In Defense of Inefficiency
I recently came across a wonderful series of blog posts by artist Jesse Hamm (sirspamdalot.deviantart.com/) discussing the work of Alex Toth. Widely (and correctly) regarded as one of the greatest comic artists of all time, Toth’s utter mastery of efficiency in line and form set him apart from the vast majority of other artists who are often seen as fussy or wasteful in comparison. Minimalism and efficiency are without a doubt incredibly valuable ideals to aspire to and explore. The artists who have mastered their use deserve the praise heaped upon them. But their virtuosity need not be a reason to reject or ignore other approaches.
Artists like Toppi, Wood, Darrow and Charest (to name just a few) represent an entirely inefficient approach to art in comparison to Toth (or contemporary champions of minimalism/efficiency like Mazzucchelli and Mignola), but I would argue are by no means inferior artists, whether measured by technique, execution, or aesthetic impact. One need not be efficient to be effective. What makes these artists effective is, above all else, tasteful design. Design can be approached through a wide variety of techniques and styles, but in the end it boils down to a thoughtful application of technique and use of space that avoids confusion (at least where confusion is not the goal). If Toth’s genius was in the merciless excision of extraneous line, Toppi’s was in the joyful exploration of line to create texture, value, contrast, space and form. And the result is every bit as beautiful and masterful.
Much of my passion for this topic stems from a concern for developing artists. I think it is a mistake to, through our effusive admiration for Toth’s ruthless minimalism, foster an atmosphere of exclusion: “if it is not efficient, it is not good art.” While boundaries and limitations are important for any individual’s education and development, exposure to a wide range of equally valid approaches is necessary food for the growth of every artist.
And moreover, in many discussions of what makes “good” or “valid” art, I feel there is a remarkable lack of attention given to what makes an artist happy. The ideals of artistic perfection (or a deliberate avoidance of preciousness and waste if the word “perfection” rubs you wrong) are worthy goals, but as someone who regularly spends 10 or more hours a day at the drawing board, it is of deep, profound importance to me that I enjoy what I’m doing. In limiting an artist to some externally imposed ideal I fear that we rob them of finding the muse that brings them joy.
Or, more simply, sometimes it’s fun to just noodle.
Now, it needs be said that I don’t think Jesse Hamm’s discussion of Toth is done in the spirit of exclusion, but is instead a very well written and thoughtful dissection of a master’s approach. But from a broader vantage there are a number of ongoing conversations in the comic art community that often take on an air of puritanism. In our praise of heroes, let us not give the impression that ours are the only ones.
I’m going to be attending San Diego Comic Con July 9-12 and am opening my list for pre-ordering commissions. I won’t have a table this year, so commissions will ONLY be available via pre-order, and delivery will be arranged via email before the show.
I’ll be doing two types of commissions: head and shoulder shots and full bodies. You can check out the pricing and place an order at my Bigcartel store:
See y’all at SDCC!
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #23
I've put the original art for the cover - an homage to John Romita's classic Spider-Man No More illustration - up for sale, along with all the artist's proofs for the digitally-drawn interiors. You can find them all here:
davidmarquez.bigcartel.com/cat…
And stay tuned to the upcoming issues - things are about to get crazy
davidmarquez.bigcartel.com/cat…
In order to produce his highly precise and technical style, David draws the majority of his interior artwork digitally at nearly four times the resolution of an actual comic page. As part of his process, he then creates black and white giclée proofs to judge the quality of the finished art, printed at the same incredibly high resolution as it was created.
When each book is released, David makes a single Artist's Proof of each page available for sale.
These Artist's Proofs were made in Austin, Texas using an Epson Stylus Photo 1400 printer on 11"x17" Strathmore 500 Series Plate Bristol. Each Artist's Proof is signed and labelled by the artist.
Original Art
While I work primarily digitally, from time to time I still draw a few pages – typically splash pages and covers – using the traditional tools of brush, ink and pen. These rare original pages are available for sale on my Online Store: davidmarquez.bigcartel.com
ARTIST'S PROOFS
Since making the transition to digital several years ago, I've developed a habit of printing out high resolution proofs of my work to confirm the quality of the finished art. Beginning in January 2013 I will be making these one-of-a-kind giclee Artist's Proofs of my digital work available for sale.