1. Every panel will express its subjects' 1) position 2) scale 3) details or 4) emotion. Very rarely can it reliably express more than one of these. Try to vary between each type as much as possible to keep the page interesting and people engaged.
2. Anchor important things along lines or in clusters. Heads of a crowd of people along the horizon is a good one.
3. Thick lines and shadows should define edges of objects, thin lines define details. Edges of weighty, massive objects should be defined by a very thick line or a substantial area of dark color.
4. As often as you can, incorporate word balloons and lettering into the art. Efficient, corporate workflows make this difficult, but if you can manage it, good, well-integrated lettering can make your artwork look 10x better.
5. More so than ever, there are no 'right tools.' Use what makes sense. If selling commissions or originals is important, use archival tools on nice paper. If efficiency and speed is paramount, work digitally. There are no rules other than what looks good to you.
6. Waste time and experiment on things you love. Become blindingly fast on things you don't.
7. 'Should' is a poisonous word. Don't do what you should do. Draw what you love, what you would love to read, and what tells others how you think and feel.
8. Design your characters so they are recognizable by silhouette or by color, or, ideally, both.
9. Art is the intersection between seeing the lines on paper and seeing what they represent. As soon as you can see both, stop; you're done.
10. Alternate between drawing something that people will see (encouraging you to be polished) and something for just you (inspiring you to be daring) as often as you can. You need both.
You can view Zander Cannon's work at: www.bigtimeattic.com
