Antoine Dacheville is an artist who has been passionate about manga and comics for the past ten years. He is known on Instagram as @ArtUniverse6, his account has more than 7,000 subscribers.
Antoine has been noticed on Instagram by many celebrities, including actors of Marvel movies, thanks to his very realistic comic drawing style. Today he tells us about his career and gives us some tips on how to draw with GRAPH’IT. Discover his work here.

 

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND / HOW DID YOU LEARN TO DRAW?

I started drawing about ten years ago, all by myself. I was drawing manga at the time with Dragon Ball Z, then I very quickly turned to comics with a lot of Marvel reading. It was when the superhero movies came out that I really started drawing. I used YouTube videos to get inspiration from the work of others to find my own personal style. Today, it is in the “realistic” style that I work and I still learn new techniques drawing after drawing.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES OF INSPIRATIONS, THE ARTISTS YOU ADMIRE? WHAT TYPE OF COMIC BOOK IS YOUR SENSITIVITY SIMILAR TO?

At first, it was artists like Jim Lee, Ivan Reis or Jim Cheung who inspired me. Today, my inspiration comes mainly from films and film posters. I love looking at concept art too. It’s very formative, because you can see the perception of a professional artist and his influence in the design of a film (especially in terms of costumes).

As far as my reading is concerned, I mainly read comics. I have a strong preference for the Marvel universe, but I appreciate good readings from the DC comics universe. I’m a big fan of Captain America, Spiderman or Iron Man. On the DC side, my favorites are Aquaman and Shazam.

 

HOW DO YOU COMPARE WORK WITH THE ALCOHOL MARKER TO DIGITAL? WHEN/WHY USE ONE MORE THAN THE OTHER?

The work is absolutely not the same and one is not easier than the other, I think. These are two different ways of doing things. For my part, I only work on paper, but I know many artist friends who prefer the digital format. When and why use one more than the other? I just think it’s according to everyone’s tastes and preferences, even if the two can be complementary. I am thinking, for example, of inking on paper and digital colouring in comic strips.

 

IS IT NECESSARY TO KNOW BOTH TYPES OF TOOLS? HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE IN TERMS OF CREATIVE TOOLS FOR ILLUSTRATION / COMICS?

I have no knowledge in the digital art world and yet I can draw what I want. So I don’t think it’s necessary to know about these two types of tools. Concerning the future of comics, I think that digital technology will play an increasingly important role, especially in backgrounds and effects (e. g. light effect or speed effect), which is more difficult to achieve on paper and requires more time. But some artists make their comics without digital and the rendering is incredible. I am thinking in particular of Alex Ross, an artist whom I admire very much.

 

AMONG ALL YOUR DRAWINGS, WHICH WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT, WHICH WAS THE MOST SATISFYING?

The one that has been the most difficult is also the one that has been the most satisfying for me. It is a drawing of Spiderman (Sam Raimi’s 2002 film costume) on a 65x50cm paper format. The difficulty was therefore the proportions when penciling and then the gradients. I spent 30 hours drawing, including about ten hours drawing standing up to see better !

 

HOW DID YOU BUILD YOUR ONLINE AUDIENCE ON SOCIAL NETWORKS?

I have been on Instagram for 3 years now. I am only on this social network to share my drawings. My “audience” created itself, I used hashtags specific to my drawings, I identified actors, some liked and/or commented. In addition, there are many drawing sharing accounts that have hosted my work to partially support my activity on the network. I also met other artists from all over the world, we exchange about our techniques. It’s very rewarding.

 

AMONG ALL THE CONTACTS AND REACTIONS ON THE WEB FOLLOWING YOUR DRAWINGS, WHICH WERE THE MOST SATISFYING?

I would say that it was my latest drawings that appealed most to the people who follow me, because I changed the way I work. I draw on a larger paper, which takes more time and I make black backgrounds for each of them. The white thus stands out more and the drawing seems more realistic.

 

HOW DID YOU START USING THE GRAPH’IT REFILLABLE ALCOHOL MARKERS ?

I have known Graph’it for 3 to 4 years now. At first, I used Promarkers because there was a choice of colors and they were the classics of the marker world. Then, during a visit to a Cultura store, I discovered the Graph’it. I checked with the salespeople and tested it. I left the store with a set of Neutral Grey Markers. I only draw with Graph’it now.

 

WHAT MAKES THE GRAPH’IT MARKER BETTER FOR YOUR WORK ?

I chose Graph’it for several reasons. First, the quality of the colours is remarkable. The design of the marker is well thought out. I had already enjoyed the Markers range a lot, but it has nothing to do with the Brush range which, in my opinion, is the best range of markers combined. The contrast between the two tips is high (an extra-fine and a brush), but they fit together perfectly. As a person who draws mainly in a realistic style, it is important to be able to make minimal and light gradients.

 

WHAT KIND OF GRAPH’IT MARKER DO YOU USE AND HOW?

As I said before, I use Graph’it Brush much more than Graph’it Markers. I always color my drawing once with Neutral Greys to give depth to the drawing and volume to the shapes. It is only later that I come back with the colours. Once again, I always use 2 different colors in the same tone to get an extra gradient. In general, it is the red that I prefer to use and I draw with 5 different colors to get the red I want.

 

WHICH GRAPH’IT COLOR COMBINATIONS DO YOU USE THE MOST AND WHY?

I use a base of grey to give the appearance of shapes and textures (muscles, metal, textiles, skin…) then I go back to the colours. My favourite colours are red, purple and pink, simply because I find these colours beautiful and also because I very often draw characters like Spiderman or Iron Man. Moreover, even if I draw another character, I will always have pink and purple reflections. A habit.

 

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO A YOUNG ARTIST IN COLOR AND GRAPH’IT MATERIAL ?

The choice of the set seems to be the simplest and most effective option, as it allows you to have several markers, several colours and to be able to test different drawing techniques. However, the set does not always offer the colors you want and if you only stay on sets then you run the risk of missing out on beautiful colors, sold by the unit. The ideal would be to know where you want to go, in order to make a well-defined choice of colour, in addition to the sets. As regards the Graph’it Marker or Graph’it Brush range, it is best to try it in order to know what suits you best.

 

HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR DRAWING AREA ?

I have a simple desk, which allows me to put my drawing board and computer on. I have storage boxes on the side that allow me to classify my markers by range and colour (example: red tone, skin, etc.).

 

WHAT MATERIAL DO YOU USE FOR DRAWING, INKING, COLOURING?

For the pencil, I use a 0.5mm steel criterium. For inking, I use something light to stay realistic. I usually ink with a black polychrome pencil. As for colorization, I use both Graph’it Brush and Graph’it Marker.

 

DO YOU USE THE BLENDER/MIXER?

I never use a blender. In my opinion, I don’t find it very effective and I prefer to create my own gradients using markers based on the same tones. I also use greys in absolutely all my drawings.

 

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A YOUNG ARTIST WHO WANTS TO START A PRESENCE ON SOCIAL NETWORKS?

I advise you to do what you like and not to draw to please others. It is by doing what you love that you become better. Creating a style of drawing and photography (when the drawing is published) is important, because it allows you to create an “identity”. Do not hesitate to comment under publications if you have questions or even to give your opinion. Exchange is essential on social networks and this is what will help build your “audience”.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS IN TERMS OF DRAWING?

I would like to work more on realism in my drawings, create my own fanart and creation, always in a cinematographic style (superhero actors, costumes…). I would also like to go out on several superheroes in red suits to create a kind of “team red heroes”. I finished Iron man, Deadpool, Spiderman and maybe some of the DC comics universe.

 

To checkout Antoine’s work, go to his Instagram page : artuniverse6