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We’ve already posted all over our tumblr about it, but Periscope artists have created original art to auction on eBay for Tsunami relief! All proceeds from these auction will be donated to Peace Winds Japan via Mercy Corps. The first batch of art posted to our eBay account will be ENDING SOON! So get on there and bid! 
Since the age of 9, Ben Bates has wanted to draw Sonic the Hedgehog. That dream’s come true as he’s just finished illustrating a two-issue story. It starts in Sonic the Hedgehog #217, published by Archie Comics. Ben couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the job. It’s allowed him not only to fulfill his childhood dream, but to discover and refine his process of creating a monthly comic. Let’s take a look at his drawing process with the first five pages of #217. The first stage is creating rough layouts and thumbnails. 
Here, you’ll see that the paper provided by Archie Comics has lines marked “Live”, “Crop”, and “Bleed”. Vital info like lettering, or any important action should be within the confines of the “Live” box. At the “Crop” area, the printer will actually cut the paper for the final product, but the artist will nonetheless draw it all the way to the “Bleed” area. At the top of page 1, the first two panels are drawn lower then the “Live” image area in order to make room for the opening text. In this case, the text will be an intro to bring new readers up to speed. 
In this spread, the spaces between the characters were originally drawn very close together. However in the final version, Ben added some space between them so they wouldn’t get lost in the area where the comic is stapled. 
You’ll see here in that word balloons have been sketched in. This might not be the letterer’s final placement, but Ben wants to ensure that there’s a workable flow to the page and that there’s room for all the dialogue. 
Ben draws small “thumbnail” sketches then resizes them in Photoshop and prints them out onto the heavier sheets of paper he pencils on. Panel 2 was originally a large body shot of the character Bunnie hovering, but he decided to change it because it slowed the action down. The round inset panel feels more dynamic. (Credit where it’s due: this tweak was suggested by Periscope’s Dustin Weaver, currently the artist of Marvel’s “SHIELD”.) The conclusion to Ben’s story will run in issue #218. Be sure to grab a copy! “I remember thinking about the conflict of physically fighting something you don’t believe in and wondering exactly how that works out.” To kick off the Artist Interview Series of blog postings, we present to you a pleasant interview with one of the studio’s newer members, a rising star in the comics community, Ben Bates.
Photo by Bill Eckerson Ben’s current projects are Archie Comics’ Sonic the Hedgehog, an upcoming story for Darkhorse Presents issue no. 35, and fantastic future projects with the estimable David Hahn.
Q. What got you into comics? A. I wanted to draw manga but found there just aren’t a lot of opportunities for americans in the manga industry. I then wanted to be a concept artist in the videogame industry but my painting skills aren’t what they need to be. I didn’t think I’d ever draw American comics because I lean towards clean, stylized art and my perception was that comics needed to be realistic, have lines all over everything, and be about superheroes. I also got it into my head that I just wasn’t good enough to be doing 2D art professionally so I started teaching myself 3D modeling. While I was doing that the Stumptown Comics Convention came up featuring portfolio reviews and I thought it was my chance to find out exactly what I do wrong and what I need to fix to become good enough as a 2D artist. To my surprise I was told what I was doing was professional looking work, I had great storytelling and that I just needed to put a new “surface” on the art; that I needed to drop the manga. One of my reviewers was Steve Lieber who boosted my confidence and let me know about the coveted internships Periscope offered. I managed to land one and powered on by the knowledge and support I received, I put my stuff out there again. I’m finding that there are all kinds of excellent artists in the comic industry right now with a huge variety of styles. I lucked out to do a Dark Horse Presents story and thanks to another aspiring comics creator, Tadd Galusha, I got my work in front of Archie Comics to do Sonic the Hedgehog. It was a fourteen year goal and I finally made it! Q.What is your favorite comics series? A. Deathnote. Q. Whats the most difficult part about working in the comics industry today? A. That’s easy! Trying to draw in a style that keeps me both excited about my work, and is acceptable in the American comics industry. I’m still trying hard to find out just what I want to do. Q.What do you enjoy doing in your free time? A. Reading. That, and working on developing as a creator and as an artist. I used to play videogames and if I can figure out how to balance out doing really great work and playing games, I’d like to someday play them again. Q. What is one bit of advice you would offer to aspiring comics creators? A. Draw…everything. Learn to draw everything, not just what you like. A lot of people say that and it is tough. But if you really want to become a super strong artist you’ve got to be able to draw everything super cool. Oh yeah, and don’t give up. Start making comics, manga, whatever you’re interested in right now. Don’t wait until somebody’s gonna pay you to do it. The sooner you get started the more powerful you’ll be! |
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Copyright © 2012 Periscope Studio: storyboards, illustration and comic book art in Portland, Oregon. - All Rights Reserved |
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