5 things you didn’t know about the arty side of Comic Con
Including how to get your big break as an artist, watching Jim Lee draw live, and finding out why “God Is Disappointed in You”
Tomorrow over 100,000 people will converge on San Diego to attend Comic Con International 2014. To the outside world, ‘San Diego Comic Con’ (a.k.a. SDCC) is known as an event where fans can meet with celebrities and get sneak peeks at upcoming blockbusters and TV shows. And whilst that is a major part of the appeal (I’ll certainly be camping out to get good seats for the Batman v. Superman panel) there’s another side to the convention that is not as well known to the general public: its rich art scene.
It shouldn’t be surprising that art is a cornerstone of SDCC. As the name suggests, Comic Con started as exactly that — a comic book convention. As a key element of the comic-book medium (you couldn’t have comics without pictures), art has been a staple at Comic Con since the convention began. And for me, that’s where the magic of SDCC is. Outside of the rarefied panels and heaving conference rooms, you get a chance to actually talk to the artists who draw your favorite heroes and villains — there’s a thrill in making a personal connection with a work and its maker that you can’t get anywhere else. My first year at Comic Con I ended up buying a collection of prints from Dustin Nguyen, not because his art was beautiful (which it definitely is) but because I had a great conversation with him about his Lil’ Gotham series.
Five Elements of the SDCC Art Landscape
For the uninitiated, here is a snapshot of what Comic Con looks like when you peel back the Hollywood layer. From discovering new work by artists you haven’t heard of before, to Q&As with famous industry powerhouses like Jim Lee and Fiona Staples, Comic Con is as much about the arts as it is about entertainment.
1. Artist Spotlights:
You can’t have comic books without artists, and many of these artists have made a name for themselves in the industry. Popular artists like Neal Adams — who turned Batman from a campy guy in a batsuit to the grittier hero we know him as today— do Q&As with fans to shed light on their creative processes.
Other artists reveal works-in-progress to audiences to show us just how much they bust their asses to make sure every panel is perfect. And if all that isn’t enough, some of the biggest art stars like Francis Manapul will even break out their pencils or tablets and do “live-drawing sessions” with fans. In these panels you’ll get to watch an artist go from a blank canvas to a fully fleshed out piece in just one hour.
2. The Comics Arts Conference:
The Comics Arts Conference has been a part of SDCC for the last 22 years. This “con within a con” has a more academic focus than other events at Comic Con, bringing in professors and industry professionals to present their research or other scholarly studies on comics. The seminars cover serious topics like gender and race as they relate to the comic book industry, and try to avoid more niche topics like “Buffy Studies” that we’ve come to expect when “geek culture” and academia mix.
3. How-Tos:
Many of SDCC’s serious attendees are also amateur artists, and there are numerous panels spread out over the 4-days to help improve their skills. These sessions are led by professional artists who have already broken into the industry and explain concepts from digital painting to coloring with copic markers to traditional techniques like oil painting.
4. Artists’ Alley:
This is where sh*t gets serious for the hardcore SDCC attendees. Artists’ Alley is a dedicated section of the convention floor where both professional and amateur artists in comics, science fiction, fantasy, and other popular art genres can sell their work. With over 200 artists in attendance, SDCC’s Artists’ Alley is one of the largest in the convention circuit. But Artists’ Alley is about much more than selling work. It’s also a place where the barriers between ‘celebrity’ artists and the con-goers get broken down: fans have the opportunity to meet their favorite artists, get autographs, or even have original pieces commissioned.
The extraordinarily large Artists’ Alley at SDCC is akin to a massive Open Studio, where con-goers have a plethora of art to choose from, and can interact with famous artists in the industry or discover new artists. Simply put, it’s like being a kid in a (very large, superhero-themed) candy store.
5. Feel like that’s already too much to do at SDCC? But wait…there’s more!:
- Looking for your big break? You can take your portfolio to the review sessions hosted by Disney, Cartoon Network, Lucasfilm, Nickelodeon, or Lego, to name just a few. They’ll have directors on site to look at the work of aspiring artists, and see if there’s a place for them on their teams.
- Need some irreverent humor? Then you might want to hear New Yorker cartoonist Shannon Wheeler talk about the 10-minute bible she just illustrated — both the panel and the book are called “God Is Disappointed In You.”
- And if you want a break from the (often B.O.-riffic) crowds, you can go offsite to ArtExpo, an alternative art fair that features an eclectic selection of emerging artists and do-it-yourself creatives.
By Their Powers Combined…
What makes the art scene at Comic Con special is that it’s not only about quality of work and caliber of artists, but about bringing together the right set of people and programming. By combining all these elements, SDCC helps cultivate a sense of community which is a crucial part of comic culture.
Platforms like DeviantArt and Tumblr have given sci-fi/fantasy art an online home, but over the last few years they’ve also strengthened the global community who connect in person through Artists’ Alley. I don’t consider myself an ‘art collector’ in the traditional sense, but my home is filled with works that I’ve purchased online or at conventions — I love images that feel fantastical and one of the best places to find those pieces is through comic books and Artist Alleys.
The sheer number of things you can do at Comic Con illustrate that it is not just about “viewing” art. It’s also about learning. “Geek culture” is very much about collaboration and knowledge sharing. Many panels and seminars serve as a way for professional artists to teach aspiring artists. Arming everyone with the correct skills enriches the industry as a whole; it seeds a future generation of industry professionals… and means even more cool art over which we can geek out.
Though “fine” art and comic art have stayed fairly segregated over the years, the latter has created a significant footprint for itself with a different breed of art collector. This footprint is as much about community as it is about content. At Comic Con the line between fan and creator is blurred by a shared passion for comics, sci-fi, fantasy, animation, and many other aspects of popular culture. That’s the key ingredient to the strong community that exists, and why it has remained vibrant for nearly a century.
Posted by Shambhavi Kadam
