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So happy to see this video tonight! I was getting worried for a bit. I didn't realize the Star Wars videos were satire. That puts it all into a whole different perspective! What a great portfolio too!
These are so incredibly helpful! I’ve been drawing so much since I found your channel that my hand goes numb, and that’s a good thing! My aviator is what I did after your “anyone can draw The Thing” lesson. Thank you so much for getting back into the comic stuff, they’ve inspired me and many others to work hard at improving our art.
Ross, I thought your submission was friggin' amazing. P.S. If you like the heavy inking, you might consider submitting a "dark-themed" story (e.g., Batman, stealth ninja, MGS, gothic horror, etc.) next time. Keep on drawing!1
Love the portfolio reviews and the commentary on your own work. I learn something new each video and watching you critique your own work is a great example of how critical a professional should be about the quality of the work they produce. ps. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insight!
I love the portfolio reviews best but hearing you talk about your own work is just as good. I appreciate how you share your thought process and reasons for choosing a certain panel layout or composition. It all help me become a better artist. Star Wars commentary is good too because it's funny. I can listen to that when I'm working and don't have to watch as closely so it's a nice change of pace.
I really enjoyed all your commentary videos it's really interesting and helpful to find out what reasons were behind your "directorial" decisions with certain panels like the Hitchcock inspired Catwoman panel with the accusatory corpses, and the Firestorm commentary was a nice cautionary tale if a little depressing. Anyway i'm glad you are back to Portfolio reviews I have only just picked up drawing again since highschool after watching your videos on perspective and am hoping to make something worth submitting for this show by the end of the year.
I'm a fan of both the commentary and reviews. The commentary is cool because it's really great fleshed out art. The reviews are great because of constructive criticism for aspiring artists and those interested in the craft. I think you're an asset to comicsgate and I thank you.
I'm so happy to have something like this out there. This one was really good but still had issues with negative space and faces. I don't know why but its always uplifting to talk about weaknesses and how to fix them.
Your commentaries are my favorite videos you make. The Star Wars videos are fun and all but your comic related content is what I'm here for. Keep up the great work.
Hey I found your channel in my recommended from the start wars videos but I'm definitely gonna check out the brutally honest review playlist I love your videos man stay awesome :)
I immensely enjoy any comic book material you cover Ethan whether portfolio reviews, or commentary on your own books, drawing videos etc. I'm not sure about others but I miss em! Thanks!
I do like how he draws Spider-Man. The faces on peter and MJ felt odd but I really like the anatomy in it except for the leg being weird in that one panel
This series is EXTREMELY interesting and well narrated! I've learned quite a bit from people like Mark Crilley and you and although I can't really draw and I'm not hugely invested into comics, I love watching critique and you are doing a really good job explaining everything.
I'd love to see more previews of comics with your art coming out and more info on working for DC. Also would like videos of you drawing some art while talking through it, giving tips and explaining the process.
I'm having real challenges with shading. Could you do a tutorial on that topic when you can? Your tutorials are a treasure trove of knowledge for us out here! Please keep them coming!
IMHO, the close-up on Spidey's eye should be replaced with a headshot + Spidey Sense (tm) going crazy. It just seems essential in a situation like this, a split second before a nearby explosion.
EVS! Yes! More art chat, please! Your breakdowns of your own work help me appreciate other artist and gain a better understanding bout why I like great art, why good art is "meh?" and why bad art is like a poke in the eye. So continue with that! So we can all avoid them pokes in the eyes! (And it is quite all right to brag bout how awesome it is working on GL stories!)
Very Cool. I subbed you because of the dry humor, but this is nice. I'm also a graphic artist, and I find your critique balanced. Have you considered what his panels would look like in the context of the large explosion? In the second and third pages, if the sky and textured areas were orange, yellow or pink, they could provide a nice contrast to all of the largely black panels. I agree with you overall, and would also emphasize that every superhero action artist needs to fully understand anatomy.
+EVS Great advice as always. I think the lack of script does cause confusion but helps with evaluating story telling. Some quick things I noticed. Peter was at a refrigerator when you were assessing perspective in the apartment. There was a small tell because I think you see a soda in his hand in the next panel. The other thing I only picked up on when the action ascended and lightning appears. I think the setting is a big storm and the choice of blacks was for atmosphere and intentional. Even though he did it intentionally your advice stands. He still needed to balance blacks and whites to make the pages more appealing. Of he wanted that dark atmosphere for themstorm he definitely should have contrasted Spiderman better. That would not even be enough because although really well drawn the figures are quite small in panel. I think the artist would have needed to size up Spiderman in panel for the right effect and he would have lost so much detail. Ethan's advice is right on like usual. Having said that the artist should be proud. He is awesome and already someone I'd tolerate as a fill in artist. I think a little of Ethan's medicine for balance, appealing faces and more time developing your own distinct style and I'd read our books. Keep it up!
I'm reading The Avengers-Defenders War crossover series drawn by Bob Brown, John and Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler, Jim Starlin, inked by Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dave Cockrum, etc. Oh and most of the covers were done by John Romita. I'm constantly in awe.
Ethan, this is ya channel, no matter what ya upload, I hope ya are happy and not feel the pressure to cater to a certain audience... love ya opinion on these portfolio!
Excellent review! I'm slightly disappointed that the artist didn't do a Batman portfolio because his inking style would be perfect for Batman. However, it's a good thing that he chose to do Spider-Man. Now we have a good idea on how much inking is too much. On a side note, I'm finally starting to sketch the actual pages that I'm planning on inking. But I have already run into a problem... I'm not quite sure about the proper dimensions to use for the page layouts. Can you possibly make a video about how to layout comic pages?
For an American comic book the dimensions are usually a ratio of 2 to 3. Most comic pro's draw on 11x17 Bristol board with pre printed non-repo blue lines with an active area of about 10x15. You could draw on bigger or smaller paper, just remember to have a 2:3 ratio. If you look up on amazon, strathmore sequential art board, you can find something that's going to be pretty close to what the pros use.
You think you can give classes on sarcasm? A person thinks they're good at something until they witness a professional in action. I now realize there's a whole nother level.
Looks great, although the pencils do strike me as kind of weird with no blacks or shading whatsoever, kind of like a paint-by-numbers page. If it was me, I'd find it hard to imagine what the page will look like, but he must have an idea of how his own art will look. The thing in the first panel is a fridge and Peter is getting a soda. ps, when Frank Miller did Daredevil doing acrobatics and showing three or more positions, he'd have the last position inked and the previous ones kind of outlined with less shading, which I guess helps to separate - www.lambiek.net/artists/image/m/miller/miller_daredevil.jpg
Damn, I almost binge-watched this whole series, amazing, it's a priceless treasure, is it over? It should be better publicized, there are fundamental and practical lessons for all those who want to learn how to make comics
Something about the characters reminds me of John Romita Jr. Must be the faces. Dang this guy went through a lot of ink on this. YES, DO THE COMMENTARIES MORE!!!
I have a problem with the faces. They look like the were drawn separate and pasted in. I like the backgrounds but (I agree) the perspective is really strange and inconsistent. He's got to work on his lighting, his poses, his faces and his line width.
i think it was because he had inked the fridge to be almost black, that i too didnt recognize it as such. Like out of all the fridges i have seen in my life, all but some high end luxury fridges have been white. And i would not have expected peter parker to have some high end fridge.
I like all the videos you do. My most favorite are drawing lessons and portfolio reviews. Least favorite is the Star Wars stuff but I realize it has been very popular with other people. I've just got to a point that Star Wars is pretty much dead to me. I don't want anything to do with it.
ComicArtistPro Secrets Yayyy!!!! I really need to learn how to draw figures in different poses, like laying down, in a recliner, knees to the chest. I look forward to your drawing videos! :)
I do like to see any comic book related review you do. Also, I have a comic I'm reading now, I wanted to know if I could post it on your Twitter because I've noticed some issues with it and I don't understand why marvel would even allow it to be printed this way. I loved this review and learned yet another new tip. You da man Unc EVS!
2B or not 2B? That is the question. The Spiderman figure would have shown up fine because of the red in his costume even against that backround. His figure work was good especially the hands.
> Do people like it when I do commentaries on my own work? I prefer those even to the portfolio reviews (those are good). It's "push" whether I prefer them to watching you draw/drawing videos. I like all of the above mildly more than the SW videos at this point but I still think the SW videos are absolute lulz, they just shouldn't be as high a proportion of your content. Also as a lulz reviewer you btfo Zack. EVS > Zack
super pumped to see some comic stuff back on comicsartistprosecrets. Glad to hear that you will be getting back to the comic and art stuff, that's why you're here and you're amazing at it. Honestly, the commentaries of your comics are my favorite videos that you make so it'd be great to see a few new ones .
> She's sitting and that couch is floating off the ground. How do you know it's Mary Jane? What if it's Samantha? th-cam.com/video/jdNhPUXf6Lc/w-d-xo.html
With the black, assuming he wants to keep the heavy blacks, should he make sure there's alway a border of white around characters to keep them distinct from the backgrounds?
if he does that, the characters will look like stickers glued on top of the artwork. It can work on some styles, but i dont think the artist should go in that direction. Like Ethan said, the strong blacks dont work for spiderman. But that doesnt mean they could not work for other comics, like batman, punisher, horror or detective comics
The Star Wars videos are funny, but you could really cut those down by like a half or more. It's a bit much. I do enjoy them, but too much of a good thing. lol... I'm more into the comic stuff. Gotta find a balance, bro. :p
So good to see a portfolio review. I was worried The Last Jedi had made you isolated and weird...
He's your weird Uncle Ethan, eh!
Jake Van Sciver....
I love commentary on your work. It's what got me hooked to the channel back when you only had a couple videos posted.
So happy to see this video tonight! I was getting worried for a bit. I didn't realize the Star Wars videos were satire. That puts it all into a whole different perspective! What a great portfolio too!
Mike Emeritz they're not satire
These are so incredibly helpful! I’ve been drawing so much since I found your channel that my hand goes numb, and that’s a good thing! My aviator is what I did after your “anyone can draw The Thing” lesson. Thank you so much for getting back into the comic stuff, they’ve inspired me and many others to work hard at improving our art.
Ross, I thought your submission was friggin' amazing.
P.S. If you like the heavy inking, you might consider submitting a "dark-themed" story (e.g., Batman, stealth ninja, MGS, gothic horror, etc.) next time.
Keep on drawing!1
The people having their work reviewed are both talented and courageous.
Portfolio reviews and drawing videos are the reasons I subscribe. Thank you!
Love the portfolio reviews and the commentary on your own work. I learn something new each video and watching you critique your own work is a great example of how critical a professional should be about the quality of the work they produce.
ps. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insight!
I love the portfolio reviews best but hearing you talk about your own work is just as good. I appreciate how you share your thought process and reasons for choosing a certain panel layout or composition. It all help me become a better artist. Star Wars commentary is good too because it's funny. I can listen to that when I'm working and don't have to watch as closely so it's a nice change of pace.
Commentaries on your work is my favorite thing you do. I wish you would do more of them. They're fascinating.
I really enjoyed all your commentary videos it's really interesting and helpful to find out what reasons were behind your "directorial" decisions with certain panels like the Hitchcock inspired Catwoman panel with the accusatory corpses, and the Firestorm commentary was a nice cautionary tale if a little depressing.
Anyway i'm glad you are back to Portfolio reviews I have only just picked up drawing again since highschool after watching your videos on perspective and am hoping to make something worth submitting for this show by the end of the year.
I'm a fan of both the commentary and reviews. The commentary is cool because it's really great fleshed out art. The reviews are great because of constructive criticism for aspiring artists and those interested in the craft. I think you're an asset to comicsgate and I thank you.
I'm so happy to have something like this out there. This one was really good but still had issues with negative space and faces. I don't know why but its always uplifting to talk about weaknesses and how to fix them.
Your commentaries are my favorite videos you make. The Star Wars videos are fun and all but your comic related content is what I'm here for. Keep up the great work.
Hey I found your channel in my recommended from the start wars videos but I'm definitely gonna check out the brutally honest review playlist I love your videos man stay awesome :)
Comics? I thought this was a Star Wars channel.
Aw...
I immensely enjoy any comic book material you cover Ethan whether portfolio reviews, or commentary on your own books, drawing videos etc. I'm not sure about others but I miss em! Thanks!
Better than the majority of Marvel stuff today.
I do like how he draws Spider-Man. The faces on peter and MJ felt odd but I really like the anatomy in it except for the leg being weird in that one panel
datz da fridge boss. 5:00. they are surprised by a huge flaming doobie outside the window 7:30.
Wow! I've never seen a left-handed fridge!
You can switch the doors to either side on most fridges/freezers.
This series is EXTREMELY interesting and well narrated! I've learned quite a bit from people like Mark Crilley and you and although I can't really draw and I'm not hugely invested into comics, I love watching critique and you are doing a really good job explaining everything.
Hope you get back to doing these more often, Ethan. Binge watching all of these and really enjoying them!
So happy that it‘s not a Star Wars clip.
I love the reviews, very helpful.
I'd love to see more previews of comics with your art coming out and more info on working for DC. Also would like videos of you drawing some art while talking through it, giving tips and explaining the process.
Very good advice!
I learn a lot from these portfolio reviews.
I'm having real challenges with shading. Could you do a tutorial on that topic when you can? Your tutorials are a treasure trove of knowledge for us out here! Please keep them coming!
I am a self taught comic artist and drawing manga style eversince, but watching your review i am learning a lot, soon i will study western style.
Why aren't there more brutally honest porftolio reviews?
IMHO, the close-up on Spidey's eye should be replaced with a headshot + Spidey Sense (tm) going crazy. It just seems essential in a situation like this, a split second before a nearby explosion.
The 'thing' is a fridge, but at first glance I thought he might be opening a laptop in front of a TV cabinet.
EVS! Yes! More art chat, please! Your breakdowns of your own work help me appreciate other artist and gain a better understanding bout why I like great art, why good art is "meh?" and why bad art is like a poke in the eye. So continue with that! So we can all avoid them pokes in the eyes! (And it is quite all right to brag bout how awesome it is working on GL stories!)
"I will eat my vegetables." Does that mean Ethan doesn't like doing the portfolio reviews?
Very Cool. I subbed you because of the dry humor, but this is nice. I'm also a graphic artist, and I find your critique balanced.
Have you considered what his panels would look like in the context of the large explosion? In the second and third pages, if the sky and textured areas were orange, yellow or pink, they could provide a nice contrast to all of the largely black panels.
I agree with you overall, and would also emphasize that every superhero action artist needs to fully understand anatomy.
+EVS Great advice as always. I think the lack of script does cause confusion but helps with evaluating story telling. Some quick things I noticed. Peter was at a refrigerator when you were assessing perspective in the apartment. There was a small tell because I think you see a soda in his hand in the next panel. The other thing I only picked up on when the action ascended and lightning appears. I think the setting is a big storm and the choice of blacks was for atmosphere and intentional. Even though he did it intentionally your advice stands. He still needed to balance blacks and whites to make the pages more appealing. Of he wanted that dark atmosphere for themstorm he definitely should have contrasted Spiderman better. That would not even be enough because although really well drawn the figures are quite small in panel. I think the artist would have needed to size up Spiderman in panel for the right effect and he would have lost so much detail. Ethan's advice is right on like usual. Having said that the artist should be proud. He is awesome and already someone I'd tolerate as a fill in artist. I think a little of Ethan's medicine for balance, appealing faces and more time developing your own distinct style and I'd read our books. Keep it up!
I'm reading The Avengers-Defenders War crossover series drawn by Bob Brown, John and Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler, Jim Starlin, inked by Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dave Cockrum, etc. Oh and most of the covers were done by John Romita. I'm constantly in awe.
I would love to see more portfolio reviews! :) ... and of course more info about the industry and your art process.
YES THIS VIDEO COULDNT HAVE DROPPED AT A BETTER TIME! Thanks for the late night quality uploads!
"all about that bass. no treble. no treble." lmao. so funny
16:19 That Meghan Trainor reference. Hehe.
So many shadows I couldn't tell where the light source was supposed to be.
Ha, I like your star wars stuff but I also love all the art stuff, including your commentary on your books. Keep up the good work.
Ethan, this is ya channel, no matter what ya upload, I hope ya are happy and not feel the pressure to cater to a certain audience... love ya opinion on these portfolio!
I love the commentary on your comics.
These are a few pages from New Avengers 1 btw
Yes good, more of this more art keep it up. Idm the news or commentary on news but this is what we want. Thank you Uncle Ethan
Excellent review! I'm slightly disappointed that the artist didn't do a Batman portfolio because his inking style would be perfect for Batman. However, it's a good thing that he chose to do Spider-Man. Now we have a good idea on how much inking is too much.
On a side note, I'm finally starting to sketch the actual pages that I'm planning on inking. But I have already run into a problem... I'm not quite sure about the proper dimensions to use for the page layouts. Can you possibly make a video about how to layout comic pages?
For an American comic book the dimensions are usually a ratio of 2 to 3. Most comic pro's draw on 11x17 Bristol board with pre printed non-repo blue lines with an active area of about 10x15. You could draw on bigger or smaller paper, just remember to have a 2:3 ratio.
If you look up on amazon, strathmore sequential art board, you can find something that's going to be pretty close to what the pros use.
You think you can give classes on sarcasm? A person thinks they're good at something until they witness a professional in action. I now realize there's a whole nother level.
The art submissions are really really good how much training I need to get to that level
I'm all in for you reviewing your own books and these brutally honest reviews- keep coming up with great content and I'll keep watching
God I really loved this... (Spiderman being my favorite hero might be a big reason)... Great job
Looks great, although the pencils do strike me as kind of weird with no blacks or shading whatsoever, kind of like a paint-by-numbers page. If it was me, I'd find it hard to imagine what the page will look like, but he must have an idea of how his own art will look. The thing in the first panel is a fridge and Peter is getting a soda. ps, when Frank Miller did Daredevil doing acrobatics and showing three or more positions, he'd have the last position inked and the previous ones kind of outlined with less shading, which I guess helps to separate - www.lambiek.net/artists/image/m/miller/miller_daredevil.jpg
I want to see more of these & commentary on your art, especially your older stuff so we can see how you've progressed Ethan.
Damn, I almost binge-watched this whole series, amazing, it's a priceless treasure, is it over? It should be better publicized, there are fundamental and practical lessons for all those who want to learn how to make comics
I like the faces. It's great. It's stylistic, but I know nothing compared to you, so I'm sure I'll understand better as I look at more comics. :)
Yay an art video thank god and now for the next 50,000 star wars vids yay spidey
Nah you're tripping that Spider-Man stuff is better than any modern Spider-Man art and I don't think it even needs to be colored. It's amazing.
I like your new stuff, but I gotta say, I miss hanging out and watching you draw.
Kelley Jones was an awesome interview. What a great guy
Hooray, EVS is back, and I'm skiving with Van Sciver.
*narrows eyes* "This leg. Troubles me."
You should try to get Alex Ross for an interview. He's probably the best artist in comics and he seems like a really nice guy
It all makes sense EVS, great review!
Something about the characters reminds me of John Romita Jr. Must be the faces. Dang this guy went through a lot of ink on this. YES, DO THE COMMENTARIES MORE!!!
Can you show Rob liefeld how to make and draw comic books, that'd be great. He needs to see all of your videos and tutorials. Thank you.
> When he puts on the mask he looks true to form
That was a good lesson
When are you going to give a brutally honest The Last Jedi review?
What a vindictive, inhumane suggestion.
TLJ has already driven uncle Ethan near to madness, and you would solicit further torment?
i love your commentaries !!!
Yes. Work commentary is great
I have a problem with the faces.
They look like the were drawn separate and pasted in.
I like the backgrounds but (I agree) the perspective is really strange and inconsistent.
He's got to work on his lighting, his poses, his faces and his line width.
Trouble with treble! (couldn't resist)
it is a Fridge he is getting a drink out of the fridge (but love it)
i think it was because he had inked the fridge to be almost black, that i too didnt recognize it as such. Like out of all the fridges i have seen in my life, all but some high end luxury fridges have been white. And i would not have expected peter parker to have some high end fridge.
I like all the videos you do. My most favorite are drawing lessons and portfolio reviews. Least favorite is the Star Wars stuff but I realize it has been very popular with other people. I've just got to a point that Star Wars is pretty much dead to me. I don't want anything to do with it.
Last time I was this early.... was a few videos ago. I hit the bell.
subtle reminder
I'm so glad to see a New Art video! Thank you Ethan. :)
I will produce more art related videos, almost daily.
ComicArtistPro Secrets Yayyy!!!! I really need to learn how to draw figures in different poses, like laying down, in a recliner, knees to the chest. I look forward to your drawing videos! :)
Artist has great skills. Work on faces and you'll be awesome
I do like to see any comic book related review you do. Also, I have a comic I'm reading now, I wanted to know if I could post it on your Twitter because I've noticed some issues with it and I don't understand why marvel would even allow it to be printed this way. I loved this review and learned yet another new tip. You da man Unc EVS!
I miss the Profile reviews!
2B or not 2B? That is the question. The Spiderman figure would have shown up fine because of the red in his costume even against that backround. His figure work was good especially the hands.
12:12 looks like a bit of Carmine Infantino influence ...
doesn't look like any peter parker i've ever seen but he draws well like the in costume stuff
Hey look, it's Dre!
I'd like to see some of these artist, get a second chance on this channel to see if they can fix a page.
So what are your feelings on the new Star Wars? What do you think of those new characters, Rose Tico, for example?
Since Venditti is leaving the GLC book soon, will you be staying on the title or moving to do other DC work?
I’m going independent.
> Do people like it when I do commentaries on my own work?
I prefer those even to the portfolio reviews (those are good). It's "push" whether I prefer them to watching you draw/drawing videos.
I like all of the above mildly more than the SW videos at this point but I still think the SW videos are absolute lulz, they just shouldn't be as high a proportion of your content.
Also as a lulz reviewer you btfo Zack. EVS > Zack
eat your veggies Uncle Ethan
they are good for us
Awwwww yeah. Comic stuff
super pumped to see some comic stuff back on comicsartistprosecrets. Glad to hear that you will be getting back to the comic and art stuff, that's why you're here and you're amazing at it. Honestly, the commentaries of your comics are my favorite videos that you make so it'd be great to see a few new ones .
How do you get dark lines with a 3h? I use 4b and my darks still aren't as dark as I want them.
> She's sitting and that couch is floating off the ground.
How do you know it's Mary Jane? What if it's Samantha?
th-cam.com/video/jdNhPUXf6Lc/w-d-xo.html
She even looks like she's twitching her nose.
With the black, assuming he wants to keep the heavy blacks, should he make sure there's alway a border of white around characters to keep them distinct from the backgrounds?
if he does that, the characters will look like stickers glued on top of the artwork. It can work on some styles, but i dont think the artist should go in that direction. Like Ethan said, the strong blacks dont work for spiderman. But that doesnt mean they could not work for other comics, like batman, punisher, horror or detective comics
Thanks.
I know you aren't a writer, but would you know how someone who is more interested in writing comics rather than writing gets his foot in the door?
The Star Wars videos are funny, but you could really cut those down by like a half or more. It's a bit much. I do enjoy them, but too much of a good thing. lol... I'm more into the comic stuff. Gotta find a balance, bro. :p
Can we get a anyone can draw cyberfrog?
YES!
Show your completed work.
Yaaaaaaay!
GIVE ME COMMENTARY OR GIVE ME DEATH!
👏👏👏