Famed comic artist shares his experience
NOWADAYS, fans wait impatiently for the release of the next Marvel, DC or Star Wars movie.
There are even those who analyse film trailers frame by frame searching for “Easter eggs”, and those who know the origin story of the characters well enough come up with compelling fan theories.
But before those movies are filmed, released and take over the box office, they all begin from a comic.
Comics have been around for a long time and are still bought and read by many to this day. The method of producing a comic has changed with the times and technology has eased much of the production processes.
However, the essence of freehand drawing and designing characters for comics is not lost and is considered an art form in itself.
To commemorate the release of his book Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators, renowned Hollywood comic artist David H. Ross was invited to The One Academy in Subang Jaya to share his inspiring journey.
He spent three days at The One Academy conducting a workshop for both lecturers and students, and concluded his visit with a three-hour long sharing session.
Besides his talent for drawing breathtaking comics, his passion for teaching and generosity in sharing his knowledge was clear throughout the event.
Ross has worked with Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics, among other major North American comic book publishers. He has also produced storyboards for feature films, prepared artwork and advised on special projects for television.
His sharing session, “My Comic Journey”, highlighted his road to becoming the artist he is today, the challenges he faced when starting out and key pointers on how to master freehand figure drawing.
Attendees were treated to a live demonstration by Ross as he elaborated on his technique and skills.
“One of the hardest things to do in drawing is to start with the head. It is hard to make it seamless with the shoulder area. Most of the time, artists are required to go back and redraw the neck and shoulder area,” said Ross.
He advised students to start drawing the body to establish a natural flow and line before tackling the head and facial features.
He also explained that it is important to incorporate actual parts of the human anatomy, such as the deltoids, when drawing the first sketch as it will help “to lock down some of the natural landmarks of the body to understand the movement”.
When speaking about his role as a comic artist or penciller, Ross reminded participants that in comics, they are tasked to manifest 3D characters via a 2D medium.
He also stressed the importance of knowing how to draw a multitude of subjects, as comic artists are expected to also depict convincing sceneries such as cityscapes, jungle scenes, fire, smoke, lightning, mist and heavy rain.
“You have to draw people with their dramatic over-the-top action, and you also have to be able to draw very quiet scenes and restaurants. It has to be convincing.”
His main advice to the students was to get their work shown to publishers, editors and the “big guns” in the creative field.
He highlighted the convenience that social media brings in terms of being able to put their work out there and making the right connections, which was not so simple in the past.
“When you get a chance to see and meet people from different areas in the industry, pick their brains and don’t be shy ... and if you can get them to look at your work and give you some useful tips, that’s great, that’s like gold,” he concluded.
Ross’ book, which has been translated and sold in three different languages, aims to educate the current generation and give them the opportunity to feel the same way.
The One Academy provides top-quality art education programmes and nurtures students through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy practised for the past 28 years.
It offers diploma and degree courses in advertising and graphic design, digital animation, digital media design, film visual effects, interior architecture and design, illustration, fine arts and esmod fashion design and pattern making.