John, do you have a library of skyscrapers and other architecture you use for reference for these city scenes, or have you simply gotten that good at drafting different building facades over the years?

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Yes.

Ouch, I'll take the hit for that poorly phrased question - it was late, and I was tired. Resubmit question: JB, do you have a library of architectural styles you regularly refer to? Your cityscapes are an endless source of inspiration.

Cheers,

Mal

I return to the books when I need something specific, like a real building, or a real time period.

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Photo reference can be really handy, but it can also be a trap. I know really good artists -- artists much, much better than me -- who sometimes seem unable to draw anything at all without having some kind of reference in front of them.

This is why I limit myself to reference only on specific things. Like, if I draw Spider-Man swinging over Manhattan, I will use the "generic Manhattan" I have built in my head. But in the issue of AFTERMATH currently on my board, there is a panorama of the New York skyline from a particular time period. For that I used reference.

Wait, you can trademark a building so that someone who draws what everyone else sees with their eyes can't be drawn without permission?

That's incredible.

I understand that they have been designed, and if I really thought about it this only makes sense that you can do that but how is drawing a building in a comic any different from including a building in a pan shot of New York?