| Posted: 26 February 2015 at 8:14am | IP Logged | 1
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In early 1990's I received a 'try-out' pack from Marvel (UK), organised thanks to a chance Convention encounter. This pack came with various character references and general Do's & Don't's.
I recently rediscovered this and on reading through thought I'd share the Pencilling Do's & Don't's with those here-in-and-abouts, enjoy.
"Pencilling: 1. Stick To Kirby Layouts. The sort of page layouts favoured by Frank Bellamy on 'Thunderbirds' and Steve Bissette on 'Swamp Thing' (affectionately known as 'Broken Glass' layouts) only complicate the story-telling process and thus make the reader's 'job' a lot harder. It is also advisable to avoid the 'Buscema' layout as this often calls for the addition of arrows to clearly show the progress of action. 2. Avoid Overlapping Panels At ALL Times. Again, this sort of gimmick tends to complicate the flow of the narrative from frame to frame. If the eye of the reader is drawn from Panel 1 to Panel 3 because the head of a character in the latter panel intrudes on the former (or the leg of a character in the first panel stick down into the third) then the artist is unnecessarily confusing the progress of the story. 3. Avoid Insetting Panels Over or In Other Panels. Inset panels often look nice but can and do distract from the detail of the panel that the first is set in. 4. Do NOT Bleed Artwork Outside The Dimensions of the Standard Page Area. Bleeding can be as painful to a page as it can be to you - don't do it! 5. Always Ensure That There is PLENTY of Room for Captions and Dialogue. The placement of Balloons and captions is the responsibility of the penciller NOT the letterer- if the penciller makes an allowance for dialogue when he/she draws the artwork then there will be no unnecessary script alterations before the strip is lettered. As a general rule, bear in mind that balloons float UP. Take a look at any example of John Byrne's work and you will find that only rarely are captions and dialogue positioned at the bottom of a panel. Again, as a general rule, leave the top third of panels free of important action or detail. 6. The Drawing of Sound Effects Should Be Left to the Letterer.
7. Characters Should be Sharply Defined and Clearly Outlined. We're producing colour comics here and you should always strive to make the colourists job as simple as possible. If a character is featured in a close up, it is probably best to drop out the background altogether. 8. Draw What is Asked For in the Script. Cut corners only when you feel that doing so will help the flow of the story. 9. Pages Should Feature the Following Information (in INK) in the Top, Right-Hand Corner of the Page. Title of the Comic/Issue Number/Page Number."
[edited]The number "7" for the symbol "&".
Edited by Darren Taylor on 26 February 2015 at 8:20am
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