Stanley Lau

Stanley Lau

Within Stanley Lau’s work, Stanley demonstrates his mastery over anatomy and digital media.  His work has a very smooth texture to it, with no visible brush strokes or heavy outlines, and is extremely well done and blended, giving his work a hype realistic Flair. Most of his work consists of various comic inspired art and fan art, but this is to be expected since he has made illustration works for both DC comics and Capcom. Stanley uses both western and eastern influences, which creates his visually outstanding style.  

Stanley Lau was chosen for the top five list because of his mastery over his skill and his great aesthetic appeal.  His work is the perfect fusion between realism and the comic/ anime style, making it something that everyone can enjoy. His shadows and shading are extremely complex, adding depth to whatever he creates. It is also a major appeal that he portrays any character he creates a fan art illustration of with this brilliant style, making him even better known within and out of the comic world. Along with this, Stanley also does portraits of popular celebrity figures from popular TV shows, movies, and etc. Recently, Stanley has also started uploading tutorial videos on his new YouTube channel, giving out useful tips and tricks to other aspiring artists.

Works Cited

Lau, Stanley. "Artgerm | Art by Stanley Lau." Artgerm. Accessed March 16, 2016.                                        http://artgerm.com

Lau, Stanley. "Artgerm on DeviantArt." Artgerm (Stanley Lau). Accessed March

         16, 2016. http://artgerm.deviantart.com/.

http://artgerm.com/

http://artgerm.deviantart.com/

-Nancy Brockert

Annie Wu

Growing up in central Florida, and graduating from Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore; Annie Wu is a newcomer to the DC Universe, and she has become the artist behind DC Comics’ new Black Canary.  Her characters actually feel like real people, and they have a little bit of an imperfection in the way that she draws them. 

Wu has also worked with Marvel Comics and Vertigo Comics, and is a storyboard artist for ‘The Venture Bros’ (an animated television series) on Adult Swim. 

Wu not only draws the characters in Black Canary, but she also has a lot in common with the main character of the comic.  Annie Wu is stylish and bold, has her own sense of style, and loves music and fashion.  It is apparent that Wu has fallen in love with creating the main character of Black Canary.

Music also plays a big role in Black Canary.  Mixing a goth-tinged rock band with superhero powers, the music must parallel the tone of each story.  With the main character in a band, Wu illustrates her holding a microphone, fishnet stockings, and an all-leather suit.

Annie Wu describes her series, Black Canary as, “It’s a rock n roll kung-fu road trip.  We’re getting an opportunity to see Dinah in a new light while also reminding the audience just how brutal she is as a martial artist in the DCU.”

Beedle, Tim, “Are You Ready for Black Canary’s Annie Wu?” dccomics.com, last modified June 17, 2015, http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2015/06/17/are-you-ready-for-black-canarys-annie-wu.

Foxe, Steve, “Guest List: Annie Wu Kicks out the Jams with Black Canary” pastemagazine.com, last modified June 15, 2015, http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/06/guest-list-annie-wu-kicks-out-the-jams-with-black.html.

Fiona Staples

FIONA STAPLES

Fiona Staples is a Canadian-born comic book artist as a graduate from Alberta College of Art and Design. Staples is relatively known for her work on titles such as: North 40, DV8: Gods and Monsters, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and, recently and most notably Saga with writer, Brian K. Vaughan. She's rapidly climbed the ladder within the comic industry of becoming a go-to artist and has definitely earned her place with Saga winning the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Graphic Novels & Comics, and nominated for Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist. She's helped open the doors for many aspiring female artists of all forms as she herself is diverse in her genre of works, while maintaining a rich and vibrant style that has gone from a space opera with aliens and grotesque explicit monsters in Saga to the streets of the small town of Riverdale in Archie. Her diverse productivity earned her this spot among many other wonderful artists on this list, as they've all inspired each other, as I've seen them interact with one another on social media.

           

"Artist Unmasking: Fiona Staples." Artist Unmasking: Fiona Staples. The Book Report, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.

"Image Comics." Fiona Staples. Image Comics, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.

Babs Tarr

                                                      

Barbara "Babs" Tarr graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, where she earned a bachelor in Illustration. While originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Babs currently lives in San Francisco, doing work as a freelance illustrator. She's worked for big companies such as Hasbro and Disney, but most notably does work for DC Comics, and was specifically hired to work on the reboot of the Bat Girl comics. As a highly contemporary artist, this is her first big breakthrough in the industry, but our group members felt that she is already made a notable impact. In an industry that was largely dominated by men, female characters weren't always designed in ways that were relatable to readers. However, Babs simple and sophisticated steps with the Bat Girl comics have opened a doorway for other comic illustrators. Her history of an interest in fashion is largely seen in her work, as clothing designs are still iconic, while being trendy and plausible. This more accurate representation of young ladies in the comic world not only will attract interest in new customers, but will hopefully serve as a foundation for future artists looking to tell their stories in the comic medium.   


                         

Examples of both fashion illustration and one of her comic covers. 

-Lewis 

1. Babs Tarr, “babsbabsbabs’ (blog), March 15th, 2016, http://babsbabsbabs.com/.
2. "Babs Tarr." DC Comics. March 15th 2016. http://www.dccomics.com/talent/babs-tarr

Adam Hughes

Adam Hughes deserves to be at the top five due to his technical, design, and narrative skills as well as his accomplishments. His art style is a combination of pinup and art nouveau. He pays special attention to lighting and details such as textures. His works make the characters feel so alive because of how realistically they are drawn, and people want their favorite characters to seem alive, as well as the way he makes them their own person. An example of this is his large illustration of the iconic DC women. Hughes gives each of them out outfit corresponding with their usual costume and personality.  He takes care in making the faces especially, and is great at drawing a person’s likeness. For example, his Star Wars  display the main characters and you instantly can recognize them as Harrison Ford, Carrie Fischer, and Mark Hamill.

Hughes’ anatomy and coloring technique is frankly admirable. He has said he colors digitally with a mouse and the lasso tool in Photoshop for covers but for con sketches uses Copic markers. Still, the way he blends, shades, and draws in general makes the sketch just as amazing as any of his covers (and not cheap).

1. "AdamHughes on DeviantArt." AdamHughes (No One We Think Is In His Tree). March 16, 2016. http://adamhughes.deviantart.com/.

-Brianna