[dc]T[/dc]he MSU Comics Forum kicked off on Friday with guest of honor Stan Sakai’s (Usagi Yojimbo) keynote address. I spent over an hour listening to the cartooning master in a small, intimate theater in MSU’s Snyder/Phillips Hall.
Warm Up Drawings
Before the keynote address even began, Sakai spent time sketching, which we were all able to watch thanks to the document projector.
Stan Sakai sketching Usagi Yojimbo. Photo by me.
The packed room was quiet as a crypt while Sakai drew character after character. The keynote address could have been Sakai sketching in silence for an hour and no one would have complained.
I paid close attention to Sakai’s drawing technique, and noticed more often than not, he started by drawing the eyes of the character. The eyes are an important part of any cartoon, so this process made sense to me. Everyone is different though: some people like to figure out the line of action first, others start with the head. Whatever works, works.
The Process
The meat of Sakai’s address was his walking us through is creative process when it comes to making comics. He stressed, several times, the importance of research—both for story and visuals. Since his comic Usagi Yojimbo, while fantasy, relies on Japanese history for its setting, Sakai devotes plenty of time to research. Sakai shared stories of fans contacting him about details he got wrong in various stories. Hey it is always nice to know someone is reading, right?
Characters
Speaking of history, Sakai said his Usagi Yojimbo characters draw inspiration not only from history, but from pop culture as well. He broke down the inspiration for several characters, both inspired those of history and those featured in films (such as, Toshiro Mifune‘s character in the films Yojimbo and Sanjuro).
