A fun read. Seeing model sheets and anything else behind the curtain is always enjoyable.
On realism: I picked up Rebellion’s Apex edition of Arthur Ranson’s art and sort of wish I hadn’t. Clearly-referenced art is a turn-off, whereas the magic is in what Kirby, Mazzuchelli, Bolland, etc manage to do. 2 cents worth
I think it's really important to use reference for pretty much everything, even if it's just observing how the world works, whether it's technology, drapery or architecture. But that only applies if there's some form of realism. If I was doing something surrealistic then I just draw straight for my head, with some exceptions. Anything that's not recorded in muscle memory needs to be studied.
For example, in The United: Going Underground there's an hallucinogenic sequence and I wanted to riff on Little Nemo in Slumberland so I looked at some of Windsor McCay's imagery. I also drew the Kleggs from Judge Dredd, but that was more unintentional as I was just homaging Heinrich Kley's anthropomorphic illustrations.
I always think Ditko designed costumes while Kirby designed uniforms (and the Imagey pouch designs are costumes of uniforms - which is part of why most modern characters feel more like they’re cosplayers than superheroes)
I keep meaning to look up what a ‘union suit’ was since silver age costumes were always being described that way…
It's remarkable how many corporate properties and revenue come from those two folk. It wasn't Stan Lee's dialogue punch-ups that sold all those underoos, it was Ditko's and Kirby's designs.
Love the thinking behind your character designs. Unfortunately Full Disclosure is a podcast by James O'Brian where he interviews people, so you may have to retitle. However, whatever it's called, I'll be listening.
Replicability... no love for Giffen's Jack of Hearts then, eh? :) I love Kirby's design for Ikaris the Eternal, which changes over time as issues go by, and then, suddenly, issue 15, in the the middle of a story, the original design reappears, only to vanish again the following month!
I'm old enough to remember when it was Rod, Jane and Matthew on Rainbow -- before the latter began entertaining Sooty.
I didn't realise that Matthew was caught up in whatever was happening (and what wasn't?) on that TV show. In my childhood mind it was very much an English version of The Banana Splits, but instead of an equivalent, hysterical, manic edge there was a sinister overtone.
Great read. Man, that really hammers home what a truly great character designer Ditko was. Obviously Kirby was great too, but the diversity and simplify of Ditko’s designs puts him ahead for me
I don't disagree at all, but maybe the intellectual vs instinctive dichotomy of Ditko and Kirby can be over-applied. That said, Kirby regularly fudged his more complex costumes, whilst Ditko had his underdrawing all worked out.
Spider-Man and Blue Beetle are not easy designs to draw from particular angles. Ditko worked out ways to manipulate the design to imply dynamism and form.
Jonny, may I ask your advice? I have designed characters and tried to draw model sheets for them. However, I find drawing those so boring! I can’t get into the character until I draw them in action. To me, the design of a character is as much the way they move, the way they express, the way they fight as the way they look.
I always thought model sheets were for when new artists come on to draw a commercial property, they need a primer for the look.
Of course, I’m still pretty beginner in all this so what do you think? Am I hamstringing myself by not doing model sheets for my own characters?
I know you state in the article the model sheet matters but I’m really struggling with this.
Everybody is different in their approach, but I find it useful. It depends on the design when it boils down to it. I think the most important thing is having a clear visualisation and if it comes out on the page then that's essentially your point of reference, that's just an alternative to the model sheet. You need to redraw that panel though if you fundamentally change the design by osmosis. Doing model sheets seems more definitive, more locked-in. Staying on-model isn't easy.
I did the model sheets because I was introducing so many new costumed characters and I didn't have them all worked out. There was a lot of noodling on Red Arrow, for example.
I tricked myself into liking doing model sheets as I treated it like I was doing a Hanna Barbera cartoon. I think doing sketches and doodles of faces and heads and figures based on observation are good for incidental characters.
I just designed a new character on the reverse side of a page. It came out very easily as I'd had it mulling around in my head for ages and it was time for it to come out. It was a pretty tight drawing.
Love all the behind the scenes stuff. Battle of the Planets was amazing and, apparently, the original Japanese cartoon/anime didn’t hold back on violence and blood. I can’t remember if I read somewhere that the stupid R2-D2 thing was added for western audiences to cash in on Star Wars and doesn’t appear in the Japanese version.
There was also seemingly a lot of interesting reflections on gender in Space Ninja Team Gatchaman. Berg Katse (Zoltar in the US version) was male and female, which seems ahead of its time. Alex Toth supposedly designed the robots for Battle of the Planets, which was far from his finest work.
A fun read. Seeing model sheets and anything else behind the curtain is always enjoyable.
On realism: I picked up Rebellion’s Apex edition of Arthur Ranson’s art and sort of wish I hadn’t. Clearly-referenced art is a turn-off, whereas the magic is in what Kirby, Mazzuchelli, Bolland, etc manage to do. 2 cents worth
I think it's really important to use reference for pretty much everything, even if it's just observing how the world works, whether it's technology, drapery or architecture. But that only applies if there's some form of realism. If I was doing something surrealistic then I just draw straight for my head, with some exceptions. Anything that's not recorded in muscle memory needs to be studied.
For example, in The United: Going Underground there's an hallucinogenic sequence and I wanted to riff on Little Nemo in Slumberland so I looked at some of Windsor McCay's imagery. I also drew the Kleggs from Judge Dredd, but that was more unintentional as I was just homaging Heinrich Kley's anthropomorphic illustrations.
A fine read, JC
I always think Ditko designed costumes while Kirby designed uniforms (and the Imagey pouch designs are costumes of uniforms - which is part of why most modern characters feel more like they’re cosplayers than superheroes)
I keep meaning to look up what a ‘union suit’ was since silver age costumes were always being described that way…
It's remarkable how many corporate properties and revenue come from those two folk. It wasn't Stan Lee's dialogue punch-ups that sold all those underoos, it was Ditko's and Kirby's designs.
Boringly it’s just American for longjohns
🤣
Love the thinking behind your character designs. Unfortunately Full Disclosure is a podcast by James O'Brian where he interviews people, so you may have to retitle. However, whatever it's called, I'll be listening.
Ha ha, I will modify the the podcast title accordingly!
Replicability... no love for Giffen's Jack of Hearts then, eh? :) I love Kirby's design for Ikaris the Eternal, which changes over time as issues go by, and then, suddenly, issue 15, in the the middle of a story, the original design reappears, only to vanish again the following month!
I'm old enough to remember when it was Rod, Jane and Matthew on Rainbow -- before the latter began entertaining Sooty.
I didn't realise that Matthew was caught up in whatever was happening (and what wasn't?) on that TV show. In my childhood mind it was very much an English version of The Banana Splits, but instead of an equivalent, hysterical, manic edge there was a sinister overtone.
"Size.... of an elephant!" Ah, The Banana Splits, that takes me back. I loved that series!
Rainbow was kind of wild, but there were loads of strange shows then: Hickory House, Pipkins, Magic Roundabout...
Great read. Man, that really hammers home what a truly great character designer Ditko was. Obviously Kirby was great too, but the diversity and simplify of Ditko’s designs puts him ahead for me
I don't disagree at all, but maybe the intellectual vs instinctive dichotomy of Ditko and Kirby can be over-applied. That said, Kirby regularly fudged his more complex costumes, whilst Ditko had his underdrawing all worked out.
Spider-Man and Blue Beetle are not easy designs to draw from particular angles. Ditko worked out ways to manipulate the design to imply dynamism and form.
Jonny, may I ask your advice? I have designed characters and tried to draw model sheets for them. However, I find drawing those so boring! I can’t get into the character until I draw them in action. To me, the design of a character is as much the way they move, the way they express, the way they fight as the way they look.
I always thought model sheets were for when new artists come on to draw a commercial property, they need a primer for the look.
Of course, I’m still pretty beginner in all this so what do you think? Am I hamstringing myself by not doing model sheets for my own characters?
I know you state in the article the model sheet matters but I’m really struggling with this.
Everybody is different in their approach, but I find it useful. It depends on the design when it boils down to it. I think the most important thing is having a clear visualisation and if it comes out on the page then that's essentially your point of reference, that's just an alternative to the model sheet. You need to redraw that panel though if you fundamentally change the design by osmosis. Doing model sheets seems more definitive, more locked-in. Staying on-model isn't easy.
I did the model sheets because I was introducing so many new costumed characters and I didn't have them all worked out. There was a lot of noodling on Red Arrow, for example.
I tricked myself into liking doing model sheets as I treated it like I was doing a Hanna Barbera cartoon. I think doing sketches and doodles of faces and heads and figures based on observation are good for incidental characters.
I just designed a new character on the reverse side of a page. It came out very easily as I'd had it mulling around in my head for ages and it was time for it to come out. It was a pretty tight drawing.
Love all the behind the scenes stuff. Battle of the Planets was amazing and, apparently, the original Japanese cartoon/anime didn’t hold back on violence and blood. I can’t remember if I read somewhere that the stupid R2-D2 thing was added for western audiences to cash in on Star Wars and doesn’t appear in the Japanese version.
You know, I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Toth designed that f***ing robot. I may be misremembering, but they can't all be winners.
There was also seemingly a lot of interesting reflections on gender in Space Ninja Team Gatchaman. Berg Katse (Zoltar in the US version) was male and female, which seems ahead of its time. Alex Toth supposedly designed the robots for Battle of the Planets, which was far from his finest work.