| Project: A-Kon - Sunday
- Antarctic Press |
 Antarctic
Press has worked to give young artists a chance to succeed in a business
where few seem to get a chance, the American comics industry. On the last
day of Project: A-Kon, Ben Dunn (left) and Shon Howell got together to
pass along tips for aspiring artists. They also collected samples of those
artists' work, planning to critique them and give out awards to the best
entrants. |
 Dunn took
to a whiteboard to show the basics of figure art, telling the audience
that they need to avoid static, emotionless designs. "It's pretty boring,"
Dunn said about poses that don't move. "It's how we see things in real
life, but it's not how we tell stories to make them exciting." Dunn went
on to emphasize that dynamic poses don't require the currently fashionable
hyper-realistic style in American comics where superheroes look as if their
uniforms were painted on - and he pointed to manga as an example. "Manga
artists don't emphasize the body because they aren't drawing realistically,"
he said. "They're trying to tell a story with drama." |
 Howell said
he's still learning from other artists and refining his style. "Another
three years down the road, I'll see another artist I like and pick up some
tricks from him," he said. Howell noted that he has changed the way that
he draws faces, and revised the proportions of arms and body, along with
the way that the limbs of his characters are attached to their torsos. |
 Fred Perry,
who has elevated the American manga style to new levels with his Gold Digger
series, now finds himself in the unlikely position of editor. Gold Digger
stories are now being drawn by other artists and published by Radio Comix,
and Perry supervises the work of those artists to make sure they portray
the characters as he wants. Perry said he keeps track of the finished inked
pages from those artists, and has had to call for revisions to those pages. |
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