2000 AD Online Forum

#1: Duncan Fegredo.

I was reading the first issue of Hellboy: The Storm when Fegredo hit me with a two-thirds of a page panel in which the movement is conveyed so simply, and yet so utterly effectively that it made me dizzy to look at.

It might constitute a spoiler, so I won't embed it in this post, but you can see the image by clicking here. (http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb36/jimcampbell2000/Hellboy-TheStorm.jpg)

I am in awe.

Cheers!

Jim

 Agreed, Fegredos art nowadays is stunning. I'm currently reading 'Hellboy: Wild Hunt'. Amazing artist. My favourite artists of all time (so far!) are Brian Bolland and Jack Kirby. After all these years I can still just sit and stare at thier work in awe. Heh, the title of the thread seems a little extreme, I would never stop drawing because someone else was better than me. I'd have quit years ago! But I get your drift.  :lol:

#2 Ben Oliver.

I thought I was getting the hang of drawing comics. Then I bought Prog 1627. "Cockroaches". Bastard. Still, it made me go away and sort out a (long) list of things I need to work on, which was a helpful thing to do. 

Iv'e been a long time admirer of Ashley Wood, and I kinda got it. It looks sloppy and fast but really theres a lot of thinking going on. That was until recently, until i found out that the man does NO UNDERDRAWING. It blows my mind, to be able to lay out a page and draw it straight in ink with such confidence.. I'm not giving up, but jesus, I'm a long way off.

Bruce Timm and now Darwyn Cooke.

I remember picking up an American comic mag (Comic Scene I think it was called, similar to Fangoria) for the exorbitant amount of £7 when I was 19 just 'cos an image of Batman Animated by Bruce Timm adorned the cover.

My soul both sank and rose. It was great to see such a style, but gutting to see it wasn't jumping from the nib of my pen.

Since then I've learnt about the Fleischer studio look and all the other artist's that came before, but for that moment I thought I was looking at the Sistine chapel of comic/animation art.

Dunk!, seeing your current pages I can really see where you get that from. Bruce timms Batman was awesome.

Serge Clerc made me give up

When I got the Dredd Restricted Files 01 earlier this year I got that horrible sinking feeling looking at all the Mike McMahon colour strips. They were so perfect, the knowledge that I would never be able to do anything a fraction as good made me want to cry!

I have a bit of weird thing with Jamie Hewlett - I love his work so much that I often actively avoid looking at any new stuff he comes out with, or studying it in any detail. His style is such a big influence on my own but I don't want to unconsciously imitate it (there are plenty of talented artists on DeviantArt who slavishly copy his style which I don't see the point of!) - I want my own style to be unique and not influenced too much by any other artist, but folks still frequently say my stuff reminds them of Hewlett!

I regard Eduardo Risso's work (especially on 100 Bullets) as pretty much perfect in every way.

Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (the manga) is an incredibly daunting body of work - it boggles my mind how any one person could produce such an incredible amount of perfect artwork. I can only assume that he must have had a team of assistants helping him, but it's still awe-inspiring.

I nearly gave up art when I picked up my first issue of Heavy Metal and saw Gess and Stephs art on Ultimate Paranoia 1: Ghosttown Gangsters. I still consider it the finest painted comic art ever, shame the story made little sense(though that could be a poor  translation on HMs part).

When I see someone do something amazing, it just sort of makes me want to go out and make up my on. What makes me want to give up is seeing some really substandard art selling like gangbusters...


That fegrado panel looks amazing, and makes me want to go out and try and do something just as cool*

-pj
(*I'll fail, but that's not the point -but "your mistakes are your style" so that's ok)

(Though, the way he can draw that marvellously bouncy car makes me want to put my head into my hands and weep...)

-pj

Quote from: radiator on 14 July, 2010, 02:39:13 PM
When I got the Dredd Restricted Files 01 earlier this year I got that horrible sinking feeling looking at all the Mike McMahon colour strips. They were so perfect, the knowledge that I would never be able to do anything a fraction as good made me want to cry!

Mike's work for the 81 and 82 annuals is just sublime – then there's also all of the fully painted Titan covers. Which are quite frankly awesome.



I've learnt a lot just by responding to and emulating some of his approaches. I owe a huge debt to him, his draftsmanship, his colour theory and his composition. Just mint.

Quote from: pauljholden on 14 July, 2010, 03:36:21 PM
(Though, the way he can draw that marvellously bouncy car makes me want to put my head into my hands and weep...)

It's the way the shadows turn into motion blur, and the way contours and the sweep of the road pull your eye into the picture. You read it left to right, top to bottom -- the right hand crash barrier leads you straight to the ogre-thing at the same moment that the shadows dissolve into motion blurs, and then car comes right to left across the direction of travel and literally skids across the panel.

It's just phenomenal.

Cheers!

Jim

Yeah that is indeed some awesome looking work. Must get my hands on this book!

"Its not how good you are - its how good you want to be"

I find this happens when i look at artwork by Ron Smith but it doesnt make me want to give up because i wouldnt expect to be as good as Ron Smith as its far too technical and if anything its more like technical drawing.I wouldnt even attempt to try and draw like Ron Smith.

Sometimes you need to accept and recognise your limitations and what your talents are.

The only other artist who i used to look at and think how the fuck do you do that is Belardinelli and too a certain extent i was envious of the talent on show.I was never put off the idea of drawing myself because of this because instead its the very reason i started drawing and inking myself* because it was a challenge to see if i could learn to draw and ink in the same style myself as i have made no effort at all to develop my own style and its not something that i am very interested in right now.

I just wanted to study and teach myself someting new with no real idea wether i would succeed or not.

*Actually it was one of the competitions here that was my first attempt at drawing as well.

Quote from: radiator on 14 July, 2010, 02:39:13 PM
I want my own style to be unique and not influenced too much by any other artist, but folks still frequently say my stuff reminds them of Hewlett!

I hadnt thought about that before but now you point it out i can see the influence very clearly.

I agree with what PJ said "When I see someone do something amazing, it just sort of makes me want to go out and make up my o[w]n." - very little actually puts me off drawing. That's a very negative way to see it - mostly I'm inspired by them. Sure all 2000ad artists (including auld PJ) are much better than me technically - and the old masters and gods like moebius and shitting GEOF DARROW make my art look like the scrawlings of a nonsense child but I still find myself drawing madly after reading the prog or seeing the gods or whomever. It just makes me want to draw. Everything makes me want to draw.

See that? Now I want to draw. It's a habit.

I grew up reading old Eagles and Look and Learn, so my early favourites were Don Lawrence's work on The Trigan Empire, Frank Hampson and Frank Bellamy.

If I had a smidge of their talent I'd be a very happy bunny indeed.

Whenever I see Buttonman's Microsoft Paint compo entries I just wanna put away the old PowerPoint and sulk...

When I was at school it was Ron Smith, Massimo Belardinelli and Ian Gibson that really caught my eye and got me doodling and expressing myself artistically. I used to have folders of art ranging from figure drawing to landscape. I tried just about every avenue. I have looked for them time and time again just to re-inspire myself.
Not long after I left school I just came to a block creatively and just stopped. I have recently tried to get back what I had but come no where near.

I don't think it is a case of wanting to give up its more of a kick in the stomach inspiration and gives you an urge to do better.





V

For years it was Ian Gibson. I remember me and my school friend, similarly afflicted, almost wetting our pants when we stumbled across Ian at a very early UKCAC and got sketches. Teenage infactuation.

His stuff has never gone down in my eyes, just been replaced by other artists.

I'm still impressed by the fact that his autopilot Robo Hunter stuff never screams Q Twerk or Emberton even though i now know he was churning it out.

And then there's Halo Book three...

Quote from: uncle fester on 14 July, 2010, 01:35:10 PM
#2 Ben Oliver.

I thought I was getting the hang of drawing comics. Then I bought Prog 1627. "Cockroaches". Bastard. Still, it made me go away and sort out a (long) list of things I need to work on, which was a helpful thing to do. 

You want to know what's worse?  He's a really, really nice guy.

Ben Oliver...I knew the name, but couldn't recall the work. Having just looked at his blog...

http://benoliverart.blogspot.com/ (http://benoliverart.blogspot.com/)

Wow. Yep. Fantastic stuff.

Glenn Fabry.
that guys an amazing artist and getting better with time.

Quote from: Pete Wells on 14 July, 2010, 10:34:29 PM
Whenever I see Buttonman's Microsoft Paint compo entries I just wanna put away the old PowerPoint and sulk...

:lol:

There is a panel in this comic which I still have 30 odd years later, where Satan himself is fighting Swamp Thing, using his hooves to gouge at bits of Swamp Things body. It blew my mind as a kid and still does. Horror/Christianity/Satan/Evil Priest/Demonic Possession all in one comic ...gasp (wish I could find it)

The Soul Spell of Father Bliss



Thing is when I look at it on some days I'm inspired to pick up a pencil, but on other days I think well I might as well chop off my hands, I will never achieve anything close to this

Quote from: Matt Timson on 15 July, 2010, 01:07:18 AM

Quote from: uncle fester on 14 July, 2010, 01:35:10 PM
#2 Ben Oliver.

I thought I was getting the hang of drawing comics. Then I bought Prog 1627. "Cockroaches". Bastard. Still, it made me go away and sort out a (long) list of things I need to work on, which was a helpful thing to do. 

You want to know what's worse?  He's a really, really nice guy.

The only thing that keeps me from giving up when I see your art, Matt, is that thought that you're NOT a really, really nice guy.

-pj

Quote from: pauljholden on 15 July, 2010, 11:39:39 PM
The only thing that keeps me from giving up when I see your art, Matt, is that thought that you're NOT a really, really nice guy.

And he's a cheat to boot!

Cheers

Jim

Jim Murray painted art always blew me away, then his black and white art in the christmas prog a few years back was even better. Think that was his last work other than a few covers. Pity he's not doing comics now. Greg capullo's work on spawn is/was  amazing too. so much action and detail. loooved ezquerra's earlier work before computer colouring. Necropolis, Purgatory etc were all epic in detail and colour.

Oh and MacNeils America made me almost cry it was so good.

Quote from: pauljholden on 15 July, 2010, 11:39:39 PM

Quote from: Matt Timson on 15 July, 2010, 01:07:18 AM

Quote from: uncle fester on 14 July, 2010, 01:35:10 PM
#2 Ben Oliver.

I thought I was getting the hang of drawing comics. Then I bought Prog 1627. "Cockroaches". Bastard. Still, it made me go away and sort out a (long) list of things I need to work on, which was a helpful thing to do. 

You want to know what's worse?  He's a really, really nice guy.

The only thing that keeps me from giving up when I see your art, Matt, is that thought that you're NOT a really, really nice guy.

-pj

You know I'm taking that as a compliment, right?

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 15 July, 2010, 11:41:09 PM

Quote from: pauljholden on 15 July, 2010, 11:39:39 PM
The only thing that keeps me from giving up when I see your art, Matt, is that thought that you're NOT a really, really nice guy.

And he's a cheat to boot!

Cheers

Jim

Don't worry- I have it on reasonably good authority that we never prosper.

Quote from: Matt Timson on 16 July, 2010, 10:28:13 AM

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 15 July, 2010, 11:41:09 PM

Quote from: pauljholden on 15 July, 2010, 11:39:39 PM
The only thing that keeps me from giving up when I see your art, Matt, is that thought that you're NOT a really, really nice guy.

And he's a cheat to boot!

Cheers

Jim

Don't worry- I have it on reasonably good authority that we never prosper.

I think that's comic creators in general.