Michael Lark interview from my college class

[marco]

Michael,
Would it be okay if i posted it here?
It's a few years old, right before Gotham Central, but it has some of the best How-to stuff i've ever read :D

let me know,
-marco

[Michael Lark]

Michael,
Would it be okay if i posted it here?
It's a few years old, right before Gotham Central, but it has some of the best How-to stuff i've ever read :D

let me know,
-marco

Post away. Hopefully I didn't say anything too stupid.

[marco]

Here it is, sorry about the scans, the original file was corrupted and I don’t have time to retype this now.
Enjoy!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/marcom/lark7.jpg

*here’s a follow-up regarding lettering and balloon placement.

Regarding word balloons: Yes, there is definitely a thought process
behind it. It can be complicated, and a lot of it just something you
have to do by instinct, which I know can be difficult. But the basic
notion is this: You want the word balloons to lead the reader's eye
across the page. All you have to remember is that people are going to
read the page left-right, top-bottom. They are also going to read each
panel the same way. Sometimes, though, it can be awkward when you have a
balloon at the bottom of panel 1, and at the top of panel 2 beside it.
So you have to position those balloons so that they lead from one to the
other and guide the eye around the page.

The main thing I watch for, then, is that the character speaking first in
the panel is on the left side of the panel, and so on. This means I may
have to move the camera around, or move the characters around, bump a
balloon from one panel to the next, or break a panel up into several
panels so that I can show all I need to show and still get things in the
proper order.

I also am learning to work so that I avoid placing balloons in the
character's line of sight. For example, in a horizontal panel, if two
characters are facing each other in profile, it might be disruptive to
have a balloon or balloons between their faces, so that they are looking
at the balloons and not each other. I've made that mistake many, many
times, and someone just recently pointed it out to me.

Finally, another consideration is timing. Placement of a balloon within
a panel can affect the way that panel reads timing-wise. For example,
say you have a close-up of a figure saying one sentence. If you place
the balloon at the top left corner of the panel, the reader will read
that balloon first, then the figure - this will create a feel of the
figure speaking, then reacting, but it will happen fairly quickly. If
both the balloon and the figure have equal weight, or if the balloon is
positioned directly over the figure's head, they will probably read
simultaneously, as a quick panel. If the panel is tall, and the balloon
is far above the figure, it will lengthen the timing. Or, you could
place the balloon at the bottom right, which will cause the reader to
read the figure first, then the balloon. This can create a sort of
moment of silence while the character reacts, and then he/she speaks.

It goes on and on from there. I think the most important consideration
is to be aware of the possibilities, but then let your instincts take
over. Timing is not always something you can think out logically - you
have to "feel" the flow of the story. If your instincts tell something
isn't quite right, try again. Don't spend too much time on the drawing
at this layout stage, your goal is to get the story flowing right, not to
draw things perfectly. You'll have plenty of time to draw when you sit
down to ink!

I'm going to send you a couple more emails with long essays/letters.
These are between myself and comics legend Paul Rivoche, and few other
people. Paul was interviewed via email and asked to analyse his Tom
Strong story "Leap of Faith." Its a great lesson in how to lay out a
comics page and tell a story. We then began discussing laying out
lettering balloons. I think you'll get a lot out of it. Make sure to
find yourself a copy of the issue of "Tom Strong's Terrific Tales" so
that you can see Paul's story and know what he's talking about.

*I also have a third part on character design I’ll try and get up soon.

Thanks again Michael!!!

[KristofSpaey]

Very informative stuff!

Marco, send you a PM.

[Donal DeLay]

"You have told me about the technical process of inking" --- oh! oh! I wanna read that one!

[Michael Lark]

"You have told me about the technical process of inking" --- oh! oh! I wanna read that one!

"Dip brush/pen in ink. Use brush/pen to put ink on page.

The end."

Or, the Maleev method:

"Scan/upload photo. Manipulate photo in Photoshop.

The end."

(Just kidding, Alex!)

Honestly, I love to talk shop. Anyone who wants to ask questions, this forum is the place to do it. I know I got quite a few at first, but they tapered off when I got busy with some rush jobs. I really will make time every few days to answer them, now. So send them my way.

And with anything that I say, I'm often pulling it out of my ass. It's just my way of doing things, and someone else, or you, may have or find a way that works better. Take what you like and leave the rest.

[Donal DeLay]

If you didn't want to tell the rest of us, you could've just said so. Next you're gonna tell me you use a normal pencil.

Everyone knows pro's don't use NORMAL tools.

Actually, what I'd really like to know is how do you get some of the effects you do? Like Jim Lee plays with a hanky and white/black ink to get mist or cloud effects. Like the DD teaser you posted, how did you get the grainy rain effect? Both black and whites.

I like experimenting with inking tricks, to see if it works for me or not. Sometimes I find my own methods within those other tricks.

[Michael Lark]

The rain on the DD page was all photoshop and illustrator. I inked the figures and the water tower traditionally. Then scanned in the art, and went to work on the rain.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/MichaelLark/lineart.jpg

For the black rain, I used the stamp tool. I colored a gray swatch on a piece of watercolor paper using a litho crayon. Then I scanned it, converted it to bitmap, and created a pattern from it. Then I used the stamp tool and drew a whole bunch of vertical lines, of different weights and values.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/MichaelLark/rainphotoshop.jpg



I layered and scaled and distorted them until I had a pattern that I liked. Then I took that and laid it on top of the line art, and distorted the entire pattern into perspective.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/MichaelLark/lineartrainerasing.jpg

I finished up that part by erasing the parts that were on top of the figures and water tower.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/MichaelLark/Lineartrainerased.jpg



For the whites, I drew a bunch of lines in Illustrator and stroked them using one of the brushes that I like, making thin white lines. I've actually had the same file that I've used for that for years.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/MichaelLark/rainillustrator.jpg



I just copy those lines, and paste them into my art as pixels (not paths), and go through the same process of layering and distorting that I did with the blacks. Once they're in place on the art, I finish them up by using a couple of different erasers to grunge them up a bit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/MichaelLark/final.jpg

The finishing touch is to add the little splashes in white on top of everything else. Which lends some realism and motion, and helps to separate the planes a bit.

It actually sounds more complicated than it is. I did a batman commission a couple of years ago that looks exactly the same, but I did it all by hand using drybrush and white opaque with a crowquill, and it took forever. This is definitely the right tool for this particular job.

[Donal DeLay]

How much time do you think it saved using a PS technique on the rain as opposed to traditionally applying the ink on the page?

How often do you use PS to manipulate BGs? Do you use it for buildings etc, too?

[Michael Lark]

How much time do you think it saved using a PS technique on the rain as opposed to traditionally applying the ink on the page?

How often do you use PS to manipulate BGs? Do you use it for buildings etc, too?

You know, I don't think of it in terms of time. I think of it in terms of what is the right tool for the job. In this case, photoshop was the right tool cause it allowed me to get a true perspective (the "grains" of the litho crayon are smaller at the top than at the bottom, making the rain appear smaller at the top), it allowed me to experiment without having to go back and start over, etc. The litho crayon is very unforgiving - if you fuck up, you're stuck with it. It doesn't white out - you just get a gray soup. This also allowed the rain strokes to continue though the figure of DD - if I'd done it traditionally, I'd have had to carefully stop the stroke at the outline of his body, then continue on below him, which would have affected the speed of the line and the texture and value that it laid down.

Photoshop is just a tool. It's not a replacement for brush and ink and paper. Just like a screwdriver is not a replacement for a hammer. They do different things, they have different characteristics, and they're right for different jobs. In this case, Photoshop was the way to go.

I sometimes use it for buildings and other backgrounds. For example, in a cityscape, I'll draw the buildings in the foreground, the ones that have details. But as the buildings regress into the background, and they take on the characteristics of a pattern, I'll use a photo that I've manipulated in photoshop just to finish off the background. I try not to just use photos as-is, though I've done it a few times if the job is a real rush. I like the combination of photos and art, though, if it's done well.

If you look at my art on Pulse #8, you can see some places where I did this. Pulse #8 was the first time I really used the computer almost as much as I used the brush and pens. In the scenes with J. Jonah Jameson, I used photos for the buildings outside his office window. I used the rain from Illustrator, and I drew in steam using one of the brushes in photoshop. I don't think it was too jarring, so it was ok. I also did the same thing at the end of that issue when Jessica is talking to Clay Quartermain - the new york skyline is a photo, the rain is illustrator, and everything else is done by hand.

[jwood]

Hi Michael,

We met at Wizard World Texas last year and you have very kindly commented on a few pieces of my artwork that I have emailed you since.

Just got round to registering on this forum and thought I'd say hi and thanks for passing on a few of your techniques - it's always interesting to see how you guys get the cool results that you do.

Working on some sequential stuff at the moment which if ok I'll email you when completed - your feedback is always much appreciated.

Cheers,
Jonathan (UK)

P.S. - loved the DD page you posted!

P.P.S - Marco: Thanks for posting your college class Q&A with Michael - was a very interesting read.

[JABSEN]

Very Cool.

Bothe article and Lark's breakdown

[Michael Lark]

Hi Michael,

We met at Wizard World Texas last year and you have very kindly commented on a few pieces of my artwork that I have emailed you since.

Just got round to registering on this forum and thought I'd say hi and thanks for passing on a few of your techniques - it's always interesting to see how you guys get the cool results that you do.

Working on some sequential stuff at the moment which if ok I'll email you when completed - your feedback is always much appreciated.

Cheers,
Jonathan (UK)

P.S. - loved the DD page you posted!

P.P.S - Marco: Thanks for posting your college class Q&A with Michael - was a very interesting read.

Hey Jonathan! Of course, I'd love to see more of your work.