Art How-To

  • Art How-To,  Art Supplies,  Blog,  Colleen's Work,  Interviews

    Calvin and Hobbes Cartoon Art Museum sketch, Fusain’s Liquid Charcoal, and Paint Flex

    A look at Colleen’s original art for the Calvin and Hobbes benefit for the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. A talk about Fusain’s Liquid Charcoal, Thrifty Art Supply Shopping, Elaine Lee and Mike Kaluta’s “Starstruck”, and studio tips. Chakra Sketchbook Fusain’s Liquid Charcoal “Starstruck” Lock-Eat Jars Daniel Smith Watercolor SetCartoon Art Museum Colleen Doran’s Patreon

  • Art How-To,  Blog,  Creator Resources

    Brain Fog

    You used to be able to do long division in your head. Now you can’t do simple math on paper. You always knew what time it was, never needed a watch, and had the entire television schedule memorized. No one bought a TV Guide because they had you. Now you can’t keep up with your favorite shows because you can’t remember the storylines. Or when they were on. You never had to study because one pass over a book and you had it down. Now you can barely remember what you’ve read a half hour after you put the book away. You write for a living, but you stumble over…

  • Art How-To,  Blog,  Comics,  Creator Resources,  Education,  Guest Blog

    Guest Blog: Julie Ditrich on Unlocking and Accessing the Darkness Within: 7 Keys for Comics Creators

    [WARNING: Some comics, film and book plot spoilers ahead!] “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” Stephen King A few weeks ago at Australia’s Supanova (Brisbane) pop culture convention, I had the privilege of meeting US comics creator Jhonen Vasquez whose satirical work Johnny the Homicidal Maniac I greatly admire. Despite the fact that I’m not usually drawn to creative properties with the words “homicidal” or “maniac” in the title or indeed ones that hint at or overtly promise great acts of depravity, my business partner and artist Jozef Szekeres persuaded me to read it and I’m very grateful to him…

  • Art How-To,  Blog,  Creator Resources,  Education

    11 Things Designers Should Avoid: Guest Blog by Val Trullinger

    Often I get interns and designers who are dab hands at InDesign and Photoshop, but lack crucial skills that aren't always taught in design classes. Namely, how to work with other designers, clients, and an art director. It's wonderful that you can design mind-blowing work, but if you can't get along with your studio, you're doomed. This is a hard lesson for some. Luckily, that's why the gods invented art directors: to school the uppity.