BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO
Buddy Scalera's been trying to help educate the masses to the finer points of illustration through his Comic Artist's Photo Reference series. The newest volume Comic Artist's Photo Reference: Men & Boys is in stores now, so Scalera took some time out of his busy schedule to give us a few tips and teasers about how he puts these works together.

THE PULSE: How'd you come up with the idea to do a series Comic Artist's Photo Reference guides? I mean, it's a great idea, but what made you think of something like this?

BUDDY SCALERA:Thanks. It really came from listening to artists talk about photo reference. At the time, there weren't a lot of resources out there, and most of them were in big, expensive books. Many of these books had gone out of print, so artists held onto them or paid premium prices on eBay.

I just felt like it would be good to have an affordable, contemporary resource for photo reference. So at the time, I created "Visual Reference for Comic Artists" which was a three CD-ROM set. Each disk contained around 600 pictures for only $10. I still sell them on my website at www.buddyscalera.com for only $10. I never raised the price because I wanted to provide a photo resource that anyone could afford.

Pam Wissman reached out to me to see if I wanted to create books and I jumped at the chance. I had to really step up my game and get better equipment, but it was all worth it. I refurbished the garage and converted it into a photo studio, so now I can shoot any time I want, which is great.

Three CD-ROMs and three books later, I guess it all worked out pretty well, you know?


THE PULSE: Just because you have an idea to do something like this, doesn't mean it's going to become a reality. How did you make sure this project wasn't just one of those things you talk about as "this was a good idea ... but!"?

SCALERA: Working on anything creative is a mental challenge. You have to pace yourself and set goals and milestones. There are all sorts of barriers that you have to go over or around, so you can't let yourself get frustrated and quit. You have to keep going until it happens. There are days where you think "what the hell was I thinking?" I go through that every time I start a book. For each model, I shoot about 2,000 images. Multiply that by at least four models per book, and you have 8,000 images. The book can only contain 1,000 images, so I have to sort through the 8,000 to find the 1,000 I like.

But then after that, I have to edit every one of those 1,000 images. In some cases, it's just a matter of cropping and saving. But in others, I have to fix color or imperfections. That's a lot of Photoshop work.


THE PULSE: How did you find your models to bring these poses to life?

SCALERA: Honestly, I don't use models. I use actors. I live pretty close to New York City, so there's a good pool of local talent. They have to understand what I'm trying to accomplish and then bring energy and improvisation to the project.

THE PULSE: Most people know you as an editor/writer. How did your past experience in those roles give you an eye for what artists needed to have visual references of?

SCALERA: Being an editor and writer means that you have to learn how to collaborate. You can't do everything yourself, so you have to give people room to express themselves. Everyone needs to have some fun, so leaving things up to interpretation is hugely important. As long as I get the shots I need, I am open to actors improvising. Some of the best shots are the ones that the actors thought of themselves. They are professional actors, so they are constantly thinking about the characters I am asking them to play. We rehearse and shoot, make changes, and shoot it again. All of this give and take generates interesting and unique photos for the artist. Artists tell me that they like certain poses, and I use that information when we get back to the studio. Of course, my ideas run through the actor, who filters and interprets the direction.

More than anything, you have to respect the people you work with. Since I control the whole process, I don't start shooting until I find the right acting talent. That comes through in the photos, I think.



THE PULSE: About how long does it take you to create each new volume in this series?

SCALERA: On average, I'd say the creative cycle is about nine months per book. But you have to remember, I've been doing this now for over seven years, so I have a process. I started out with my photo reference CD-ROMs and then moved into books. Learning how to keep everything organized is the biggest challenge.

This year I published two books. I did Comic Artist's Photo Reference: Women & Girls in February and Comic Artist's Photo Reference: Men & Boys in late October-early November. Jen, two books, one year!


THE PULSE: What has working on these volumes taught you about the difficulties that most artists face working in the sequential art form?

SCALERA: I'm primarily a writer, but I also draw...but not professionally. As a writer, I've been able to work with some amazing artists. So I've seen how an artist can tweak an image to make a scene more interesting. A straight-on shot is easy compared to a unique angle. So I try to shoot with the comic artist in mind. It's easy as a writer to say "draw this," but the artist must put that on the page. I often shoot "scenes" with the actors, specifically stuff I might ask an artist to draw. That helps me get useful shots, not just static poses.



THE PULSE: What kind of feedback have you gotten from those in the comics industry about the work you're doing in the CAPR Guides?

SCALERA: If you look at my earliest work on my CD-ROMs, you will see me trying to find the right poses and lighting. I got great feedback from working pros who advised me that they needed different poses and angles and clothing. So I used that feedback to keep changing and evolving. Sean Chen gave me great advice on lighting, which helped me a lot. Billy Tucci gave me suggestions on shooting women and weapons. Jimmy Palmiotti gave me insight about how to capture people so they look natural, not "posed."

I welcome advice from working pros and aspiring artists. Everything that people tell me helps me improve the next book.


THE PULSE: What have been the biggest challenges of gathering the information necessary and putting each volume together?

SCALERA: For me, the biggest challenge has been casting the right actors. It's harder than you would suspect to get people who have the right physical presence, who understand the role, and who look attractive on camera. The actors have to "get it." A lot of the people who have worked with me are actually artists or comic fans, so they have an existing knowledge of what I am trying to capture.

You have no idea how many people I've auditioned to narrow it down to the actors who make it into the book. I'm not just looking for a fit body, I am looking for someone who shines through the camera. They need to have an instant "star quality," and that's not something that you can't teach. They just have to have it. So finding those people has been really hard.

Plus, they have to be in really great physical condition. My photo shoots are pretty intense. They last anywhere from five to nine hours with two breaks.



THE PULSE: How many volumes do you have planned for your CAPR series?

SCALERA: Right now, the publisher just has these three planned. I'm hoping to do more, since I have some great ideas for clothing, costumes, and environments. Plus the technology has improved dramatically, enabling me to capture action and motion much more effectively. I'd also like to do more photo work with locations, specifically people in real rooms interacting with real objects. That will add depth and reality that artists can use, since perspective is hugely important.


THE PULSE: What's included in the latest volume spotlighting Men and Boys?

SCALERA:All three of the books include four unique models, so no duplicate images. And each of them contains about 500 color pictures in the pages of the book. Then on the CD-ROM, I have an additional 600 or so variations on the pose. So if you see a straight on shot of someone in the book, you might want to go to the CD-ROM because that same pose may be shot from behind or above.

On the CD-ROM, I also have different lighting scenarios. That way, if you don't like the lighting, you may have something that works in the CD-ROM. Those images are pretty big, so you can pull them into Photoshop or print them out. On the CD-ROM, there are also some videos. All of my models are actually actors, so we have brief interviews with them, so you can get a sense of who they are and how they move. That gives extra dimension to the photos, which many artists really like.

And, of course, we have art tutorials in each book. That's reinforcement that proves that real artists actually use photo reference. There's a lot of thinking and intelligence that goes into creating comic art, so the tutorials reveal the intellectual process. It's not a coincidence that most of the top artists in the industry are also very smart people. You have to be smart, since you are constantly challenged to come up with solutions to problems. That is, if a writer needs you to draw a scene, you have to find a way to actually do it. That requires thinking, so the best artists have to be smart, observant, and innovative. The tutorials reveal their inner thought process, which really shows you why comic art has such a deep and lasting impact on readers.


THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?

SCALERA: This year, I am working on two new comics, which will come out through After Hours Press www.ahpcomics.com at the New York Comicon and Wizard World Philadelphia. To work on my books, I have to stop everything else, so it feels good to get back to writing comics again.

I have a couple of proposals out there, so maybe something will get picked up at the New York Comicon in February. I'll be there with Darren Sanchez of After Hours Press.

Other that, I keep taking pictures, since I love photography.


PULSE readers can learn more about Scalera's work here:
http://buddyscalera.com/comic_artists_photo_reference_3/index.htm