Tag Archives: Featured Art

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Dynamic Anatomy for Artists – Drawing the Muscles of the Arm

As artists and especially as comic artists we have to have a good understanding of human anatomy. It is not an easy task but it is definitely worth the effort. You can immediately tell when an artist spends time doing their studies of the human body. From gesture and figure drawing to countless illustrations of the complex muscles and their relationships, nothing about it is simple but it truly transforms your art into something to be desired.

I avoided these studies for far too long in my own career. Even after hearing criticism from professional artists and editors that I admired. We have all been there or will hear it at some point, “You need to work on your anatomy! It is never fun to hear a comment like that but it is the cold hard truth. If you want to be a great character artist, you need to study anatomy.

So let’s stop avoiding what we know we need to learn. I created these lessons to help simplify the anatomy and make the drawing process easier to accomplish. In this first class we will focus upon the Arm Anatomy. Here is the class introduction to let you know what you can expect to gain from it –

Welcome to my class, “Dynamic Anatomy for Artists – Drawing the Muscles of Arm.”

Dynamic Anatomy of the Arm for Artists
Dynamic Anatomy of the Arm for Artists

I am extremely excited to bring you these lessons on drawing the muscles.  Learning anatomy isn’t easy but it will vastly improve your ability to draw impressive character designs and comic book superheroes.

What You Will Learn in This Class – 

  • How to Draw the Muscles
  • Basic Terminology
  • Visual Patterns
  • Form + Volume
  • Stylizing the Work
  • Efficient Ways to Improve

This class is designed to simplify the process of drawing the arm anatomy.  I will teach you the basic forms that I use to draw the arm from memory and you will get access to all the art files to study along with.  Including diagrams with all the terminology.

Don’t beat yourself up though!  Just try to improve a little each day and commit a muscle or two to memory here and there.  Consistency is the most effective way to improve in my opinion.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?! 😉

Dynamic Arm Anatomy Drawing
Dynamic Arm Anatomy Drawing

After you work through the anatomy breakdowns I will show you how to implement this into a few examples. We will work on these to help you transition your new skills into your own stylized version.

Signup for this class here on Skillshare – https://skl.sh/2REAuCA

or

Get the Lessons Here on Gumroad – https://gum.co/pXUkR

I am here if you have any questions and remember you can send your artwork for me to review by using my contact form here on the website. You can also submit your artwork as a project file on Skillshare as well. Next we will be covering Leg Anatomy so I hope you will join me for that class as well! 🙂

Sincerely,

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.staging.ramstudioscomics.com


Art Tutorials, Blog

How to Draw Smoke + Clouds + Explosions for Comics

In my latest Youtube video I explain how to draw some of the basic dynamics for smoke, clouds, and explosions. These effects are widely used for comics and other forms of storytelling.

Drawing Smoke Clouds and Explosions for Comics
Drawing Smoke Clouds and Explosions for Comics

Check out the video below to see these two effects created!

Hopefully this post + video will help you get a bit better at drawing these elements within your own work. Remember if you don’t get it right the first time there is nothing to worry about. I didn’t either! Let’s jump in and start practicing.

Drawing Smoke

Let’s first start by drawing some basic smoke coming off a smoke stack. This is used in countless scenes in comics and is pretty much my favorite one to draw.

You can have this effect swirling in the background and make any city scene immediately look 10 times cooler. ( In my opinion of course! 😉

Step 1 – Start by drawing the area of influence or the basic flow of the smoke. Don’t be afraid to swirl it around a bit. I like to think about ribbons and scrolls when drawing smoke.

Drawing Smoke - Step 1
Drawing Smoke – Step 1

Step 2 – Erase back your construction lines or turn the opacity down on your layer. Then draw the smoke again with a bit more clarity. I like to go back and forth from thick to thin forms as the smoke rolls around. This way it looks more organic and dynamic. Use S and C curves for energy.

Drawing Smoke - Step 2
Drawing Smoke – Step 2

Step 3 – Draw in some of the interior lines. These can swirl around any which way you want. I like to start envisioning how the smoke might look with color at this stage. It helps me to think more dimensionally about the work as I go. You can also add in some line weight at this stage as well.

Drawing Smoke - Step 3
Drawing Smoke – Step 3

Next just ink and color it and voila! Comic book smoke! Just play with lots of variations and see what you can come up with. There is no right or wrong way with comic book smoke and art in general for that matter. If you’re having fun then your on the right track! 🙂

Watch my this Youtube video on the subject and get more tips and tricks on creating more effects.

I hope you enjoy the tutorials and more on the way soon!

Check out my Gumroad Store here for Video Course Content and Custom Brushes – http://www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

Let me know what other topics you would like to see covered on this blog and I will do my best to answer them with a new tutorial. I love doing break downs like this and your ideas help me to focus on what to do next.

Keep Drawing and Keep Having Fun!!

-ROB

Blog

For Aspiring Comic Artists

Hello Fellow Comic Artists!

My name is Robert Marzullo and I have been drawing comics since I was about 14 years old. ( Getting ready to turn 44 ) I was first published when I was 18 in an independent series called Aerial and Assault by Tyme Press. I have since published my own comic Blackstone Eternal and I am the author of the book “Learn to Draw Action Heroes”. I have done many other things as an artist but this is about creating comics so I won’t list everything. I don’t want to bore you to death!

The main thing I want to impart on anyone reading this is that if you want to be a comic artist you have to just start creating comics. I wish I would have focused more of my time creating comics rather than trying to figure out how to get into comics. The act of doing is the most important part. Nothing will grow your skill set quicker than actually drawing page after page of sequential storytelling. I only have a total of 5 comics under my belt but I have noticed great improvements from completing each of them.

Blackstone Eternal Comic Book Art by Robert A. Marzullo
Blackstone Eternal Comic Book Art by Robert A. Marzullo

You might say, “I draw every day already. I draw pin ups and splash pages!” So that is enough, right? Wrong! That actually can hurt you as much as help you unless you are specifically going to be a cover artist and the odds are you won’t start there. Pin ups are great but they don’t tell much story. You won’t learn how to direct the viewers eye through the page, you won’t get as good at drawing the same character with a variety of emotions, you won’t develop your ability to move the camera in and out of the scene more confidently, and the list goes on. You learn these things by drawing a comic book. You also need to practice working from a script not just drawing whatever pops into your melon while your watching Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube! ( Make sure to visit my channel by the way! 🙂

You may look at my work and say, “Rob, you draw Fan Art all the time!” You’re right, and that is why I can honestly speak from experience. I have drawn comic books and I have drawn countless pieces of fan art. Guess which ones will get me more offers to work on a title. Yep, sequential art. I don’t currently get calls from the big guys like Marvel, Dc comics, or Image but when I draw and post sequential pages I get more offers from other independent comic book creators.

Blackstone Eternal Comic Book Artwork by Robert A. Marzullo
Blackstone Eternal Comic Book Artwork by Robert A. Marzullo

I am speaking from my own experiences but also reconfirming what I need to implement in my own strategy. If I want to work in comics I need to draw amazing stories that show the viewer what I can do. Besides, working through a series of pages from a script will expose my flaws and that is exactly what I need to fix within my work so why fight it.

So I challenge you to get out there and create some comics! Throw a script together or find one online and put yourself to the test. If you can’t muster up a 22 page book then go for a short story. Show it off to everyone you know and accept the criticism so that you can make the next one even better. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. There is no such thing as a perfect comic or a perfect piece of art. Remember, done is better than perfect!

Good luck to you and thank you for reading my blog! Check out my YouTube channel for more content on drawing comics – http://www.youtube.com/c/robertmarzullo

Get my Video Course content and custom brushes here on my Gumroad – http://www.gumroad.com/robertmarzullo

-Robert

Blog

Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop – Beginner’s Guide

Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop - Beginner's Guide
Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop – Beginner’s Guide

Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop – Beginner’s Guide

Hello Digital Artists!

I have just released a new course, “Introduction to Digital Painting in Photoshop!”  Very excited to be bringing you this course and I hope you learn a ton of great techniques to add to your skill set.  Currently, this course sits at 33 Lectures and a Runtime of 3hrs 55 Minutes.  ( You also get the Art Files + over 50 Custom Brushes to work with. )

In this course, you will learn all the basic tools and how I use them to create professional looking digital art in Photoshop.  This course is designed to get you up and running with digital painting in Photoshop quickly and effectively.  Without all the confusion and complex jargon.  Photoshop is a massive program with tons of options and can quickly become a hindrance if it isn’t explained properly.  I teach this course is an easy to understand way!

After covering all the basic tools and shortcut commands we jump into a scene creation.  You will learn to illustrate this Space Scene from scratch.  You will learn how to create this scene with a very simple approach.  This way you can focus on being able to paint without learning all the complexities that Photoshop has to offer.  This course is designed for the beginner to the intermediate digital artist in mind!

As with any of my courses, if you feel this content needs an additional lecture or two I am happy to help.  Just message me and I will improve the course as soon as possible.  Also, feel free to leave your honest review of this course so others will know what to expect!

( Lifetime access + 30 Day Money Back Guarantee ) 

Thank you for everything you do and more lessons are on the way very soon!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

Blog

How to Draw Dynamic Superheroes – Start to Finish! Now on Udemy

How to Draw Dynamic Superheroes - Course
How to Draw Dynamic Superheroes – Course

How to Draw Dynamic Superheroes – Start to Finish

Get the Course here – https://www.udemy.com/how-to-draw-dynamic-comic-book-superheroes-start-to-finish/?couponCode=RAMSTUDIOSCOMICS

In this course, you will learn how to draw dynamic superheroes step by step. You will work along with me as we break down all the major components that comprise the superhero characters that we know and love. You will learn about proportions, anatomy, suit design, foreshortening, rendering, perspective, and how to draw dynamic poses from your imagination. These action poses are essential to creating powerful characters that can tell an amazing story!

If you want to improve your ability to draw a variety of characters effectively, then this course is for you. The techniques that I will teach you here can apply to all sorts of art styles. Everything from game art, comics, concept art, and even figure drawing. These methods will teach you how to draw imaginative bodies with confidence.

I am very confident you will find this course to be a valuable asset in your educational collection but if you find anything that would make this a better experience for you and the other students, please let me know.  I will be happy to improve the course content as well as add new lessons when needed.

You also get all the art files to work along with throughout this course.  Please share your artwork in the Q&A Section and I will give you any feedback that I can.

I thank you for viewing my course and good luck with your art!

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

Blog

Procreate Like a Pro: Create Awesome Digital Art on an iPad – Udemy

Procreate Like a Pro: Create Awesome Digital Art on an iPad
Procreate Like a Pro: Create Awesome Digital Art on an iPad

Procreate Like a Pro: Create Awesome Digital Art on an iPad

In this course you will learn about the app in two fundamental ways. You will watch me explain the interface while demonstrating the hand gestures that are used to complete various tasks. You will learn how to import and export images, flip the canvas, share the  work in various formats, export video, setup the perspective tools, and adjust the interface to your preference.

Want to Learn How to Draw on an iPad?

In the next section I will take you through a complete illustration from start to finish. This will allow you to see and work through the process of creating the illustration and commit it to memory. You will learn about the brushes, layers, blending modes, lock transparency, selection tools, color adjustments, and general tips and tricks on painting various effects with texture.

By the end of this course you will have created a fun and informative art project. I would love to see what come up with and I would be happy to give you any feedback I can. Just share the work in the Q+A Section when you are done!

Get this course here  – https://www.udemy.com/procreate-like-a-pro-create-awesome-digital-art-on-an-ipad/?couponCode=RAMSTDIOSCOMICS101

Promo Video –

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

Blog

New Lessons on How to Draw Comic Style Hair – Male Characters

How to Draw Comic Style Hair Male
How to Draw Comic Style Hair Male Characters

Welcome back everyone!

In this class you will learn how to draw these 3 hair styles. We will cover basic form and rendering techniques that will apply to not just these but lots of other various hair styles as well. This should give you a basic understanding of how to design your own favorite hair style for your cool characters!

You can get this class here on my Gumroad – https://gum.co/KsSja

Or on my Skillshare here – http://skl.sh/2Bu5spR

Run time is 49 Minutes / 5 Lessons / 2 Art files

You will start with a male face that I have created for you. This allows you to simply focus on the hair drawing and not worrying too much about the characters face. Try creating lots of variations over the same pose. See how much you can change the characters look with a new hair style! Have fun with it! 🙂

If you have any questions I am here to help and thank you for your support of my lessons! More on the way real soon….

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

Blog

How to Draw Comic Style Eyes – Step by Step on Skillshare

How to Draw Comic Style Eyes
How to Draw Comic Style Eyes

In these lessons you will learn how to draw eyes in a variety of ways. You will learn how to draw eyes on an angle. We will cover how to break down the eye shapes and what to look for when drawing male or female eyes. Then you will learn how to draw youthful or aged eyes. You will also learn some rendering techniques along the way.

This class is 5 lessons / 1 Hour Total. These lessons are not software specific and they only focus on the drawing techniques.

Lesson 1 – Constructing the Eye

Lesson 2 – Drawing Eyes on an Angle

Lesson 3 – Drawing Male Vs Female Eyes

Lesson 4 – Drawing Eyes with Anger and Fear

Lesson 5 – Drawing an Eye Young and Old

You will also get the art files to work along with.

Let me know what you think of these lessons and I am here if you have any questions!

Get these Lessons here on my Skillshare – http://skl.sh/2vO7FX0

Or on my Gumroad here – https://gum.co/Gbvb

Thanks for your support! 🙂

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

www.staging.ramstudioscomics.com

Watch the promo video here –

 

Blog

How to Improve Your Creature Design Drawing – Step by Step – Course

Creature Design Class
Creature Design Class

How to Improve Your Creature Design Drawing – Step by Step

In this course you will learn how to draw a variety of creature concepts. I will walk you through all the techniques that I use to draw imaginative creatures every day. This course is good for traditional and digital artists.

You will learn how to draw various studies to improve your knowledge and gain inspiration. We will cover break downs of specific areas in the creature anatomy to better understand how their bodies work.

You will learn to draw and study the spine since it is the foundation of almost any creature you will draw. I will walk you through creating lots of different concepts in this course.

Here is a break down of the Lessons that are currently available –

L1 – The Spine Says it All – In this lesson you will learn why studying the spine is so important and follow along with me as I illustrate a few examples.(Run Time – 13:09)

L2 – Thumbnailing the Concepts – In this lesson we will thumbnail 11 different concepts. This is an integral part of the design process. By keeping the ideas loose and the sketches quick ( 5-6 Minutes ) you can express a lot of concepts to work from. (Run Time – 8:54)

L3 – The Brain Box – In this lesson you will learn how to draw various heads for our creatures. We will talk about some of the differences that define predators and prey. (Run Time – 9:19)

L4 – Creating Variations in Your Concepts – In this lesson we will draw 6 creature designs but focus on making each one very different from the previous example. This can be a great way to stretch the imagination. (Run Time – 12:00)

L5 – Animal Leg Studies – It is important to study various parts of animal anatomy to gain perspective on your creature designs. Here we will draw 3 examples from animals and adjust them slightly to look more imaginative. (Run Time – 7:57)

L6 – Merging Concepts Together – In this lesson you will work with me as I draw 6 different creature limbs. Each will have at least 2 various traits mixed together to create the design. (Run Time – 11:04)

L7 – Adjusting Proportions – In this lesson you will learn how to create a creature concept and then adjust the proportions to make a very different version of that same creature. This can be another very useful exercise in developing a unique creature design. (Run Time – 11:03)

L8 – Project Ogre Thumbnails – In this lesson you will learn how to work from a script like a real pro does. This is a fun and important exercise to do so let’s get to it. We will start by drawing out our thumbnails to this concept. (Run Time – 17:02)

L9 – Cleaning up the Concept – In this lesson we will draw one more thumbnail and make our decision on what to keep and what to pitch. We will then start to clean up our sketch. (Run Time – 17:08)

L10 – Refining the Drawing – Now the heavy lifting has been done and we will start to refine the line work and make it pretty for the client or our portfolio…or both! (Run Time – 18:50)

More lessons are on the way and I am here if you have any questions or feedback for me. You also get access to all of these art files to study from.

Get Lifetime Access to this Course here – https://ram-studios-comics-art-school.teachable.com/p/how-to-improve-your-creature-design-drawings-step-by-step

Get a glimpse into this course here on my Youtube channel – https://youtu.be/FVDKCH8IwP4

Robert A. Marzullo                                                                                                      Ram Studios Comics

Blog

Digital Painting in Manga Studio 5 – Character Design

Digital Painting in Manga Studio 5 – Character Design

In this Course you will learn How to Create a Fantasy Art Character from the rough sketch all the way to the finished paint work. We start with the drawing process and I explain how to make changes to the concept and not get too worried about everything being perfect in the beginning. There are lots of ways to edit the work and keep pressing forward within Manga Studio 5 / Clip Studio Paint.

We will then cover how to lay in the base paint work and use that to create and save our selections. You will learn how to use the layers to aid in your painting process, as well as how to work in a non-destructive approach.

Once the foundational information is in place we will begin to apply our digital painting effects with a variety of brushes. ( You will get access to all the brushes I use in this Course. )

You will also learn how to create and apply a texture effect for the chain mail on the characters armor. We will be using the “Distort” and “Mesh Transformation” features to accomplish this.

Through this course you will learn how to use : Layers and Groups, Combine Modes ( Blending Modes ), Custom Brushes, Hard and Soft Edge Shadows, Layer Masks, Quick Masks, Blending Brushes, Tonal Correction, Mirrored Windows, as well as General Drawing and Painting Techniques.

This course is 9 Hours and 17 Minutes total run time. 35 Individual Lessons.

You get the Layered Art Files and the Custom Brushes to work along with.

I am here if you have any questions or feedback for me to make this a better Course for everyone. So please feel free to let me know!

I hope you find this content to be extremely informative and good luck with your ART! 😉

Get Lifetime Access to the course through my Gumroad here –

https://gum.co/cpHjA

Sincerely,

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics