Learn to Draw Action Heroes Read online

  4 REFINE THE LINE WORK

  Add some line weight to the power effect, which can be extremely helpful with these types of effects. It helps to create a sense of intensity to the larger areas and also will keep the design from looking flat.

  5 ADD FINAL DETAILS

  Refine the line work one more time and add in the final details. Add in some smaller stars, drawing them in various sizes to help convey distance and intensity. And, voilà! Instant magic!

  Characters Reacting to a Background: Other Powers

  The power in this lesson is more focused and intense. Some rolling smoke may be an aftereffect of such destructive power.

  Various Power Designs

  Try drawing a variety of these textures. Use all sorts of line work, dots and crosshatching to create a multitude of special effects. These will come in handy later, so save them for future drawings. And keep in mind there is no right or wrong way to draw textures like these, so let your imagination go wild in this exercise!

  1 DRAW THE BASIC OUTLINES

  First you need a character who’s directing this amazing energy. Draw whoever you like with the arms out toward the viewer to show the energy in perspective. Draw the basic shapes of where the power will go. Keep in mind that for the beams of energy coming from his hands, the same perspective rules apply. When drawing the rolling smoke around the character, try to keep the line smooth by creating it with one long consistent pull. A few bumps will help to make the smoke look like it moves freely.

  2 BUILD UP THE LINES

  Add some darker shaded lines where the intensity of the power will be in the middle of the beams. This helps to make the energy appear hotter in the center and can make for some nice coloring effects later on. To add more depth to the rolling smoke, simply draw a few more lines swirling around inside the larger shapes. Make sure they flow in and out toward the edges to give the appearance of the smoke swirling around itself. You can also draw these lines thinner in certain areas to help illustrate this effect.

  3 ADD TEXTURE

  Begin to texture the beams of power. Shade them in around the hands to show where the power is coming from. This is really just a series of scribbles that break away from the larger area of shadows. Stipple shading like this can be very handy for power effects.

  4 ADD FINAL DETAILS

  Darken the line work that makes up the powers a bit more. Then come back with white and draw through the shadows. This is a handy effect for all sorts of neat tricks. You can do this very easily with either digital or traditional drawings. With traditional work you will use a white-out pen or a brush with white ink. Notice I used line work to further highlight the power around his hands. Add more line weight to the rolling smoke effect. Notice that just by adding in some darker lines, the smoke looks less flat than it does in the previous step.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Robert Marzullo has been creating comics and illustrations for more than 20 years. He is the artist and writer of the Blackstone comic and enjoys sharing his techniques on his YouTube channel. Robert has worked in comics, 3D animation and storyboarding. He also shares tutorials and lessons on his website at ramstudioscomics.com for the aspiring comic book artist.

  IDEAS. INSTRUCTION. INSPIRATION.

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  Learn to Draw Action Heroes. Copyright © 2017 by Robert Marzullo. All rights reserved. No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by IMPACT Books, an imprint of F+W Inc., 10151 Carver Road, Suite 200, Blue Ash, OH 45242. (800) 289-0963.

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  eISBN: 9781440351020

  This e-book edition: June 2017 (v.1.0).