Wondering, “WHAT SHALL I GET HIM FOR CHRISTMAS?”
By Alan McKenzie (Titan Books)
ISBN: 1-84576-076-X
The latest edition of this excellent How To… is totally revamped for the digital age and computer-literate creator, whilst never forgetting that everything, Everything, EVERYTHING starts with the basics.
Sub-titled Content, Layout, Style, Colour and Presentation, this volume takes the reader through easy to assimilate stages with equal attention paid to fundamental principles such as page size and proportion and exacting details like which software and programs produce the best value for your budget.
Beginning with a brief history of comics, the book covers basic elements (equipment, workspace, format, covers, figures, motion and perspective), storytelling (script, pacing, format, breakdowns and layouts with samples), drawing the story (penciling, characters, design, expression and posture, background and composition, inking, marks and textures), lettering and colour (the full course from rulers and brushes to the latest digital techniques), and selling your work.
This last chapter is perhaps the most useful, drawing as it does on the author’s decades of experience as both freelance writer and as editor of magazines as varied as Starburst and 2000AD. Lavishly illustrated throughout, with many of the accompanying pictures purpose-created by long-time collaborator Steve Parkhouse, this book is a must-have companion for aspiring creators who know this is a serious, skilled – and technical – Business, and not a soft option for the lazy or indolent dreamer.
© 2005 Quarto Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.