Table Of Content

The material in this book was first published in print in 2002. It has been reissued in eBook format, with no editorial changes, in 2013. Copyright © 2002 by DC Comics (eBook edition) Copyright © 2013 by DC Comics (eBook edition) All related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. WB SHIELD: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s13) For WatsonGuptill Publications: Senior Acquisitions Editor: Candace Raney Associate Editor: Sarah Fass Production Manager: Hector Campbell Cover and Interior Design: Kapo Ng For DC Comics: Senior Editor: Steve Korté Associate Editor: Jaye Gardner Managing Editor: Trent Duffy First published in 2002 by WatsonGuptill Publications, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York www.crownpublishing.com www.watsonguptill.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available All rights reserved. v3.1 Dedicated to my mother, who teaches by example. CONTENTS Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Introduction by Dick Giordano PART ONE: DRAWING ONE • Materials TWO • Shapes THREE • Faces FOUR • Anatomy FIVE • Clothing SIX • Perspective PART TWO: STORYTELLING SEVEN • Juxtaposition EIGHT • How to Lay Out a Page NINE • Storytelling TEN • Composition ELEVEN • Shots and Angles TWELVE • Movement PART THREE: PENCILLING THIRTEEN • Procedure FOURTEEN • Breaking In FIFTEEN • Anatomy of a Story AFTERWORD About the Author Index INTRODUCTION I first became aware of Klaus Janson while I was the editor at Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut, and Klaus was a young comics fan and prolific letter-writer living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, who directed his comments to the letters pages that appeared in our comics. As editor I read all letters and replied to the best ones in the columns. I cannot now recall how many of Klaus’s letters saw print, but I do know that I began to look forward to reading his letters each month. They were intelligent, sensitive, and well-informed responses to the work we were publishing at Charlton at that time. After reading a particular emotional letter that he’d written (not about comics but a sad real-world event), I was moved to invite him to Derby to show him a bit of the publishing world and maybe chat a bit. So we met … and became friends. That friendship has endured for more than three decades, despite our separate activities rarely placing us in the same place at the same time. When we do get together, we have that capacity to pick up where we left off that is common between friends. Our bond? A mutual respect for each other as individuals and as fellow professionals, a mutual love of the comics art form, and a mutual desire to better the form and derive greater satisfaction from practicing it. I believe that this book is an extension of Klaus’s love of the art form of comics—a method of giving something back and sharing with others the knowledge that he has acquired through decades of intense study and hard work. It is written in straightforward, clear, readily understandable, and informative text. The numerous illustrations illuminate and highlight the key portions of each chapter. It was a monumental task to present all this information in such an easily digestible form that is intended for both the individual preparing for a career in comics and the individual loathe to give up amateur status but wishing to take a hobby to another level. Additionally, although the information is specifically slanted to the budding comics artist, it also serves a function in instructing those interested in pursuing careers in illustration or advertising art. Drawing is, after all, drawing. So, my friend, without further ado, read the book you hold in your hands. It is written by a veteran professional who has risen to the top of his field. Read it, enjoy it, and, most of all, learn from it. The more focused you are, the more you will learn. Remember, there is no fast track to becoming a good artist. Becoming tops at what you do is almost always a triumph of perspiration over inspiration. It may be a slow trip … but since the trip is half the fun, have a good trip. Dick Giordano