3) Knowledge of perspective is of supreme importance. Its laws provide a good, positive way to manipulate or hypnotize your readers.
It is better to work from reality and draw within real spaces, instead of attempting to create your perspective by copying from photographs.
Jean Giraud was a master of perspective. Another master in this discipline is the Belgian comic book artist Hermann Huppen (known simply as “Hermann”). I especially like what Hermann did with perspective in his western series Comanche.
Many of the panels in his Comanche books look like they’re in 3-D.
They draw you right into the world Hermann has created, involving you and making that world seem even more real.
When you work from photographs you are working from a second hand distorted view. The camera has only one “eye”, so you’re not seeing in 3-D. There is also the distortion of the lens to take into consideration. It is nearly always better to draw from life, no matter whether it’s people, landscapes or architecture. Your work will always be better than if you had used a photo.
An exception to this is when it is important to capture a likeness (as with movie posters or in depicting historical figures). Obviously, you can’t always get a movie star to pose for you at your studio. It’s harder still to revive the dead for that purpose (plus, there’s the smell and rot factors).
Bill- Love the new posts. Also, Hermann has been a fairly new vein for me to mine and I always purchase his books. Especially like his Jeremiah work or westerns. Fabulous stuff! Wish-to-God some one would reprint Moebius books state side. Looking forward to the rest of the rules.
All wonderfully executed perspective shots…thanks!
Let me just piggy back on what Jim said. To my knowledge there isn’t any big coffee table straining tome of Moebius art. Am I wrong about that? And if not is there a way that we could petition a publisher to make one?
Please get the Moebius books from Graphitti designs (www.graphittidesigns.com). They have big collection of Moebius(Jean Giraud). Hardcover/Color/Close to coffee table
[…] resources I found particularly helpful were these helpful tips from Jean “Moebius” Giraud, this tutorial for basic perspective techniques by Will […]