How to Draw Month: Matthew Dow Smith
Jan 04, 2017
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For How to Draw month, PREVIEWSworld talks with artist Matthew Dow Smith! Matthew is a writer and artist who has most recently worked on IDW's The X-Files (DEC150468) and is currently working on his creator-owned series The October Girl.
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PREVIEWSworld: Who were your favorite artists growing up?
Matthew Dow Smith: Very early on it was Keith Giffen, Paris Cullins, and John Byrne, and then a little later it was Dave McKean, Teddy Kristiansen, and Mike Mignola.
PREVIEWSworld: Were you self-taught, formally educated, or a combination of both?
Matthew Dow Smith: Mostly self-taught. I’ve taken art classes here and there and was an art major in college, but almost everything I know about drawing comics I learned by copying Keith Giffen panels from his Legion of Superheroes issues as a kid.
PREVIEWSworld: Talk about your studio environment. Do you watch or listen to anything while you draw?
Matthew Dow Smith: It’s hard to watch anything while I’m drawing — it’s just too distracting — which isn’t to say I don’t succumb to marathons of old Doctor Who episodes every now and then. Mostly I listen to audiobooks. Lots and lots of audiobooks. Stephen King novels are usually the best. Really, really long ones like The Stand.
PREVIEWSworld: What tools do you prefer while drawing? Pencils, pens, art boards, etc.?
Matthew Dow Smith: I work digitally on a Cintiq 22HD (or a Cintiq Companion when I’m on the road) with Clip Studio EX, though for The October Girl series, which I started before I switched to digital, it’s a mix — I do the ‘pencils’ on the computer, print them out on bristol boards, and then ink them traditionally with Faber Castell PITT pens before scanning them back into the computer.
PREVIEWSworld: Are there any books you would recommend to help with art?
Matthew Dow Smith: When I was a kid, my parents gave me the Marvel Guide to Drawing Comics, and I swear I still refer to it fairly regularly. It's an incredibly useful guide to the basics of drawing comics. And now that I'm occasionally coloring my own covers, I constantly refer to the DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering. But if I could give one recommendation, it wouldn't be a book, it would be YouTube. I have yet to find a problem that doesn't have a tutorial explaining how to do it.
PREVIEWSworld: Do you prefer drawing by hand, digitally, or both?
Matthew Dow Smith: Digitally. Big time. I never got the hand of inking with brushes (which is why I established a very graphic style that required absolutely no brushwork) but with digital I can actually use brushes and have added them to my style, which opens up a lot of new territory to explore.
PREVIEWSworld: How long does it normally take to draw a page?
Matthew Dow Smith: I basically have 2 speeds - very, very fast and very, very slow. Some pages are done in 3 or 4 hours from layouts to finished inks, and some take 12-16 hours. Depends on how many horses or cars are on them.
PREVIEWSworld: What’s your favorite thing to draw?
Matthew Dow Smith: Anything that isn't horses or cars.
PREVIEWSworld: What's the most unique thing you've been asked to draw at a convention?
Matthew Dow Smith: Nothing I can repeat here. It was unique, though. Very, very unique. And slightly disturbing.
PREVIEWSworld: Finally, what’s the best advice you have for beginning artists?
Matthew Dow Smith: Don't be afraid to fail. Every drawing you make is a lesson. Don't like the way it turned out? No problem. Figure out what didn't work about it and then do another one, trying to make that part work better. Drawing isn't a static talent. You hone and refine it over years of doing it. I've been drawing comics for almost 23 years now and I learn something new every time I sit down at the Cintiq. And that's what makes it fun.
