Comics Illustration Tutorial - Jerzy Drozd

Today I'm going to show you how I created page 31 of The Front, Part Four.

Before I start, a quick disclaimer: I'm not a big fan of tutorials that seem to present the "preferred" way to draw comics. I don't believe there's an objectively superior way to illustrate anything. To each their own. The methods and thinking process I'm about to describe are merely what works best for me, based on years of trial and error.

Everyone got that? Okay, let's start at the beginning...

Page 31 from The Front, Part 4

Tools

Here's where we go through the inventory list you'll want to think about when drawing comics. You don't need a fancy art desk. Mine isn't all that fancy, but it does the job. I have mine raised at a slight angle because I tend to hunch over the page like those guys doing illuminated manuscripts. If I draw on a perfectly level surface my back suffers for it.

There are extensive lists of useful art tools in just about any drawing book you'll find at the library, so I won't cover all that. I'm just going to show you the main tools I use for my work.

For penciling my panel borders and backgrounds I rely heavily on two steel rulers. I only use the longer one when I do perspective shots where the vanishing points are off of the page.

Years ago, when I was still hand-lettering my pages, I got an Ames Lettering Guide. These days I use it as a straight edge for smaller details. I also use it a lot for speed lines. It's just sometimes handier than an 18" ruler.


I use this triangle and these two french curves frequently. They're useful for both penciling and inking. They have a raised edge so you can use mechanical pens or felt tips with them without worrying about smudging the line.

My french curves have seen better days. I've worn down some of the edges with years of use. If you're in the market for some, you may want to look into getting ones made with a good hard plastic.

Two other indispensable tools are my circle and ellipse stencils. These are great for drawing things like Dick's gauntlets and the Brigadier General's helmet. My hand isn't steady enough to freehand those kinds of things. I like my technology to look as clean and crisp as possible.


Here are the main penciling tools. I use a plain old Pentel .5mm mechanical pencil filled with blue Pentel leads. I don't mean to sound like a celebrity endorsement for Pentel here, but I also really like their Hi-Polymer eraser, too. It erases clean without damaging the paper. To brush away the inevitable eraser shavings I use a Draftsman's Mini-Duster.

Finally we get to inking tools. I do all my freehand work with 102 crow quill nibs and a bottle of Higgins Black Magic ink. I keep two pens in rotation: one pen with a newer nib for inking finer lines, and a more broken-in nib for drawing the thicker lines. As the first nib gets older and more flexible, I'll make it the second pen. I'll then break out a fresh nib for the first pen.

For most of my backgrounds I use Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph pens. I tend to stick to three sizes: 2/.60, 0/.35, and 00/.30. These are what I use for things like cars, buildings, and technology.