Line work/ Signature styles #2

The ligne claire illustrations of the original comic books were very central to the whole ethos of the Tintin world created by Remi. The whole ligne claire look was such a classic that its inspiration went beyond comics with both Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein both stating its influence on the pop art scene.

Ligne claire (French for “clear line”) was created by Remi and found a home in the Tintin adventure comics. The style is very recognisable and can be described as drawing that uses clear lines which have the same thickness and importance, rather than being used to emphasize certain objects or be used for shading. This style of drawing incorporates strong colours and a will often show a combination of cartoonish characters against a realistic background. The use of shadow is rare and all elements of a panel are delineated with clear black lines.

Remi ligne Claire style evolved over time to the look we recognise today. Remi started out in a looser and rougher style that was evident in the American comic strips of the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was after World War II that Remi ligne calire style developed that not only accounted for the drawings but also the Tintin plot lines. The plots as a result were very straightforward and easy to understand.

(EXTRACT TAKEN FROM WEBSITE le tintin movie.com)

Line work/ Signature styles #1

I have recently been considering line work and how illustrators and artists have created a signature style with it. So I decided to begin an exploration of artists and styles that I like and influence me..
Today I've been thinking about Herge's work and how much I love his seeming simplicity coupled with his attention to detail and visual and historical accuracy..
The first thing that grabs me about Herge's work (especially with Tintin) is his line work.
I have found the following passage on Wikipedia to describe his Ligne Claire technique -

Ligne claire (French for "clear line") is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé, the Belgian creator of The Adventures of Tintin. It is a style of drawing that uses clear strong lines of uniform importance, and does not emphasize selected objects by different thicknesses of line, by shading, or by cross-hatching. (For this reason it is sometimes also called the democracy of lines.) Additionally, the style often features strong colours and a combination of cartoonish characters against a realistic background. The use of shadows is sparse and all elements of a panel are delineated with clear black lines. The name was coined by Joost Swarte in 1977.