Top Ten - Comic Artist that should make Tutorials

As a isolated struggling aspiring comic artist the need for really good 'how to' tutorials becomes essential. Especially in light of not living anywhere near any great art schools or comic conventions that one could get good tips and advice from. Most of the 'how to draw' books, video's, and DVD's that are out there fall short of their promise and are nothing more than basic tips that most people learn after drawing the first few years.
Perhaps the reason that so few good tutorials or books on how to draw for comics or fantasy exist is likely because there may not be that many good teachers in the field. Meaning, you can have 1000 great artist, but out of that 1000 only 30 are good teachers. And out of that 30 probably only one will take the time to make a book or video about it.

And lets not fool ourselves here. Even the best made books on the subject often leave you scratching your head with less answers and more questions. And of course, no matter how many books and DVDs you own, none of them can make you a artist. Only time and effort can.

The subject at hand came up with a discussion with a close friend. It's one of those classic hypotheticals where you can  pick anybody in the world for whatever the scenario might be. In this case it was who would be some of the top artist we would like to see make video tutorials sharing some of their tips, tricks, technique, and advice. Well after a little thought, here is my list. It is not ranked in any order. I pretty much put this together as artist came to my mind. I will try to play the hypothetical part of 'director' for each of these artist in terms of what I would hope they will actually teach in their respective tutorials.

Frank Millers 'Sin City'

1. Frank Miller - Miller is perhaps one of the most experimental and continually evolving artist in comics. His style has shifted throughout the years to reflect both his skill and willingness to experiment. From his days on DareDevil, to the Dark Knight graphic novels, and to his creator owned work of Sin City Miller has shown considerable growth as an artist to which of many of his peers have sought to emulate in one way or another. Jim Lee's run on 'Deathblow' is one example.
A good tutorial by Miller should feature his expertise in the use of light and shadow displaying his ability to create eye grabbing contrast that few can copy. His innovative layouts give the reader a grand theatrical scope and feel making his stories larger than life.
Light & Shadow as well as layouts would indeed make a killer tutorial by Mr. Miller. 


 2. Arthur Adams - Known for his work on X-Men,

Longshot, Fantastic Four, Monkeyman & O'Brien, and various one shots and covers, Arthur Adams is a monster of an artist. There is a little, if anything, this man can't draw and render beautifully. His sense of detail can even put the mighty Jim Lee at shame at times while at other times he knows when 'less is more' in terms of details. His catchy and infectious line work has influenced many of the industry greats such as Jim Lee, J.Scott Campbell, and Erik Larsen just to name a few.
The best use of Adam's skill in a video tutorial would be showing his abilities in rendering things such as fire, smoke, rubble, holes in buildings, speed lines, destruction, clouds, various weather, and of course his specific rendering style for female and male characters. And lets not forget his wonderfully drawn classic monsters, everything from Godzilla, King Kong, to aliens, b-movie monsters to anything in-between. 

3. Kelley Jones - I think I first became of aware of Kelley Jones from his work on a four issue limited series on Venom (one of Spider-Man's rouge gallery). In the limited series Venom fought the X-Men villian Juggernaught. How cool is that? But of course everyone remembers Jones from his run on Batman. And what a run it was. Fresh off the heels of the Knightfall storyline where Batman gets his back broken by the muscle bound Bane is where we are presented with a new terrifying vision of the Dark Knight. One where Batman is no longer this silly crime fighter who fights in broad daylight along side other superhero's throwing out cheesy one liners. No, Jones Batman is more like a demonic thing on a mission. Always sticking to the shadows and not above using violence or fear to achieve his ends. Its clear to any novice that Kelley Jones has studied the master of horror Bernie Wrightson to some extent. Although the influence is evident Jones still has his own thing going on artistically.
Jone's use of light and shadow and his expertise of horror based story telling is something sorely lacking in today's comic artist tool box. I would wager one hour's worth of a quality lesson from him could potentially equate to a decades worth of value.


4. Erik Larsen - A true comic book fan if there ever was one. Erik Larsen has been drawing comics since he
was a child where he would draw a couple of pages of his creation Savage Dragon, staple it together, and share with friends. He has drawn for Marvel, DC, and of course Image Comics (of which he is a co-founder). Known best for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man and The Savage Dragon. What earns him a place on those top ten artist to make a tutorials list is the fact that he embraces everything that makes comics fun; action, big guns, explosions, fights, witty dialog, strong women, and off the wall insanity! The Savage Dragon became Larsen's outlet for creative expression where his only limits are the one's he puts on himself. His art much like his stories continue to evolve. His earlier work resembled John Bryne's with a mix of Arthur Adams and possibly a dash of Walter Simonson for flavor. These days his works resembles invokes a lot of Jack Kirby, Walter Simonson, Mike Mignolia, and Herb Trimpe. There are other influences too that are still prevalent in his current work, but I really don't want to list them all! Needless say he studies everyone and borrowing a bit here and there from people.
Larsen would truly shine in a comic book art tutorial by showing us how to convey 'action' in a scene using both characters and backgrounds. His use dynamic poses that are a tried and true standard for any superhero genre artist. And finally, his Kirbyistic backgrounds and monsters are a welcome homage to the 'King' as well as a treat to fan's. If Erik Larsen couldn't make a good tutorial, then I don't know who could.

5. Arthur Suydam - Suydam has been around for a while but only in recent times has he achieved the notoriety that he deserves. Old school fans may know him for his work on Mudwogs, Heavy Metal Magazine, Penthouse Comix, and House of Mystery (to name a few). In 2005-2006 Marvel Comics released a five issue limited series called Marvel Zombies where a world wide zombie virus has infected the world including all the superhero's and villians of the Marvel Universe. Although Suydam never done the interiors he did do all six covers. I would argue those covers reinvigorated career and introduced him to a new generation of fans. The Maxx creator and artist Sam Keith credits him as one of his influences.
Tutorial wise, it would be great to see his approach to mix media; his use of water colors, acrylics, and oil based paints as well as his composition and layouts methodology.



6. Adam & Andy Kubert - to say some good tutorials by these two

are long overdue would be a bit of a understatement. Considering the fact that they are the sons of comic legend Joe Kubert, they are both teachers at Kubert School of Cartooning, and they both have amazing careers in comics spanning decades who could be possibly more qualified than these two? Which it is surprising they haven't done any tutorials yet when you factor in that the Joe Kubert School already has six tutorial videos for purchase on their website (all of which are done by their dad Joe). Why haven't new tutorials been made by the brothers? Questions aside, both men have worked on books such as: X-men, Wolverine, Ghost Rider, The Incredible Hulk, Kazar, Superman, Batman...etc.
Having been both active professionals for several decades now as well as teachers in the field who better to have tutorial videos? A course on anatomy, storytelling, coloring, inking, and perspective that either goes in greater depth than their dad or shows things Joe may have missed would be killer to see indeed.

7. John Byrne - One of the most influential artist of the 80's and early 90's, John Byrnes has a left a big mark on the comic book industry like a impact crater from an an asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. Like the legends before him, first with Jack Kirby, then later with Neal Adams, Byrnes became a huge influence on some of the greatest artist of the 90's. Artist such as Jim Lee, Erik Larsen, Dale Keown, Todd McFarland (to name a few) and under appreciated artist such as Dan Jurgens and Tom Grummett. A powerhouse not just with the pencil but also in terms of his writing ability where he can tell both self contained stories and big story arcs while never loosing focus on character development and common sense. He portfolio includes: Fantastic Four, the X-men, The Incredible Hulk, Alpha Flight, She Hulk, The West Coast Avengers, Spider-Man, Superman...etc. To be honest if I could get a hour long video of Byrnes showing his approach to drawing comics I would be beyond thrilled!



8. Adam Hughes - What Dale Keown and Bart Sears are for drawing muscle dude's is what

Adam Huges is to drawing the female form in all it's glory. When compared to J.Scott Campbell, Michael Turner, Arthur Adams, and Marc Silvestri, Mr. Hughes doesn't quite get the same attention as these other great artist who render women with such beauty and ease. But having said that Hughes brings a realism, fun, and subtlety sexy to all of the women that he draws when in comparison to other artist. And unlike other artist Hughes hasn't capitalized on his abilities as an artist when compared to others in his field. For example J.Scott Campbell often drawsa female centric cast of characters (Gen 13 & Danger Girl), which is his specialty. Hughes for one reason or another has not done that or at least consistently. He does however draw sketch books and sketches at conventions that highlight his prowess at drawing women. 
A great tutorial on drawing, coloring, and poses of women would be without a doubt a best seller. 

9. Bill Sienkiewicz - like Jim Steranko before him, Bill Sienkiewicz helped to re-define what is possible as an artist in the comic book medium. Known mostly for his cover work on Marvels the New Mutants in the 80's, Sienkiewicz would go on to do many other covers for Marvel. These covers were works of art in their own right that one would expect to be hung in any museum around the world. Dabbling on the borders of the abstract Sienkiewicz wizard like control of colors and reckless abandonment results in work that few could possibly imitate. A video showing his use of water colors, acrylics and oils would be a sight to behold and hopefully something someone could learn from.



10. George Perez -  known more for his uncanny ability to cram over a hundred superhero's on a single page than compared to his stylistic sensibilities George Perez is a industry veteran that has left his mark in every company he has ever worked for. Most people instantly connect his name to his pencils on the Teen Titans and sometime later the Avengers. Personally I like the work he did for Malibu Comics on the Break Thru storyline and the few issues he did of the I-bot's for Techno Comix. His credits as an artist are endless. Why he tops the top ten of this list is he is a great story teller, great with layouts, great with covers, wonderful eye for details, and his amazing ability to cram a lot of characters in a single space. A George Perez tutorial would be well worth anyone's time and money. 






Well that's it. This is the list. Now, please note that this is my OWN PERSONAL LIST. This isn't some list complied through some national survey or any other means other than personal taste. And as I said before some of the people on this list happen to pop in my mind and I thought 'Great, I'll throw them on there'. Others are a no-brainer. There were a few artist that didn't make the list for one reason or another. Artist such as Sam Keith, Bernie Wrightson, Todd McFarland, Greg Capullo, Jim Lee, Norm Breyfogle, Marc Silvestri...etc. But I tried to pick people that it might be possible to get a tutorial from or at the very least really, really, really, should do one at the mercy for future generation of artist. Some people may have be excluded for health reasons or inability to finish things in a timely manner or would probably never consider doing a tutorial. At any rate, hope you enjoyed my list. I would love to hear what your list is and why. If you got time comment below.