Every artist wishes they could go back in time to deliver a swat to the back of their own head and say, “Don't do that!” None of this is universal, but here is a protips thread of some things I (and many of my peers) would try to stop ourselves from doing. - ThreadSky

stevelieberart.bsky.social • 411 days ago

Every artist wishes they could go back in time to deliver a swat to the back of their own head and say, “Don't do that!”

None of this is universal, but here is a protips thread of some things I (and many of my peers) would try to stop ourselves from doing.

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nyktv.itch.io•411 days ago

Well some of us are proud of our art 😁

ericafails.bsky.social•411 days ago

Actually to only time I really did this was very early and it was with Scott Allie, so honestly, bullet dodged.

stevehorton.bsky.social•411 days ago

I met him at a Dark Horse party and was instantly and immediately creeped out. Creepo radar was ringing loudly in my head. I had good instincts.

kww.bsky.social•411 days ago

One time, when an issue was complete, I told the artist to go back and choose the five pages she hated the most and that I would pay page rate for redoing them. I wish I could afford to do that more often ... it really did pay off in terms of quality.

flyingcircuits.bsky.social•101 days ago

📌

kurtbusiek.bsky.social•411 days ago

Every writer wishes they could go back in time to deliver a swat to the back of an artist’s head too.

Often more than one.

kai.hirdt.de•411 days ago

Yeah. Script calls for a white pyramid, an important optical reference to 1984. In print, the pyramid is dark red. "Why?" "Looked cooler." "The script says white!" "Didn't read that far."

derfbackderf.bsky.social•411 days ago

I am both the writer AND artist on all my work. So that could get ugly.

dewill90.bsky.social•411 days ago

Don't beat yourself up, man

kipwilliams.bsky.social•411 days ago

Many years ago, a cover artist friend of mine found out I knew a writer, and asked me to tell him that he had read the book and knew what the spider was supposed to look like, but had been overruled by an art director.

darkchibishadow.bsky.social•410 days ago

These are all great! Thanks!

roricomics.bsky.social•410 days ago

This is a great list, Steve! Especially the thumbnails one, I LIVE by the thumbnails 😁

I am a little confused by #2, I'm guessing it's maybe something I haven't encountered much? I always find it interesting to hear about what tools folks use to make their art; do some people get weird with it?

mattwithcheese.bsky.social•410 days ago

I think some people get caught up with what they've e heard the right tools are, regardless of whether they work well for them.

stevelieberart.bsky.social•410 days ago

Very, very weird. Art schools are full of people who cling to dogmas and received ideas about which tools and approaches are and aren't legitimate. (I was one of them!)

roricomics.bsky.social•410 days ago

AH! Yes, whole-heartedly agree. I was generally lucky with my instructors, but there were plenty that did more harm than good :(

stevelieberart.bsky.social•411 days ago

1. If you ever feel the urge to trash your own work when complemented, repress that urge. In that context your self-deprecation is insulting someone else's taste!

Instead, just say thanks & change the subject. Maybe credit an influence?

madamehardy.bsky.social•410 days ago

My response to similar questions about my job: "Oh, thank you, I really enjoyed making it!" That's somehow easier for me to say, because it's not echoing the compliment.

stevelieberart.bsky.social•411 days ago

2. As far as your readers are concerned, comics are drawn with a printing press or a monitor. Don’t fetishize the original art or the tools you make it with. Anything that gets the story told the way it needs to be told is the right tool for the job.

stevelieberart.bsky.social•411 days ago

3: Don’t use one job to audition for another. There are lots of choices that need to be made on every page, all sorts of factors to be weighed. Don’t get flashy or sexy or explosive if the moment in the story doesn’t call for it. It’s unfair to your collaborators and a betrayal of the reader.

stevelieberart.bsky.social•411 days ago

4: Almost all of the important storytelling choices on a page can be worked out in the thumbnail stage. Gesture, camera angle, framing, broad arrangement of tones—get this stuff right before you worry about anatomy, lighting, drapery, or facial expressions.

stevelieberart.bsky.social•411 days ago

5: Get the underdrawing right before you put a finish on a figure. Yes, some artists can put down a final inkline with no underdrawing, but that’s because they’re skilled and experienced enough to do all that underdrawing in their head. You probably aren't. Save the masterstrokes for the masters.

stevelieberart.bsky.social•411 days ago

6: What you’re feeling while you work doesn’t matter. What the audience feels when they read it does. You can be perfectly happy and still do a great drawing of someone in agony or rage. You should understand what you’re depicting. It’s not necessary to experience it in real time at the board.

birdeeblake.bsky.social•410 days ago

Ooh I gotta print this one out and stick it on my monitor

ericnewsom.bsky.social•101 days ago

(Also, never denigrate your own work when presenting it to others. They'll often look right over any flaws you see...until you bring them to their attention.)

theedgeofmypete.bsky.social•411 days ago

I want this list printed and stuck on my fridge.

sharilyn.bsky.social•411 days ago

cc-ing every painter I know on #1 and #6

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