May 04
©ICECUBES
A quick review of the different steps a strip takes before making it to the book! To read more, see the Kickstarter update here
These days I have been busy re-scanning all the strips for the book. They were originally scanned at 150dpi for the web but need to be re-scanned at 600dpi for the book… Oh well, I won’t make that mistake again! I then need to clean and color all 170 strips. Quite a job! As you can see from the brace on my right hand, it’s taking a toll. All this computer work is giving me a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome… But, have no fear, you won’t be disappointed because ICECUBES the Book is coming out real soon and will be a huge success!
Leroy Brown
If the video window does not appear, just click here.
Leroy Brown shows his ‘old school’ comic strip creation techniques. From pencils thru to real ink using nibs and brushes, watch the strip being created. As a bonus the digital coloring process is also featured. This was recorded on Livestream on Nov. 24, 2011. The podcast was recorded live during the whole creation process. Feel free to jump to any segment. Enjoy!
See Part 1 and Part 2 to catch up.
This is the back side of your tracing.
©Leroy Brown
Once you have blacked the back of your tracing paper, you are now ready to transfer your drawing. Remember, you only need to black the area that corresponds to your drawing.
©Leroy Brown
Now you can flip the tracing over and start transferring your drawing! Place your tracing in the exact spot on your strip were you want the drawing to appear. Now trace your drawing, paying close attention to the lines that you want to capture. A lot of times you don’t need to put in a lot of detail. In my case I was just after the gesture and proportions of my original sketch.
Presto! There is your original drawing, exactly where you want it on the page! It’s a great trick and I use it when I feel the need for speed! Looks great doesn’t it? Be sure you don’t dig in too much with your pencil just in case you need to erase and reposition your drawing.
I don’t consider this cheating by the way, since I drew the original drawing. It’s just that I drew it on my sketch pad and wanted to place it at the right spot inside my comic strip. Here are some examples of drawings I transferred recently.
So you have selected the drawing you want to transfer. The next step is to trace it.
©Leroy Brown
Note the tracing paper and original drawing are taped to the table to prevent slipping (orange arrow). Now carefully trace your drawing using a soft pencil. Do not make deep lines or dig into the paper, you just want a nice outline.
©Leroy Brown
Once the tracing is done, it’s time to prepare the transfer. Turn the tracing over. Using a very soft pencil (3B or more) apply lead to the underside of your tracing. The best way is to use the flat of your lead (using charcoal is fine too).
©Leroy Brown
Tomorrow we’ll do the transfer! Stay tuned.
As mentioned last week, here’s a cool trick to use when trying to copy or transfer a drawing. Often you will practice a drawing a few times to get it right, a lot like a musician practices a riff to get the ’swing’ of it. When you get that drawing right, you can keep practicing it to memorize it, or if you are on a tight deadline (like I often am) you can transfer it.
©Leroy Brown
Here is a practice sheet of Freeze walking. After several attempts I got a drawing I liked (circled in blue). In part 2 I will show you how to trace it then transfer it to your comic. Tune in tomorrow for part 2.
©Leroy Brown
Here’s a tracing I did of Freeze walking. I did it because I had done a great drawing that I wanted to copy. Next week I’ll explain how you can use tracing paper to transfer your drawing. It’s easy!
Howdy! Here is the first in a series of podcasts on ‘How To Draw Comics’. I recently taped the making of an entire ICECUBES strip. The parts are divided into 1.Writing 2.Sketching 3.Bluelines 4.Pencils and 5.Inks. Here is part 4, Pencils.
4.Pencils from Leroy Brown on Vimeo.
Watch Leroy Brown as he draws ICECUBES the comic strip featuring Freeze with his head in an icecube! In this podcast: pencils.
Here is the very first sketch I did of the idea I had for the ‘Moon’ strip.
©Leroy Brown
©Leroy Brown
check out Moon Drawings: Part 1 here
Moon Drawings: Part 2 here!
Moon Drawings: Part 3 here!
For theses drawings I looked at some moon base architecture and technology from Nasa.
©Leroy Brown
View the comic here:
check out Moon Drawings: Part 1 here
and Moon Drawings: Part 2 here!
