Creating Comics!

Creative Process

Ah, motorcycles. I love ’em, so whenever I get a

chance to include one (or, in this case, two) in a

drawing, I do it.

This piece appeared as the cover for the alternate

Turtle comic, Tales of the TMNT #17. I really like im-

ages that portray a lot of action, or have some kind

of visual tension. They make a stronger impression

on the viewer.

Composition is always something to keep in mind

when designing your images. Hopefully, you can

draw a zigzag line through the major visual elements

in this drawing.

Title: Cover of Tales of the TMNT #17

Client: Mirage Studios, 2005

Media: Pen on paper

© 2007 Mirage Studios, Inc.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and TMNT are trademarks of Mirage

Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.

This was a really fun yet difficult project for me.

Intrigued and inspired by the Sin City comic series by

Frank Miller, I wanted to attempt an entire comic told

in white silhouette. Out of all of my comic work, this

one has probably inspired the most reaction. Even

though it’s very simple, I guess there’s an unmistak-

able visual strength to it.

As an artist, it was a learning experience to work in

this manner. Instead of the detail of the figures, I had to

think more about the shapes they formed. In a sense,

I’m designing them more than drawing them.

Title: Leonardo Blind Sight #2, p. 24

Client: Mirage Studios, 2006

Media: Pen on paper

© 2007 Mirage Studios, Inc.

B

orn in 1960, Jim Lawson graduated from the Paier

College of Art with a B.F.A. in illustration. Through

a very fortunate convergence of luck and timing,

Lawson fell in with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the co-

creators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in 1986.

Twenty-one years later, Lawson is still with Mirage Studios,

until recently holding the position of penciler on the bimonth-

ly black-and-white comic TMNT. His long run with the Turtles

has put him in with an elite club of comic artists whose

exclusivity with one property has spanned decades.

Although the majority of his work has been Turtle-related,

his other credits include Planet Racers, The

Adventures of Guzzi Lemans: Post-Apocalyptic

Biker Chick, and The Collected Paleo: Tales of

the Late Cretaceous. Lawson lives in western

Massachusetts with his wife and three children.

Jim Lawson

88

Creating Comics

Creative Process

Ah, motorcycles. I love ’em, so whenever I get a

chance to include one (or, in this case, two) in a

drawing, I do it.

This piece appeared as the cover for the alternate

Turtle comic, Tales of the TMNT #17. I really like im-

ages that portray a lot of action, or have some kind

of visual tension. They make a stronger impression

on the viewer.

Composition is always something to keep in mind

when designing your images. Hopefully, you can

draw a zigzag line through the major visual elements

in this drawing.

Title: Cover of Tales of the TMNT #17

Client: Mirage Studios, 2005

Media: Pen on paper

© 2007 Mirage Studios, Inc.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and TMNT are trademarks of Mirage

Studios, Inc. All rights reserved.

This was a really fun yet difficult project for me.

Intrigued and inspired by the Sin City comic series by

Frank Miller, I wanted to attempt an entire comic told

in white silhouette. Out of all of my comic work, this

one has probably inspired the most reaction. Even

though it’s very simple, I guess there’s an unmistak-

able visual strength to it.

As an artist, it was a learning experience to work in

this manner. Instead of the detail of the figures, I had to

think more about the shapes they formed. In a sense,

I’m designing them more than drawing them.

Title: Leonardo Blind Sight #2, p. 24

Client: Mirage Studios, 2006

Media: Pen on paper

© 2007 Mirage Studios, Inc.

has put him in with an elite club of comic artists whose

exclusivity with one property has spanned decades.

Although the majority of his work has been Turtle-related,

his other credits include Planet Racers, The

Adventures of Guzzi Lemans: Post-Apocalyptic

Biker Chick, and The Collected Paleo: Tales of

the Late Cretaceous. Lawson lives in western

Massachusetts with his wife and three children.

Jim Lawson

89

Jim Lawson