When I was 10 years old, I spent a great deal of time with my friends drawing.
Three or four of us would lay out on the carpet with pages of white paper and sharpened pencils, bringing to life anything our imaginations could produce. We had DC and Marvel Comics spread out before us. It was great fun seeing who could create the best work, and ironically one of us went on to become a world-renowned artist.
My favorite character to draw had to have been Wolverine.
Chris Hart, the author and artist of Superheroes and Beyond: How to Draw the Leading and Supporting Characters of Today’s Comics, has spent the last decade helping people draw better. He has stopped by Suvudu to talk about his new book and drawing superheroes!
Suvudu: Hi Chris. Welcome to Suvudu! How are you?
Chris Hart: Very well, thanks.
S: Superheroes and Beyond: How to Draw the Leading and Supporting Characters of Today’s Comics, your new book, is published today. Tell us a bit about it?
CH: Superheroes are the thread that runs through all the great comic book adventures series. Superheroes. Even the word conjures up excitement and great visuals. So I decided to do a book that focused on creating original superheroes and their supporting cast members. These types of characters have inspired legions of aspiring artists. So, with Hollywood in full panic to transfer every superhero from the page to the screen, I felt the time was right to do a book that unlocked the secrets of the pros, and showed exactly how to draw those great comic book characters.
S: What is it about drawing superheroes that appeals to you?
CH: First of all, my style of drawing super heroes is more of the animated style, which has a bit of humor to it. And while I love doing that style, the real powerhouse style of comics today is the cutting edge, dangerous, sexy and heroic costumed superhero.So in order for this book to be at the top of its game, I selected some of the finest comic book artists working in the field today, and asked them each to contribute to the book. I chose specific subject matter, and we worked together, because there were important principles and images that I wanted to include.
S: Is it strange breaking down your own artistic process so others can learn?
CH: I've worked on many books, both as the author-illustrator, and also as the author who directs the contributing artists, and both processes are the same. It's about noticing the artistic nuances that are intended to hit the reader subliminally, things that artists do almost instinctively. Many people would call this "style." Some stuffy types don't approve of teaching style. They call for only teaching art principles. But you can teach anyone the muscles of the human body, and still be unable to draw a superhero. Style is art.
S: Was there an initial moment or event that jumpstarted your need to help other artists?
CH: There is nothing as rewarding as getting an email from your website, from someone you don't know, halfway around the country, telling you that your book has rekindled his or her love of art. How can that not make you want to continue to create more books?
S: Schools do not usually feature art programs devoted to drawing superheroes, manga, or the like. If you had the attention of every art teacher and art director, what would you say to them about that?
CH: I would tell them that their students are not as interested in painting bowls of fruit as they think they are. They are just being polite.
S: I see you turned in your pencil for a pen when you wrote the Del Rey Manga graphic novel The Reformed. What was it like writing a story rather than penciling the story?
CH: Liberating. I never had to plan out in my mind how I was going to draw all that stuff I was writing. I just wrote. I painted with words instead of pictures. It was very satisfying. I hadn't written a narrative in a long time.
S: Does your writing process differ from your art process?
CH: Yes. The main difference is that I can listen to the radio when I'm drawing. But when I'm writing, I spend entire days secluded in silence. It's like a form of self-imposed torture.
S: If you could be any superhero, who would it be and why?
CH: I wouldn't be. They suffer for their powers.
S: If you could draw one monthly superhero comic book, what would it be and why?
CH: Batman. All those shadows, baby.
S: Thank you for your time, Chris. Do you have anything else you'd like to add?
CH: Just thanks for stopping by!
Chris Hart is the award-winning and bestselling author and artist of the Manga Mania series! The Association for Library Services (ALS) named the books Manga Mania: How to draw Japanese Comics and Manga Mania: Chibi and Furry Characters to their list of Best, Notable and Recommended books for 2007.
Superheroes and Beyond: How to Draw the Leading and Supporting Characters of Today's Comics is his new book and it is in bookstores today! To make it even more fun, Chris has signed five copies and Suvudu is giving them away in a contest! Click HERE to learn how you could win one of them!
Visit Chris at his website at www.chrishartbooks.com!
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