FTLOC Comic Art Bootcamp - Wk4+

                              

February 2026 • What's Happening? • "Hanging Figures"• Materials List 

Welcome Back!

Hail thee, you lucky few--our original five, you the reenrolled and any new additions! Gio will communicate with you regarding our next meeting details. In the meantime, on the chance that some of our original five are checking back in here, onward I blog! I want to explain one of the several handouts I left with you: Hanging Figures on the Horizon

I belatedly added a little text in the upper left to make clearer this easy, yet very helpful, tool of basic perspective.




Here's the same song, sung by David Chelsea in his classic book on perspective for comic book artists.

Oh, and then he casually introduces VANISHING POINT, whom you already know, if only in your artist's heart and your dreaming mind. Yeah, ol' "VP" himself just drops in to say hi, before going back to making the visual world look REAL for all of us. As they have, but only since the freakin' RENAISSANCE!!  (Sob!) 

 Sorry, sorry...I'm the VP's biggest fan--I just can't be objective.



 
Thanks, David Chelsea, for your great book with its clear, tight explanations and its excellent scanability.

And, Original Five, I hope to see you all soon!                                                              JH



For now, I'll leave you with this thought (Pompous, stagey inhale) : 


Know when you want to soothe and please the reader's eye. And when you want to trouble it.  (Draw accordingly.)


MATERIALS LIST

  • Pencils, mechanical or not, of your preferred lead hardnesses likely H to HB to 2B. Or good old #2.
  • Copy paper, 8 ½ x 11in, for sketching out ideas.
  • A sketchbook of pencil-friendly paper, of a size you like.
  • Light blue or non-photo pencils, Col-erase or Prismacolor brand.
  • Erasers, both white or black and kneaded
  • Good 2-ply, smooth-surface drawing paper, ideally Bristol board, 11x14 or preferably the professional size, 11x17 in. Paper with preprinted comic-book or manga formatting, if desired. 
  • A mid-sized triangle(s) or ruler(s), with at least one side that has an inking edge. That's a little flat rail that prevents inked from getting sucked in under and wrecking your art! 
  • Optional --You may wish to bring markers, favorite brushpens or non-bleedy, non-permanent markers…
    • … from the excellent site jetpens.com , 
    • … or Japanese bookstores (e.g., Kinokuniya, in San Francisco or at https://usa.kinokuniya.com/) 
    • or Japanese discount chains like Daiso, (SF and El Cerrito) can be a good source. Riley Street, in both Santa Rosa and San Rafael, is good. Michael’s, in a pinch…


JH                                                                                                              

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