One of my favorite things we get to do at this site is share with readers the process that creators take to bring a comic to life. It adds a lot of depth and understanding to the books that we know and love, and is just cool as hell to see how the writers and artists work.
Today, we have a look at the art process for a page of this week’s “Key of Z” #1 from Boom! Studios. Artist Aaron Kuder walks us through the process of transitioning from writers Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert’s script to the final page that you see above. It’s a damn cool look at a pretty big indie release like this book.
If you enjoy the art check out Aaron’s site and Key of Z #1, out at comic shops near you today.
Aaron Kuder: In fairness, I’m afraid I have to start this out with a disclaimer. I realize that this article is about my artistic process, but in truth, the following is not how I normally go about laying out a comic book page. Normally i do all of the layouts and roughs on my computer to save paper. However, when I started working on Key of Z #1 I was in the middle of moving across the country and had minimal access to my computer. So an extra tree died for the sake of the deadline.
Okay…disclaimer over.
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| The Script for Page 20 of Key of Z #1 |
So once I get the script I read it through a couple of times. The first time I go through it I don’t pay attention to the number of panels on a page or anything like that. I concentrate on the images that come into my mind the most clearly and the flow of the story. I doodle as I go and often times I use the doodles in the actual page layout of the book.
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| Roughs |
The second time I go through the script, I concentrate on panel count and page design. This is usually the hardest step for me because it requires me to cram the images in my head into tiny little panels. This often feels like pounding a square brain into a round skull.
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| Finishes |
On page 20 here the biggest hurdle I had was try to convey the size and space of an outdoor scene with a six/seven panel page. Which is one reason I decided to go without any background in the second panel…the openness in that panel, hopefully, adds to a sense of space, which I contrasted in panel four with lots of background detail for a sense of scope.
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| Final Page |
Anywho, that’s some of the tip of iceberg of some of the process I go through for creating a page. Other things worth mentioning include being aware of the juxtaposition of shapes on the page (close ups, objects in the foreground vs the background, etc), atmosphere and mood, and of course lighting. Finding the right balance can make or break a page.
Alright hope you’ve enjoyed this, and be sure to check out the other 21 pages when Key of Z #1 hits the stands October 19th! Thanks all!
