How To Draw Comics

How can you learn to draw comics? You can go to Michael's and buy a 'How-To' book. You can get the 'Wizard Magazine' back issues that used to have interesting articles, such as "How To Draw Comics" with lessons from seasoned professionals. You could also enroll in art classes at your local community college. For that matter, you could go to art school and pay a doctor lifestyle's worth of tuition. Or I could teach you. Here. Grass roots approach. The 'grass' in this case being the screen and keyboard, and the root would be your internet cable or wireless router. Either way, let's learn you some doodles!

Who the hell am I to teach you? Good question, but you don't have to be so pushy in asking. Geez. I've been a freelance illustrator for 9 years and began focusing on comics exclusively for the past 2 years.

In all my experience, I have never been asked where I went to school or what degree I have. Just saying. What matters - the only thing that matters - is your portfolio. Your portfolio should speak for you. If you have to talk about what you were trying to convey in a piece then you need to improve your abilities as an illustrator.

Ideally (is that a word?), you should shut your mouth and speak only when asked a question. Otherwise you are excusing your work, and a client doesn't need excuses. They need an illustrator that can deliver a message VISUALLY.

I realize this sounds like an elitist approach. Maybe it is, but in a flooded market (and believe me, it is) of creative firms and freelancers, the only thing that will stand out in the long run is quality work. Take the time to learn fundamentals. Traditional methods. Without strong foundation, a building will not last. Come the first storm, nothing will remain. And the storms do not let up. Acquiring a strong foundation is the first and most important step to becoming a quality artist.

Sadly, this means having to draw many boring things, many boring times. A box, a sphere, a tube, a book, etc. The point of drawing those things is to learn how light and shadow affect different objects. For that matter, each surface of each object is rendered differently. From there, you'll move on to drawing...

Let's officially start with the lessons: How to Draw Comics Series: Lesson 1