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When [[Wizards of the Coast]] created their [[d20 System|d20]]-based [[Star Wars Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)|''Star Wars'' RPG]], he created designs for both the original and revised core rulebooks, as well as the ''Star Wars: Invasion of Theed'' adventure game mini-RPG. When he reused his portrait of the Jedi guardian, Sia-Lan Wezz (his favorite character), for the cover of ''[[Purge (comics)|Star Wars: Purge]]'' as a gag, there was such editorial interest that she was written into the story as one of [[Darth Vader]]'s early victims.<ref>[http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/Purge_Cover_Production_Sketches_96509.asp Purge Cover Production Sketches]. rebelscum.com. January 10, 2006</ref>
When [[Wizards of the Coast]] created their [[d20 System|d20]]-based [[Star Wars Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)|''Star Wars'' RPG]], he created designs for both the original and revised core rulebooks, as well as the ''Star Wars: Invasion of Theed'' adventure game mini-RPG. When he reused his portrait of the Jedi guardian, Sia-Lan Wezz (his favorite character), for the cover of ''[[Purge (comics)|Star Wars: Purge]]'' as a gag, there was such editorial interest that she was written into the story as one of [[Darth Vader]]'s early victims.<ref>[http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/Purge_Cover_Production_Sketches_96509.asp Purge Cover Production Sketches]. rebelscum.com. January 10, 2006</ref>


Although Hughes was announced as the writer and artist on ''[[All Star Wonder Woman]]'' in 2006,<ref>Brady, Matt. [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=78030 "SDCC '06: HUGHES TO WRITE & DRAW ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN"] [[Newsarama]]; July 23, 2006</ref><ref>Brady, Matt. [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=81341 "ADAM HUGHES ON HIS NEW EXCLUSIVE & ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN"]. Newsarama. August 21, 2006</ref> he explained at the 2010 [[San Diego Comic-Con International]] that that project was "in the freezer" for the time being, due to the difficulty involved in both writing and illustrating himself.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhQ7EU6cbn8&feature=related "Adam Hughes Sketching 11"]. YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010</ref> His website indicates that after the current ''Catwoman'' series ended with issue #82, he would cease his DC cover work, and would focus on producing the six-issue ''All Star Wonder Woman'' series,<ref>[http://www.justsayah.com/pages/AHpg1.html "Updates & Info"]. Just Say Ah!. Accessed October 14, 2010</ref> though he stated in an October 2010 interview with [[NJ.com]], after the ''Catwoman'' assignment had concluded earlier that year, that ''All Star Wonder Woman'' was still on hold.<ref name=NJ.com/>
Although Hughes was announced as the writer and artist on ''[[All Star Wonder Woman]]'' in 2006,<ref>Brady, Matt (July 23, 2006). [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=78030 "SDCC '06: HUGHES TO WRITE & DRAW ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN"]. [[Newsarama]].</ref><ref>Brady, Matt (August 21, 2006). [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=81341 "ADAM HUGHES ON HIS NEW EXCLUSIVE & ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN"]. Newsarama.</ref> he explained at the 2010 [[San Diego Comic-Con International]] that that project was "in the freezer" for the time being, due to the difficulty involved in both writing and illustrating himself.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhQ7EU6cbn8&feature=related "Adam Hughes Sketching 11"]. YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010</ref> His website indicates that after the current ''Catwoman'' series ended with issue #82, he would cease his DC cover work, and would focus on producing the six-issue ''All Star Wonder Woman'' series,<ref>[http://www.justsayah.com/pages/AHpg1.html "Updates & Info"]. Just Say Ah! Accessed October 14, 2010</ref> though he stated in an October 2010 interview with [[NJ.com]], after the ''Catwoman'' assignment had concluded earlier that year, that ''All Star Wonder Woman'' was still on hold.<ref name=NJ.com/>

In May 2007, a month after the release of the feature film ''[[Spider-Man 3]]'', Sideshow Collectibles debuted a miniature statuette of [[Mary Jane Watson]], a perennial love interest of Spider-Man's, based on artwork by Hughes. The statue, which depicts Mary Jane wearing a cleavage-revealing T-shirt and low-cut jeans that expose the top of a pink thong while bending over a metal tub holding Spider-Man's costume, generated controversy among some fans who felt that the statue was sexist.<ref>Graves, Neil (May 16, 2007). [http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/item_ouq5qyzeDoWD2XleEFk93M;jsessionid=A44B39DE09E92FE1F48DD31E2C70AF42 "MARY JANE IS SPIDEY 'SENSUOUS'"]. ''[[New York Post]]''.</ref><ref>Melrose, Kevin. (May 16, 2007) [http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/05/16/online-outrage-over-mj-statue-hits-new-york-post/ "Online outrage over MJ statue hits New York Post"]. [[Newsarama]].</ref> Marvel addressed the matter by stating, "The Mary Jane statuette is the latest release in a limited edition collectibles line. The item is aimed at adults that have been long-time fans of the Marvel Universe. It is intended only for mature collectors and sold in specialty, trend, collectible and comic shops – not mass retail." Sideshow Collectibles stated, "Our product is not produced to make a political or social statement but is fashioned after entertainment properties currently in the market place (sic). We suggest that if you do find the Mary Jane product offensive that you refrain from viewing that web page." Elizabeth McDonald of girl-wonder.org, an organization dedicated to "high-quality character depiction" within the comic book industry, was incredulous at the statue's design, though she stated. "Honestly, the difficulty with this statuette is that if you're a woman who likes comics, it's not even noteworthy. Many male comic fans can't understand the outrage it's generated, since this is fairly tame within the industry. This portrayal of Mary Jane could be considered superior to some in the industry, since her clothes don't seem to be actively falling off her". The ''[[Toronto Star]]'''s Malene Arpe echoed this, pointing to female characters with even more revealing appearances, such as [[Black Cat (comics)|Black Cat]] and [[Witchblade]].<ref>Arpe, Malene (May 17, 2007). [http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/214778 "No plumber's butt for Spidey?"].''[[Toronto Star]]''.</ref><ref>Fortuner, Lisa (May 18, 2007). [http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/05/18/just-past-the-horizon-reveille/ "Just Past the Horizon: Reveille"]. Newsarama.</ref> Gary Susman of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' lamented that the statuette was not issued some weeks earlier, so that it could have been included in the website 10 Zen Monkeys' list of "Ten Worst Spiderman Tie-Ins".<ref>Susman, Gary (May 16, 2007). [http://popwatch.ew.com/2007/05/16/spiderman_tiein/ "Merch that will make your Spider-sense (or something) tingle"]. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''.</ref><ref>[http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/05/03/ten-worst-spiderman-tie-ins/ "Ten Worst Spiderman Tie-Ins"]. 10 Zen Monkeys. May 3, 2007</ref><ref>Melrose, Kevin (May 17, 2007). [http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/05/17/more-on-the-mary-jane-as-washerwoman-statuette/ "More on ‘the Mary Jane as washerwoman statuette’"]. Newsarama.</ref>


==Technique and materials==
==Technique and materials==

Revision as of 03:41, 29 May 2012

For other people named Adam Hughes, see Adam Hughes (disambiguation).
Adam Hughes
Hughes in June 2007
BornRiverside Township, New Jersey
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Penciller, Inker
Notable works
Wonder Woman, Catwoman
http://www.justsayah.com

Adam Hughes is an American comic book artist who has worked for companies such as DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros. Pictures, Playboy magazine, Joss Whedon's Mutant Enemy Productions and Sideshow Collectibles.[3]

He is best known to American comic book readers for his renderings of pinup-style female characters, and his cover work on titles such as Wonder Woman and Catwoman.

Early life

Adam Hughes was born in Riverside Township, New Jersey. He grew up in Florence, New Jersey,[4] staying there until he was 24.[5]

Career

Hughes, who had no formal training in art,[4] began his career in 1987.[3][6] He penciled two short stories and the first issue of Death Hawk, created by Mark Ellis. In 1988 Hughes' work appeared in Comico's Maze Agency with co-creator/writer Mike W. Barr, and stayed on the book for one year. When Maze Agency was canceled by Comico, DC Comics offered him a job on Justice League America. He did both covers and internal renditions on that series for two years, before switching to providing covers only.

At the age of 24, Hughes moved to Atlanta, Georgia in order to join Gaijin Studios, believing that working more closely alongside fellow artists would improve his own skills. Hughes stayed with Gaijin Studios for 12 years.[5]

Hughes then had a short stint on the Dark Horse Comics series Ghost.

He has also had stints on Penthouse Comix, Legionaires and PlayStation Magazine.

Hughes wrote and illustrated the interiors of the 1996 two-issue miniseries, Gen¹³: Ordinary Heroes from Wildstorm. In late 1998 he began a five-year run as cover artist on DC Comics Wonder Woman. He also provided cover art on Tomb Raider from Top Cow Comics

When Wizards of the Coast created their d20-based Star Wars RPG, he created designs for both the original and revised core rulebooks, as well as the Star Wars: Invasion of Theed adventure game mini-RPG. When he reused his portrait of the Jedi guardian, Sia-Lan Wezz (his favorite character), for the cover of Star Wars: Purge as a gag, there was such editorial interest that she was written into the story as one of Darth Vader's early victims.[7]

Although Hughes was announced as the writer and artist on All Star Wonder Woman in 2006,[8][9] he explained at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International that that project was "in the freezer" for the time being, due to the difficulty involved in both writing and illustrating himself.[10] His website indicates that after the current Catwoman series ended with issue #82, he would cease his DC cover work, and would focus on producing the six-issue All Star Wonder Woman series,[11] though he stated in an October 2010 interview with NJ.com, after the Catwoman assignment had concluded earlier that year, that All Star Wonder Woman was still on hold.[4]

In May 2007, a month after the release of the feature film Spider-Man 3, Sideshow Collectibles debuted a miniature statuette of Mary Jane Watson, a perennial love interest of Spider-Man's, based on artwork by Hughes. The statue, which depicts Mary Jane wearing a cleavage-revealing T-shirt and low-cut jeans that expose the top of a pink thong while bending over a metal tub holding Spider-Man's costume, generated controversy among some fans who felt that the statue was sexist.[12][13] Marvel addressed the matter by stating, "The Mary Jane statuette is the latest release in a limited edition collectibles line. The item is aimed at adults that have been long-time fans of the Marvel Universe. It is intended only for mature collectors and sold in specialty, trend, collectible and comic shops – not mass retail." Sideshow Collectibles stated, "Our product is not produced to make a political or social statement but is fashioned after entertainment properties currently in the market place (sic). We suggest that if you do find the Mary Jane product offensive that you refrain from viewing that web page." Elizabeth McDonald of girl-wonder.org, an organization dedicated to "high-quality character depiction" within the comic book industry, was incredulous at the statue's design, though she stated. "Honestly, the difficulty with this statuette is that if you're a woman who likes comics, it's not even noteworthy. Many male comic fans can't understand the outrage it's generated, since this is fairly tame within the industry. This portrayal of Mary Jane could be considered superior to some in the industry, since her clothes don't seem to be actively falling off her". The Toronto Star's Malene Arpe echoed this, pointing to female characters with even more revealing appearances, such as Black Cat and Witchblade.[14][15] Gary Susman of Entertainment Weekly lamented that the statuette was not issued some weeks earlier, so that it could have been included in the website 10 Zen Monkeys' list of "Ten Worst Spiderman Tie-Ins".[16][17][18]

Technique and materials

Hughes doing a convention sketch in May 2009

Hughes' artistic influences include comics artists such as Dave Stevens, Steve Rude, Mike Mignola and Kevin Nowlan, classic American illustrators such as Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, Drew Struzan and Dean Cornwell and notable pin-up artists like Alberto Vargas and George Petty. Hughes also keeps collections of works by Alphonse Mucha near his drawing table.[19]

Because of the time-consuming nature of his style of illustration, Hughes does not often do monthly series work, and as an example, points to the 1996 miniseries he wrote and illustrated, Gen¹³: Ordinary Heroes, which took him ten months to complete.[6][20] Hughes varies his style between projects, sometimes exhibiting a "cartoony" look in his drawings, and at other times employing reference to achieve a photorealistic work in his art, as in an assignment he did for Playboy magazine, in order to produce more varied works for his portfolio, should his prospects in the comic book industry ever fade.[5]

The penciling process Hughes employs for his cover work is the same he uses when doing sketches for fans at conventions, with the main difference being that he does cover work in his sketchbook, before transferring the drawing to virgin art board with a lightbox,[21] whereas he does convention drawings on 11 x 14 Strathmore bristol, as he prefers penciling on the rougher, vellum surface rather than smooth paper, though he does enjoy brush inking on smoother paper.[22] He does preliminary undersketches with a lead holder,[23] because he feels regular pencils get worn down to the nub too quickly. As he explained during a sketch demonstration at a comic book convention, during this process he uses a Sanford Turquoise 4B lead, a soft lead, though when working at home in Atlanta, where the humid weather tends to dampen the paper, he sometimes uses a B lead or 2B lead, which acts like a 4B in that environment.[22] However, his website explains that he uses 6B lead, with some variation. For pieces rendered entirely in pencil, he employs a variety of pencil leads of varying degrees of hardness.[19] After darkening in the construction lines that he wishes to keep, he erases the lighter ones with a kneaded eraser before rendering greater detail.[23] For more detailed erasures, he uses a pencil-shaped white eraser, and to erase large areas, he uses a larger, hand-held white eraser, which he calls a "thermonuclear eraser", because it "takes care of everything".[22]

For inking, Hughes uses a size three Scharff brush and Dr. Ph. Martin's Black Star Hi-Carb ink.[19] Hughes also favors Faber-Castell PITT artist pens, which come in a variety of points, including fine, medium, bold and brush tips, which Hughes uses for brush work on convention sketches, though not for cover work.[22] He occasionally will use Copic markers in both warm and cool gray tones to render covers in gray scale.[19] In a similar manner to his penciling, Hughes tends to ink different portions of the sketch at random.[24] He uses Sharpie markers to fill in larger areas,[22] which he feels would be too tedious to render in pencil, such as the costumes of characters like Batman, which he believes should be rendered in black rather than blue.[21] He uses Photoshop to color his cover work.[4][19]

Hughes will sometimes use colored markers to embellish parts of a convention sketch, as when he uses red for female characters' lips, or a silver pen to render scenes set in outer space.[22][25] When rendering an entire sketch in grey tones or full color, Hughes, who once used Prismacolor or Design 2 markers, explained at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International that for the past four years, he had been using Copic markers, a set of which a fan gave him as a gift, because Copic markers are refillable, and because he found that they produce longer-lasting colors, and can be used several times longer than other brands,[26][27] as he was still using the same package of nibs as of August 2010 that came with the first set of Copics he was given four years previously.[28] When using Copics, he takes care to erase his pencils, and to not work dark-to-light, because of the mottled effects that result from doing so.[29] He has conducted demonstrations of Copic markers at conventions on a number of occasions.[30]

Personal life

Hughes and his wife, Alison Sohn,[31] who designs his published sketchbooks and administrates his website,[32] live in Atlanta.[22]

Bibliography

File:Vampilives2ah.jpg
Vampirella Lives #2 (Jan. 1997), variant cover art.

Interior art

DC

Image

Marvel

Other publishers

Covers only

DC

Marvel

Other publishers

Notes

  1. ^ FAQ: "Who are your favorite artists?" The Official Unofficial Travis Charest Gallery; December 1, 2000. Accessed August 30, 2010
  2. ^ "Fables Cinderella by Chrissie Zullo". Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  3. ^ a b "Wondercon Special Guests"; Comic-Con magazine; Winter 2010; Page 19
  4. ^ a b c d Sheneman, Drew. "Chatting with DC Comics cover artist Adam Hughes". The Star-Ledger. October 7, 2010. Accessed February 26, 2011. "Born in the small town of Riverside, Adam Hughes spent his childhood drawing and reading comics.
  5. ^ a b c "Adam Hughes Sketching 13". YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010
  6. ^ a b "Adam Hughes Sketching 3" YouTube; August 21, 2010; Accessed September 10, 2010
  7. ^ Purge Cover Production Sketches. rebelscum.com. January 10, 2006
  8. ^ Brady, Matt (July 23, 2006). "SDCC '06: HUGHES TO WRITE & DRAW ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN". Newsarama.
  9. ^ Brady, Matt (August 21, 2006). "ADAM HUGHES ON HIS NEW EXCLUSIVE & ALL STAR WONDER WOMAN". Newsarama.
  10. ^ "Adam Hughes Sketching 11". YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010
  11. ^ "Updates & Info". Just Say Ah! Accessed October 14, 2010
  12. ^ Graves, Neil (May 16, 2007). "MARY JANE IS SPIDEY 'SENSUOUS'". New York Post.
  13. ^ Melrose, Kevin. (May 16, 2007) "Online outrage over MJ statue hits New York Post". Newsarama.
  14. ^ Arpe, Malene (May 17, 2007). "No plumber's butt for Spidey?".Toronto Star.
  15. ^ Fortuner, Lisa (May 18, 2007). "Just Past the Horizon: Reveille". Newsarama.
  16. ^ Susman, Gary (May 16, 2007). "Merch that will make your Spider-sense (or something) tingle". Entertainment Weekly.
  17. ^ "Ten Worst Spiderman Tie-Ins". 10 Zen Monkeys. May 3, 2007
  18. ^ Melrose, Kevin (May 17, 2007). "More on ‘the Mary Jane as washerwoman statuette’". Newsarama.
  19. ^ a b c d e "FAQ". Just Say AH! Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  20. ^ "Adam Hughes Sketching 3". YouTube. August 21, 2010; Accessed September 10, 2010
  21. ^ a b Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt2 - The Process". YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010
  22. ^ a b c d e f g Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt3 - The Tools". YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010
  23. ^ a b Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt1 - The Idea". YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010
  24. ^ Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt4 - Requests". YouTube. May 15, 2006; Accessed September 8, 2010
  25. ^ Coulson, Steve. "Adam Hughes - Anatomy of a sketch, Pt5 - The Finish". YouTube. May 15, 2006. Accessed September 8, 2010
  26. ^ "Adam Hughes Sketching 1". YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010
  27. ^ "Adam Hughes Sketching 2". YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010
  28. ^ "Adam Hughes Sketching 5". YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010
  29. ^ "Adam Hughes Sketching 4". YouTube. August 21, 2010. Accessed September 10, 2010
  30. ^ "News & Info". The Official Adam Hughes Website, updated September 8, 2008. accessed February 27, 2011.
  31. ^ Wood, Jason. "Adam Hughes Curtails Convention Sketching and Why It Matters". iFanboy. May 4, 2011
  32. ^ Sohn, Allison. "Holy Moley! Its all new and improved!". Just Say AH! July 16, 2011

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adam Hughes.

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