By: Brian Bowes,
on 2/20/2016
Ain’t no party like studio party! #thesis #watercolor #studio (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Brian Bowes,
on 10/14/2015
#clouds #studio #nature (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/22/2015
Art by Jillian Tamaki. Story by Mariko Tamaki, from This One Summer
Yesterday’s retailer poll results, as revealed at Sktchd, made for fascinating reading, but at least one statistic—only 4.8% of retailers order a book based on the artist—got familiar questions being raised about why artists seem to get the short end of the stick so much in today’s comics industry. Declan Shalvey, currently of Injection, written by Warren Ellis, kicked some things off with a tweet and you can check his twitter feed for more conversation on the topic.
This is where unequal credit gets artists #ArtCred (via @sktchdcomic) pic.twitter.com/G6GddC6379
— Declan Shalvey (@declanshalvey) July 21, 2015
The decline of the artist has been getting a lot of play on the twitterverse of late, with Steve Morris also showing a watchful eye for it, even checking interviews to make sure they credit the artist.
Which to be fair, many times they do not.
Art by Ivan Reis.
The entire “decline of the artist” phenomena has been discussed many times, sometimes at this very blog, and even by Sktchd’s Harper in the past. As I’ve said before, the decline of prestige for comics artists seems especially counterintuitive in an era which is so visually driven by Tumblr, Pinterest and the like. And given the past dominance of artists from Neal Adams on, it seems even odder. The beauty of the comics image has never been more prominent. But the makers of those images aren’t always given the credit they deserve. I have a few more thoughts, which I’ve expressed before but let me throw ’em out there again.
Art by David Aja.
There’s a LOT of emphasis on cartoonists these days, the Rainas and Piskors who offer a tightly focused worldview and esthetic. And aside from the VERY rare Tamaki/Tamaki, Morrison/Quitely, Lee/Kirby teams, collaborative comics rarely offer that. I think if you were to ask graphic novel readers they might value the artist more, but might prefer the “creator” category.
Also, as we’ve all been saying, the Big Two, especially have been dead set on promoting the Editor-driven era of comics, and even the finest artists have been cogs in an ever grinding machine. Marvel had a few breakouts along the way, mostly on Hawkeye and Daredevil, but DC’s relentless parade of Jim Lee clones during the New 52 era reduced the role of the artist to interchangeable drone. And as fine an artist as Ivan Reis is, he’s no mold-breaking stylist.
The good news is, the Nü DCYou seems to have thrown house style out the window and allowed more idiosyncratic things to creep in. The bad news is Marvel’s new universe is starting to look as blandly homogenized as the New 52. Always a pendulum, this must be.
What do YOU think? Some wondered if casual readers would reflect the same ratios as retailers. With David Harper’s permission, I’ve recreated his questiosn in an open, public poll which will stay open for two days so hop to it! And as a final plug. Sktchd has a followup podcast with Patrick Brower, owner of Challengers in Chicago which I’m sure is worth a listen.
<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/8992024/”>What’s the most important reason for you to buy a comic?</a>
<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/8992024/”>What’s the most important reason for you to buy a comic?</a>
By: Brian Bowes,
on 5/29/2015
More inky beginnings! #studio #bookart #Sketch #drawing #ink #illustration #poetry #bordercollie #dog (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Brian Bowes,
on 5/24/2015
How an #ink #drawing starts. #Sketch #studio #bookart (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Brian Bowes,
on 4/7/2015
“Considering” #pencil #Sketch #studio #watercolor #drawing (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Brian Bowes,
on 3/11/2015
Holy Ghost Cats! Progress on The Boyler Kat. #cat #comics #ink #studio #illustration (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Jeanine Henderson,
on 2/25/2015
Post by Jeanine
The Month of Love is a weekly art challenge started by illustrator Kristina Carroll. Every week in February, there’s a new challenge related to the subject of “Love”. Participating artists respond by creating a new piece and posting throughout the week. There’s an impressive roster of core artists, but the challenges are also open to anyone who wants to submit a piece by posting to Tumblr with the hashtag #monthoflove. The month is coming to an end and there’s some fabulous work up on the site, including the three images below, by Kristina Carroll, Lee Moyer, and Michael Marsicano.
Be sure to check it out and follow along at monthofloveart.com. Much of the work is available as prints through Society6 and you can also see the past two years’ worth of challenges and art here. Also, keep an eye out in October for another monthly challenge called Month of Fear.
© Kristina Carroll
© Lee Moyer
© Michael Marsicano
By: Brian Bowes,
on 2/23/2015
We are starting early, and we’re starting with cookies. #LifeIsShort #studio (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Maryann Yin,
on 1/12/2015
Tumblr has announced its fifth selection for the Reblog Book Club, Katie Coyle’s Vivian Apple at the End of the World. This project marks Coyle’s debut as a young adult author.
According to the blog post announcement, participants are encouraged to “express your feelings about the book however you choose—a written review, fan art, gifs, poems, letters… Maybe you have nail art? Maybe you want to post a video blog talking through your ideas, a g-chat with a friend, or a song you think the characters would relate to? It’s all up to you! And, of course, you can reblog other people’s posts to add your own thoughts and responses.”
Coyle will be responding to questions that readers leave for her on Ask Box. The Tumblr team will be hosting a launch party for this book at New York City’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe on January 27th. Writers Ashley Ford and Julie Buntin will also appear to perform readings during the event.
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 12/30/2014
Humans of New York blogger Brandon Stanton has photographed the President and CEO of the New York Public Library, Tony Marx (pictured, via). Follow this link to see Marx’s picture.
Stanton posted the photo on Facebook and it has received more than 260,000 “likes.” He also included quotes from Marx about the library’s role in the age of information:
“The library isn’t going to compete with the internet. It’s going to be part of the internet. New York libraries have one of the greatest collections of information in the world, and one of our goals is to have it all curated, linked, and navigable.”
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By: Brian Bowes,
on 9/29/2014
Open Studios is coming! I hope you can make it to see 25 different artists including me! #santacruz #studio (at 17th Avenue Studios)
By: Melissa Wiley,
on 9/17/2014
It’s that time of year again: Cybils Award season. The judge announcements went out this morning. I’m delighted to be serving on the First-Round panel for YA Fiction. My last stint on this panel was in 2010, aka The Year I Read a Million Books. (I’m sure it’s a TOTAL COINCIDENCE that that was also the year I began to need reading glasses.)
My appointment to this panel spurred me to make a move I’ve been considering for some time, which is to dust off my tumblr (again) and try using it for my YA-related content. I’ve got a new YA of my own coming out next year, and tumblr seems a better fit for connecting with teen readers. I’ll add a link to the sidebar, or if that topic interests you enough to want to follow it in a feed reader, here’s the RSS. (I also use tumblr for reposting interesting articles and art I’ve come across, so fair warning.)
Disclaimer: I consider all platform changes to be experimental until they’ve proven themselves convenient, so this may or may not be a long-term shift. I just really like keeping things in different boxes. But if you’ve seen my garage, you know there usually comes a point where I get annoyed by the clutter and dump everything into one big container. (Believe me, you don’t want to see my garage.)
I believe this post may have set a new record for ending paragraphs with parentheticals. (Yeehah!)
By: Brian Bowes,
on 8/30/2014
New Blog Post over on BrianBowesIllustration.com!
http://ift.tt/1n7CZ7B
A while back I put together a video sharing some of my watercolor techniques. There was a lot of positive feedback on that video that I wanted to create another process video.
By: Maryann Yin,
on 7/30/2014
Humans of New York blogger Brandon Stanton has photographed David & Goliath author Malcolm Gladwell (pictured, via). Follow this link to see Gladwell’s picture.
Stanton posted the photo on Facebook and it has received more than 131,000 “likes.” When Stanton asked if Gladwell could share a piece of advice, he replied: “Change your mind about something significant every day.”
Some of Stanton’s past subjects from the literary community include editor Yaniv Soha, literary agent Brian DeFiore, and PostSecret book series author Frank Warren. What do you think?
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By: Brian Bowes,
on 5/7/2014
Hanging my work to sell in the Spring Show!
By: Brian Bowes,
on 4/22/2014
The new work table set up.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/9/2014
Tumblr users who have been reveling in its ability to share content—and block trolls via the plug-in Disqus—got a rude shock today when due to code problems, users found their custom themes disabled and their comment boards wiped out. Among the missing—DC Women Kicking Ass’s lively comments section. DCWKA’s Sue took to Twitter to mourn the loss, and just as I write this it looks like she may have found the missing posts, but others were still searching.
Tumblr armageddon
Tumblr is great for sharing but, amazingly, lacks a built in commenting section. Disqus enabled not only comments, but a sophisticated blocking system which enabled many diverse communities to flourish without the chilling effect of trolling endemic to most of the internet.
However, Tumblr has also never been that friendly to plug-ins. While Tumblr hadn’t responded to an inquiry as I write this, it’s mostly likely the changes had to do with Heartbleed, the terrifying vulnerability that affects 2 out of 3 websites via the ubiquitous OpenSSL interface. This weakness, discoevred just yesterday, allows hackers to access passwords, sources, cookies, emails, passwords, you name it. (Is Heartbleed another name for I Killed The Watcher?)
My ISP already closed down open SSL and fixed one of my servers…but the vulnerability was there for two years—meaning its time to change those passwords YET AGAIN. The internet is NOT a safe place.
Tumblr has long been seen as a fairyland free for all of content and anonymity…even though last May it was purchased by Yahoo, which is notorious for bungling acquisitions under its previous ownership. While the current problems showcase the weakness of specific HTTPS vulnerabilities, it’s also a reminder that unless you have access to backing up your content, it can be removed in a heartbeat.
By: Maryann Yin,
on 3/21/2014
Brandon Stanton, the creator of the “Humans of New York” (HONY) blog, has been working on a new book called Little Humans.
Little Humans exclusively focuses on children that Stanton has photographed and interviewed while wandering around New York City. Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers will release the book on October 07, 2014.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Stanton (pictured, via) talks about his process for photographing kids: “I never even make eye contact with the child until I’ve asked the parent’s permission. But once I’ve gotten the go ahead, I sit on the ground and try to be as playful as possible. I think it’s important to try to get on a kid’s level when taking their photo.”
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By: Brian Bowes,
on 3/14/2014
Needed eraser
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/13/2014
Richard Sala is running another Tumblr comic, SUPER-ENIGMATIX. IT includes mysterious masked figures, pretty girls, enigmas and other Sala trademarks.
You know you want it.
By: Brian Bowes,
on 2/27/2014
Arabian Nights layout #2 Puzzle pieces slowly coming together.
By: Brian Bowes,
on 2/27/2014
Arabian Nights layout #2
By: Brian Bowes,
on 2/27/2014
Arabian Nights layout #2
Sorta weird that ‘premise/story’ is other – the idea that someone buys a book because concept sounds interesting
For the most important factor, for me, it’s the writer. But I still have to like the art. I won’t buy a comic just for the art, but I won’t buy a comic if I don’t like the art. Unless it’s about one of my favorite characters, of which there are but a few where I’ll put up with art I don’t like.
“Only 25 shops participated, so this is just a small cross section of the industry in total. ”
Doesn’t seem like a growing mindset when such a small handful of people were asked., if they had the reach of Diamond tapping stores for a survey, there would be different results.
i personally fall under ‘creative team’ as others have said
writer is important, but i’m past the period where i would buy anything blind from anyone: the art is a big deal.
It depends on the publisher, honestly. From the Big Two, the main draw is generally going to be the starring character; with a few exceptions, the creative team is either icing or a reason to stay away depending on what of theirs I’ve read before. For books coming from other publishers, it’ll usually be concept. I have a few writers/artists who have a dependable enough track record that I’ll check out anything that they do, but I’ll typically put down my $3 for a new idea (or at least a fresh twist on an old one) over proven comfort food.
For me, it’s the story. In a universe, it’s got to have a good hook (like “Bizarro”!)
But there are a few creators who get a free pass on anything they create, so “creators” helps.
Universe? I don’t care.
Price? I don’t buy much, thanks to review copies, and I rarely spend more than $20 on comics or graphic novels. So that’s not a concern. It might be a criteria for deciding whether to buy a book I’m hesitant about.
“And aside from the VERY rare Tamaki/Tamaki, Morrison/Quitely, Lee/Kirby teams, collaborative comics rarely offer that.”
I may be misreading it, but I find this statement odd in a world where we have tremendous, prolific collaborative creative teams producing consistently great work together. Gillen/McKelvie, Vaughan/Staples, Brubaker/Phillips, Bendis/Oeming, Rucka/Lark, Fraction/Moon/Ba, Layman/Guillory … just to name a few.
I wish there was a “Creative Team” option, so I voted Other.
For me, a good writer with the right artist is the best thing, I don’t care that much for characters as much as talent, so I’m always following certain writers and artists. Add a seasoned colourist, maybe even a letterer with personality, and you have the perfect comic book.
Story, the complete package is the only reason. i have to read a good portion of the comic until i decide if i’m going to buy it or not.
Considering that Marvel and DC treat artists as an interchangeable element of comics, it’s no great surprise that retailers don’t rate artists highly when it comes to their ordering process. How often is the solicited artist actually the final artist when the book comes out? If I was a retailer, I don’t know if I’d be factoring in who the artist is either on most of my orders.
Story.
Headlines serve the same purpose as covers. Its how you sell your stuff. None should feel obligated to put anything on their advertising material. See you wont get Alex Ross doing whatever in your book and not credit him. That’s cause the name sells. Most artists names do not sell so theres no point on putting it on the cover or headline. Look at a movie poster. None think that photography is unimportant for a movie, its vital. Photographers names don’t sell though so their names don’t go in the cover. If its that important to some people to be credited constantly I suggest trying to make yourself a selling point. I say that as a comic book artist.
I say artist, but what I really mean is that I will stay with a story if the writer changes, but not if the artist changes. That happened with me on Jonah Hex, when Jordi Bernet mysteriously disappeared. It ain’t a simple question, because sometimes I just want a well told, well drawn story.
Comic artists are not the equivalent of movie poster art. Comic artists are the partly Director, Dir of Photography, Set Designer, Fight / Stunt Coordinator and on camera Actor. All of which collectively sell films. Unless one is a Sorkin level screenwriter I say the role of comic artist as equal to film poster is severely shortchanged in the above comparison.
I know I’m probably in the minority here but I’ve always followed either writers or the characters. As a kid I couldn’t even tell artist styles apart. When I was 7 and started reading comics I couldn’t tell if John Romita was drawing Spider-Man or Gil Kane was, I simply couldn’t recognize artist styles till I was older, but very early on I realized that Stan’s Spider-Man was different then Gerry Conway’s Spider-Man. As I got older I did start to recognize artist styles but I still mostly followed the characters, I didn’t stop reading the X-Men because John Byrne stopped drawing, I stopped when I got bored with the stories. In college I did buy some books for the art because that was the “thing” to do, but I quickly found I was wasting money. I loved the artist but if I had no invested in the story it felt like a waste. Nowadays I follow mostly writers. I’ll buy anything written by Mark Waid or Peter David or Kurt Busiek or James Robinson and I may be late to the game but I really find I like Dan Slot’s stuff. Some of Slott’s Spider-Man stories have god-awful artwork in them but the stories are a hell of a lot of fun. For the first time since I was in high school I want to know what happens to Peter Parker next. Off and on over the years Spider-Man had some truly great artist but since the late 80’s I never read the book regularly because it didn’t seem to be the Spider-man I know (or in some cases even wanted to know), now the artwork seems hit and miss but darn if I ain’t enjoying it.
Ideally a comic should have a great story and great art, but if I have to choose how to spend my entertainment dollars I go for the story every time. If I don’t like the story I just end up looking at the pics and going, “oh isn’t that pretty” and frankly I could do that browsing the book in the store without paying any money for it.
yeah, comparing a comic artist to a movie poster artist is not… a particularly effective argument. unless the comic artist is doing their job completely wrong.