Happy Holidays!

If you haven’t been in this situation you’re lying.

The Essentials: Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics

Today, I’m looking at Understanding Comics:  The Invisible Art, an older book but none-the-less a necessity.  This will be the first post in a new series of articles for the blog, “The Essentials.”  This series will be completely devoted to new cartoonists like myself, including artistic tips, advice, and some great literature.   All in the hopes of bringing us all one step closer to our goal of comics!

Understanding Comics, is perhaps one of the most definitive works in classifying and demystifying comics.  Inspired by the late great Will Eisner, Scott McCloud makes comics assessable for all.  This book does not just cater to cartoonists, and comic book fans, but rather helps explain what the fundamentals of comics are all about!

Scott starts at the very beginning and works his way through almost everything you need to know about comics.  Not the superhero trivia, I don’t care how much Captain America can bench, but the nuts and bolts of comics as an artistic and story telling medium.  From the very beginning Scott explains to the reader the history of comics as he sees it, which is quite longer then you’d expect.  Yes, to some of you this might sound like the comics version of Art History 101, but trust me it’s not.  Even with his strong emphasis on form, ideas and abstraction, Scott draws a picture for his readers, that is both entertaining and massively informative.

… ok, I do wanna know how much Rob Liefeld’s Cap’ can bench (my only exception.)

Some of Scott’s best ideas lie in his discussions of time and reader participation in the medium of comics. And it is perhaps in these aspects that his work is most useful for the aspiring cartoonist.  It quickly becomes apparent that the cartoonist must place himself in the readers’ shoes in order to understand what the comics are to communicate, because unlike so many other media comics relies on reader participation to construct the very story it’s telling.  Time is also in the reader’s head and is a function of the cartoonist communicating with the audience.  As McCloud demonstrates a transition between two panels can represent an eon or an instant.  Though I won’t get into all the details here, Understanding Comics will.

Understanding Comics is a great book to introduce even the most seasoned comics fan-boy, to the inner workings of their favorite books.  For the cartoonist the book makes clear all the intricacies of the art, and can establish a great foundation to build years of practice and learning on.  If you are anybody who is even remotely interested in the medium of comics, this book is a must read.  Trust me, you won’t regret it.

In case you actually haven’t managed to hear of  him before, Scott’s other works include Zot! and Making Comics, you can check them out along with some of his web-comic work at his blog, ScottMcCloud.com 

~ Anthony Cavalli

Visit my tumblr and deviantArt!

The -less than- Great Debate!

Last night I, like so many other Americans watched the presidential debate, and saw the first face off between Barack Obama and his rival, Mitt Romney. Both men are intelligent, driven, and highly charismatic, but that is where my flattery ends.  This debate like so many others before it was farcical at best.  Niether candidate was in my opinion truly prepared to show America what they stand for, not truly, and not ever.

This is not a political blog, nor do I intend it to become one, however we are all subject to our own beliefs and passions.  I will not be descending into a political diatribe, but it is hard not to address politics, at such a crucial point in our history.  I for one have become disillusioned with our political system as I suspect have my readers. Regardless of our dissent we have little choice but to watch our fate unfold before our eyes, during such headliners as last night’s debate.

I was inspired to draw this last night while watching the contenders in hopes of capturing the drama of that debate, as that is more or less what such affairs come down to in the end, stage craft.  I don’t know whether or not I will be posting more political cartoons and drawings than these, but I will almost certainly be practicing to draw the candidates, as their grinning mugs will no doubt be plastered on every damn T.V. screen and scrap of paper from this day till November.

~ Anthony Cavalli

Visit my tumblr and deviantArt!

Space Marine Fan Art

A Space Marine sketch from a few weeks back, I might go back and do the line art, maybe color it. We shall see.

I have a few things going on right now, but I plan on posting more sketches and Fan Art I’ve been drawing.  I have a comic story I’m planing, and writing out right now.  Hopefully I’ll be posting the first few pages of that in the next few weeks.

~ Anthony Cavalli

Dont forget to check out my tumblr and deviantArt!

Kate, The Line Art

A quick drawing i did back in June of my lovely girlfriend, Kate!!!  I did  it in pencil and micron pen on regular old strathmore sketch paper, all the regular stuff.

For my readers out there, I’m gonna start putting up some of my older sketches and practice drawings on my tumblr and deviantArt in the upcoming weeks so watch out for it!  Most of this stuff is probably going to be compiled into a gallery on this blog, to separate it out from my newer or more exciting work.

Thanks for taking a look!

~Anthony

More Sci-Fi Scientists

I think I’ve seen this happen in practically every episode of Star Trek.

~ Anthony Cavalli

visit my deviant art and tumblr!

Science Fiction Scientists!!!!

How many times have you watched a science fiction or horror film, and noticed the entire plot can be attributed to the incompetence of a handful of bad scientists?  My answer: more often than I can count.   More to the point, I saw Ridley Scott’s Prometheus last week.  If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing this film you would understand or probably will anyway considering the pile of historical examples of bad science in film.  I’d complain more, perhaps lament about the lack of any shred of realism in even some of the movies actually centered around “hard science,” but alas I have certain fondness for giant monster fests.

Anyway, here is my first in a short series about incompetent scientists.

~ Anthony Cavalli

 

Independence Day!!!!!

It looks like I got myself all revved up and patriotic after looking at a bunch of World War era propaganda again, It happens every once in a while.  Anyway, It got me wanting to draw Uncle Sam.  The problem is Uncle Sam is really a relatively recent icon in American History, well his appearance is at least.  So here he is squaring off in a bar room with the original American woman, Columbia!

I hope to post a coloured version in the next couple days, bare with me guys!

~ Anthony Cavalli

Giant Bug Comics!!!

This has been an idea I’d been playing with for quite a while, and was originally planning to do an entire story arc about giant mutant bugs. Well, We’ll see. Anyway, here is my giant Spider comic.

~ Anthony Cavalli

p.s. I lifted Betty Draper’s hair

Back to Art, and Zero To Comics!

It looks like I’m going to be updating quite a bit more soon, and much of the new content will be posted to my new tumblr, Zero To Comics! I am going to be showing off any comics I write, whether it be practice or finished works.  I’m going to still post my drawings, and concept sketches here as well, so stay tuned.

~ Anthony Cavalli