Artist Research - 'Aesthetic Style'

One of my main concerns for this projects is how fast I can draw it, since I will be using poses and angles that I've never used before. Because of this, I want to use a style that I can draw fast. This means styles closer to those found in animation than comics, or at least some mix of the two. There are already a few comic artists out there that use styles like this which I would like to take influence from.

 

First and foremost is Karl Kerschl, Canadian comic artists who has worked on comics such as Adventures of Superman, Teen Titans Year One and most recently, Gotham Academy. His designs are very diverse, making each character look very different with the minimal amount of lines, in comparison to most modern comics. The characters feel like real people, with their body language and facial expressions matching their personalities closely, and their faces no just being some perfect ideal of the human face. It is refreshing to see a style like this in mainstream comics, and it adds a lot more fun and excitement to the comics. The art style works for younger readers, but isn't too off putting to other comic readings (minus those who only go for 'dark, gritty' comics).

The characters are all easily identifiable by their silhouettes, which is a nice change from a lot of mainstream comics where characters all look extremely similar, minus the few extra details of a cape or oddly shaped mask.

Babs Tarr, on DC's Batgirl comic, is another artist that uses a style very close to animations. It too gives off the cheerful, upbeat feeling of Kerschl's comics and gives a classic character's story a well needed update. Her characters too are highly expressive, and has less limitations than a more 'realistically' drawn comic. The colours, especially around Batgirl are bright and match the tone and feel of the comic.

Becky Cloonan, writer of Gotham Academy and artist on a fair few others has a style that also makes use of large, cartoon-ish facial features and bright colours. Despite this, it still feels less childish than the two above, making it work for a wider range of audiences.

Her style also works well for other genres, despite the bolder lines and less detailed faces. It is very flexible, and achieving a 'style' like this to use could be beneficial to my comic.