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Topic: Question for JB on Scripts and Information (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Lars Johansson
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 7:00am | IP Logged | 1  

Dear JB. I wonder if you have had been given any scripts/breakdowns or instructions which were impossible to follow. I have drawn a simple example of what I mean. In the example if a guy should build the house pictured, he will find it impossible. Have you gotten instructions in a similar way that you found impossible to follow in one way or another, not restricted to bulidings? In that case, what did you do?

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John Byrne
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 7:54am | IP Logged | 2  

Since it has become all the vogue for writers to work full script, whether they have any clue at all about how to construct a picture, artists have in large part been reduced to simply drawing what they are told to draw (which, alas, most fans, I have found, think is how it has always worked, anyway!) and this leads to many, many instances where the artist is asked to draw something that is impossible.

Some samples from my own recent experience:

• I was asked to draw Hakwman flying between the legs of a normal sized standing man WITHOUT KNOCKING HIM OVER

• I was asked to draw Hawkman frowning, with his mask/helmet on

• I was asked to draw Hawkgirl with heavy shadows under her eyes, with her mask/helmet on

• I was asked to have the "camera" TRACK (ie, move) to follow the action in a single panel

• Repeatedly I have been asked for back-and-forth conversations between characters in a single panel or…

• …art descriptions that set up Character A on the right, Character B on the left, and then have Character A speak first. Also…

• …art descriptions which place a character with his/her back to the camera when a facial expression is called for

• …art descriptions which call for actual movement of a character or characters within a single panel

• …characters sitting around a table, speaking A B C D E in the first panel, then E C B D A in the second, B A E D C in the third, and so on…

In each case, this resulted in a call to the editor, in which I basically said "I'm going to draw something that actually works. Be sure you fix the script to match."

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Lars Johansson
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 8:03am | IP Logged | 3  

Those samples are very fun. The facial expression from behind was the best one.
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Todd Douglas
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 8:16am | IP Logged | 4  


 QUOTE:
I was asked to draw Hawkman frowning, with his mask/helmet on


Not sure what the problem is in showing someone frowning in a mask that exposes their mouth.




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John Byrne
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 8:52am | IP Logged | 5  

Not sure what the problem is in showing someone frowning in a mask that exposes their mouth.

••

Downturned corners of the mouth. Is he angry? Is he sad? Did he just eat something sour?

There's more to a frown than the shape of the mouth. But, you knew that.

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Flavio Sapha
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 9:35am | IP Logged | 6  

That Hawkman book was a hell of a good comic, artwise.  The tale wasn't bad, but it read to me like part two of a two-parter. 
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Flavio Sapha
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 9:41am | IP Logged | 7  

The Aparo trademark Batman  wrinkled brow: THAT's frowning! 

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Jason Mark Hickok
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 10:24am | IP Logged | 8  

The first HAWKMAN piece to me looks more like he is "content" or maybe looking "angelic".  It is hard to say without seeing the eyes that is for sure.

Even though it is another wonderful Kubert example. 

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Steven Myers
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 11:06am | IP Logged | 9  

Are those supposed to be examples of Hawkman frowning, or just examples of how his mask looks?
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Lars Johansson
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 11:11am | IP Logged | 10  

In my very personal opinion, nobody has to agree, I dislike when the lecturer has spoken and then everybody is going to prove the lecturer wrong, by inventing new bodily functions where they are frowning with a mouth or finding eyebrows on a mask or traveling to the four corners of the earth just to prove the lecturer wrong. It happened when James Cameron was here talking about Titanic, when some history buffs were pointing out errors and I have witnessed it many times since, and I dislike it. Thanks.

Edited by Lars Johansson on 23 January 2010 at 11:11am
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John Byrne
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 11:15am | IP Logged | 11  

On the interweb it's a pathology. Type "People breathe" and someone will respond "Dead people don't." Some folk just cannae help themselves!
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John Peter Britton
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Posted: 23 January 2010 at 11:15am | IP Logged | 12  

Everyone is entitled to thier own opinion on this because why bring the matter up!
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