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Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
@Hamm_Tips
Oct 4, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
When laying out a complex page, I leave a template open to show possible panel arrangements (6-panel grid, 8-panel grid, etc).

I draw each panel in the center, using as much space as I want, then size and position the panel in the grid according to how it fits best. ImageImageImageImage
This way, I'm free to visualize each panel the way I see it best, rather than feeling inhibited by some predetermined size and shape. After arranging the panels, I may squeeze and stretch them into different sizes or shapes. Finally, I collapse the layers and pencil over that.
Here are other approaches I could have taken with Panel 6, depending how the other panels are sized and arranged, and what kind of pacing or emphasis I want. ImageImageImageImage
Here's how to quickly create templates like the one shown above, dividing any page into 4, 6, 8, or 9-panel grids without using measurements or arithmetic. ImageImageImageImage

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More from @Hamm_Tips

Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
Mar 25, 2021
It's tempting to soften the edge of every shadow with hatching. Stark edges force us to commit to shadow shapes which might be wrong, and we don't want to risk being wrong; we want to waffle.

However, undue hatching looks noisy and lacks clarity. Choose carefully when to hatch.
When should you soften the edge of a shadow? When not doing so would mislead the reader about the shape of the portrayed object.
Had I not hatched Tinkerbell's ribcage, it would likely have appeared too flat; the tortion would not be evident.

Had I not hatched the fog beyond Nightwing, it would not have read clearly as fog; the building beyond him might look like a floating object, its distance unclear.
Read 4 tweets
Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
Sep 18, 2020
When drawing repeating objects that overlap, don't draw one and then two halves of the other; this encourages unevenness.(1)
Draw all the foreground objects, or all that lean one way, then draw all the remaining objects on a second layer.(2)
Erase the overlap, merge layers.(3) ImageImageImage
Related tip: when drawing repeated objects of similar shape, size, or angle, draw them all at once, rather than alternating with other local objects. This gets your hand in a rhythm that can bang out a lot of objects quickly. Alternating with other objects will slow you up.
So: if there are several small stones, a few flowers, more stones, more flowers...don't draw stones then flowers then stones. Draw all the stones first, leaving space for the flowers, then go back and draw all the flowers. The rhythm of each will increase your speed and accuracy.
Read 4 tweets
Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
Aug 18, 2020
Non-artists tend not to realise how much labor is entailed by drawing, I think because they compare it to other desk jobs. But the difference of focus and physical activity between art and other desk jobs is staggering. I used to work remotely for an ad agency...
There was a team of on-site art directors (ADs) who designed the advertisements, and a team of remote-working illustrators who drew the final designs. One time, I visited the office, and one of the other illustrators happened to be working there alongside the ADs.
The ADs were chatting, moving about, joking around, sipping their coffees, etc. The illustrator had her head down, staring at her Wacom, unbroken focus, moving like a sewing machine. The contrast was striking.
Read 5 tweets
Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
Jun 19, 2020
There's a type of person who is smart and gifted, and learns from early childhood to aim for the stars, because "nothing is impossible."

When life's constraints prove otherwise, this person is crushed. Unable to bend and accept flaws, they break.

Comics attract this person.
I see so much heartbreak among young people who were taught they can achieve EVERYTHING, if only they work hard enough. When their dreams don't come true, they reach the inescapable conclusion: they didn't work hard enough. Their elders overestimated them. They must be failures.
As children, they enjoyed creating. No longer. Now creation is a drudgery and they enjoy *having created*, if at all. Nothing they do meets their high expectations. The happiness of their early efforts is a dangling carrot that their arms will never reach again.
Read 9 tweets
Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
Jan 4, 2019
It's 2019!
Draw your signature legibly and attractively, along with the year, about the size of a playing card, and save it in your harddrive. Then you can resize it and drop it into any art you do in the coming year. Faster than signing every piece. Guaranteed legibility!
A TIFF of your signature can be moved around a piece of art until it looks right. You can squeeze or stretch it, or even change the color to suit the picture's color scheme (inverting it to white-on-black is also handy, for art with a lot of black).
Include the date so people can see that your recent work is better than your old work. Including the date also demonstrates to potential clients that you're productive. "Oh, she did all these this year!" Makes recent pieces look fresh, current.
Read 4 tweets
Tips from Jesse Hamm Profile picture
Sep 9, 2017
The history of American comics is a mystery to many cartoonists, and unfortunately there's no one, comprehensive book to point people to.
Various books covers certain areas well, such as RC Harvey's ART OF THE FUNNIES and Sean Howe's MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD HISTORY.
But those cover specific areas. So...THREAD! Tonight, as I work, I'll summarize the broad strokes, recommend key cartoonists. Crash course.
Read 180 tweets

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