I WAS ENTHUSED TO DISCOVER that Blurb Books, the on-demand book publisher, created a new category of on-demand products; the magazine. I thought this would be a good way to try on-demand publishing without breaking the bank. I downloaded the plug-in for InDesign and quickly reformatted my comic for Blurb. The Subterranean was originally formatted for Amazon and is slightly taller and had no bleeds from what Blurb required so I reconfigured the faded paper texture (to give that vintage look). The gutter is also wider than is traditional but I thought the positioning on the page was a good compromise and provided an optimized image. It might seem oversized but I won't really know until I get my hard copy. I can then re-upload the file with revisions to get the scaling right.
I thought the price of $12 was ridiculous for a 30 page comic. Even if every aspect of the publication is premium the price makes the effort of publishing nothing more than an experiment. When I went to buy it and check out I discovered that in addition to the high price I had to pay $8 for shipping! In my estimation absolutely no one will pay that kind of shipping for so few pages.
So what good is Blurb? It is of no use as an actual publisher unless they can get their prices down. The only other use is as a portfolio publisher. In other words, if you were going to a comic convention it might be handy to have an actual hardcopy of your comic to show potential publishers. I am planning on making a book of my fine art paintings to send to my galleries as a promotional piece. I can envision a few hardcore collectors wanting to purchase the book, but again, the price will be so high it will prohibit any large scale sales.
Until Blurb can get their prices down they will only exist as a vanity publishing house. But hey, I fell for it. When I went to check out I was informed I could buy an additional copy for $5. The price seemed relatively cheap so I jumped on it. It was only later that I remembered I had never paid $5 for a comic in my life. I had been successfully upsold on my own comic.
Although I am glad to see this business in the early stages of its evolution on-demand publishing has a long way to go before I will be impressed with either their sales techniques or their business model.
Brad Teare
OVER THE YEARS I've accumulated quite a few books about illustration. I thought I would list some of the best and the reasons why you may want to acquire them, too.
A book I bought early in my career that helped me a lot with construction of the figure was How to Draw the Marvel Way. It was my touchstone during my years animating The Incredible Hulk (I worked on it in 1982) and The Amazing Spiderman. Get this book if you need more information and inspiration on how to construct the human form. Don't be put off if you are not interested in drawing comics, the construction principles are sound no matter what kind of drawing style you practice You can get this book used for $4.75 which is a pretty good deal considering the amount of information you get.
Another book if you need more information about human anatomy is Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy. This is a great book if you're looking for a systematic way to render the human form especially the feet and hands (which were always a problem for me). Aesthetically, I'm not a huge fan of Burne Hogarth's more illustrative style in these books but don't let that get in the way of learning from this well thought out book.
Drawing wrinkles on constructed figures was a difficult problem for me in my early days. I once had the opportunity to ask Burne Hogarth how he drew wrinkles when I drove him to the airport during a Dallas-Fort Worth science-fiction fantasy convention. He replied that if you knew the figure well enough wrinkles were a no-brainer. This was not a very satisfying answer and I assumed I didn't know the figure well enough. However, a few years later he published his book Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery. I flatter myself to think I planted the seed that led to this great book. Again, I'm not a huge fan of Burne's style but once you understand his theory on how to render wrinkles you won't have any problems with them again. If you draw from imagination and are struggling with wrinkles this book is a must have. Thank you Burne for your amazing contribution to comics! I do love Burne's Tarzan series. His comics have a fluidity and grace that his more didactic anatomy drawings lacked.
If you are searching for an overview of the basics of illustration there is no better book than James Gurney's Imaginative Realism. Not only is James one of America's great illustrators he knows how to articulate artistic principles in a manner that is easily understood. I used his methods when I was creating the previsualization drawings and maquettes for The Subterranean.
If you find yourself wanting to delve deeper into aspects of form, light, and shadow a great book is James Gurney's sequel Color and Light. One reviewer said this is the book that will teach you what you should have learned in art school. It's filled with fascinating theory and technique you won't find elsewhere. Gurney's keen intellect and roving curiosity have served artists well. If you need a daily dose of Gurney's insights be sure to visit his always fascinating blog Gurney Journey. Use the search feature to ferret out the information you need. Jim has written about almost every artistic subject imaginable.
I will add more to this list as more books come to mind.
Brad Teare 14 January 2013
