The Howdunit Series

It seems I've been posting a lot of art reference stuff but not much for the writer. So here it is.

Here is a great collection of writer's reference books called the Howdunit Series.

It's more for the Crime, Murder, Mystery writer but I'm sure it will be helpful to some of us Fantasy and Sci-Fi genre junkies as well. I've never actually read the books (I flipped through one very quickly a long time ago) but it was recommended to me by one of the Bat-editors at DC Comics (Jordan Gorfinkel, I think?) Whether you want to know what the proper police procedure for arresting a suspect, how to track a missing person, or knowing the correct number of poison mushrooms it takes to kill a man, this series apparently has the answers.

deviantART Resources

You're probably familiar with the community artist's site known as deviantART, but did you know they had a Resources section? A lot of generous artists have uploaded textures, Photoshop brushes, pose reference, tutorials and more. In fact I gots me some purty nice splatter brushes and cloud brushes from this one guy's page.

The quantity is pretty overwhelming, and I haven't had a chance to check it all out but here is a good starting point.

Posemaniacs

Posemanaics has a fairly good collection of computer generated figures you can use for reference or practice. You can scroll each figure in a 360 degree view and some figures have animation cycles such as walking and running.

It also offers excercises such as 30 Second Drawing, where it flashes a pose for 30 seconds and you must sketch it (Just like in the ol' days of art class).

It's a Japanese site but very English friendly.

Sequential Salon Update

Some what belated, but better later than never update. We had our first official meeting on November 3rd and it went quite well. Carlos and Bowie had a crack at my Cintiq, and Jeff was semi-comatose on my bed from his usual lack of sleep.

We all went around discussing our current personal projects. Bowie his web comic to be, Kain, Jeff his blog article on, So You Wanna Make Comics, Eh?, Carlos' fantasy comic, Title Pending and my fantasy comic, coincidentally also Title Pending.

The feedback I got was immensely helpful and I hope that everybody got something out of it too. I mean, I could have never been able to think of a chipmunk sidekick that can store massive amounts of deadly weapons in his cheeks by myself. Thanks guys!

The next meeting is tentatively on January 27th, 2008. Spread the word y'all and post some stuff from your projects on the blog.

See ya at the next meeting!

Warcraft Night Elf

The siren call of World of Warcraft beckons me. Must... resist!

The "Complete" Syllabus for Cartoonists

(Original post here.)

ABOUT ART:

Dr Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Andrew Loomis:

Creative Illustration

Drawing the Head and Hands

Figure Drawing for all it's Worth

Successful Drawing

Walter Foster:

Okay, there's literally a hundred books available from Walter Foster Publishing that cover a wide range of subjects and techniques. Just look around, you'll find something you want.

George Bridgman:

The Best of Bridgman: Boxed Set (Contains Bridgman’s Life Drawing, The Book of a Hundred Hands, and Heads, Features and Faces).

Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing From Life

Constructive Anatomy

Drawing the Draped Figure

The Human Machine

Jack Hamm:

First Lessons in Drawing and Painting

Drawing the Head and Figure

Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes

How to Draw Animals

Cartooning the Head and Figure

Drawing and Cartooning for Laughs

Burne Hogarth:

Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery: Solutions for Drawing the Clothed Figure

Dynamic Light and Shade


Fritz Schider, An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists

Sarah Simblet, Anatomy for the Artist

Jeno Barcsay, Anatomy for the Artist

Gyorgy Feher and Andras Szunyoghy, Cyclopedia Anatomicae

Mark Edward Smith, The Nude Figure

Thomas Easley and Mark Edward Smith, The Figure in Motion

John Cody with Ron Tribell, Atlas of Foreshortening

Gary Faigin, The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression

James McMullan, High Focus Drawing

Mike Mattesi, Force

ABOUT COMIC ART:

Stan Lee and John Buscema, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

Scott McCloud:

Understanding Comics

Reinventing Comics

Making Comics

Will Eisner:

Comics & Sequential Art

Graphic Storytelling

Shop Talk

Eisner/Miller

Bob Andelman, A Spirited Life and accompanying blog articles.


David Chelsea, Perspective for Comic Book Artists

Jeff Johnson, Draw Fight Scenes Like a Pro

Andy Smith, Drawing Dynamic Comics

Glenn Fabry, Muscles in Motion: Figure Drawing for the Comic Book Artist

Durwin S. Talon, Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling

Mark Salisbury, Artists on Comic Art

Gary Martin, The Art of Comic Book Inking

Arthur Guptill, Rendering in Pen and Ink

Klaus Janson, The DC Comics Guide to Penciling Comics

Klaus Janson, The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics

Mark Chiarello and Todd Klein, The DC Comics Guide to Coloring & Lettering Comics

ABOUT WRITING:

Syd Field, Screenplay

William Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade

Truffaut, Hitchcock

Scott Meredith, Writing to Sell

W. Terrence Gordon, McLuhan for Beginners

Christopher Vogler, The Writer's Journey

Robert McKee, Story

Julius Schwartz and Brian M. Thomsen, Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics

ABOUT COMICS WRITING:

Dennis O'Neil, The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics

Alan Moore, Writing For Comics

Nat Gertler (editor), Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers

Nat Gertler (editor), Panel Two: More Comic Book Scripts By Top Writers

Mark Salisbury, Writers On Comics Scriptwriting

Tom Root and Andrew Kardon, Writers On Comics Scriptwriting volume 2

ABOUT THE COMICS INDUSTRY, SELF-PUBLISHING, CONVENTIONS, AND MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS:

Warren Ellis:

Come In Alone

From the Desk of Warren Ellis volume 1

From the Desk of Warren Ellis volume 2


Neil Gaiman, Gods & Tulips

Larry Young, True Facts: Comics' Righteous Anger

Dave Sim, Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing

Kevin Tinsley, Digital Prepress for Comic Books


And now...Cheese.

The Science of Fighting

Fight Science is pretty damn interesting National Geographic show that explores various martial arts and weapons. It has excellent CG animation and fight demonstrations that will sure to spark the interests of any comic artist who loves good action fighting.

Link to website Fight Science.

Weekend Project: Elektra

Finished an illustration. Now, somebody give me a cookie.

Feeling Sketchy Pt. 4 - Demon Hunter Kain Sketch

Playing with a Wacom Cintiq while hanging with friends at the first Sequential Salon meeting.

High Definition Photography

Download the plugin (PC only), view, and zoom a 13 gigapixel panoramic view of Harlem.

The Artist's Decision Tree

Our deepest insecurities diagrammed in a simple, uh...diagram. By Sheldon Cartoonist, David Kellett.