World Famous Comics: How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling
How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling
By: Shawn Martinbrough Publisher: Watson-Guptill Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Watson-Guptill Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: October 30, 2007 Release Date: October 30, 2007
Howto Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling is an instructional book based on the cinematic, high contrast noir style of acclaimed comic book and graphic novel illustrator, Shawn Martinbrough.
Martinbrough’s work has been published by DC Comics, Vertigo and Marvel Comics, illustrating stories ranging from Batman to the X-Men. This is his first book, released through Watson-Guptill Publications and The Nielsen Company.
In How to Draw Noir Comics, Martinbrough shows how the expert use of the color black is critical for drawing noir comics. He demonstrates how to set a mood, design characters and locations, stage action and enhance drama, and discusses important topics like page layout, panel design, and cover design.
How to Draw Noir Comics includes The Truce, an original graphic novel written and illustrated by Martinbrough which incorporates the many lessons addressed throughout the book, and has an introduction by critically-acclaimed novelist Greg Rucka, author of the graphic novel Whiteout, currently in production as a major motion picture.
Brilliant and engaging This book is a great instructional. The prose is clear and the author elegantly "illustrates" the points with perfectly chosen imagery. But it is also just a great book in a straightforward visual sense. By that I mean, it works as a coffee table book. And the story at the end is an added bonus for anyone who loves comics.
Valuable insight from a distinctive creative voice I'm a comics writer, not an artist, so I almost started this review by saying that I bought the book just to look at the pictures. And who could blame me? Shawn Martinbrough is one of the most original and distinctive stylists in modern mainstream comics. In a sea of imitators and variations on a house style, his artwork is instantly recognizable. His run on DETECTIVE COMICS with writer Greg Rucka (who writes the introduction to this book) is a landmark to me, in that it was one of the things that brought me back to reading comics after a long absence.
But Martinbrough's strengths lie far beyond his style - he has a true mastery of the *craft* of sequential storytelling, which is what makes this book such a valuable read, for aspiring artists and students of the medium in general. Reading about his process has given me much food for thought in how to evaluate and critique the work of other artists, as well as in how to better compose my scripts for artists to create the maximum impact in the collaboration. In short, HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS is a fine read for anyone interested in creating comics, whether one's work is done at the drawing board or at the keyboard.
Oh, and you get to look at the cool pictures, too.
Lessons from a REAL ARTIST This book is not just another how-to book written by another comic book guy.
Martinbrough is clearly an illustrator who knows his craft well, takes pride in it, and has used a vast library of tools, ideas, and creative resources to create a book that is a must-have for any artist aspiring to make their work more dramatic.
His insight into the creative process and the relationship between artist and writer makes this book a must-have for any comic book (or even screenplay) writer, to give them a sense of what to provide an artist with in a script.
This book reinforced for me the need for shadows in storytelling.
HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS is a cut above the rest of its peers, and is for SERIOUS ARTISTS, not pencilers looking to imitate Jim Lee.
A Kick Start to Noir Comics I was expecting a little more from the book, judging from the fact that the author is a legend (read other reviews)in the comics industry. But the content is still pretty educational and informative. I enjoyed looking at the large print as well as the artwork which is printed on nice good quality paper. Even though the information may seem too comprehensive for more professional artists, they may benefit from looking at how the artwork is done, and in fact, I enjoyed looking at how the author has provided us with different treatment to the same artwork. To me this is precious, and show that the author is versatile in his technique and creative in his use of tools and materials.
Learning to Learn So here is the thing, comics are a very hard medium, its also subjective and seriously its HARD. What I like about this book. Its not some hand holding trite sketchbook full of cliches and half-thought out pablum being fed to the reader. What it does is it gives you theory and ideas on how to improve your art , how to look at your art and get the look you want. It makes you think on how to incorporate the skill of going noir. If you want a book to teach you to draw like great artist like Frank Miller and Mike Mignola--this isn't your thing. It you want a book to help you look at your art in a different way and make you a thinking artist, and bring something real to the table then, this is the shiznit!!!!
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