Here’s a really nice review of Girl to Grrrl Manga, my book for Impact, which actually came out some time ago, yet still sells quite nicely.

Detail is the most apropos word to describe this book. Ms. Doran goes into detail at a level far greater than most how to books. She begins with the basics of drawing; as most do, but she then goes on to spend several pages describing the creation and placement of the eyes. She even shows how the drama of a scene can be heightened by the size and complexity of the tears. She spends a good deal of time showing how the face and body is built, from a simply stick drawing to full Shoujo complexity. She even takes time to discuss the subtle differences that help show the characters age and gender.

I truly enjoyed working on my how-to books for Impact and though they have been out a while now, they are still in print. I immodestly suggest they would make excellent gifts for Christmas. I think Manga Pro is actually a better advice book, but Girl to Grrrl is a fun style guide.

Here is one of the many original drawings I did for the project. I like working in this type of line. Maybe I will do a comic entirely in this style someday.

For years I’ve recommended Deleter Neo-Piko Line pens, but they are Japanese imports and hard to get in the USA. If you are looking for a good substitute, try the new Prismacolor Premier. The Premier pen .01 point is comparable to the Deleter .03 point. The Premier pens also seem to last longer. They are archival quality, acid free, and lightfast. I am very happy with them.

More importantly, it’s easy to find them in any art supply store. I even found them in stationary stores. I have to mail order every Deleter pen I buy, which is costly and inconvenient.

The Deleter .03 has a much sharper point with a little bit of give that I love, and I can’t find anything comparable. But that point is best used on faces and hair. For general drawing, I now use the Premier pen and I save a lot of money by swapping out the pens – I can go through several Deleters per page, especially if I am using paper with a bit of tooth to the surface! It tears the point up long before the ink is gone.

Since I never know when I won’t be able to get the Deleter, I feel comfortable using the Premier for all my work.

Holy cow, I can’t believe I drew this picture of The Beyonder.

There are several very kind mentions of my Tolkien lecture at The One Ring.net, and this post is a great overview of the entire day of lectures featuring The Lord of the Rings music of Howard Shore, and linguist David Salo.

Having got things going with style, Mr Olsen was followed by Colleen Doran, who gave a wonderful presentation about Tolkien’s art, his own influences, and the art of those who have interpreted Middle Earth. She modestly focused largely on the work of others – though we all agreed we would gladly have spent more time looking at her own gorgeous drawings – and her talk was accompanied by images for us all to gaze upon and enjoy! She also brought prints of her ‘Gimli’s Gift’ drawing, for us all to take home with us.

I had a number of people ask why I did not show more of my own Tolkien work in the lecture. I chose to focus on other artists because Tolkien is big and I am small. I will try to find the time to post some of my notes. But I recall that I promised almost four years ago to post my Smithsonian lecture notes too, and never did.

If days were 48 hours long, I am sure I would temporarily delude myself into believing that would give me enough time to do all I want to do.

Anyway, nice pictures at the links, and a shout out to our friend Laura Cooper at Mythology Body, whose guest post on this blog can be found here.

Here is my version of Thranduil, a sketch I did not show at the lecture. Can’t remember if this has been published.

I’m thinking actor Luke Goss who played Prince Nuada in Hellboy: The Golden Army would make an awesome Thranduil in The Hobbit film, don’t you?

If someone could tell me what’s not to like about this guy, I am open-minded enough to listen to your opinion, but whatever it is you would be wrong.

The “Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics” exhibit has traveled to the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. The exhibition opened at the end of October and will run into December 2009.

I have several original pieces in it, including an unpublished page from issue #7 of The Book of Lost Souls, and two pages of A Distant Soil. I was surprised how many of the pieces in the exhibit from other artists are digital.

Pen and ink slowly goes the way of the dodo.

I guess this makes me a dodo. I don’t intend on giving it up.

For all the other dodos out there, check out Paper and Inks Arts, the best pen process wonk catalogue ever.