Even more

Here's some treats from Rex:

More Scribbles

Even more later today....

Johnny Hart and more!

Hey I found another great comics blog:

http://allthingsger.blogspot.com/

It's filled with a lot of great cartoonists I didn't even know about and a bunch I did, but didn't know about some of their less famous work.


Bud Blake did a lot of stuff I didn't know about...The sonuvagun could sure draw.
I love this early Mort Walker stuff. I used to draw Beetle Bailey all the time when I was a kid.Here's an especially weird and interesting artist. Klaus Nordling.He has a few posts about Johnny Hart, creator of B.C. and Wizard of Id.
http://allthingsger.blogspot.com/search/label/Johnny%20Hart
These comics had a great influence on me. I loved the interaction of all the distinct characters, the great staging and continuity, but what I thought was most unique about it was the sincere humanity of it.
Johnny Hart and his crew (Brant Parker and others) had a way of drawing expressions and attitudes that reflected the real life cynicism of men and boys. I had never seen this in earlier strips. I think it was a revolution.Johnny also had a funny way of drawing pain. You really felt the charactor's agony from the gnashed teeth and hideous grimaces he (they) drew. I'll try to find some good pain faces in my own collection...

When I read his strips, I was always amazed that they ever made it into the funny pages, because they weren't all upbeat, safe and happy like most humor comics. They had a new kind of honesty and observation of the way we humans really are. Like dirty socks.

Hank Ketcham of course, is a genius and the site has lots of rare early stuff...
What beautiful layout and composition!

Hunt around the site for many cartoon treasures!

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more roughs to come later today...

Some more good inks, with subtle nitpicks

These are some of the best inkers I've found (or who found me) so I'm putting them up as good examples, but also am going to nitpick them slightly for the edification of everyone who wants to know how to ink our stuff. The fact that they made it into the post means I like these artists a lot.

This is how I like to check the inks against the pencil drawings - as jpgs next to each otherThe inker changed the head shape and position from my pencil layout for some reason.
George's eyebrow is too short in the above and missing the eyebrow wrinkle that should accompany it. I think it's supposed to be the same eyebrow as the rest of the head that is being re-used from scene 3.

Jacket didn't need to be redrawn, just the part that stretched.


***All INKS should be labeled, just like the pencils! - 1) numbered and with 2) action instructions and 3) dialogue (this is the first time I've told anyone that....)




lost some shape in the arm above...Back of arm in pencil is an 'S' curve - changed to an even "C" curve. Front of arm in pencil is straighter (not totally straight) has been changed to be fatter.


These are excellent. (Jimmy's smile line is indicated in pencil to be thicker...)I'm sure that the reason these are so good is that Ryan is a big UFC fan and pretty solid himself.



This is impressive...Mitch is critiquing himself and improving his work with each critique. This is a good way to learn any skill - to be self critical. Some young artists love everything they do and don't take to constructive criticism well, which will inhibit their progress.









STAYING TRUE TO SUBTLE ORGANIC SHAPES
This one by David is very faithful to the subtle contrasts in shapes of all the elements, which is very important to me. He has not turned the eyes into ovals, and has captured every change in direction of each curve. He has kept it solid and organic.


He also kept the bends in the curves in the same places that the pencils have. Many people when they trace drawings move the bend in the curve to the middle of the curve.

I have 1 criticism: the line weights are inconsistent. One side of the tongue is thin, the side thick. Same with the arm. One part of the face silhouette is thin, the other thick. This makes the big forms not hold together and breaks apart the image.

The eye outlines should be a bit thicker and so should the bottom line of the open mouth. The whole open mouth is a single shape that should hold together by the width of the lines.

I indicated a thick side to the shirt button in the pencil, but it's not in the ink.

The line around the tooth should be thicker to make it a whole object. Etc.

Compare to this one, which holds together the larger forms more consistently.
HOLDING BIG FORMS TOGETHER WITH THICKER LINES

The big shapes are bounded by thick lines, while the interior details are thinner and wrap around the big shapes.

The hierarchy of line widths is well thought out - plus he kept all the subtle shapes and organicness.

The bottom of Jimmy's legs are behind a box, but should have a blue line cutting them off like in the pencils.


KEEPING IT FUNNY AND APPEALING
This one is 90% there.....

a couple minor notes on this one:

The Inking is making the characters fatter than the drawing, because the inking tends to be on the outside of the pencil lines, instead of straight down the middle

Overall lines could be thicker (I think there is a button in Illustrator that wil take them and do it automatically)

Slab N Ernie's eyebrows could be closer to the drawing

Slab's sleeve should flow along the form of his arm on the right side.
Be a bit more conscious of angles - like the back of Ernie's head and his ears

it's very good though, I'm just nitpicking



Here's some funny stuff inked off my crappy story sketches...

David did a nice job inking Katie's sketches below. He kinda softened some of the contrasts in the shapes but it still looks funny and cute:


BTW, should I post more rough story sketches from any of the cartoons?