Introduction:
Comic book illustration is one of the most dynamic and interesting types of illustration. Comic book characters are exciting in both their actions and their storylines and often it takes a bundle of creativity and imagination to develop a strong character. Today we will use a biosheet to create our own Superheros and Supervillains.

Materials:

• Premade "biosheets" that have adequate space for drawing and writing. Include space for: Name, Powers, Weapons, Personal History, Enemies, Allies and any other interesting information that might help you develop a character. We suggest the biosheets be at least 11x14 size.
• Pencils and erasers
• Markers or colored Pencils

Directions:
Using the biosheet, develop a character that is interesting to you. You can choose to fill out the written information first, draw your character first, or work on both at the same time. There is no need to hurry through the questions! Take time to think about the character you wish to create. A strong character is the result of serious thought.

You may want to create a number of characters, heroes and villains, on separate biosheets. This allows you to more fully develop your character in relation to the other people in his/her life. When you are finished drawing your character, color with colored pencils or markers. The biosheets are a great first step to developing an entire story which you can illustrate.

Helpful Hints:
Most comic characters stand 8 heads tall--the proportion is exaggerated compared to the proportion of real people. The anatomy of a comic character is highly defined.

Study posture, facial expressions, and action poses; in a comic book, you don't have room to write out a whole story and many things, like emotion, action, and motivation, must be conveyed through your drawings. Don't be afraid to use extreme light and dark in your drawing. It helps to set a dramatic mood.

Study perspective; it is as important to develop interesting scenery as it is to create interesting characters.

Resources:
Great books on the subject by Christopher Hart and Watson-Guptill Publications:
How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains
Christopher Hart's Portable Action Hero Comic Book Studio
How to Draw Comic Book Bad Guys and Gals

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