With layoffs and cancellations making news in the comic press, I wonder these are just the start of a shrinkage of the industry.

The current economic state of the world isn’t going to help. Comics have been somewhat of a niche industry for the past few decades. And with less people having disposable income, I wonder if they will spend even less on comics for entertainment.

I’m betting we will see more publishers either cut their titles or maybe even go under in 2009. I just hope enough enjoyable comics survive.

At the start of February, Comic Critics will be going to a two comics a week schedule. We will most likely be publishing new comics on Tuesdays and Fridays since it will give a nice gap between comics.

I’d thought I’d share how I tend to sketch character faces. When I’m on my commute to and from work on public transit, I tend to sketch in my sketchbook. I sometimes work on ideas for the comic and sometimes I just sketch random faces of characters I think up in my head. They sometimes lead to character designs I use for later and sometimes they don’t.

I tend to follow the same method each time:

Step 1

I draw the shape of the head. It can be any shape really: round, square, peanut, pear, etc. The shape of the head tends to be the most important thing for me since it usually leads me to what the rest of the face will look like.

Step 2

I draw a line down the head to bisect the face. I tend to draw a three quarters view so I leave one side bigger than the other.

Step 3

I draw three horizontal lines across the head. These give me the reference for the eyes, nose, and mouth. These lines determine the character’s overall look so I try to space the lines out differently depending on what final look I want.

Step 4

I draw the ear connecting the top and middle lines as an anchor for the face.

Step 5

I draw in the nose. I connect the top and middle lines. I play with the shape to get the look of the character.

Step 6

I draw the mouth near the bottom line. My mouth changes depending on the emotion the character is showing and the overall head shape.

Step 7

I draw the eyes and eyebrows near the top line. Most of the time, I draw the same kind of eyes for my characters (little ovals) unless they have a special characteristic that calls for non standard eyes.

Step 8

I draw the jaw and head. I usually follow the initial shape I drew unless the nose and mouth point to something more fitting.

Step 9

I draw the hair. The other parts tend to point me towards what kind of hair the face should have.

It is a pretty easy process. And my sketch book is filled with many pages of just character heads. When I draw a face I think has potential for something more, I sometimes play with moving pieces around to see if I can get a different look. Below is the face I drew in the steps above. Next to it is the same piece but with the eyes, nose and mouth moved around. As you can see, you can get a different look by just arranging things differently.

After close to 3 months, I finally went to my comic shop to buy some comics. I  have not gone because I was low on funds due to being between jobs. So now that I have a new steady job and income, I treated myself to some new comics.

Janes in Love (Minx/DC)
by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

I’m going to miss seeing new Minx books. They were a good set of books by talented creators.

The War at Ellsmere (SLG)
by Faith Erin Hicks

I enjoyed Hicks’ last comic, Zombies Calling. It looks like her drawing style shifted slightly from the two books. It has more of a Byran Lee O’Malley flavor to it now. It’s probably the big eyes with big black pupils that is making me think that.

Three Shadows (First Second)
Cyril Pedrosa

I’ve read some good reviews of the book, and the art has a nice brush quality to it. Plus the pages of the book are roughly cut and at different widths to give it a handmade look to it.

I also got the latest Previews so I can check out what is coming out in March. My first quick glance through and so far nothing really looks like a must buy.

The new publishing schedule starts next week. New comics will be on Tuesdays and Fridays. Since there will be less time between comics, we will be experimenting more with connected storylines.

Now back to drawing.