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• There might be something morę important than figurę drawing in comicbook artwork, but we surę don’t know what it is! Everything is based on how you draw the characters: the heroes, villains, and the never-ending hordes of supporting stars. Superhero comicbooks are the stories of people, period! And we’re going to try to teach you everything you ought to know about drawing those people and drawing them as dramatically and heroically as possible.

• Let’s start with an average Joe, like you or me. Most average guys are about six-and-a-half heads tali. But take a look at this sketch of Reed Richards. Notice that he’s eight-and-three-quarters heads tali. If we draw a hero he’s got to look like a hero—he should be of heroic proportions. Unfortunately, the normal six-and-a-half-head-tall proportions would make him seem somewhat dumpy when drawn in a Marvel mag.

• Needless to say, we also make the shoulders good and wide, and the hips real narrow. Naturally, as we’re soon about to see, the małe is drawn much morę angular than the female.

• Another good point to remember is—the elbows fali just a little bit below the waist. This is true of both men and women.

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