Wacky Reference Wednesdays, No. 45

Tuesday, February 24, 2009



I wear my suit more often for reference than for formal occasions — and I'm okay with that.

In this panel, I already had a pretty solid layout sketch, but I wanted those folds to be just right. My memory is a little hazy here, but I seem to remember taking the photos midway through the drawing process. Sometimes all you need is a little clue to fully realize a particular gesture. The good news is, you may not need the clue next time.






6 comments :

  1. It's always interesting to see ref photos. Most of the ones I've seen from artists like Alex Ross etc. are for the "standing around" scenes, I'd be curious to see how you deal with difficult poses like swooping and flying etc.

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  2. Funny you mention that Michael, as I got the same question at the NYCC. I can actually do most of the action poses out of my head. I find it much harder to draw a convincing seated figure than a crazy flying kick. This may also have to do with clothing, since most of the action poses involve spandex-covered characters. I can invent a nude figure from almost any angle, but naturalistic drapery can be a challenge.

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  3. You probably already have em, but the Jack Hamm book Drawing the Head and Figure has some great info on drawing figures in clothe/suits etc and the Famous Artist School course covers it awesomely as well...it's amazing how some of those old school illustrators could make up such believable figures in clothes etc

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  4. I actually hadn't seen that book before, but I'm downloading it right now. What a great resource! I had heard his name before, but that's about it. I might mention this in a future post. Thanks!

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  5. Cool, The Jack Hamm book is the one I always mention to aspiring artists...it's cheap and chock full of great info and it's still in print. It's usually buried somewhere in the pile of crappy How to Draw Manga books in Barnes and Noble! He's got a bunch of other books (cartooning, landscape,animals) which are pretty good too, but this is definitely the best.

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