Hello Mr. Dale. I am an aspiring comic book penciller and have found myself at a crossroad. A few days ago I used a lightbox for the first time. It was indeed faster and my drawing was much cleaner but I didn't like the finished product at all, compared to my original drawing. The lightboxed drawing came off stiff and boring while my old one felt organic and had a few "mistakes" that gave it some life. Do I go back to my old way or bite the bullet and stay the course?
Anonymous askedI had exactly the same experience— here’s what I do to keep the energy in the final product:
Make your underdrawing as fast as possible, leaving a lot of the finished details to be put on in the final stage. It keeps the poses and expressions expressive, the action kinetic and overall a lot more “fun” than it’d be otherwise.
The fewer steps between concept and finished art the better. Let me know how it goes!
- jeremy
I'm comic book artist Jeremy Dale (Skyward, Marvel Kapow!, G.I. Joe, Popgun). Twice Harvey-nominated, workhorse artist, all man. 