Damn, I Wish I Drew This Well
A place to post art that takes your breath away.
Hank Ketchum's Dennis the Menace had its moments of humor before it got tired... but at his best, Ketchum had a mastery of line that has me taking shallow panting breaths. Just look at the way he goes from thick to thin, artfully balancing the decorative qualities of his line with its descriptive virtues.
And look at what he edits, what he includes, and what he omits. Like, check out Dennis's neck.
Hank Ketchum's Dennis the Menace had its moments of humor before it got tired... but at his best, Ketchum had a mastery of line that has me taking shallow panting breaths. Just look at the way he goes from thick to thin, artfully balancing the decorative qualities of his line with its descriptive virtues.
And look at what he edits, what he includes, and what he omits. Like, check out Dennis's neck.
Comments
Alex Toth's version of Black Canary. The lack of borders makes the page look busy, but then, canary's quick take down of this bigger adversary should be busy, quick, faster then the eye can follow.
@marvinmann - I actually see your line the most in the socks and shoes of Dennis' buddy there. The kinda open zigzag fold is something I've noticed a lot while "coloring" Okita, and the sneakers being expressed by those chunky blacks seems like your style a bit too.
(Also always loved that Toth page. That double heel stomp is the best.)
Josh, I will cop to being influenced by these gents.
Jimmie, Hewlett seems to hit a nice place between standard adventure style, and just plain comicky fun. Mad Mag and... something isn't a bad description.
Jason, you just need to work with a thicker line and you'll get there.
I was about17-18 when Jeff Jones' Idyll was appearing on the pages of the National Lampoon. It wasn't the funniest strip, but there was nothing else like it. I was absolutely flummoxed by the play of black and white across the panels. I couldn't figure out how he did it. A couple of years later my own compositional skills emerged and settled, and I was less mystified by what was happening, but to this day I remain awed.
Daniel Torres' creation Rocco Vargas is a major source of inspiration for Punch MacBolt and the Pirate Lovers... not that Tyne draws like this, but I did show her some of this a few years back.