For a comic artist there’s nothing more instructive than getting to hold and study a piece of original artwork by another creator. When you want to further your artistic skills, unlock that secret technique or just plain see how someone else accomplishes a great piece of art nothing beats talking with other artists and getting to see their work close up.
But if you’re not travelling to a lot of conventions or you live in an area that doesn’t have a larger community of comic artists what are your options? I have a few for you.
Back in the 1990′s when I first got on the internet one of the first things I did was hunt down interviews with my favorite artists and try to find their artwork online. It was extremely helpful to see original works before they were photographed, scanned, touched up, colored and prepared for pre-press.
Getting to see artwork in the raw is one of the most helpful steps in your artistic journey. Experimenting with your own art always takes priority but sitting back and observing others is right up there.
Here’s a list of a half-dozen places where you can check out original comic art at your leisure with no pressure to buy. I’ve spent hours at some of these sites and always find myself returning. Just click the larger title next to the number of each site and the link will take you there.
1. Albert Moy
Albert Moy is an original artwork sales representative for some of the greatest comic book artists in the industry today. Albert is entrusted by Jim Lee, Bruce Timm, Sam Kieth, Jae Lee, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, J Bone, Erik Larsen, Peter Snejberg, Ken Lashley, and Sandu Florea to bring their artwork to fans and collectors.
Albert has been in the hobby of collecting and selling comic book artwork since 1984 and his wealth of knowledge is known throughout the hobby to help you acquire that unique piece for your collection.
Batman / Planetary cover by John Cassaday
2. Comic Art Fans
ComicArtFans.com is a free gallery service for Comic Art Collectors and Artists and once signed up you are free to create Gallery Rooms to post your artwork to. As it is user-generated content this is probably the biggest database online for original comic art. From Dan Clowes to Jim Lee and everyone in between, it’s all on there.
A BLAB splash page by Dan Clowes
Batman Robin All Star by Jim Lee
3. Splash Page Art
Mark Hay is an original art representative and dealer who specializes in selling original comic art by modern era artists. Splash Page Art represents over 50 comic artists including Ben Templesmith, Lee Bermejo, Sean Philips and Tim Bradstreet. You can get up close and personal with thousands of pages of original art.
Daredevil 511 variant cover by Jock
4. ebay
ebay is a huge resource of comic art for sale. Just by plugging in “original comic art” into their search box brings up over 4500 results. You’ll be all over the map here in terms of quality but I’ve seen some pretty impressive pieces for sale on the internet’s most popular auction site.
Warlord cover painting by Mike Grell
5. Masters of Ink Interviews
Rich and I have interviewed over 50 artists on this site. Sometimes they send us unpublished images and sketches. Other times we scour the net looking for original works by our guests. Either way you get a peak into the processes, tools and techniques of some of the best artists and illustrators out there.
6. The Beguiling
The Beguiling is a Canadian comic store located in the Toronto area. It Showcases the largest selection of alternative, underground and avant-garde graphic story telling in the country. They also sell original art from around 45 different creators such as Dave Sim, Ho Che Anderson, Paul Pope and Dave Cooper.
Dan and Larry part 1 page 2 by Dave Cooper
Batman Year 100 issue 4 pg. 17 by Paul Pope
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