Expert: J. Spyder Isaacson - 12/17/2008

Question
when a comic book artist draw any kind of background, does he draw from his imagination, or does he copy from a real life picture? I ask this question because, i have heard Jim Lee say he had a lot of references, years ago.

Answer
Thanks for one of the more unique questions I've been asked to answer.  To be facetious, the answer is "yes."  To be realistic, the answer is: it depends.

When it comes to characters and non-background elements, some artists use reference while others use only their imaginations. For instance, P. Craig Russell openly admitted that he uses reference in one article, and the article showed the photos of family and friends who posed for him, and then the resulting artwork.  However, the classic comics artists Neal Adams and Curt Swan drew entirely from their imaginations.

For backgrounds, a large part of it depends on whether or not they're portraying something that actually exists.  For instance: while there is no Metropolis or Gotham City, some artists (if only because their located there) use the New York City skyline, buildings and streets as, if nothing else, inspiration.  Likewise, artist Mike Grell used the City of Seattle as the location for "Green Arrow: the Longbow Hunters" miniseries (in part, because that's the city he calls home), and subsequently used real locations (such as Woodland Park Zoo) for his artwork.  On the flip side, artists Scott Hamilton and the aforementioned P. Craig Russell created entirely fictional locations for the "Batman: Night Cries" and "Elric of Melibone: The Dreaming City" graphic novels.  And artist John Byrne most frequently creates everything out of whole cloth (that is, from his overactive imagination).

Boiling all of this down results in: it depends on the artist.

Thanks again for your question.

-- Spyder