#29 FALL 2014 $8.95 IN THE US The Professional “How-To” Magazine on Comics, Cartooning and Animation ILLUSTRATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE Batman TM & © DC Comics. PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR OF THE CULT HIT BLACK DYNAMITE PLUS! REGULAR COLUMNIST AND MIKE MANLEY AND BRET BLEVINS’ 0 3 1 82658 27764 2 THE PROFESSIONAL “HOW-TO” MAGAZINE ON COMICS & CARTOONING WWW.DRAW-MAGAZINE.BLOGSPOT.COM FALL 2014, VOL. 1, #29 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editor-in-Chief • Michael Manley Managing Editor and Designer • Eric Nolen-Weathington Publisher • John Morrow Logo Design • John Costanza Front Cover • Dave Dorman DAVE DORMAN DRAW! FALL 2014, Vol. 1, No. 29 was The master illustrator wields his brush like produced by Action Planet, Inc. and published a Jedi master as he demos his unique process by TwoMorrows Publishing. 3 Michael Manley, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial address: DRAW! Magazine, c/o Michael Manley, 430 Spruce Ave., Upper Darby, PA 19082. Subscription Address: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Dr., Raleigh, NC 27614. DRAW! and its logo are trademarks of Action Plan- et, Inc. All contributions herein are copyright 2014 COMIC art bootcamP by their respective contributors. Views expressed This month’s installment: here by contributors and interviewees are not 33 Concept & Design necessarily those of Action Planet, Inc., TwoMor- rows Publishing, or its editors Action Planet, Inc. and TwoMorrows Publishing ac- cept no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. All artwork herein is copyright the year of produc- tion, its creator (if work-for-hire, the entity which contracted said artwork); the characters featured in said artwork are trademarks or registered trade- LESEAN THOMAS marks of their respective owners; and said artwork or Jamar Nicholas interviews other trademarked material is printed in these pages the renaissance man of animation with the consent of the copyright holder and/or for 44 journalistic, educational, or historical purposes with no infringement intended or implied. This entire issue is ©2014 Action Planet, Inc. and TwoMorrows Publishing and may not be reprinted or retransmitted without written permission of the copyright holders. ISSN 1932-6882. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING. RIGHT WAY, WRONG WAY—ORDWAY! If you’re viewing a Digital 72 Challengers of the Collaboration Edition of this publication, PLEASE READ THIS: This is copyrighted material, NOT intended for downloading anywhere except our website or Apps. If you downloaded it from another website or torrent, go ahead and read it, and if you decide to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and buy a legal down- load, or a printed copy. Otherwise, DELETE IT FROM YOUR DEVICE and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT ANYWHERE. If you enjoy our publications enough to download them, please pay for them so we can keep producing ones like this. Our digital editions should ONLY be downloaded within our Apps and at www.twomorrows.com DRAW! FALL 2014 1 INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY MIKE MANLEY AND TRANSCRIBED BY JON KNUTSON AT THIS MOMENT IN OUR VERY OWN Draw!: So, what are you working on today? Dave DORMAN: Today, I’ve got some juggling on a GALAxy… couple of things. I’m putting together a small art book for San Diego, featuring some of my Aliens and Predator art- ave Dorman is an Eisner Award-winner, an work. It’s all production work—just gathering the art, putting Inkpot Award-winner, and a favorite among it together, getting it ready for the printer, and sending it out Star Wars fans—including George Lucas tomorrow. I’m also laying out a comic book story, a 20-page comic that’s going to also be available at San Diego, featuring himself! He’s worked on practically every major some characters from my Wasted Lands graphic novel proj- science-fiction, fantasy, and horror licensed property ect. The comic book is called Red Tide, and it’s a prequel to a at one point or another, and he’s learned a thing or three-issue series we’re going to do in the fall. two about slinging oil paint. So gather ’round, young Draw!: And are you publishing this yourself? padawans, as the master teaches us the ways of the DD: Yeah, I’m doing the whole thing myself. I have a writ- Illustrator. ing partner, Mike Bawden, who’s doing the scripting, but I’m DRAW! FALL 2014 3 (left) Dave: “‘The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan’” was commissioned for a book on fantastical places. From the start I wanted to do some- thing different for this piece. The first was not to show Khan from the front. The piece is about the pleasure dome, not him. But I wanted it to exude strength and eroticism. This is the pencil art for the 20" x 30" painting.” (right) Dave: “After I transfer the drawing I begin the oil underpainting, adding textures in the paint by pulling the paint form the board and using the transparency of the oils and white of the board to add depth to the background.” The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan © Dave Dorman plotting it and doing all of the artwork and production, and check my email, see if anybody’s ordered anything, answer sending it off to the printer. I’m laying out the pages right now fans’ questions, and then get to drawing, whether it’s drawing so I can start on the pencil work tomorrow. I’m also juggling preliminary roughs, doing a layout, getting a painting ready, a couple of logistic things for San Diego, and intending to go or actually sitting down and laying paint on the board. to Austin for the Capital City Convention—I’m working on that. So basically, partial art, partial business. Draw!: Do you have a fixed schedule, as far as you’re usu- ally up by a certain time, to work by a certain time, or do you Draw!: Is that a fairly typical day for you, to have the busi- sort of roll with the deadlines? ness side, and then the art side? DD: It’s rolling with the deadlines. I have a son in elementary DD: No, that usually happens maybe two or three times a school, so during the school year, it’s getting him up and off to month. Most of my actual work time is penciling, drawing, school, and that’s the start of the day. It used to be, before we sketching, preparing the artwork—that type of thing. This had Jack, our son, I’d get up and basically just start working, and type of book production stuff comes up occasionally, I’d say then take a break for lunch or whatever. If there are some errands maybe three or four times a year. Mostly around this time, or things to be done around the house, then come back and just in the late spring/early summer, getting ready for San Diego work again until it’s time to go to bed. But with my son it chang- and the convention season. I look to have new product out es—good changes—the whole day, and as a matter of fact, I had for when I attend the shows. So, that’s usually when this type to adjust the schedule to fit family life. So I work a little bit more of thing happens. But my regular work day would be get up, at night, when everyone’s gone to bed, and the house is quiet. 4 DRAW! FALL 2014 (left) Dave: “Two more layers of underpainting give me a solid base to work from.” (right) Dave: “I begin rendering the details, this time mostly in oils as I want to be able to blend parts of them back into the background while it is still wet.” The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan © Dave Dorman Draw!: I take it you don’t pull too many all-nighters any- that you’re not happy with. If I haven’t learned my lessons more, unless it’s an extreme deadline? through the years in the industry now, I’m never going to DD: Unless it’s a very extreme deadline, I don’t pull an all- learn. I learned very early on it’s better to paint when you’re nighter. Yeah, I find that pulling all-nighters causes a lot of rested then when you’re falling asleep and ending up with a anxiety, obviously, because you know you’re running late, so forehead covered in oil paint from dropping on the drawing I just basically try my best to stay on schedule, make sure that board while you’re snoring away. I know when the deadline’s going to hit. After 30 years in the business, I’m pretty good at approximating how long any Draw!: Do you give yourself time after you’ve finished a particular piece is going to take, so I know that if it’s going to job to get away from it to look at it before you send it out, or be close to a deadline, I need to work another hour or two at does that really just depend on how hot the deadline is? night to make sure I can hit those deadlines. I’m getting a little DD: Exactly, it depends on how close the deadline is. Usu- bit too old to pull those all-nighters. ally, I would take a day or two to let it set, so that I can turn away from it, and then come back with a fresh eye and make Draw!: [laughs] Yeah. The other thing is I know some- sure that it’s exactly what I wanted, whether additional detail times when you push the all-nighter, you also run the risk of needs to be made, or colors need to be adjusted, or something making a mistake that takes you actually longer to go back to make it just a little bit tighter, and a little bit more of what and correct, where if you just stop and get a little rest, you the client expects.