The closest I’ve come to this (yet) on the receiving end, was visiting a local cartoonist during Open Studio week, and asking him if he recommended that I take Basic Anatomy classes after I finished the Line Drawing and Composition four semester series. He advised that it would be helpful if I intended to use anything close to a realistic style.
The idea of just picking up a pencil/pen and DRAWING without taking any formal training or classes baffles me. That would be like ‘I really enjoy eating hollandaise sauce, so I’ll get some butter, eggs and lemons and make some! Recipe? Cookbook? What are these strange words you’re using?’ Scott McCloud touched on this briefly at the end of Understanding Comics, when he described young fans who attempt to replicate the surface appeal of their favorite superhero comix without knowing anything of how they’re actually _made_.
]]>Jhonen Vasquez.
]]>Also, this is a good reminder for pros that having an open-minded attitude about improving your craft is a good thing. I just really enjoyed this post all around.
]]>A comic shop owner did the same for me when I was 13. While I’ll never be a comic pro; I do get paid to pen to paper (or its modern digital equivalent.)
I shudder to think what might have been if someone didn’t tell me I sucked.
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