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The Best of DRAW! Volume 2
Book Released: 16 August 2006
Posted 24 August 2006
Writer: Mike Manley (Editor)
Publisher: Twomorrows
5.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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Although I am not an artist (just a writer), I learned a lot about the artist’s process while reading The Best of
DRAW! Volume 2, a collection of the third and fourth issues of DRAW! magazine. Twomorrows publishes material with
the creator in mind, producing wonderful insights into the techniques and habits of comic creators and artists in particular
in this volume; this is a nice change of pace from, say, Wizard, which produces magazines for underdeveloped middle
schoolers. DRAW! approaches the medium as a legitimate art form (which it is) and treats the creators and readers as
professionals interested in studying the form.
In the newly released Volume 2, editor Mike Manley focuses on a variety of important parts of artistic endeavors,
himself contributing a step-by-step analysis of producing webcomics as well as an
overview of storyboarding in which he stresses the importance of direction, choice of shot (mediums shot, close-up, etc.),
and the general throughline of the action as the story moves forward. Image Big Dog Erik Larsen chimes in on the process
behind his work on Savage Dragon, discussing his process in an interview with the magazine. Completing the lessons on
overall process is Kevin Nowlan, whom relates much good advice on technique with a special focus on rendering, shadows,
layout, and perspective.
Bret Blevins not only provides a fantastic sketchbook for your viewing pleasure but also contributes two articles focusing
on
characters. Blevins highlights the importance of posing, action, and movement in figure drawing, providing examples
illustrating his technique. Blevins also discusses composing figures, especially in groups, and elaborates on composition,
silhouetting, and scale.
Legend Dick Giordano schools professionals and wannabes alike on the art of inking, and no one is better equipped to
deliver lessons on the importance of good inking than the Master himself.
Rounding out the experience is Dave Cooper, who walks you through the process of coloring techniques with numerous visual
examples throughout. As an added bonus, an interview with Chris Bailey (currently working on Kim Possible) lays out
the processes behind animation and its relation to the comicbook form.
I would like to say I especially enjoyed (and appreciated) Ande Parks’s section on the tools of the trade,
something that rarely finds its way into print. Parks discusses types of markers and various paper stocks so that burgeoning
creators know what the professionals use and what might work best for them.
Overall, I can’t think of any better publication on the processes of being a sequential artist than The Best of
DRAW! Volume 2 (except for the other issues of DRAW!, of course).
Twomorrows has printed a goldmine of information for up-and-coming artists under the able tutelage of Mike Manley, and anyone
serious about drawing comicbooks for a living should not only pick up this volume but also seek out the other issues and subscribe to the magazine. The Best of DRAW! Volume 2 showcases everything great about the ongoing
DRAW! magazine and will leave you edified and wanting more.
So hop to it, people.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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