Comicfest ’09 Portfolio Review

jannacomic — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:28:40 +0000

Since I haven’t updated the webcomic in awhile, I think I’ll use this blog talk about my portfolio review at this year’s Comicfest.

Comicfest

As far as I know, this was the first time Comicfest was held separately from Starfest, which is Denver’s annual sci fi convention. Also, it was held from April 17th thru 19th, which was the same weekend Denver got hit with a huge snow storm, but turnout was still pretty good.

The Review

I signed up for a portfolio review with comic book artist/video game developer Armando Durruthy (http://www.armandodurruthy.com/). I’m going to summarize the review using examples from my webcomic.

Also, I want to say thanks to Armando and all of the con organizers, because it was a fantastic weekend, despite the shitty weather.

Anatomy

The first thing that Armando noticed was that the character anatomy needed work and he suggested using any of the George Bridgman or Andrew Loomis reference books. He also sketched over the above panel to explain how I drew the arm incorrectly. (FYI — I brought printouts of the webcomic to the review, not original art. Also, because there were a few no-shows, due to the crappy weather, Armando was able to take the time to explain things in more detail.)

Dynamic Angles

He liked the top panel because it had a slight worm’s-eye-view. But for the most part he thought that my pages had to many straight and profile shots.

Storytelling

He suggested that my storytelling could be improved by creating visual cues for the reader. The area of interest could be framed better thru contrast or word balloon placement.

Character Development

Armando thought that it was difficult to tell that Katie is the main character, since she and Kitty look alike. He suggested looking at current trends and adding more details to the character designs.

In Conclusion

I highly recommend getting your portfolio reviewed at a comic book convention. Sure, I was pretty nervous, and couldn’t remember my age at one point (not kidding). But, how often do you get a chance to have a professional artist look at you work?