How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling
Noir is just as powerful in comics as it is in films: dark angles, shadowy, high contrast images, moody lighting, an anti-hero that struggles with moral conflicts: all these elements work to create a somber, dark tone. In How to Draw Noir Comics, Martinbrough walks the reader step-by-step through layout, thumbnails, staging the action and working with actual scripts. Martinboroughs art is cutting edge, has a 1940s vibe, but comes across contemporary, complelling, dramatic and urban. The book also contains twenty-two page original graphic novel, written and illustrated by Martinbrough.
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“How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling” a misleading title,
The title of this book is a little misleading if you want a book that physically shows you how to draw in this style because that is not what this book shows. Having said that the book is very good but it makes the assumption that you are an artist capable of drawing in this style and don’t need the stage by stage instruction of character drawing and inking. The focus of the book is to guide you through the techniques of noir artwork development, character design and story development. There is some very good guidance and ideas in this book from the author’s wide experience.
If you need a drawing guide then “Drawing Crime Noir for Comics and Graphic Novels” by Christopher Hart is a very good book, which I also have in my studio cartooning and illustration library. Both these books have proved very useful from time to time.
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|Straightforward with lots of personal examples,
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Customer Video Review Length:: 0:17 Mins
Everything in the book is explained simply and clearly with lots of personal examples. He tries to address the many approaches to creating noir comics and does them well. For example when explaining the tools he used, he would talk on the type of ink to buy (fade and erase-proof), how to maintain them and choosing the right tools for the job.
The main bulk of the book deals with comic creation specific to noir style. He explains the ways to create mood, lighting and texture to aid the story. And also touches the comic creation part like paneling, pacing, creating drama, choosing backgrounds, using references and more. All the examples included are well caption to emphasis the techniques reviewed.
At the end of the book is a 16-page noir style graphic novel to show readers the finished product.
This book is a great introduction to noir comics and serves as a great reference.
You can view more of Shawn Martinbrough’s work at Verge Entertainment, which is a company he founded with his partners.
There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.
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|Excellent classic Noir tuition,
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Not for people who cannot already draw!
The author goes into great depth about light and shadow, using only black and white illustrations. No grey and no shading other than solid black areas, the ‘classic’ noir comic method.
He provides examples of everything you need to put a Noir comic together, including techniques for getting the most dramatic effect on the page. He also provides a complete comic book story at the end of the book, utilising all the techniques he has already taught you. Highly recommended.
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