But now, at last, Steve Does Comics can exclusively reveal they're not tiny at all. They're normal-sized and it's all an illusion caused by a thing called perspective.
But it seems I'm not alone in having realised this, and entire books have been written on the subject.
One such book is the one I was sent the other day by the good people at Search Press. Written by Dan Cooney, The Graphic Novelist's Guide to Drawing Perspective sets out to explain and demonstrate all the budding artist could ever want to know about the phenomenon and how it can be incorporated into our masterpieces.
It's a very exhaustive book indeed which, as you'd expect, deals with the horrors of one-point, two-point and three-point perspective but also touches on a whole range of other things necessary to the artist, such as the materials needed for drawing, the importance of carrying a sketch pad with you, as you seek out examples of perspective in the real world, advice on how to place your vanishing point, the Rule of Thirds, tips on drawing the human figure, how to use perspective to make your work feel more dynamic, and a whole heap of other stuff of value to the artist. In doing so, it uses a plethora of images, not only by Cooney himself but by a number of other industry professionals. Needless to say, I was especially impressed by Judge Dredd showing up.
The book's extremely thorough and technical in how it goes about its business and perhaps its most useful feature is that it's packed with designated worksheets on which you can carry out the exercises laid out in the book, meaning it functions as a course in perspective rather than just being a reference or instruction book.
So, if you've ever wanted to gain a fuller understanding of just how to incorporate perspective into your visual work, this is the book for you.
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12 comments:
Steve - does this book teach one how to draw pictures, from below looking upward, of the human visage? I would love to know how to draw nostrils like Gil Kane. If not, I don't think I'd be interested...
I never noticed it before, but yeah, Kane drew a lotta nostrils. A lotta shots from just under the character's head.
All those artists had their quirks. Sal Buscema with his stock poses (which I liked, actually), Kirby's hands, where every guy's fingers looked like 2x4's...
Keith Giffen had this weird thing he did with hands. I can't really describe it. It almost looks like they're holding a beer bottle or something, except they're not.
Except when they are.
I always loved how Kirby drew villains faces. They had these enormous mouths with rows of huge teeth. They looked like they were getting ready to eat a cat whole. The Sandman always looked like he had a piano in his head.
Speaking of animals, I heard they other day that if you pick up a tame rabbit, you should always keep your hand under their feet and not let them dangle.
Otherwise, they think they're being carried off by a large bird, and it freaks the s#!t outta them.
I'm just trying to help here, passing along useful information.
M.P.
Charlie, it does show you how to draw people from below but, from what I can remember, it features no advice on how to draw up their nostrils.
You never noticed Gil Kane drew a lot of nostrils before M.P.? Really?
Kirby's extreme close-ups were generally enjoyable, when he'd zoom in on the eyes.
https://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/dynamics/2010/09/10/more-kirby-eyes/
Of course, Gene Colan was your man for figures in perspective.
He seemed to get it right effortlessly.
-sean
Gene the Dean was the man. The guy's use of shadows, particularly on Doc Strange and Dracula, always knocks me out. You might see a bit of a character's face in darkness, a glimpse, or a suggestion of a shape, and it lead to a feeling of, I dunno, maybe dread or unreality or nervous anticipation. There was something you weren't seeing, not completely, but you knew it was there. Colan let the reader's imagination do a lot of the work. Not that he was lazy, it's just that he knew how to do it. You have to be a master of the rules to break them successfully. Few artists can pull that off, seems to me. It's the monster you don't see clearly that you worry about. Perfect for those titles.
Why my mother consented to buy an issue of Tomb of Dracula for a jumpy, squirrely little kid like me is anybody's guess. It coulda screwed me up for life! I was already in terror of Bigfoot.
M.P.
Good to know you weren't screwed up for life there, M.P.
Erm...
Anyway, yes, Gene Colan's Drac and Doc - and Howard the Duck - were great. Why Marvel let him go is beyond me, but on the plus side it meant that he got to do more varied work and, best of all, DC and Eclipse reproduced his work from straight from the pencils.
-sean
Shooter got weird, that's why. He became power-mad. Colan himself said in an interview that he just couldn't deal with the B.S. at Marvel any more.
I bet D.C. was glad to get him.
M.P.
Steve,
Does the book show how to draw a rabbit with dangling feet with a view from below the feet looking upward?
I guess if the book doesn't even bother showing us how to draw up a man's nostrils, but does show how to do dangling rabbit's feet, I could be a customer.
Hey - does anyone remember if Gil drew up women's nostrils too, or just guys'? Are there any shots of Gwen Stacy's nostrils? I'm not talking Gwen-clone nostrils, b/c in my world there is only one Gwen, but the real Gwen.
Well, I guess I could be interested in Mary Jane's nostrils.
Well, we can laugh, it's all well and good, but I'm guessing that getting plucked off the the ground by a large raptor must be a worst-case scenario for a rabbit.
Just like having Bigfoot smash his hairy claw through my bedroom window is a worst-case scenario for me.
M.P.
Charlie, I have no memory of the book featuring any rabbit action.
That’s a great question from Charlie about Gil Kane and women's nostrils.
So great that I've just had a flick through all Gil's work on ASM (ASM #150 as well as his earlier extended run). And he definitely does women's nostrils differently. He has plenty of shots from the right angle but always understates their nostrils. Whereas any male nostrils that he draws from that angle look big and deep enough to house a family of rats.
And I have to say that ASM #103 is to up the nose shots what Moonraker was to product placement.
Dangermash - I am blown away you mention ASM 103.
I started reading ASM in earnest at 100 when I was 10 years old.
When Spidey and the gang ventured to Kazar Land in 103-104, I recall to this day being struck by Kane's nostril shots. I mean, so struck that along with growing 4 extra arms in ASM 100 and dum-ass Conway killing Gwen a few years later, the nostril shots are right there!!! I recall them as I am typing!!!
Thank God Kane never drew any male nudes from the bottom up, in comics...
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