eye reveals that I lightly “felt” the curve of the underlying eyeball mass with a light block-in stroke before defining the details of visible form. Knowing structure helps “decode” what you are look- ing at when drawing from life.
Here accurate recording of the curves formed by the lowered lids add a subtle sense of person- ality/attitude as well as informing the structural solidity of the entire skull.
Here the model was directly facing a single strong light source, creating a large glisten- ing highlight in her pale blue eyes. The high- light is almost the only visible element of the far eye.
A very quick warm-up sketch, done in less than a minute—but see how much expression is con- veyed in those few deft marks that place her eyes in her skull and reveal her attitude. It is dif- ficult to work this freely unless the eye structure is thoroughly understood.
This drawing clearly shows how the lids “wrap around” the eyes and arc back toward the ears—espe- cially apparent in the far eye as it “tucks” around into the underlying cavity of the socket.
Here the tendency of the eye, when seen from this angle, to appear to be opening wider in the direction of the glance is clearly shown. This is why the animation principle of the iris/pupil “pull- ing” the shape of the eyeball toward the viewed object works. This effect is not as apparent from a straight frontal view.
es of
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ar © DC C
omics
You can often break artists down into two categories: body actors and face actors. This distinction is based on the signature styles of certain cartoonists. For some the expressive close-up is a hallmark or their work, while for others it’s the body or the environment on which they tend to focus. Joe Kubert (previous page) and Steve Ditko (above and right) immediately jump to my mind when thinking about artists who use the face, as super-expresive faces are a hallmark of both men’s work.
The eye itself is one of the biggest design motifs or symbols Ditko uses in his work.
Frank Miller’s groundbreaking work on Sin
City (left) falls right in line with the work of
artists like Ditko and Kubert when going for a graphic impact.
The hero is only as handsome as the monster is ugly. If the hero is not good-looking enough, then he won’t stand enough in con- trast to the villain. In these great examples by Neal Adams (below and right), you can see some hall- marks of his work: great drawing, great facial expressions, dynamic lighting, and tough angles drawn well. Adams really pushed the expressions and amped up the excitement and tension through his understanding of the structure of the eye. Images © R ober t V alley mbassador R ec or ds . Sin C ity ™ and © F rank M iller .
It’s not always about realism either. There are a lot of art- ists who push style and anatomy to great effect. This cover by Michael Golden is a great example. What a great face on the policewoman, and look at how big and expressive the eyes are. There is always a line you can cross in the exaggeration of a face or drawing where you go into ugly, or too extreme. Golden pushes the limits and makes a great and powerful cover image. It’s no secret as to why he’s been one of the most influential comic artists of the past 25 years.
The old axiom “practice makes perfect” always applies to drawing. It can be amazing to see the results of what a few short weeks or a month or two of diligent study can produce in your work. The confidence you gain is invaluable. A big part of a professional artist’s skill set is his or her confidence to work well under pressure.
Adams was highly influenced by Stan Drake and his trendsetting work on The Heart of Juilet Jones comic strip. Drake was one of the best drafts- men ever in the field, and his ability to draw the “pretty girl” set the stan- dard for other artists to follow. In Drake’s work it is often not what he drew but what he didn’t draw that made the women’s faces so glamourous. You need real command of the form and anatomy to know what to leave out and what to show on a woman’s face. A few extra lines in the wrong spot, and she goes from pretty to harsh, 20-something to 50 really quickly. Though he often worked with models and photos, it is still Drake’s drawing knowledge that directed him in what to take or leave from his source, and where to push the anatomy to get the expression he wanted.
The Heart of Juliet Jones ™ and © King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Cops:
The Job ™ and © M
ar vel Char ac ters , I nc .
Sky Doll was originally
published in France by Soleil Productions. The art by Ales- sandro Barbucci has a simi- larity to Golden, as well as a Euro-manga feel. Though pushed in style to have a very manga look, it’s not as flat and stylized as most manga artwork is. You can see and feel Barbucci’s knowledge of the anatomy of the eye as shown here in these two great examples.
Wally Wood was another great “Good Girl” artist. You think you see a lot here, but it’s really al- most like a high contrast photo. That great use of highlights in the eyes was always a signature of his work. Sk y D oll ™ and © MC P roduc tions/C anepa/Bar buc ci. Cannon ™ and © The Esta te of W ally W ood .
These two panels by Frank Frazetta from “Un- tamed Love” (below) and “Empty Heart” (right) are icons of comic art. The series of romance stories Frazetta did in the ’50s set his fellow comic artists ablaze, and were hugely influential on the next generation of comic artists like Dave Stevens, as well as Bret and myself.
In the Judge Parker comic strip, I follow the lead of artists like Stan Drake and Leonard Starr in how I strive to draw the expressive and pretty girl’s face. One of the issues in producing a strip like Judge Parker is the fact that I don’t have the budget to hire models and work from photos. Also, the strip is run at a much, much smaller size than strips in the glory days of the ’50s and ’60s. As a result of the smaller size, the strip is even more of a “face acting” strip than it might otherwise be. I do a lot of close-ups on the faces to carry the emotions and expressions. Some- times even a 16th of an inch change in an eyebrow can really make an expression read! In the extreme close-ups, I try and think of the head as almost like one of the sculptures on Mount Rushmore. I really work on using perspective to push the space and angle on the eyes.
Don’t hesitate to spend hours studying and drawing your own eyes by using a mirror—you can practice all sorts of expressions and observe what happens to the muscles and shapes. You will never fail to see a mirror at the side of an animator’s desk. This is no coincidence!
See you next time, Mike and Bret! Judge Parker ™ and © North America Syndicate, Inc.