How To Review: Draw Fight Scenes like a Pro

Draw Fight Scenes like a Pro, Jeff Johnson, Watson- Guptill Publications, ISBN 0823013723

Be warned! This is not a book for the casual hobbyist comic artist. This book is a master class on what Johnson calls the “metaphor for the comic book story as a whole”: the fight scene. Johnson begins, as many do, with the basics; using stick figures. But his approach becomes unique when he uses those figures to create first the skeleton and then portray the musculature of his character. Then he even names each muscle group on the figure! Clearly a student of Gray’s Anatomy (the book not the TV show), Johnson gives his characters a solidity that most comic figures lack.

The introduction of the “arrow” into the drawing lexicon makes an even larger impact. First using it to show the direction and folds of garments as they drape over the figure, he then uses it to give his characters movement, showing the directionality of their punches, leaps and kicks. Unlike many artist whose characters seem to be posing statically in the middle of a fight, every muscle of Johnson’s characters is flowing in the direction of the blow being struck. Most of the rest of the book is dedicated to creating the illusion of movement, action and impact on the comic page.

One interesting aside from the action is the history lesson Johnson offers on the fighting styles of the world. From boxing to tae kwon do, Johnson details the characteristics of each style and the type of character that might use it. Lastly, Johnson turns the last chapter over to some colleagues to get their take on the fight scene. Dark Horse artist Scott Kolins, author /artist of Drawing Dynamic Comics Andy Smith, and Batman the Animated Series story boarder, to name but three , offer different techniques on the art of the smack down.

While a little much for the casual reader, this book will be a great deal of help to any artist that wants to make his characters move more fluidly and fight with real power