Penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors and lettering in the book, under the supervision of an editor.
In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form,[1] and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout (positions and vantages on scenes) to showcase steps in the plot.
Tools and materials
A penciller works in
Most US comic book pages are drawn oversized on large sheets of paper, usually
Notable creators and their techniques
Jack Kirby
From 1949 until his retirement, Jack Kirby worked out of a ten-foot-wide basement studio dubbed "The Dungeon" by his family. When starting with a clean piece of Bristol board, he would first draw his panel lines with a T-square.[3]
Arthur Adams
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is known to use F lead for his pencil work.[7][8]
J. Scott Campbell
Travis Charest
Adam Hughes
The penciling process that artist
Joe Quesada
Artist and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief
Bryan Hitch
Bryan Hitch begins with multiple rough sketches employing different camera angles on paper with a blue pencil, which traditionally does not photocopy or scan, and then selects the desired elements from the rough sketch with a graphite pencil. After picking the initial shapes, he will further emphasize his selections with colored pens, continuing to attempt different variations. He will then, depending on how late in the day it is, either redraw the illustration on a sheet of layout paper or use his lightbox to tighten and clean up the drawing, emphasizing that the lightbox should not be a mere exercise in tracing, but an opportunity to refine or change elements in the drawing to make it "clean" enough to be inked.[20]
When Hitch transfers the drawing to the final art board, he does initial layouts with a 2H pencil, which he feels provides the necessary accuracy and detail, and uses an erasable blue pencil to mark panel frames and
Hitch is particular about his studio workspace, which does not contain a TV or sofa, stating that such things belong in the lounge for relaxation. Despite using a professional drawing board, he emphasizes that any inexpensive board large enough to hold the paper is sufficient, as he mostly uses a piece of roughly cut
Simone Bianchi
In contrast to Hitch's work environment, artist Simone Bianchi says that he cannot work unless he is listening to music, which he does via stereo speakers placed above his drawing board, and an extensive music collection in his studio. Bianchi uses extensive photo reference and a lightbox to give his artwork a realistic look. He uses a wooden drawing board that he used to draw on flat, but angled it due to back pain that he began having in 2006.[21]
Marc Silvestri
Another artist who listens to music while working is
Erik Larsen
On the Biography & Bibliography page of his website, Erik Larsen explains that he uses a Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 2H pencil, and a Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser.[23] However, on the site's Frequently Asked Questions page, he states that he uses a standard Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencil with HB lead, explaining, "It's mushy as all hell but it doesn't slow me down like a harder pencil would."[24]
Amanda Conner
While reading each page of a script, artist
Gene Ha
Once artist
Jason Shiga
Artist
Jonathan Luna
Artist
Marcio Takara
Artist
Frank Cho
Frank Cho produces his artwork on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Pad, which has a vellum surface. To pencil his artwork, Cho uses a Pentel mechanical pencil with 0.7mm HB lead. For erasure, he uses both a Vanish eraser and a kneaded eraser.[31]
Chris Samnee
Artist Chris Samnee uses 300 series two-ply Strathmore Bristol board. He does not use non-photo blue pencils or any other equipment purchased at specialty stores for preliminary sketching, but uses .9 mm mechanical pencils that he purchases from Target.[32] He describes his pencils as "just awful", and inks them himself, as he cannot envision giving them to someone else to ink.[33]
Chuck Austen
Writer/artist
Scott McCloud
Fiona Staples
Another artist who does her work almost entirely digitally is
Workflow and style
A comic book penciller usually works closely with the comic book's editor, who commissions a script from the writer and sends it to the penciller.[37][38][39]
Comic book scripts can take a variety of forms. Some writers, such as
Sometimes a writer or another artist (such as an art director) will include basic layouts, called "breakdowns," to assist the penciller in scene composition. If no breakdowns are included, then it falls to the penciller to determine the layout of each page, including the number of panels, their shapes and their positions. Even when these visual details are indicated by a script, a penciller may feel when drawing the scene that there is a different way of composing the scene, and may disregard the script, usually following consultation with the editor and/or writer.[41]
Some artists use a loose pencilling approach, in which the penciller does not take much care to reduce the vagaries of the pencil art, leaving it to the inker to interpret the penciller's intent. In those cases, the penciller is usually credited with "breakdowns" or "layouts" and the inker is credited as the "embellisher" or "finisher".[42][43] According to former Marvel editor Gregory Wright, John Buscema was a noted penciler whose breakdowns included all the structural essentials that enabled inkers to complete the art. Other pencillers prefer to create detailed pages, where every nuance that they expect to see in the inked art is indicated. This is known as tight pencilling.[43]
See also
References
- Fox, Margalit (April 5, 2013). "Carmine Infantino, Reviver of Batman and Flash, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
- ^ Cronin, Brian (January 15, 2009). "Comic Book Legends Revealed #190". Comic Book Resources.
- ^ Kirby, Neal. "Growing Up Kirby". Hero Complex (July 2012). Los Angeles Times. pp 22 and 24.
- ^ Cooke, Jon B. "The Art of Arthur Adams", Reprinted from Comic Book Artist #17, November 15, 2001
- ^ George Khoury and Eric Nolen-Weathington. Modern Masters Volume Six: Arthur Adams, 2006, TwoMorrows Publishing.
- ^ Siuntres, John (September 11, 2013). "Word Balloon Podcast Greg Pak, Cincy Comicon Panels with Art Adams and Ethan Van Sciver" Archived 2014-01-03 at the Wayback Machine. Word Balloon Comic Books Podcast. Retrieved January 3, 2014. Interview begins at 1:19:55.
- Campbell, J. Scott (2008). "Artist's Comments". DeviantArt
- ^ "Reinventing the pencil: 21 artists who changed mainstream comics (for better or worse)". The A.V. Club. July 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ^ Campbell, J. Scott. "Pencils". DeviantArt. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
- ^ Campbell, J. Scot. "Drawing Supplies Erasers". DeviantArt. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
- Travis Charest. FAQ: "What materials do I use?"The Official Unofficial Travis Charest Gallery. December 1, 2000. Accessed August 30, 2010
- ^ Charest, Travis. FAQ: "Working techniques". The Official Unofficial Travis Charest Gallery. December 1, 2000; Accessed August 30, 2010
- ^ Charest, Travis. FAQ: "Do I use any type of references?" The Official Unofficial Travis Charest Gallery. December 1, 2000. Accessed August 30, 2010
- ^ Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt2 - The Process". YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010
- ^ a b c Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt3 - The Tools". YouTube. May 15, 2006; Accessed September 8, 2010
- ^ a b Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt1 - The Idea". YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010
- ^ "FAQ". Just Say AH! Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- Quesada, Joe. "The Making of the Cover for 'Amazing Spider-Man' #593". Comic Book Resources. June 12, 2009
- ^ "Cup O' Doodles" Archives, Comic Book Resources, accessed January 10, 2011.
- ^ Hitch, Bryan. Bryan Hitch's Ultimate Comics Studio, Impact Books, 2010
- ^ Weiland, Jonah (January 10, 2007). "Studio Tours: Artist Simone Bianchi". Comic Book Resources.
- ^ "The Third Degree: Marc Silvestri". Point of Impact. Image Comics. October 2012. p. 27.
- ^ Larsen, Erik. "Erik Larsen - Biography & Bibliography" Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine. Savage Dragon.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Larsen, Erik. "Frequently Asked Questions". SavageDragon.com. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ a b Salavetz, Judith; Drate, Spencer. Creating Comics!, 2010, Rockport Publishers, pp, 34 and 35
- ^ a b Creator-Owned Heroes #5 Image Comics. October 2012.
- ^ "Questions" Archived 2013-12-15 at the Wayback Machine. Gene Ha - Comic Book Artist. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
- ^ Shiga, Jason. Empire State: A Love Story (Or not) Abrams Comicarts; New York: 2011
- ^ Interview with the Luna Brothers at Midtown Comics; YouTube; May 13, 2010
- BOOM! Studios.
- from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "Chris Samnee: The Devil is in the Details, Part 2". Toucan: The Official Blog. June 7, 2013.
- ^ "Chris Samnee: The Devil is in the Details, Part 1". Toucan Blog. May 31, 2013.
- ^ Giles, Keith (September 6, 2011). "Austen in the Machine: Chuck Austen Interview". Comic Book Resources.
- William Morrow Paperbacks. pp 196-197
- Saga, no. 8, p. 24-25 (December 2012). Image Comics.
- ^ O'Keefe, Matt (July 25, 2019). "Making Comics: How writers can foster stronger and healthier relationships with artists". The Beat. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- Waid, Mark (February 12, 2009). "THE JOB OF THE COMIC BOOK EDITOR". M<arkWaid.com. Archived from the originalon April 19, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- Johnston, Rich (July 6, 2021). "Comics Artists, Writers, Colourists, Editors, Marketers – JobWatch". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the originalon July 6, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2008).
- Schmidt, Andy (7 June 2018). "How a Marvel Editor and a Painter Collaborate on a Blockbuster Comic". Artists Network. Archived from the originalon December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Bullpen Bulletins", Marvel Two-in-One #52 (Marvel Comics, June 1979).
- ^ a b Wright, Gregory (July 2, 2020). "True Tales Of Appreciation And Condemnation Of INKERS Behind The Lines Of Marvel Comics". Inkwell Awards. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.