Fantasy "casting".

Often, comics artists will base the design of a character on a famous person (or just copy photos of that person), or when a film comes out, the look of the character in the comic will change to look like the actor in the film.

So, I thought for fun we could discuss who we would base characters on?

I think of Christopher Lee as Dracula. I know that Lugosi might be considered the classic Dracula, but I always thought that Lee was more predatory. Plus, he looks a bit like the paintings of Vlad the Impaler, which helps!

It's funny, Whizz, but I've never been particularly good at this. I think I'm just too willing to accept an actor in any role, so I rarely have a perfect "cast" in mind.

Like, I've enjoyed just about every classic Dracula I've seen. Lugosi is wonderfully "fish out of water," which the character needs. Lee is more "predatory," like you said. And Langella played up the sexual angle of the character well. (Huh. Just noticed that all 3 classic Dracula actors have names that start with "L.")

Even characters that I've created myself I have a hard time thinking "Yeah, so and so would be great in the movie." But if anything comes to mind, I'll post it anyhow...

Well, the reason I got thinking about it was because I've started learning to draw "comic-style" (if there is such a thing), and find it much easier to draw a face with reference. Otherwise, my faces all seem to come out looking different.

CptW,

How did you begin to learn to draw, self-taught, classes? I ask because I'm trying to write/create my characters but for some reason I need to 'see' them visually, to motivate me to keep working toward an eventual goal I have - to self publish a 1 or 2 issue comic. Not for bundles of cash obviously, but really just to see if I could accomplish it.

I've found that books and Youtube videos have been a lot of help. I picked up a couple of books on Amazon/ eBay, there's a Christopher Hart one that's really good, although he seems to farm out the work on his books, so the lessons aren't always consistent even within one book. But learning a few different people's methods is good. There's a book by Dick Giordano, which I definitely recommend, as he's a legend, and started at Charlton in the 1950s, so he's got a great Silver Age style.

I also recommend some Jim Lee convention videos on Youtube, Draw With Jazza is a good channel with lots of good basic tips, and Todd Nauck's channel just to watch him at work- he does 15-20 minute head sketches of characters on coloured Post-It notes, pecils, inks, and colours, as well as longer, more in-depth drawings.

Hey, Whizz, are you on Pintrest? That might be a spot to look for images, like this:

Pinterest Headshots

With a "gallery" like this, you could scroll through until one jumps out at you like, "Aha! That's The Clock!" Then you could look online for other pics of that actor for different angles, etc.

Cheers, that's pretty good, thanks

Speaking of the Clock, I was thinking Jon Hamm perhaps.

SHF- here's where I'm at now. This first one was drawn with reference:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153608441502008&l=a5a9475fdf

It's most of the page on the sketchbook.

These are some little doodles I do at work on phone calls and in quiet periods:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153758098517008&l=b979f09bcd

Angry guy.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153758091137008&l=1ce1cbfe2a

Human/ alien hybrid, or maybe Mercury Man.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153758098507008&l=2f897a84b8

Some hero.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153669214772008&l=e926a1c3db

Josh Hartnett style

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153669213832008&l=212c47d5d9

Patrick Stewart style.

Those ones are about the size of my thumbnail.

Nice, Whizz! Sure wish I had some artistic talent...

It's the old line about 99% perspiration, 1% inspiration; I've been doodling a LOT of faces over the last few month, as well as reading and watching instructional videos. You can make your own talent :-)