How to Draw Month: Janet Lee
Dec 30, 2016
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For How to Draw month, PREVIEWSworld talks with artist Janet Lee! Janet is an artist who won an Eisner Award for her groundbreaking work on Return of the Dapper Men. She has also illustrated Lost Vegas (JUL130457) which was published by Image Comics and is currently working on the long awaited second book in the Dapper Men series.
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PREVIEWSworld: Who were your favorite artists growing up?
Janet Lee: I’ve always, always loved children’s illustrators. I still get a visceral pull when I see John Tenniel, Garth Williams, John R. Neill, Maurice Sendak, Arthur Rackham, Shel Silverstein, or Quentin Blake. Can’t you almost smell the yellowing paper and hear the words in your head when you see the pictures from CHARLOTTE’S WEB or THE RESCUERS or OZMAOF OZ? They are just so much a part of those stories, that I can’t imagine the one without the other.
PREVIEWSworld: Were you self-taught, formally educated, or a combination of both?
Janet Lee: I was self taught. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. The first comics I drew were to amuse myself during sermons at church three times a week. I used to doodle all over the church bulletins. In school, I had a bit of a rivalry with another girl in class who was an excellent illustrator. I really admired how she drew eyes, but I was competitive and a perfectionist. In eighth grade, my “nemesis” won a landscape drawing award, beating me and the rest of the class, so I decided I was going to give up art and become a writer! I told our art teacher that I would be taking Latin as an elective in ninth grade (because studying Latin makes you a writer…) and never again took Art in school.
I did eventually take some ad hoc painting and printmaking classes outside of school for fun, but that was the end of my formal training. Amusingly, my “nemesis” went on to be a journalist and I have to date published only one poem. She really is amazing at everything she does!
PREVIEWSworld: Talk about your studio environment. Do you watch or listen to anything while you draw?
Janet Lee: Yes! It’s the best way to keep my butt in the chair for hours on end. I used to “watch”—and I use the term lightly—documentaries while I worked. But it couldn’t be anything I needed visual cues to follow, so that limited things quite a bit. Now I stick to podcasts and audiobooks and music. I probably go through four of five books a month.
PREVIEWSworld: What tools do you prefer while drawing? Pencils, pens, art boards, etc.?
Janet Lee: My bag-of-tricks is fairly weird, since I often create comics in non-traditional media, like decoupage. Right now, for example, I’m working on Time of the Dapper Men, so not only do I have a pencil and pens ready, but I also have swivel blades and a cutting board to construct the decoupage layers. I work on an old, 1950’s drafting table that lets me work sitting or standing, and has drawers for all my scissors and compasses, t-squares and stencils.
PREVIEWSworld: Are there any books you would recommend to help with art?
Janet Lee: This is where I get in trouble, since without formal training, I don’t always know why I do what I do.
I think beyond any book, the best way to improve one’s art is to practice. It’s like any skill. The more time and effort you put into it, the better you’ll be. If everyone could spend 10-15 hours a day drawing, the world would be full of great draftsmen! Books, however, are wonderful for learning techniques and rules and composition.
I like the book WRITING WITH PICTURES for mostly children’s illustration, and I bought the old FAMOUS ARTISTS COURSE books off Ebay a while ago. Those are very helpful. Other than that, the Scott McCloud and the Will Eisner books about creating comics are wonderful resources. But mostly I just do what feels right to me.
PREVIEWSworld: Do you prefer drawing by hand, digitally, or both?
Janet Lee: I strongly prefer physical media. I don’t like it when things are too perfect. That just isn’t life, is it? The possibility of perfection? There’s a tension present in pieces where mistakes can be made and must be dealt with. It isn’t the fastest or most efficient way to produce comics, but it plays to my sense of deliberateness and serendipity.
PREVIEWSworld: How long does it normally take to draw a page?
Janet Lee: That depends on what type of page I’m creating and what tasks I need to do. Generally I pencil, ink, and color my own pages. That’s about a day and a half of work for a regular page. Decoupage requires time for cutting and gluing too, so those take longer: I’d say about two to two and a half days to complete.
PREVIEWSworld: What’s your favorite thing to draw?
Janet Lee: It’s impossible to choose just one! I love drawing people’s facial expressions—the more interesting the face, the better! And I love drawing animals in weird clothing. There’s something mesmerizing about drawing the texture of feathers and fur; when you add a hat or dress into the mix, the animal’s whole story changes. It’s magic.
PREVIEWSworld: What's the most unique thing you've been asked to draw at a convention?
Janet Lee: I love drawing at conventions! It’s a lot like performing improv. You never know what you’ll be asked to do next! I’ve gotten so many interesting requests for drawings, but the most unusual one probably came at the first convention I ever attended as a professional. I met two brothers at who wanted to commission a piece for their father who was (is?) a dentist. They asked for a garden filled with topiary shaped like teeth.
PREVIEWSworld: Finally, what’s the best advice you have for beginning artists?
Janet Lee: Draw. Don’t be afraid of doing it wrong: you will, but you will get better. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s a right or a wrong way to make art. Put your feelings on the paper (or screen). Make something that you love. Once things start getting easier, try something new. Constantly challenge yourself. Read the kinds of books you want to draw. And practice, practice, practice, practice.
