The Advanced Comic Creation Course Week 7 Artist Features

Drew Spence from the Dynamic Universe and Digital Art Live presented the Advanced Comic Book Creation series. I was joined by Paul Bussey and Tiffany Gray in a course designed to push your Visual Stories into new and exciting directions. Week 7 featured the works of four artists. Ed LaRoche from Image comics and his series The Warning, Pam Harrison and here series A Deviant Mind and House of the Muses, John McClellan and his Monster of Egypt and John Byrne and his X-Men Elsewhen.

The Warning (10 book series)

An enormous machine slowly materializes in a major West Coast city. Who sent it—and why—is a mystery, understood only by the malevolent beings gliding silently toward Earth through the inky vastness of space. In response, a multinational combat brigade called Gladiator Two-Six is deployed. Outfitted with next-generation military science and weapons, they’re tasked with stopping any extraterrestrial threat that emerges.

https://imagecomics.com/creators/edward-laroche-1

Monster of Egypt (Graphic Novel)

International Jewel Thief Jonathan Fox is caught in a vicious game of espionage as he fights to stop a deadly terrorist in this hard-hitting graphic novel.

Jonathan Fox

Deviant Mind & House of the Muses 

Pam Harrison is one of the first and best-known CGI artists in Independent Comics. Her work with the historical fiction series House of the Muses earned her the 2008 Prism Comics Queer Press Grant for Outstanding Series, and she continues her storytelling in a gripping sci-fi space opera adventure, A Deviant Mind, that far transcends its original LGBT audience. 

https://houseofthemuses.com/product-category/graphic-novel/

https://houseofthemuses.com/2021/08/house-of-the-muses-10/

X-Men Elsewhen (ongoing series)

His most famous works have been on Marvel Comics’s Uncanny X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’s Superman franchise. During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works including Next Men and Danger Unlimited.

John Byrne’s X-Men: Elsewhen #1 In Full & Free! 39-Page Debut Issue! Marvel Comics Universe Spoilers!

https://insidepulse.com/tag/x-men-elsewhen/

The course should be available for purchase in the Daz Store in December 2021 under Digital Art Live or Drew Spence.

This course is designed for the comic artist who uses 3D Assets, photography and graphic design. This course is designed for the writers who want to polish their storytelling skillset. For the beginner, this course will be a deep dive into comic book telling and for the advanced artist this course will explore new concepts and ideas.

Drew Spence ICC Magazine October Issue #16

Drew Spence from The Dynamic Universe and Digital Art Live is on the cover of ICC Magazine #16 Issue October 2021. He covers the published comic series Force Six The Annihilators, Killer Butterfly, Mark of the Griffin. You can see his work-in-progress, the demo comic for Marvel Entertainment called The Dynamic Spider-Man Plus. His live webinars are available at https://digitalartlive.com/ and his tutorials are available to purchase in the Daz Store. https://www.daz3d.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Drew+Spence

Drew Spence on the Cover of Independent Creators Connection

ICC Magazine October 2021 Issue #16

ICC Magazine #16

Indy Planet

https://indyplanet.com/?s=ICC%20Magazine&fbclid=IwAR2kbxnwybLNlSixsOsfC6wavic2weOREnKOzhloetPlTd3F8gubbjuIzCY

Exploring the Infinite Universe of Independent Comics! ON SALE IN OCTOBER! #ICCMagazine #16: Halloween ComicFest Issue! Don’t miss stellar Artist Spotlights with Drew Spence, Bill McCormick and Richard Zerga! Creators Quest takes a fun look into the creative aspects of Art, whether it be music, illustrative, written, and what goes on in the process of creating.
Manga Classics! Time-honored classics in mind-blowing Manga comic format for a new generation to love! Halloween ComicFest 2021! Comic Cons and Cosplay News! Big Toy Chest! Back to School!

Review Fix Exclusive: Drew Spence Talks ‘Force Six

Force Six – Blades and all…

Review Fix chats with “Force Six, The Annihilators” creator Drew Spence, to find out what inspired the comic. Revealing what else he’s working on, Spence lets us know his career in comics is just beginning.

Review Fix: What inspired the look and feel of Force Six, The Annihilators?

Drew Spence: I started creating comics as a kid and was influenced by, well everything! I loved Sci-fi, fantasy and martial arts. I watched movies, read comics, played D&D [the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop game], video games and adventure books. The Annihilators switched genres for almost every story so, as an adult revisiting this comic, I needed a universe that could accommodate all those settings and angles and still make some kind of sense.

Review Fix: What about using CGI over traditional media? Where did that come from?

Spence: I would see these robots and figures in overseas catalogues, the toys and models and wanted that exact look for my art so I started scanning the pictures and turning them into comics. That started my experiments in photo manipulation. I did a good number of comics, but I still needed more control. I filmed a season of Mark of the Griffin (a live action web series) and used the still frames to make a comic.  I came across John Byrne’s Star Trek New Visions and realized the overall potential.

Read The REST: https://reviewfix.com/2019/06/review-fix-exclusive-drew-spence-talks-force-six-the-annihilators-and-more/

Dealing with the Boring Parts of Your Comic

Dealing with the Boring Parts of Your Comic

Wild in the Fallout Shelter. Drew Spence, the creator of the Force Six and Killer Butterfly comic series, speaks on the ‘boring’ parts of your comic. There’s a desire to rush past the lulls and jump straight to the action. He speaks as a creative and suggests the pauses are necessary to prime the reader for the action – to give meaning to the melee.  The Panel previews are from Force Six season III episode 24 The Misused Muse. Don’t forget to subscribe and activate those notifications.

You can find the more technical webinars based on 3D and comic art at the Daz Store under the Digital Art Live Magazine vendor.

https://www.daz3d.com/digital-art-live

And read the digital comics, based on his creative vision.

https://www.comixology.com/The-Dynamic-Universe/comics-publisher/12027-0

Or follow The Dynamic Universe on social Media.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this channel and activate the notifications.

Twitter and Instagram @DynamicMusic
Support our art

https://www.patreon.com/TheDynamicUniverse

Drew Spence interview in Digital Art Live Magazine

DAL gives The Dynamic Universe a verse!

Drew Spence, the creator of Force Six, The Annihilators and Killer Butterfly comic series is featured in Digital Art Live magazine’s 35th issue. Peep the full reads here. We start on page 34. Thank you, Digital Art Live.

DA Live is a stunning showcase of some of the best digital art in the sci-fi and fantasy genres beautifully presented in our new monthly magazine. It follows the same format as our previous publication 3D Art Direct.

LET’S EXPLORE DIGITAL ART

 
Join us to discover stories of creativity in 2D and 3D digital art through our live webinars, magazine and podcast.

We specialise in promoting and interviewing digital artists in the sci-fi and fantasy genres to help inspire you on your creative journey.

Professional Comic Book Foundation Course

Digital Art Live 2D – 3D Webinar

 

Join us for a special two part foundation set of webinars to assist you in producing your comic. These two webinars will give you a great overview to help you get started. Presented by Drew Spence, the creator of the Force Six Annihilators comic series.

This foundation comic creation course is perfect if you are wondering of HOW to get started with ideas, tools and general workflow. REGISTRATION PAGE 1 https://digitalartlive.com/event/prof…

PART 1 Planning and Plotting :

Sunday the 26th of August

Commences 20:00 BST (London)/15:00 EDT (New York)/12:00 PDT (Los Angeles)

Duration: 1.5-2 hours

Planning and plotting, before you start drawing and rendering.

– Steps to success at no (or minimal) cost.

– Doing it all yourself and the many hats of Writing and Illustrating – Overview and Vision Synopsis

– What will I be reading and experiencing?

Pitch Points and the one sentence elevator pitch Short story slices of life as episodes, issues and side quests. Long planner for what will happen if you get a full run?

– My Genre

– My Audience

– My research, my resources

PART 2 Story Telling and Sequential Art :

Sunday 2nd of September Commences 20:00 BST (London)/15:00 EDT (New York)/12:00 PDT (Los Angeles)

Duration: 1.5 -2 hours

Story telling and selling a story about sequential art

– Deconstructing the narrative.

– Reinventing the Wheel

– Templates, Libraries, Actions and Presets.

– Saving and archiving assets and notes (for location and regeneration)

– Time framing and real time versus creative time..

– Panels and Page planning.

The Three Cs of being an Artist

Bullet Points

The Three Cs of being an Artist

Three Cs of being an artist Drew Spence, the creator of the Force Six graphic comic and artist behind the Fallout Shelter music breaks down the three Cs of being an artist.

 

Bullet Points Force Six 02 Sins of the Pass

Force Six, The Annihilators Bullet Points

Episode 02 Sins of the Pass

Drew Spence, the creator of the Force Six, The Annihilators graphic comic does a Bullet Points look at the series.

They were a team of specialists assembled to bring order to a chaotic universe. Something went wrong when right became their final choice. See the transformation from Renegade outcasts to Legends. They are Force Six, The Annihilators. Story & art by Drew Spence.

http://www.thedynamicuniverse.com/
Also available on comiXology and DriveThruComics

Order our Graphic Comics in Print!

http://www.indyplanet.us/brands/dynamica-comics/

PATREON

https://www.patreon.com/TheDynamicUniverse

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/TheDynamicUniverse/

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https://www.instagram.com/dynamicamusic/

 

Interview! ComicBookBin -Drew Spence

The ComicBookBin

Interview with Drew Spence

By Hervé St-Louis
Jul 26, 2017 – 22:27

The ComicBookBin connects with comic artist Drew Spence from The Dynamic Universe. His self-published lead title is Force Six, The Annihilators. It’s a mix of science fiction, fantasy and superhero action. He’s tackled the story-telling task with a mix of 3D art and photographic manipulation. We sit down and get a look at his creative process and hear his thoughts on graphic art and what’s really behind the render.

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ComicBookBin: Hi Drew. I think that we have a good start for an interview here! (the interview started in the middle of a conversation!)

Interview? I’d better choose my words more carefully then.

Now that I’ve read the whole, thing, damn that’s wordy. Might have to make a part I and part II.

CBB: Tell me, how do you feel about 3D comics in the sense of the reaction that people have to them.

Well, it varies. I’ve heard all types of comments- how 3D is easier or is fake art or doesn’t make real comic books, etc. I take those kinds of statements as different than opinion-based reactions like “I prefer…” or “I dislike…” Someone is speaking as an authority and trying to convince me of an empirical truth whereas, the evidence actually points to the opposite. I draw too. Anyone can draw a comic. Anyone can color a page and anyone can throw some word bubbles across a panel and thus, ‘make a comic’. But what some like to do, is draw (no pun) from the greatest masters and legends of 2D work and compare that to the kid who just made his first 3D comic piece and go “See the difference?” It’s a silly exercise and your taste really needs no justification. Like what you like and support the work that you feel is meaningful no matter the chosen medium. If it speaks to you, listen. If it doesn’t, find the right conversation.

3D has established itself quite well in animation and even visual effects yet still has not made an important breakthrough in comics. Why do you think that is and how do you intend to change this?

A breakthrough is code-word for a big financial success after a big promotional campaign. That would require a book that doesn’t look like or work like traditional comics being pushed by the very same entities who’d have a lot to lose if something too different comes along and catches on. Until they have an engine in place, prepared to capitalize on a 3D trend, you won’t see any risk-taking or support from the major 2D players.

Established comics tend to have separate writers and artists, if not a whole team. The grass-roots3D is still so new and experimental, that for most, it’s still a one-creator show. When I look at many of the 3D books on offer, I find – either the graphics or the story has a challenge. So you have these wonderful illustrations doing uninteresting stuff or a great narrative hampered by the rough visuals. Somebody needs to get both parts right. And enough people need to make solid work so that it creates a wave, even if a single artist breaks first and everyone else follows.

All I can do is my part. I create a 3D comic to the best of my sensibilities and hope the readers enjoy it. I consider myself a storyteller first and illustrator second. I don’t want a book that is only worth your time because it looks cool or novel. But, we are telling stories in a very visual medium so I can’t have the limitations of my imagination or skill get in the way of the narrative.

CBB: Would you argue that 3D comics suffer from the same hyper realism fate as photo-comics?

The goal of my 3D work is not to fool you or show you ‘better looking images’. When still pictures serve as the foundation, you tend to lose the comic part. What’s a comic book- other than an exaggeration of a moment or event? Everything is pushed to its limits: fast is the fastest, strong is the strongest, evil is the most evil, etc. Hyper-real is the opposite. If the goal is to tell a fantastic story with extraordinary visuals, why would an artist choose the most faithful medium possible- a snapshot? It actually doesn’t make sense. An artist needs to control the visual punctuation. When and how do I underline? Where’s the ellipsis pause? How do I boldface and add punctuation marks? We know what to do in the bubbles, it’s important to control the volume and tone with the artwork as well.

And the opposite happens in the quiet moments. Can you capture a dynamic moment at rest? Sometimes, the inclusion of details is exactly what taps your emotion. The faithful representation of an idealized moment becomes that much more meaningful. Look at the work of comic legends John Byrne and Barry Windsor-Smith. So much happens when their characters are at rest. The weight, the posing, the heroes’ presence in a static backdrop. That’s where you need to understand the concepts of good photography along with all the tricks that come after. That’s hard to do in any photo-based engine without pre-planning or awareness.

CBB: Which 3D app do you use to render the shots?

DAZ STUDIO is the foundation. It is a free 3d rendering suite – backed by their online store, where you can purchase a massive variety of content for every genre and interest you can imagine. For comic enthusiasts, the look can be edited through shaders, which are basically filters to achieve every comic look you could want. There are morphs that can make characters look very Pixar-like or idealized like the  Marvel and DC superheroes.

For traditional artists, it’s used for anatomical reference and a drawing aide for perspective and composition. Some draw on top of the models and figures and sketch directly from the template. There are licenses for video game programmers and even some tools for animation.

The engine is really there for you to customize and you can get as deep as you want. Many digital artists do the photoreal stuff where you can’t tell if it’s CGI or Photoshop. You’ll see Daz at work for book covers, movie posters, story boards, but I make use of what it offers for comic illustration. You just need to remember Daz won’t make your artwork for you. It’s an incredibly powerful environment that places the tools in your hands, but you still need to learn the proper techniques and apply your creative talents. 3D is still not a shortcut for being an artist, it’s just a medium.

CBB: What’s your production process?

Working in 3D is more like film making where I create the characters. Dress them, make a set. Place them, do lighting and such, place a camera and snap a picture.

From there it’s all post-editing. And way after- assemble the book from all the artwork. I can work panel by panel or page by page. It’s all design decisions. My eye and taste is really what I lean on. I’m no graphic expert and I will always push and experiment. What does this do? How can I use this tool differently? What if I…

CBB: I’d like to know more about the current story that you are developing and how it fits in the greater picture of past or current work being developed by your team.

Force Six, The Annihilators is meant to combine all the things that I’m passionate about. That’s why I made the world so open-ended. Almost anything can happen. My story-telling style has the rules set in place, but we have lots of creative and visual freedom. I create many types of music so I added a soundtrack and I will be venturing into video and other 3D forms to continue telling stories.

Force Six, The Annihilators was something I started drawing back in 1984. Yep 1984 as a kid. I kept all my drawings and now, years later I’m redoing all the stories with very minor edits. In the beginning it was very silly and derivative of whatever I was into at the time. Over time, I kept adding more adult sensibilities and their world grew darker. This series is about fleshing it all out and telling the story from the beginning, well almost the beginning.

CBB: Anything else?

Yes, thank you for your time and thank you for all the readers and supporters for helping us spread the Annihilator graphic comic. We have some awesome stuff coming up, keep turning those pages.

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Drew Spence is a graphic comic writer and illustrator from the United States. He creates under the title The Dynamic Universe. He is both interested in music and video and has created several works, including the Mark of the Griffin, both a graphic novel and web series. The instrumental group fallout Shelter provides the soundtrack for many of his releases. The band members are Domino grey, Dynamics Plus and Xodus Phoenix. He currently lives on Long Island, New York and produces his work from the aptly named Fallout Shelter studios, where he crafts crafty and clever comics using CGI and photorealistic image manipulation.

Purchase Issue #1 of Force Six, The Annihilators at Comixology.

READ THE INTERVIEW HERE

 

Those who “dedicate their lives” to music

LukeCage (Mothership Collective) asks:

A message to ponder and reflect upon…no really….

Luke Cage is an Artist and Sound Designer and Producer and Musician who posted this on his FaceBook wall and I share it here.

Hey – so I was just thinking , those who “dedicate their lives” to music or to a specific cause , are some truly special individuals. Consider that when most people get their pay checks or money they but a new car / pay bills / and or take a vacation or some other activity in order to enjoy and make their money kinda work for themselves right? But people who dedicate their lives to music don’t exactly do that- They put all their money into something that is given to the general public for their entertainment . So when most people are planning their next trip to Cancun or wherever, the dedicated musician is planning on how to make what they do better so that people will enjoy their music more or have a better experience .

That’s some dope shit but if you think about that even further ; that in this day making it in the music industry is laughable … Because a person would have to be a child or a robot to fit the bill that the industry has established, as well as there is no real money in entertainment at all anymore at every level ( independent or Commercial) no real cash for shows , whole albums given away for free , uploads to whatever website that they pay to be on , all so that people will hopefully like what they do enough to have it played for more people and heard by even more . Quite the position to put oneself in. I see it as noble, some see it as stupid . But the facts remain that a society without music will not be a society for very long nor will it grow and expand. So music is essential to our lives here on earth like food really .

I don’t think people consider that when deciding on whether or not to buy their friends Cassette or CD for 10 bucks or to go to a free show or when they comment on a song uploaded or anything. It has become a trend in My world for those that do not posses the ability or are poor at making music to heavily criticize people’s endeavors… I just ask ; When was the last time you sank all of your money / time / spiritual energy on something for others to enjoy? … And would you ever do such a thing ?

Follow his music and ongoing adventures!

Read his interview in Producer’s Edge Magazine on PAGE 84