Mugged Up

Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

Hero Hire

DuckTales – Hero for Hire Part 1

LUKE CAGE HERO FOR HIRE #7 WHITE PAGES 1973 FVF (7.0) $8.99

Heroes For Hire #11 World War Hulk Rare Sold Out! 1st $3.75

Heroes For Hire #5 (1997 MARVEL COMICS) NEW iron fist $1.50

Heroes For Hire #7 (1998 MARVEL COMICS)NEW thunderbolts $1.50

STAR WARS Journal Hero for Hire Han Solo $0.01

Heroes for Hire (1997) #1 VF $1.84

Heroes for Hire (1997) #2 VF $1.00

Heroes for Hire (1997) #3 VF $1.36

Heroes for Hire (1997) #5 VF $1.60

Heroes for Hire (1997) #7 VF $2.40

Greatest Heroes of the Bible: The Story of Esther $9.95 Containing the “Story of Esther” episode from the 1979 TV series Greatest Heroes of the Bible starring Victoria Principle….

America a Look Back The Real West $6.89 “The Real West” documents struggle and courage, glory and tragedy. It is the story of pioneers and miners, gunslingers and gamblers, wranglers and railroaders, some searching for the new Eden, others for gold. They travelled up the Missouri and along the Oregon trail, crossed the prairie and the desert and trekked over the mountains. In their path they left sod houses, cowtowns, mining camps and t…

Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth Vol. 1: The Hero’s Adventure [VHS] $8.87 An exhilarating journey into the mind and spirit of a remarkable man, a legendary teacher, and a masterful storyteller, conducted by TV journalist Bill Moyers in the acclaimed PBS series. 1.The Hero’s Adventure. Long before medieval knights charged off to slay dragons, tales of heroic adventures were an integral part of all world cultures. Campbell challenges everyone to see the presence of a her…

Life of The Party $22.47 Since forming in 2006, heroes for hire have played with everyone from the ataris and mest to all time low and set your goals, as well as touring nationally with the secret handshake and will soon commence a national tour with fireworks. Most recently heroes for hire were selected as the sole local act to appear on the sydney leg of the 2010 soundwave festival, with their single ‘bright lights in …

Marvel Legends Luke Cage Figure – Power Man Toy Biz Mojo Build A Figure Series $7.99 - Marvel Legends Luke Cage Figure – Power Man Toy Biz Mojo Build A Figure Series…

Great Shape

How much is a 1977 Honda Express in great shape with extremely low mile worth?

My parents own a 1977 Honda Express. In great shape with only 35 miles on it. Thats NOT 35K it’s just 35 miles. Just emptied out the the first tank of gas and cleaned the lines. Cranks and runs great. I actually put 12 of the miles on it myself back in 2000 in the backyard of my grandparents house. I just was wandering how much the moped would be worth now days being the shape its in. Thanks for the information.

Between $200 – $1000. A bike collector that shows his bikes might pay more than someone that just bought it because it is old. Then someone else might want it because it would be inexpensive transportation. However to get $1000 the bike has to be absolutely perfect, no scratches, perfect stock rubber (tires, hoses, seals) original seat cover and clean enough to eat a meal off of. A real collectors bike.

Great Shape Barbie Commercial 1983

2001 chevy venture owners manual and case great shape $9.95

very nice weiss signed necklace earrings great shape $21.73

Redline PitBoss Great shape Many laps left in it $149.99

2000 ROAD KING STOCK MUFFLERS IN GREAT SHAPE $40.00

Ab Roller In Great Shape $15.00

2 Vintage METAL CAT PINS – Colored – Great Shape!!! $5.00

Vintage CHILD’S ICE CREAM PARLOR CHAIR Great Shape WOW $37.50

Tin Man Barbie Pink Label NIB Unopened Great Shape!!! $16.99

DIRT BIKES MOTORCYCLES IN GREAT SHAPE LOT OF 4 $9.99

BIKES MOTORCYCLES IN GREAT SHAPE LOT OF 4 $9.99

Unique Pencil Shape Teachers Vase With Apple Great Gift for Teacher $11.00 This adorable pencil vase will be a pleasant and unique gift for your favorite teacher. It can be used as a vase or as a holder. Hanging apple can be detached….

The CINCH Adjustable Weather Proof Plant Hanger (flower pot holder) is solid stainless-steel, adjustable to fit many sizes and shapes, SO easy to use! The CINCH is adjustable to fit most pots with a taper or a lip. The eye opens to different sizes and cinches secure to hold pots up to 25 pounds. BEST SELLER – Plant holder! GREAT GIFT IDEA! $6.50 The “CINCH” Adjustable Plant Hanger is solid stainless-steel, adjustable to fit many sizes and shapes, SO easy to use! Hold a planter, a basket of towels or fruit, even a fishbowl. Be creative – so many uses inside or outside! The “CINCH” is adjustable to fit most pots with a taper or a lip. The “eye” opens to different sizes and “cinches” secure to hold pots up to 20 pounds. The “Cinch” is a e…

School Bus Shape Frame For Wall Hanging Or Table Great For Classroom Or Student’s Room $11.95 Unique picture frame for displaying student’s pictures. Great idea: Use as a keepsake for your child.Display his or her’s 12 years of school pictures….

Colonial America $11.72 Spirited new sounds from across the sea to the shores of the New Land. From the first colonists to the American Revolution and the birth of our republic Hesperus Early Music Ensemble’s music reflects a time of new ideas, freedom and vitality. In town and village, parlor and ballroom, from the Appalachians to the great concert halls hear the musical pulse of early American music performed on a wide…

Miss Patty Cake – God’s Great Big World $12.98 …

Collection Lot

Whose Line Best Bits Collection – Hollywood Director’s crap

Shonen Onmyouji Complete Limited Collection Box Set Lot $129.95

LOT of (2) dif Fabian Brunnstrom collection cards $3.50

ROMANCE SHORT STORIES COLLECTIONS PB LOT $4.99

LAOS STAMPS ASIA STAMPS AWESOME COLLECTION LOT $2.22

NEW US old stamp block collection LOT FV $70.36 MNH OG $50.01

Lot IRELAND Postage Stamps——–Unsorted Collection $0.99

Tarzan Collection DVD LOT Weissmuller O’hara + G Morris $29.99

2004-05 ULTIMATE COLLECTION #124 KASUN 125 FLORES LOT $6.50

1968-1998 U.S MINT PROOF SET 31 SETS RUN LOT COLLECTION $319.99

Lot SWITZERLAND Postage Stamps—–Unsorted Collection $0.99

144 breast cancer awareness pink ribbon bracelets – bulk wholesale case lot for fundraising $18.99 144 Breast Cancer Awareness bracelets…

.925 Sterling Silver European Charm Decorated Bead Trio $17.75 Sterling Silver European Bead Charms. Add flair to your bracelet with this set of 3 varied beaded sterling silver charms. All three .925 silver beads have a rich oxidized finish. These unthreaded beads slide onto your cable charm bracelet. This bead fits most 3mm Cable European Charm Bead Bracelets….

Disney Toy Story 3 Bookends — 2-Pc. $69.50 Pair of bookends feature Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye, Little Green Aliens, Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, Stretch and ChunkHand-painted, sculpted resin7 1/2” H x 7 1/2” W x 6 1/2” DImported….

The Annie Lennox Collection $4.83 Annie Lennox, The Annie Lennox Collection…

Oh Happy Day $6.97 You don’t just hear gospel music, you feel it. At the heights of its power, this uniquely American art form connects the spirit of the writer, performer and listener with a truth much higher than presents travails. The notes, rhythms, and lyrics paint a picture of the ongoing tale of struggle, persecution, redemption and freedom. Blues, rock and roll, r&b, country and even modern hip hop and rap m…

Promo Poster

Seacrest ‘gives Hough floral surprise’
Ryan Seacrest reportedly shows his romantic side by treating Julianne Hough to a flower-filled hotel suite.
WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Promo Poster 2009 + Promo Theme

PAUL McCARTNEY set of 3 PROMO posters MINT!!!! $14.99

YOUNG MC Bust A Move promo poster, 24×24, 1989, rap $9.99

Hole – #1 Album of the Year In-Store Promo Poster $9.99

Disney World Promo Poster: Animal Kingdom Opening $11.99

SAINT OCTOBER TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL Sexy Promo Poster $12.99

YUKMOUTH United Ghettos promo poster, 18×24, 2002, rap $9.99

YUKMOUTH United Ghettos Vol 2 promo poster, 18×24, 2004 $9.99

METALLICA black album Special Ed DVD promo poster,11×17 $7.99

Negima Cute Sexy Promo Poster 1 $9.99

John Cale Walking on Locusts In-Store Promo Poster $9.99

The Smiths Queen Is Dead Promo Ad For Lp 25X35 Poster $8.99 …

House Poster ~ Full Cast Promo ~ Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House ~ Fox TV Merch ~ 24×36 $4.99 House Poster ~ Full Cast Promo ~ Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House ~ Fox TV Merch ~ 24×36″…

Lady Gaga Poster – Flyer Promo $9.85 Lady Gaga Flyer promo…

The Wizard of Oz [Blu-ray] $28.75 When it was released during Hollywood’s golden year of 1939, The Wizard of Oz didn’t start out as the perennial classic it has since become. The film did respectable business, but it wasn’t until its debut on television that this family favorite saw its popularity soar. And while Oz’s TV broadcasts are now controlled by media mogul Ted Turner (who owns the rights), the advent of home video has mad…

Pokemon – Platinum 3 Supreme Victors Poster Pack- 2 Packs /3 Promo Packs $6.75 Two-Platinum 3 boosters Two- 3 card bonus packs One-Foil Promo Card One full sized poster revealing every card in Platinum 3 Supreme Victors…

Comics Near

Drawing Comic Book Pages Part I: Thumbnails, and Pencils Versions

Drawing a comic book page like the ones in super hero comic books can be fun but it’s no game.

Readers can see and read a full colored page in 30 seconds, but it takes an artist 8 to 16 hours (or more) to produce it.

Why?

Because most professional comic book artists go through five stages to complete a full comic book page of high quality. Some of those stages require much more than an hour to complete. Stages are:

1) Thumbnails creation

2) Pencils version

3) Inked version

4) Colored version

5) Lettered version

Note: Usually, it is not one but several artists who produce a single comic book page. This is because each artist specializes in a particular stage. The end result is often better when produced by a team. And working this way also speeds up the process.

Let’s describe the first two stages in this article:

1) Thumbnails creation

After reading the script (which besides the dialogs and captions may include specific descriptions and instructions from the writer), the artist spends some time imagining how the page should look so it can tell the story well (without the need of words), and it looks good and entertaining.

When the artist is done playing around with variations of the panels and the page in his (or her) mind, the artist grabs a piece of paper (usually a Letter or A4 size, blank sheet of computer printer paper), and starts sketching one or more versions of the page (often using an HB  pencil) at a very small scale.

The size of these small (and sketchy) pages may vary but they are approximately 2 by 3 inches each (5 x 7 cm). Since they’re much smaller than the final pages, they are known as thumbnails.

This stage is very important because thumbnails are a practical, quick and effective way to define the best layout for a page (amount of panels and their shape) and where to place the main items (like characters, large props, backgrounds, etc.) Important facial expressions, action lines and perspective are also included in them.

If you try doing this on a full size board and make a gross mistake, you will have to toss that board and start over. Thumbnails prevent that because you can do about six of them in a very inexpensive sheet, to try things out until you find what works.

Note: Artists seldom care for or keep their thumbnails and toss them away.

One case doing thumbnails is mandatory is when writers or editors request the artist to do them to get their approval before drawing the final pages.

So, if you’re serious about drawing comics, I suggest you always draw one or more thumbnails of your pages until you are totally satisfied with them to use as reference for the final, full size page.

Note: Thumbnails are drawn quickly and loose so they usually look very “energetic.” The challenge is to produce a final page that is as energetic (or more) than its thumbnail. Unfortunately this is not always the case, sometimes because reference like photographs or 3D images is overused for poses or expressions when creating the final page, making it look static or dull.

2) Pencils Version

After the thumbnail is done (and approved if required), the artist grabs a white board that is 11 by 17 inches to draw the final page using a pencil, and the thumbnail as reference.

Note: If you are used to the metric system, 11 by 17 inches is a bit smaller than 30 x 45 cm. Comparing it to standard sizes, it is near the size of an A3 size paper.

So that’s a big board. Then… Wait!

Comic books are MUCH smaller than that. Regular super hero comic books are about 6.5 by 10 inches (16 x 20 cm.)

So… Why do artists draw the final page at such a big scale?

Because it’s easier to draw better at a larger scale.

In my case, I scotch an 11 by 17 inches (or A3) white board to the drawing table and using a light blue pencil, draw a 10 by 15 inches rectangle in the center (when the board doesn’t already have such a rectangle.) That area is where the page is drawn.

Still using the light blue pencil, and the thumbnail as reference, I draw in a somewhat sketchy way, the entire page (including the panel borders) inside that 10 by 15 inches area. I do add details, and some of the final pencils but the overall drawing is still sketchy. This process can take an hour or so depending on the complexity of the page.

Then, I take an HB pencil and draw the entire page AGAIN, on top of the light blue pencil, but this time paying extra attention to detail, making the drawing look final. This process always takes more time than the “light blue pencil” step.

Why use a light blue pencil? And why draw the page twice?

The light blue pencil is used to draw the foundation over which the final artwork is drawn using the regular pencil.

And it is light blue (a different color than gray) to be able to erase it easily using image editing software (like Photoshop) after the page is scanned to the computer.

So when using this technique, the original artwork (the actual board that was drawn by the artist), has both light blue and regular gray pencil traces.

But the digitalized version of the page (stored in the computer with a scanner) which is later used in the following stages, has only the gray (and final) pencil traces.

This is a great technique to produce better artwork because the artist has two chances to make the drawing look just right. I suggest you to use it.

Note: Because some collectors don’t like artwork that mixes light blue and gray pencils or because some artists prefer to produce very clean pencil pages, there is an alternative to the light blue pencils technique. It requires two boards and a lightbox (a special table that is used to trace drawings.) One board is used to do the sketchy drawing, and the other to do the final, “clean” drawing which is drawn on the lightbox, over and tracing the first and sketchy drawing.)

- – -

When the pencils stage is over, a great deal of the final comic book page is done. That’s why the penciler (the artist who does the pencils version) is considered by most as important as the writer, and his (or her) name is shown conspicuously in the credits.

But the rest of the stages, inking, coloring and lettering, are also important, even essential to complete a comic book page.

So, we are at what, 2 to 4 hours of work so far?

The name says “comic” but this is serious business. Drawing comics is a lot of work. But it’s also very creative, and fun work to do

Part II of this article series will describe the next stages of creating a professional comic book page.

About the Author

Comic book artist and illustrator, co-creator of the Omega Chase comic book. His portfolio at juliomolinamuscara.com has pencil portraits, comic book pages, pinups and posters of super heroes or beautiful girls, and more.

Travis Coming Around & Driftwood Live part 5 of 5 at the Newbury Comics show on April 26, 2009

TOR #1 Near Mint Comics Book $3.01

VERONICA #188 Near Mint Comics Book $3.74

WAR THAT TIME FORGOT #1 Near Mint Comics Book $2.31

YOUNG X-MEN #2 Near Mint Comics Book $3.67

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #11 VARIANT Near Mint Comics Book $7.77

CIDERVIEW PROJECT #1 Near Mint Comics Book $1.43

CIDERVIEW PROJECT #2 Near Mint Comics Book $1.40

CIDERVIEW PROJECT #3 Near Mint Comics Book $1.43

RANN/THANAGAR: HOLY WAR #1 VARIANT Near Mint Comics $6.47

WIZARD: GUIDE TO COMICS (MAG) #151 Near Mint $3.67

Cat Sleeping Near Presents – Tis the Season – Cat Cartoon or Comic – JP Animal Wall Clock by WatchBuddy Timepieces (Black Frame) $24.95 WatchBuddy Wall Clocks are the World’s Most Lovable Theme Clocks – combining beauty and functionality, they are a wonderful home wall decor accent. They bring personality and fun to any room. They make great Kitchen Clocks, but also are great for display on the Living Room, Family Room, Den, Children’s Room or Bedroom Wall. These wall clocks are only available online. They are a unique and perfect…

Cat Sleeping Near Presents – Tis the Season – Cat Cartoon or Comic – JP Animal Wall Clock by WatchBuddy Timepieces (Hunter Green Frame) $24.95 WatchBuddy Wall Clocks are the World’s Most Lovable Theme Clocks – combining beauty and functionality, they are a wonderful home wall decor accent. They bring personality and fun to any room. They make great Kitchen Clocks, but also are great for display on the Living Room, Family Room, Den, Children’s Room or Bedroom Wall. These wall clocks are only available online. They are a unique and perfect…

Cat Sleeping Near Presents – Tis the Season – Cat Cartoon or Comic – JP Animal Wall Clock by WatchBuddy Timepieces (Slate Blue Frame) $24.95 WatchBuddy Wall Clocks are the World’s Most Lovable Theme Clocks – combining beauty and functionality, they are a wonderful home wall decor accent. They bring personality and fun to any room. They make great Kitchen Clocks, but also are great for display on the Living Room, Family Room, Den, Children’s Room or Bedroom Wall. These wall clocks are only available online. They are a unique and perfect…

Heroines $2.13 …

Raina Kabaivanska ~ Arias $36.98 …