For the pro artists out there...

[James]

How long does it take to draw a page? Pencils, inking?

I've been pushing to speed up and I was wondering how much time goes into each page.

I did a page of pencils in 5 hours...http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v99/jameskircough/Page6.jpg">

[vzzbux]

Hey some nice work, whats behind the story, looks intrueging.


V

[The Adventurer]

Just a curiosity question from someone who has been self teaching himself to pencil and ink. How do you get such clean penciling? Do you erase all the sketching you must do to get the final image? Or what?

[James]

Photoshop.

[Peter Wolf]

http://photobucket.com" target="_blank">http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z122/peterwolf_album/Photo8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket">

[Peter Wolf]

http://photobucket.com" target="_blank">http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z122/peterwolf_album/Photo10.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket">
 

I am not a pro and i have been teaching myself to draw.
 This drawing took about 3 hours from beginning to end last night.I draw left handed so i lean on my own work and the pencil lines can get a bit smudged so thats a problem.i average at about 2 hours a piece but that doesnt include inking just pencil.

[Adrian Bamforth]

As an occasional professional I'm personally pretty slow and take a couple of days to pencil a page to get it to my liking. Inking takes another day. Even then, after a few days I find the concentration takes it's toll and you have to have time off - I personally find drawing a very tiring business and I don't think sure whether I could really take on an ongoing monthly comic without severely simlifying my style. That probably explains why I like 2000AD art more than most American comics - the artists have the time to get it looking right.

Inking: I've been using a lightbox for years now though I've recently returned to inking on top of the pencils and rubbing them out. Like any kind of sketching when you do is start very likely scribbling a rough composition, then go over it again refining the image, picking the right lines to emphasise. I personally hold the pencil on it's side because you have more control over how soft/hard the line is (hold it in the traditional manner as if writing and you tend to draw too hard from the start). What people tend to do when they take life drawing lessons etc is to just draw the same lines over and over again, it looks like they're sketching but they're just etching their mistakes in harder. I've also taken to drawing the 'naked' figure then adding the clothes, hair etc. Don't ever use one of those wooden models for reference though.

[jock]

a page a day is a good rate to aim for - in the american or british market. i agree with adrian, that 2000AD pages are far more 'dense' than their american counterparts, but there are benefits to both. i like the space that a 22 page format can bring, i find it can help my work to breath a little more if that makes sense.

recently, due to deadline pressures, i've had to aim for twpo pages a day, pencilled and inked, but i've also managed three on a few days. the interesting thing i find is that the stuff that's produced quicker (GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE) doesn't really look any worse than the stuff that's taken me much longer (the vertigo mini series FAKER)... possibly the opposite in some cases. so i think it all depends on the individual artists own personal pace. dave bishop told me long ago that everyone has their own natural pace, and the sooner you find it the better off you'll be.

here's some two/three page a day pages from GA YEAR ONE -

http://jamessime.com/jock/pp1.jpg">

[jock]

http://jamessime.com/jock/pp2.jpg">

[jock]

Link: http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=7691" target="_blank">GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE

http://jamessime.com/jock/pp3.jpg">

[Funt Solo]

So cool.  Masterful use of the black bits (technical term) - as exciting as early Bisley on ABC or Yeowell on early Zenith - but at the same time all your own.

Gush, gush.

[Bolt-01]

Just look at the style there. The feeling of movement, the use of empty space!

Bolt-01. Still so far to go.

[radiator]

Jock if you're still about - hope you don't mind me asking....

Do you use poser, live models, or ref photos for your trademark high/low angle shots, or do you just make it up all from your head?

For me, drawing a figure from anything other than standard full body shot is an absolute bitch.

[Adrian Bamforth]

Of course it does help to be precociously talented...

[jock]

i use photo's, but just try to never rely on them... i did a lot of work from imagination first. they can be incredibly useful though, especially working out those 'pushed' angles.

the one thing i learned at art college is that it's not the method but the final image that counts. i've always stood by that.

Link: http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=7709" target="_blank">another plug