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dedicated to everyone who dreams big acknowledgments i would like to express my sincere gratitude to lenny brown creative director of the topps company whom i consider to be the maestro of the comics and without whose help this book might not have been written special thanks goes to jim salicrup a former editor of marvel comics and now associate publisher and editor-in-chief of topps comics for sharing his time and insights with my readers thanks also to darryl banks and rich faber for their contribution to this book a note to readers parents and teachers some art materials are unsuitable for young children to use children should only use art materials that are labeled as nontoxic and carry the statement conforms to astm d-4236 or similar wording all purchase of art materials for and art activities of children under the age of 12 should be supervised by an adult senior editor candace raney edited by joy aqullino designed by bob fillie graphiti graphics graphic production by hector campbell and sharon kaplan chapter title art by carmine vecchio copyright ©1995 by art studio llc first published in 1995 by watson-guptill publications a division of vnu business media inc 770 broadway new york ny 10003 www.watsonguptill.com library of congress cataloging-in-publication data hart christopher how to draw comic book heroes and villains/christopher hart .p cm includes index summary covers how to create your own original comic book characters draw fight scenes design special powers and invent imaginary creatures with a section on how the comic business works isbn 0-8230-2245-5 1 cartooning-technique-juvenile literature 2 comic books strips etc technique-juvenile literature 3 heroes-caricatures and cartoons-juvenile literature [1 cartoons and comics 2 cartooning-technique 3 drawing-technique i title nc1764.h371995 741.5-dc20 95-36859 cip ac all rights reserved no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means-graphic electronic or mechanical including photocopying recording taping,or information storage and retrieval systems-without written permission of the publisher manufactured in the united states of america first printing 1995 10 11 12 13 14 06 05 04 03 02

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contents introduction the contributing artists awesome anatomy pumping up your drawing skills for the heroic head and figure zap pow crunch creating convincing fight scenes fantastic foes inventing bizarre villains monsters and mutants beautiful but deadly drawing ravishing and resourceful heroines-and enticing adversaries powerful perspective using the rules of perspective to enhance your drawings the big bang how and when to use special effects the plot thickens the visual art of storytelling secrets of the pros mysteries of inking shading and folds revealed fire power advanced weaponry and assault vehicles making it in the biz the ins and outs of the comic book business i

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introduction h ow to draw comic book heroes and villains is the ultimate book for anyone aspiring to be a professional comic book illustrator i m proud to tell you that these pages feature the work of some of the best talents in the comic book field you ll learn from artists who have drawn superman batman spider-man the hulk conan the barbarian the fantastic four the flash and elvira these pros who have worked for such notable publishers as marvel dc valiant and defiant reveal the secrets of designing powerful and convincing fight scenes drawing heroic anatomy inventing really bad villains using special effects techniques interpreting a script visually designing advanced weaponry and much much more also there s a chapter devoted to answering the questions that every serious-minded aspiring artist has you ll learn what to include in a winning portfolio what the shortcuts are to landing your first job and how the business really works for instance did you know that the person who draws the covers is rarely the same person who draws the interior pages this book also features an exclusive interview with jim salicrup the renowned former marvel editor and now associate publisher and editor-in-chief of topps comics he shares his insights on the business as he tells you exactly what qualities he and other comic book editors look for when hiring a new artist pencil paper and this book and you re on your way dare the contributing artists frank mclaughlin celebrated pen-and-ink artist mclaughlin has 35 years of experience in the comic book industry frank has contributed his talents to such famous comic books as superman batman wonder woman and green arrow for dc comics as well as captain america and iron fist for marvel comics and femme fatale for broadway comics he has worked for practically every major comic book publisher including valiant defiant charlton seaboard dell and archie gray morrow admired and envied for his ability to draw the most gorgeous women in the comic book field morrow has created illustrations for playboy and penthouse and also has the distinction of having worked on batman and superman for dc comics he worked on the animated tv show spider-man the comic strip tarzan for united features syndicate power rangers for gladstone comics and creepy and eerie comics frank springer well known throughout the industry springer is highly regarded for his powerful line drawings among his best-known work springer drew the hulk conan the barbarian the fantastic four spider-man sgt fury and the invaders for marvel as well as the flash for dc elvira for claypool comics and the adventures of hedley kase for sports illustrated kids www.hart2draw.com j alex morrissey one of the outstanding new artists on the cutting edge of the industry morrissey has drawn many marvel titles including the punisher ghost rider cloak and dagger cage iron fist and power pack as well as division 13 for dark horse comics.

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f you want to inflict maximum devistation on bad guys then regular anatomy just won t do you ve got to pump up your heroes to awesome proportions in this chapter you ll learn exactly how the pros transform ordinary anatomy into super-powered anatomy.

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the classic hero s head ecause professional comic book artists don t always have access to live models they ve created a system for drawing a perfectly proportioned head the proportions used in this method of drawing the head can be seen in some of the world s most popular comic book heroes b to make it easier to see how we arrive at these proportions start by placing the head inside of a rectangle then think in terms of halves divide the rectangle in half with a horizontal guideline that s where the eyes go place the end of the nose halfway between the eyes and the bottom of the chin draw the lips halfway between the end of the nose and the chin by drawing guidelines from the center of each eye to the edges of the lips you get the correct width of the lips the dotted lines indicate that the eyes are one eye s width apart the details such as wrinkles and hair are added only after the basic form has been established if your hero s head doesn t look right check it against these classic proportions and adjust it accordingly frontside just as in the front view the eyes in a side view are positioned in the middle of the head much of the head s mass appears behind the ear only the front portion of the head makes up the face the bottom of the ear and the bottom of the nose are drawn at the same height as are the top of the ear and the contour of the eyebrow the chin should be strong and angular the neck is thick and muscular.

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sketching different head shapes shape of the skull is a globe-sort of actually it s a globe with the sides lopped off because the sides of a head aren t perfectly round either extend a line down the center of the face then make a few marks along that line to indicate where the hairline the eyes the bridge of the nose the mouth and the chin will go by varying the distances among these marks you can create different characters another method for inventing new characters is to change the overall shape of the head of t he principal partsthethe head are the skull and jaw the in every comic book or cartoon illustration of the head the hairline eyes nose mouth and chin are drawn on different planes keep each feature fixed and locked in its own position and the face will read with clarity.

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facial features men s n0ses and ears a s you draw your hero s face consider the complex angles of his nose and ears the nose begins at the forehead about halfway down the nose is a slight indentation-that s where the bone ends and the cartilage begins although it isn t always noticeable it is often indicated in comic book illustration because it gives a dramatic look pay close attention to the planes of the nose-top sides and bottom if you look closely at the interior of the ear below right you ll notice a tilted y shape use this shape when drawing your hero in profile the ears and the nose are the only two parts of the body that never stop growing therefore when drawing an older character make his nose and ears larger than normal.

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women s lips female characters are always drawn with full lips which gives them a pensive moody quality the bottom lip is usually fuller than the top one the lips stretch horizontally around the surface of the face so it s important to draw them as if they were wrapping around a cylinder do not draw the lips as straight lines to show gleaming bright teeth draw the shadows between them the shadows should become thinner toward the front of the mouth use more shadows at the edges of the mouth to give the teeth the illusion of roundness unless you re trying to draw an angry frightened or otherwise severe expression don t draw each individual tooth breathtaking eyes increase the appeal of any female character whether she s a good gal or a bad one keep in mind that the eyeball is first drawn round not almond-shaped-it s the way the eyelid is attached to the eye that makes it look oval the eyelid acts as a hood creating a shadow along the top of the eyeball the lashes on both lids become progressively thicker and darker as you work toward the eye s outer corner though the bottom lashes are somewhat shorter to make the eyeball appear wet add a highlight of white to the iris if the highlight is too big it will make your character look like she s staring which will also happen if you show too much eyeball and not enough eyelid you want to show one-third eyelid to two-thirds eyeball get as much expression into the eyebrows as you possibly can they are the key to conveying emotion unless a person is squinting or stunned the shape of the eye doesn t change as dramatically as the eyebrows which can be raised lowered furrowed or arched women s eyes

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how to draw hair doesn t look y our own hair first draw thelike a hat-why should your character s head without hair then decide what the hair style should be lines for hair should flow away from the scalp and continue in the directions set by the particular style instead of trying to draw each individual hair draw large shapes and tufts don t make the hair appear too uniform for women especially blondes you can create the illusion of luster by bunching some black lines together provided that these lines also flow in the same direction as the hair men s hair styles your character can get pulverized in a fight scene thrown through an exploding building and dumped in a toxic waste dump but his hair s still gotta look good what s more you ve got to make sure that your hero s hair style stays the same throughout the course of his career occasionally a comic book s editorial staff will decide to change or update a character s appearance in which case the entire character including his costume is reevaluated notice how this character s careless hairstyle left is actually well plotted shown on the opposite page are some standard types you can make up your own or combine the features of several women s hair styles there s a wide range of hair styles for women far more than for men the one you choose for your character should complement and harmonize with her appearance a woman s hair is drawn with longer more flowing strokes than a man s notice how the hair cascades off the shoulders left notice too how the hairline starts higher on the female forehead emphasizing its roundness outline the hair like a hat it s not a helmet don t

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