Gotta say -- even tho I would, of course, dispute the statement, it is always a thrill for me to know that anybody would think so!

so they should always look like the orange roof tiling on southern California houses? No matter the angle?

sorry if I misunderstood.

My head is still swirling from the diagram on the previous page.

oh, and the best comic I've read this year?

this commision.

I am hearing the dialogue and writing scenes in my head.

(Incidentally, doing this drawing, I noticed something I had not, in all my years of drawing Spider-Man. The costume has conventionalized so that the mask has two lines that radiate from center and pass either side of Parker's nose. But if this is continued across the rest of the costume, as it is thought to, the spider on his chest would be bracketed, not bisected!)

JB:

The tips you have been posting are awesome. I think that many of us are interested in comics as an art form, so this kind of information makes it truly worthwhile to hang around here.

Like many others on here, I like to draw superheroes. I always ask myself "how did he do that?" It seems like magic but there is a science to it. You are very fortunate to have made so many connections with other comic book artists.

So, I would like to stick around and if it is somehow possible encourage you in the same way you (and other artists) have encouraged me to use my imagination in a positive way.

So that's how you do windows in buildings? hmm.

See you the funny books,

Mark

In this piece, notice how the scallops slowly switch the direction of their curve as they move along Spider-Man's right arm, so that by the time they reach his hand they are curving in the opposite direction from his shoulder.

The scallops curve, as in the left image above, in the opposite direction to the curve of his body. Basically, they radiate out from the center of his face, where the scallops all curve inward.

+++++++++

Although this trick violates the "realism" of the costume (since a silkscreened web-pattern would not change when viewed from different angles in real life), it's necessary, it works, and I don't think a lot of people notice it.

And I have to say, Spider-Man's costume design is still the best ever. As stated, the weblines start between the eyes, and radiate outward, wrapping themselves around his entire body (but are only visible on the red portions of the costume).

Of course, some since there are usually more radial weblines drawn on Spider-Man's torso/gloves/boots than there are at their "origin point" on his mask, artists have to cheat a little. Indeed, John Romita Sr., for example, only draws 11 radial weblines on the mask, but there are more on the rest of the costume so the pattern doesn't become too sparse.

I was impressed by the way the movie costume cheated in order to get the correct look for the weblines. It's very subtle, but if you look, new radial weblines appear at several points on the costume (the top of the head, under the chin, around the spider-symbol on the chest, etc.), and are attached to the scallops. This fills out the web-pattern and makes it denser, and also allows for the two weblines on either side of the mouth AND the "centerline" that the spider-symbol "sits" on.

Thanks. I just realized why I hate these houses in Stockholm city. They look like JB's first picture in daylight, but it's some ugly design where they have sentinel  windows. I liked the pictures of the city background when Morgan Edge was dropped by Darkseid, scary and wonderful.

Nice one John. The portable stereo unit is a nicely observed touch too. Nothing worse than a romantic meal eaten in silence.

But… but… how can you tell it's Alfred? He's got a
MASK on…???

As I was scrolling down to look at the picture, first I saw Spider-Man and Alfred, then the Black Cat, probably because that was where Spider-Man was looking.  My first thought was the guy cooking was the Black Fox, the older jewel thief guy, not the guy from Lost Generation.  For a split second I thought this scene was "Spider-Man interrupts a cat burglar dinner party."  When I saw Batman it all clicked, but the mask did "work" for a tiny moment.