In this episode I chat with Brandon Palas, a professional comic book artist. I asked him to draw a self-portrait sketch to include in this blog post (see above).

I’ve not got much to add here, except that Brandon’s dreamed-of web comic project is starting slowly. He said in the podcast “I don’t have the time!” but in a recent email he said “I’m never going to have more time, so I might as well try to work on it now.”

Note’s and links:
Brandon’s Blog
ConceptArt.org
Paul F. Gero photography blog
Marko Djurdjevic’s Character Ideation – trailer (WMV file, 11.4mb)
The expressive stick figure art of XKCD

“It’s not about the best illustration or the greatest art, it’s about telling the story.”

“Faces and heads are the most important part.”

Windows and windows and windows (learning shortcuts):

This is a warmup sketch before he settles down to real work:

“How many pages per day?”

More random notes:
Brandon is a comic book artist.
Luke doesn’t know anything about comics!
Getting into drawing as a kid.
Creative energy can get diverted by other endeavors.
Messing around, just sketching, builds confidence.
Faces and heads are the most important part.
If something’s wrong with an arm, most people won’t notice. Something wrong with the face? Everyone notices!
Working nights… what am I doing with my life?
Near death experience forcing you to move on in life.
“I bet you’re 27… you’re going to wait until you’re 40?”
Working for someone else focuses the mind.
It’s not about the best illustration or the greatest art, it’s about telling the story.
Learning from what you appreciate about other artists.
A photo lacks motion and life?
A series of photos in the same order as a comic doesn’t work.
There’s no point in being a human camera.
Comic book illustration is an art of shortcuts and gestures.
How to make things out of focus in comic book art.
Spotting blacks and line weight.
Warming up to drawing.
Spending money on training. Spending money on your job!
Going professional, and giving up the day (night) job.
How many pages per day?
A two year project, and how much you improve over that time.
Art style evolving all the time.
The expressiveness of stick figures and XKCD.
Luke’s stick figure art story.
Brandon’s next project?