Evolution of Costumes & Characters

Watch their transformations with one click...It's sick :-)

Superman

 

Batman

 

Ironman

 

Captain America

 

The Incredible Hulk

 

Captain America 

 

 

 

Batman

 

 

Fantastic Four

Flash 

 

Green Lantern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a pity!

Superheroes who never reached full potential

Ever heard the story that for "every success there may have been many failures"? The same is true for comic characters. Here are some of the "could-have-beens":

Black Panther

Black Panther was given a spot on the Avengers and several attempts to break out in his own book. The problem with the Panther was one of personality. He was just one giant grouch of a superhero.

Firestorm

Firestorm has it all - the look, the powers and in interesting back story in which a young man shares his mind with a dead scientist who enables the young man to activate his abilities through the power of chemistry. Unfortunately, this has never resulted in sales. 

Hawkman

Sometimes a character’s back story can become so complex that it renders any future representation of the character impossible to read. Such is the case for poor Hawkman, who has been reincarnated Egyptian Pharaoh, an alien space cop and numerous other things throughout his long and confusing career.

 Captain Atom

DC placed Atom in the in their critically acclaimed (but not at all serious) Justice League of America alongside another Charlton regular the Blue Beetle. While the board stiff Atom was the perfect straight man for the humor comic, later attempts to make him a serious hero fell more or less flat.

Has Technology changed Art and the way artists design?

Technology's influence on Art

Communicating with a person nearby or on the other side of the world has become commonplace. Through a few clicks of the mouse anyone can interact with almost anyone almost instantly. There are worlds of possibility via the Internet with rich sources of visual images from around the world - most for free! Art collectors can get to know artists, and in many instances follow the creation process step by step. Through the use of technology new materials and mediums are discovered. Innovative ideas can be shared and delivery of information is almost instantaneous.

It all seems good for the artist but are there any downsides?

International Schools of Cartooning, Animation and Graphic Art

Schools of Cartooning, Animation and Graphic Art

Are you planning to make a career in cartooning and/or graphic arts? Don't know where to go or which schools offer this opportunities? Here are some that can ...

The Kubert School

The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc. 

• is authorized under Federal Law to enroll non-immigrant alien students.
• is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)

Find out more

Sheridan

Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a

diploma and degree granting polytechnic institute in Canada. Sheridan College is a publicly funded institution overseen by a Board of Governors, which consists of both appointed and elected representatives.

.

Find out more

Ringling College of Art and Design

Ringling College of Art and Design is a private four-year accredited college

located in Sarasota, Florida 

Find out more

Comic Software - Pros and Cons

Manga Studio 5

Pros 
Manga Studio 5 has more illustration tools than any other comic software.

Cons 
This software doesn't have many script tools available

Sketch Book Pro 6

Pros 

You can choose illustration tools in a variety of sizes and styles. You can custom-create your own, too.

Cons 
This comic maker is very limited in its script tools.

Adobe Photoshop CC

Pros 
Adobe Photoshop CC is available as an app for your smartphone or tablet. It also supports every file format available.

Cons 
A monthly subscription fee is required to access and use Adobe Photoshop CC.

Comic Creator

Pros 
Word balloons are a feature included with this software.

Cons 
Comic Creator has limited file formats.

Tools of the Trade - Kindle Comic Creator

Kindle Comic Creator

Kindle Comic Creator is a free tool for authors and publishers to turn their comics, graphic novels and manga into Kindle books. Kindle Comic Creator makes it easy for authors and publishers to import artwork, create their preferred customer reading experience and preview how their book will look on Kindle devices. Once satisfied with their Kindle book, authors can publish to Kindle and share their story with millions of Amazon customers worldwide. 

What are the benefits of using Kindle Comic Creator?

Comics and graphic novels are among the fastest growing content categories in the Kindle Store. Kindle Comic Creator has helped to ignite this rapid growth in Kindle comics and graphic novels. Kindle Comic Creator makes it easy for authors to import artwork, create their preferred customer reading experience and preview how their book will look on Kindle devices. Kindle Comic Creator eliminates the need for authors and publishers to understand the complexities of HTML/CSS in publishing their content on Kindle.


Try it out HERE

View this TUTORIAL

Tell me what you think of the product...

Animation Series - What is Storyboarding?

What is Storyboarding?

Storyboards are essentially a visual guide to the script in a movie, a vital part of the process. Animated films use storyboards extensively; these are among the biggest components of bringing a story to life.

Storyboards are a scene-by-scene creation of a movie's screenplay. They are drawn as rough sketches by artists to give cinematographers and directors guidance in the creation of a film. Typically, every camera shot and planned angle will be drawn out in a storyboard so it almost flows like a movie.

A single storyboard is made up of several elements. The first is the scene itself. Characters are drawn into the scene, and unless it is necessary, the background is usually absent. One of the corners features a scene number and letter to keep track of the storyboards, and there may be a small description underneath. Storyboards also feature arrows to signal camera movements or actor movements within the scene.

Take a look at these links to find out more:

Storyboarding tutorial #1

Storyboarding tutorial #2

Storyboarding tutorial #3

Storyboarding tutorial #4

In our next series we would take a look at how to create storyboards and the different kinds of storyboards

4 the Records #3

First Male Superhero

If you guessed Superman, you would be 100% ... WRONG. The Phantom (created by cartoonist Lee Falk) was launched two years before Superman in 1936 !!! The Phantom newspaper strip featured the adventures of Kit Walker. Remember him?

First Female Superhero

Is it:

1. Wonder Woman?
2. Isis?
3. Catwoman?
4. Superwoman?

Rossz! Makosa! Gresit! Sakimal! They are all wrong!!! Ever heard of...

Fantomah was a shape shifting ancient Egyptian princess who used her supernatural powers to protect the jungle way back in 1940!!! Doesn't she sound like the female version of the Phantom? I wonder if there is a connection between her and Tarzan? Grandmother maybe?

  

4 the Records #2

Best-Selling Comic

Created by Chris Claremont (UK) and Jim Lee (USA) the winner is ...
X-MEN 1 which sold .. 8.1 Million copies 

For that accomplishment the X gets a 

Best Selling comic-book Video game

The biggest selling comic-inspired game of all time is ...Batman: Arkham City which had sold ... 7.19 Million copies as of September 2012

4 the Records #1

Longest-running comic

The longest running monthly comic that has been printed continuously by DC comics in the USA since issue No. 1 in March 1937 is ...........

Most Expensive comic

The near mint copy of Action comics No.1 published in 1938 and featuring the first appearance of Superman was bought via auction for .....

US$ 2.16M!!!!

Converting 2D movies to 3D worthwhile?

2D to 3D?

There were several 3D movies released before Avatar that didn’t fare so well in theatres: Chicken Little, Up, Polar Express and A Christmas Carol to name a few  – but only after Avatar became the highest grossing movie of all time were 3D films considered financially successful. Avatar however, was the only successful film shot in 3D using live actors. 

So if 90% of all 3D films before Avatar weren’t successful, either financially or critically, then why are we hearing about so many 3D conversion film treatments every couple of days? Why are studios so excited over converting films to 3D so quickly just because one film made boat loads of money?

Is it any different from adding colour to a black and white film? Is it worth the money?

Colourised and non-colourised Robin Hood

Drawing Tips #3

The Nose

In this feature the nose that we all knows (pardon the grammar)

To draw the nose we need to block it into four planes - two for the bridge and two for the sides. Also put a circle on the tip to indicate its roundness

Nose - Step 1

Next shade the shade the sides of the nose. The nostrils should be shaded lightly so as not to draw attention from the rest of the face.

Nose - Step 2

Finally, continue shading to create forms of the nose. Dependent on the scenario retain the lighter areas for highlights and for showing reflected light. A kneaded eraser could be used to pull out the highlights on the nose.

Nose - Step 3

I can almost smell your success!!!

Drawing Tips #2

The Lips

In our Drawing Tip #1 we focused on the eye. Today's feature is the ever versatile lips.

When drawing lips first sketch the basic outline. The top lip slightly protrudes over the bottom lip with the bottom lip being fuller than the top lip.

The Lips - Step 1

Next, begin shading in the direction of the planes of the lips. The shading on the top lip curves upward whereas for the bottom lip it curves downward.

The Lips - Step 2

Continue shading putting the darkest values at the line where the lips meet. You can put highlights to give the lips shine and form. If the bottom lip is larger put more highlights to enhance its fullness.

The Lips - Step 3

You have knocked it out of the park!!!

Drawing Tips #1

The EYE

Draw the circle of the eye first and then draw the eyelids around it as shown below. The iris and the pupil are captured as ellipses with the top and bottom of the iris covered by the upper and lower eyelids.

Eye - Step 1

To draw the eyelashes start at the outside of the eye and and make quick curved lines continually stroking in the direction of growth. The longest lashes are at the center of the eye.

Eye - Step 2

When shading the eyelid make light lines that follow the curve of the eyelid. This shading in the iris should radiate out from the pupil

Eye - Step 3


There you have it and you didn't even blink