Here’s a book I did a while ago—Señor Don Gato. Due to a copyright dispute, it’s no longer in print. This project was a turning-point in my style. I closely studied the work of Diego Velasquez: his palette, composition and lighting. By limiting my range of color and paying attention to how a subject is lighted, my illustrations became less cartoony and more painterly.
Here’s a sketch. Don Gato receives a letter from his lady-love and reads it on a high red roof:
And the final painting:
This painting below was never part of the book. I did it to get a feel for Velasquez’ painting technique.
Here is the portrait by Velasquez that inspired my painting of el Don.
If you’d like a copy of Señor Don Gato, shoot me an e-mail at Jmanders@aol.com. I have a small stash of mint-condition copies and I’ll be happy to autograph them for you. I’m charging $40 per copy. Half of that will go to the Venango County Humane Society. I promise to do some kind of big cardboard check photo op so you know I didn’t keep all the cash for myself. The offer’s good til I run out of books.
https://www.johnmanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JohnManderslogo300w1-300x58.jpg00johnmandershttps://www.johnmanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JohnManderslogo300w1-300x58.jpgjohnmanders2009-08-26 18:14:032009-08-26 18:14:03From the archives—Señor Don Gato
Nous sommes en 50 avant Jèsus-Christ. Toute la Gaule est occupèe par les Romains…Toute? Non! Un village peuple d’irrèductibles Gaulois rèsiste encore et toujours à l’envahisseur. Et la vie n’est pas facile pour les garnisons de lègionnaires romains des camps retranchès de Babaorum, Aquarium, Laudanum et Petitbonum…
50 B.C. All Gaul is occupied by the Romans. All? No!…One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium…
Asterix, a Gaulish warrior and his pal, Obelix are the two main characters in this little village. Written by the late Rene Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo, Asterix and Obelix’ adventures take them all over the Classical world—and even into the New one. I discovered these French comic books in the 70’s when Asterix was already 15 years old. In a used bookstore I found a catalogue from an exhibit of comic strip art shown in the Louvre. In it were a few of Uderzo’s drawings—and I knew I had to see more. With lots of help from my high school French teacher, I wrote a letter to Asterix’ publisher, Dargaud, asking how I could get my hands on those comic books. Before long, I owned the first in the series ($2.95, not bad) and would accumulate more.
Looking at Albert Uderzo’s style it’s immediately obvious what an influence his drawings had on me—let’s face it, they still do. As a kid wanting to be a comic artist I consciously mimicked his style. Uderzo is a master of perspective and camera angles and sight gags.
The stories are ostensibly for kids, but full of puns and current event gags and spoofs of Latin. French celebrities made cameo appearances (not that I’d know who they were). But here’s what’s important: Goscinny and Uderzo paid their audience the compliment of assuming we had enough knowledge of Classical history to get the jokes.
Asterix captured a sense of French national pride and cultural identity. But not only for the French; as Asterix and Obelix traveled the Classiical world, the authors poked gentle fun at the peoples who would one day be Brits, Germans, Spaniards, Danes, &c., &c. Apparently everybody likes getting the Gosciny/Uderzo treatment—Asterix is the most translated of French literature.
Alas, the world has changed in 50 years. Europe is become the European Union, and national pride—French or otherwise—is not to be encouraged. A couple of years back according to Charles Bremner of the Times, Albert Uderzo was asked by Dominique Versini, the EU Children’s Defender to let Asterix and Obelix be the official ambassadors to the United Nations convention on the Rights of Children. Not so fast, said the higher-ups at Defence for Children International:
‘… Astérix conveys an “archaic…hierarchical” world at odds with the revolutionary” values of the 1989 convention…said Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, a senior juvenile judge who heads the French DCI.
Astérix also projects “a Gaulish vision which ignores the intercultural reality of French society,” they say. His constant resistance against the Romans and other foreign invaders sends altogether the wrong message in the peace-loving European Union.’
Vercingetorix may be laying down his arms at Caesar’s feet once again. Asterix is “a eulogy to tribal, hierarchical, society with frequent references to a chief.” And that’s no good, mes enfants.
Alors. Once upon a time, with the help of their druid’s magic potion, a tiny village of plucky Gauls could snap their fingers at the mighty Roman Empire. And the Romans never were able to discover the potion’s recipe.
https://www.johnmanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JohnManderslogo300w1-300x58.jpg00johnmandershttps://www.johnmanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/JohnManderslogo300w1-300x58.jpgjohnmanders2009-08-24 09:46:572009-08-24 09:46:57Asterix le Gaulois is 50 years old!
Leda writes: “I’m curious, John, just how detailed your story boards are. Can you post a portion of one?”
Here’s a complete storyboard for a coloring book idea I had to promote Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies. This is only 12 pages; a typical picture book is 32 pages. Even so, this will give you a pretty good idea of what my storyboards look like: very rough thumbnail sketches with text indications. This storyboard is around 8 ½ x 11”. Each little page is 1 3/4” tall.
There are several advantages to creating a rough storyboard before diving into tight sketches. 1) I can draw these fairly quickly. If the AD doesn’t like any of the images, I can redraw them without having lost much time. I’d rather redraw a thumbnail sketch than a tight sketch. 2) You can see the entire story at once—how the action is paced, is there enough buildup to a dramatic payoff—which is harder to see with the larger tight sketches. 3) Once I get approval for the thumbnail sketches, approval for the tight sketches usually follows without major redrawing, because the art director and editor have been included in my process early on.
From the archives—Señor Don Gato
illustration process, UncategorizedHere’s a book I did a while ago—Señor Don Gato. Due to a copyright dispute, it’s no longer in print. This project was a turning-point in my style. I closely studied the work of Diego Velasquez: his palette, composition and lighting. By limiting my range of color and paying attention to how a subject is lighted, my illustrations became less cartoony and more painterly.
Here’s a sketch. Don Gato receives a letter from his lady-love and reads it on a high red roof:
And the final painting:
This painting below was never part of the book. I did it to get a feel for Velasquez’ painting technique.
Here is the portrait by Velasquez that inspired my painting of el Don.
If you’d like a copy of Señor Don Gato, shoot me an e-mail at Jmanders@aol.com. I have a small stash of mint-condition copies and I’ll be happy to autograph them for you. I’m charging $40 per copy. Half of that will go to the Venango County Humane Society. I promise to do some kind of big cardboard check photo op so you know I didn’t keep all the cash for myself. The offer’s good til I run out of books.
Asterix le Gaulois is 50 years old!
UncategorizedNous sommes en 50 avant Jèsus-Christ. Toute la Gaule est occupèe par les Romains…Toute? Non! Un village peuple d’irrèductibles Gaulois rèsiste encore et toujours à l’envahisseur. Et la vie n’est pas facile pour les garnisons de lègionnaires romains des camps retranchès de Babaorum, Aquarium, Laudanum et Petitbonum…
50 B.C. All Gaul is occupied by the Romans. All? No!…One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium…
Asterix, a Gaulish warrior and his pal, Obelix are the two main characters in this little village. Written by the late Rene Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo, Asterix and Obelix’ adventures take them all over the Classical world—and even into the New one. I discovered these French comic books in the 70’s when Asterix was already 15 years old. In a used bookstore I found a catalogue from an exhibit of comic strip art shown in the Louvre. In it were a few of Uderzo’s drawings—and I knew I had to see more. With lots of help from my high school French teacher, I wrote a letter to Asterix’ publisher, Dargaud, asking how I could get my hands on those comic books. Before long, I owned the first in the series ($2.95, not bad) and would accumulate more.
Looking at Albert Uderzo’s style it’s immediately obvious what an influence his drawings had on me—let’s face it, they still do. As a kid wanting to be a comic artist I consciously mimicked his style. Uderzo is a master of perspective and camera angles and sight gags.
The stories are ostensibly for kids, but full of puns and current event gags and spoofs of Latin. French celebrities made cameo appearances (not that I’d know who they were). But here’s what’s important: Goscinny and Uderzo paid their audience the compliment of assuming we had enough knowledge of Classical history to get the jokes.
Asterix captured a sense of French national pride and cultural identity. But not only for the French; as Asterix and Obelix traveled the Classiical world, the authors poked gentle fun at the peoples who would one day be Brits, Germans, Spaniards, Danes, &c., &c. Apparently everybody likes getting the Gosciny/Uderzo treatment—Asterix is the most translated of French literature.
Alas, the world has changed in 50 years. Europe is become the European Union, and national pride—French or otherwise—is not to be encouraged. A couple of years back according to Charles Bremner of the Times, Albert Uderzo was asked by Dominique Versini, the EU Children’s Defender to let Asterix and Obelix be the official ambassadors to the United Nations convention on the Rights of Children. Not so fast, said the higher-ups at Defence for Children International:
‘… Astérix conveys an “archaic…hierarchical” world at odds with the revolutionary” values of the 1989 convention…said Jean-Pierre Rosenczveig, a senior juvenile judge who heads the French DCI.
Astérix also projects “a Gaulish vision which ignores the intercultural reality of French society,” they say. His constant resistance against the Romans and other foreign invaders sends altogether the wrong message in the peace-loving European Union.’
Vercingetorix may be laying down his arms at Caesar’s feet once again. Asterix is “a eulogy to tribal, hierarchical, society with frequent references to a chief.” And that’s no good, mes enfants.
Alors. Once upon a time, with the help of their druid’s magic potion, a tiny village of plucky Gauls could snap their fingers at the mighty Roman Empire. And the Romans never were able to discover the potion’s recipe.
Asterix’ website http://gb.asterix.com/indexmus.html
Storyboard
illustration processLeda writes: “I’m curious, John, just how detailed your story boards are. Can you post a portion of one?”
Here’s a complete storyboard for a coloring book idea I had to promote Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies. This is only 12 pages; a typical picture book is 32 pages. Even so, this will give you a pretty good idea of what my storyboards look like: very rough thumbnail sketches with text indications. This storyboard is around 8 ½ x 11”. Each little page is 1 3/4” tall.
There are several advantages to creating a rough storyboard before diving into tight sketches. 1) I can draw these fairly quickly. If the AD doesn’t like any of the images, I can redraw them without having lost much time. I’d rather redraw a thumbnail sketch than a tight sketch. 2) You can see the entire story at once—how the action is paced, is there enough buildup to a dramatic payoff—which is harder to see with the larger tight sketches. 3) Once I get approval for the thumbnail sketches, approval for the tight sketches usually follows without major redrawing, because the art director and editor have been included in my process early on.