Kickstarter: kck.st/2EitFjs
First Comics News: Does “Bart Sears’ Drawing Powerful Heroes: Brutes and Babes V2” contain art from all aspects of your comic book career?
Bart Sears: Existing art used in the book(s) has been pulled from every point in my career, from the comic work, toy work, concept art, and illustrations… whatever is needed to illustrate the point being made in the tutorial(s).
1st: Will this book continue from Volume 1
Bart: Drawing Powerful Heroes: Volume 2 is a continuation of the first volume, it continues reprinting, revising, updating and expanding the Brutes and Babes tutorials that appeared in Wizard Magazine. It’s been fun and, honestly, quite an education having the opportunity to dive back into these works and dissect them, and build upon lessons I conceived over two decades ago.
1st: How will “Bart Sears’ Drawing Powerful Heroes: Brutes and Babes V2” help to make an artist a better artist?
Bart: Many how-to-draw art books focus on the steps of creating art, while DPH vol 2 certainly has aspects of that, I try to focus on the “why’ decisions are made before and during the process of drawing. It’s not only a behind the scenes look at creating comic art, but a behind the eyes look as well. I hope that once reader’s start to see the thinking that goes on behind a drawing, it will open their minds and allow them to learn to draw on a whole new level, and with much better results.
1st: How do you make a man look brutish?
Bart: Hahahaha… that question out of the blue is a little surprising. There are a few typical ways to make a man appear brutish, heavy brows, sunken eyes, thicker, smaller nose, heavy cheekbones, big jaw, rounded chin, disheveled hair, scruff or scraggly beard. The fun part comes when you make a man look brutish without using any of the above… there’s a challenge!
1st: What specifically will people be able to learn from your book?
Bart: Drawing Powerful Heroes: Volume 2 reprints 10 columns from Brutes and Babes that appeared originally in Wizard Magazine, and feature revised and expanded tutorials on drawing heroic legs, how to break down a page, designing superheroes, tough guy heads, style, detail, basic drawing and anatomy, as well as 5 brand new tutorials that feature different aspects of drawing the anatomy of heroic men. Beyond the how-to aspect, is the why aspect; the reasons decisions are made in all of these areas of drawing.
1st: Do you find satisfaction in knowing your book will help people to become better artist?
Bart: I do, as silly as that may sound. I’ve loved teaching from the first day I taught at the Kubert School, which as I sit here and think about it, was actually the same year I started crafting the Brutes and Babes tutorials. I’ve taught periodically over the years, and have always enjoyed trying to help aspiring artists who approach me at conventions.
Soon I’ll be unveiling the Drawing Powerful Heroes Patreon, where I’ll be able to interact more directly with young and aspiring artists.
1st: What is the Kickstarter URL and what kind of rewards are you offering?
Bart: This is a link to the Kickstarter: kck.st/2EitFjs
Paired with DPH: Vol 2 is a second book, called the Blue-Line Drawing Guide, featuring dozens of structural drawings, printed in non-photo blue on a drawing-quality paper, that you can draw right over, right on the page. You can pencil and ink right in the book. We also have pledge levels that include our series of Black Books, high-end art books featuring myself, Jim Starlin, Andy Smith, Graham Nolan, and others. If you missed Drawing Powerful Heroes: Brutes and Babes, the first volume, you can pick that up here too.
There are also several full-figure pencil drawings by me available, as well as several pieces of original art. We are about to unveil new pledge levels, featuring original Brute and Babes pin-up art by several artists, including. Dave Finch, Robert Atkins, Andy Smith, Tim Seeley, Graham Nolan, Meghan Hetrick, Jan Duursema, Gustavo Duarte, Aaron Lopresti, and Tom Raney!
Plus we have several Pledge and Stretch Goal rewards, such as Reference Tablets with many more to be revealed.
1st: What is the Blue Line Drawing Guide and how is it used?
Bart: Whoops! Kind of answered that one above… I think it’ll be a valuable learning tool, allowing artists to study structure as they draw their own anatomy, detail and finish pencils and/or inks over perfectly-structured figures.
1st: What is the one best piece of advice you can give to an up and coming artist?
Bart: DRAW! You have to draw all the time. Draw what you see, draw what you imagine, draw what you hate to draw. I was once told that every artist has 10,000 bad drawings in them before they get to the first good one… translated, sit down and draw!
1st: Of all the comic characters you have worked on in your career do you have any favorites?
Bart: I don’t know if I have a single favorite, but obviously Batman, Blade, and X-O are two of my favorites. I really enjoyed the mute gunslinger in Deadlands, and, of course, my own characters.
1st: What have you accomplished at Ominous Press?
Bart: Man, it’s hard to believe we’ve been back for over three years already. I’d forgotten how much work is involved with starting a new company, even with the help of my three partners, Sean HusVar, Andy Smith and Ron Marz. It’s not just sitting down with a cup of coffee and writing or drawing. Haven’t had the time to do nearly as much of that as I need to. At Ominous we’ve published the Legendary mini-series, reprinting, adding to and concluding the original Brute and Babe story started back in ’94 with the original Ominous Press. We’ve put out two mini-series through IDW, Dread Gods and Demi-God (4th issue dropping soon!) our second Giantkillers book will hit shelves soon, We’ve had several successful Kickstarters, the first Drawing Powerful Heroes book, Beasts of the Black Hand, Jim Starlin’s Mindgames, Harken’s Raiders, Demi-God: My Kick-Ass Graphic Novel and our Black Book series of Art Books. We’ve also have plans for a whole list of properties in various stages of development.
1st: What can we look forward to in the future from Ominous Press?
Bart: Even more relentless, powerful stories! We have a line-up of continuing projects featuring characters from the Ominous Press Universe, from our other properties, and from brand new properties. We have plans for all types of games, and other types of media both digital and others that we are actively working on.
We will also be continuing the Drawing Powerful Heroes series of how-to-draw books with all new content, as well as a patreon page.
1st: Outside of comics what gives you the most joy in your life?
Bart: My family. I don’t do much outside my house and my work area is right in the living room. I guess movies and games fall in there somewhere, too.
1st: What would you like to say to those who have “Bart Sears’ Drawing Powerful Heroes: Brutes and Babes V1” and those who plan to get “Bart Sears’ Drawing Powerful Heroes: Brutes and Babes V2”?
Bart: If you liked the first volume, volume 2 is better. I’m always learning and I think that everything I went through revising and updating the first volume has sharpened my brain and has really paid off with the second volume.
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