Artist Paolo Rivera Gives a Tour of His Studio (PART 1)

Marvel Comics artist Paolo Rivera gives a tour of his work studio, showing off all the tools and set up he uses to create both his painted covers and interior drawings.
For more comic book lore go to thecomicarchive.com

[@62SG]

The drawing board is very simple. The trick is the board isn't actually clipped to the table. A pair of right angle shelf brackets are clipped to the back with small binder clips. These are what prop the board up. A pair of small binder clips are near the bottom of the board. These don't actually clip onto anything. Rather, the handles of the clips sit inside the jaws of the larger clips. With the two larger clips butted up against the board it makes it impossible for the board to drop down. In the past Rivera had several sets of clips on the board which let him quickly change the angle. Very handy.

[@rudycaruso4757]

Would have been nice if the camera man actually had pointed the camera at that and not his face.

[@zgaryhall]

Superb stuff,a really skilled technician the way he has his personal studio set out.Really appreciate the time he took to show us around.

[@David7500]

Love the idea of the one-step brush ringer he made. Cool!

[@lKILLGIANTS]

That was pretty awesome. I really enjoy these snippets into the lives of my favorite artists.

[@thecomicarchive]

Thanks so much! Very happy to hear that you are enjoying the videos.

[@davesutherland9175]

Wow that is pro setup. I love his homemade tools. Great vid!

[@thecomicarchive]

Thanks! Paolo does have a really great setup. Though he's changed it since this video to add a computer and cintiq to the process.

[@expertarmy4458]

Maybe he has a laptop

[@akirafoxtrot2815]

Thank you for showing your setup, trying to make my home studio a workable space and the tips you have talked about in your guided tour of your studio's has helped a lot.

[@PumpkinPails]

That little Masonite board set up is perfect. I wish he showed how its being held up in the back. I'd love to make one for myself.

[@superman31172]

very impressive how everything is kept in place

[@MortalMirror]

This is fantastic. Really awesome setup.

[@Dzumeister]

one of the best artists in comics today

[@DavidVeal]

I like the anatomy sculptures - references in the background.

[@lnsordo91]

hes pretty damn creative with his art tools

[@scarrie729]

So, months later I did se him again and he vaguely remembered me. I said, put my sketchbook on top.I came back a short while later and he did a nice Punisher, but when I went to pay him, he said don't worry and I was surprised. I still had expected to pay, but damn, that was awfully nice of him. No good deed goes unrewarded.

[@thecomicarchive]

@CheshireTiger2501 Paolo usually works on 3 ply Strathmore paper that is 11"x17". It's actually a pretty standard size for comic book artists.

[@Artisan1979]

I LOVE the Captain America he has hanging on the wall. AWESOME, buddy. Just AWESOME!!!

[@lowerstandardz]

Much Appreciated! Thank You.

[@Japone81]

Awesome set

[@Kocchiheoide]

I got a stainless steel dry erase board from the Container Store and screwed two shelf brackets into the back. And to connect to the table I attached two little flat L brackets on the back so they stick out each side on the bottom, then clipped the L brackets to the table with binder clips. I have two L brackets on each side for two different tilt settings. Not as elegant as Mr. Rivera's setup, but it works.

[@thecomicarchive]

Yes indeed. You can find them in any art store. They're pretty common.

[@Kocchiheoide]

It looks like he's attached shelf brackets on the back with the binder clips. I can't tell exactly how he's got it attached to the edge of the table (the cameraman rather conveniently avoids any shots of that bit :p).

[@rudycaruso4757]

Right?!

[@duedecimal6622]

wow learned so much!!! thanks

[@124Musick]

Brilliant

[@WeaponOfMyDestructio]

that little bit of wire on the brush washer is brillant

[@BradPitbull]

awesome logical set up

[@leenewey4683]

Hi huge fan of your work, just want to ask what make of stay wet palate do you use ?

[@Artisan1979]

This is a great setup for a drafting table man.

[@lowerstandardz]

Great video Paolo. I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about your "Mini Eraser" the one that look's like a mechanical pencil, I've been searching the web for one with no luck finding one thats the right size/width. Any info would be of great help. I appreciate it, keep the videos coming. Thanks again.

[@TheKevphil]

I have to ask if you ever work digitally? Manga Stdio 5 has its own built-in perspective rulers, and is great for inking. And with the latest version, MS5 also has some excellent painting tools.

[@thecomicarchive]

Hey Kevin. This isn't Paolo's account, he's on youtube at PaoloMRivera. I did do a pretty in depth breakdown of how he does things these days and the short answer is that he does a hybrid of photoshop and traditional. Here's the long answer: The Making of "The Twelve" Cover with Paolo Rivera (part 1 of 3)

[@TheBatman5876]

What size of board is it and how do you handle double page spreads

[@TryToDraW]

What's the name of the magnetic board he's using?

[@RubbinRobbin]

Are dry erase boards magnetic?

[@TodaysEdition]

Love the videos but the camera work on this is terrible. Your depth of focus is way too shallow, especially when you're constantly needing to focus in and out on small objects. Why not use a smaller aperture and use some additional lighting if needed? I get that you're trying to make the video look artsy with the bokeh but it's dizzying.

[@thecomicarchive]

I keep telling him he has to make a video just about how he sets up his art board. He swears it's just a few random bits and bobs held together with binder clips, which sort of helps.

[@rudycaruso4757]

How about having him supply a picture of the setup from the back since the camera man didn't get the shot?

[@booman9339]

How is the drawing board supported in the back what kinda brackets

[@plants5743]

thank you that was helpfull

[@CheshireTiger2501]

good day sir... can i ask about the standards of the paper to be drawn? i am a bit confused whether to do the presentation on a large sketchpad and finalize it in A4.

[@thecomicarchive]

There is just a stand that is attached to the drafting table and then the masonite goes on top of that if I remember correctly. I'll try to get Paolo to explain it better at some point.

[@rudycaruso4757]

A photograph would be better.

[@rickeybolen1978]

Always like seeing these types od vids. However, When I saw the 11 point divider I instantly wanted 1. Could save so much time. So I looked it up. Why the hell are these things $200+?

[@JacobHalton]

Worth every penny.

[@KouD3Graw]

Makes me want to learn to make my own out of popsicle sticks and stuff xD just until i have enough to get one or find one cheaper

[@almirantemartin4691]

Thats palet color is avaiable on any web page to buy?????, im so interested on that stuff, is awesome, it ll be so helpfull. thanks for posting this gem

[@timmoody62]

He a pro

[@timothy790110]

YOu couldnt get a wide angle lens for this?

[@scarrie729]

A few years ago I was at a con in NYC and asked Paolo to do a Punisher head(all he was doing was heads-40 b&w, 60 for color).He takes the 40 upfront from me and I come back about 2 hours later.He was so busy still had not gotten to mine, but I said I was leaving.He gave me back 60 bucks and I returned the extra 20 to him, saying I asked for b&w.He thanked and I said next show look out for me.

[@junktube4000]

I was wanting to make a portable drafting board like this, anyone know any good links or videos relating?

[@UnGasVideos]

How is the masonite drawing board attached to the drafting table? @_@

[@theconkernator]

are the red and blue pencils leadholders?

[@lightningstudio100]

does anyoen know the thickness of the tip of that mechanical pencil??? the one the white/silver one???

[@xJMxBlazeR]

lightningstudio100 probably 0.5 or 0.3

[@CheshireTiger2501]

@thecomicarchive thanks for replying my friend! :D

[@fabiocaravieri5121]

What lead tour use in Ted lead holder?

[@nobrain2537]

Salut! Excellentes techniques! quel est cette outil à perspectives...!?

[@ajsztehlo]

What is the name of the perspective tool, the 10 point divider? That just looks amazing!

[@reginaldoluzaniro7477]

Named "10-Point Divider"

[@kingmebrown1059]

How do you keep the drawing board attached to the table as you draw

[@thecomicarchive]

It’s been a while since I interviewed Paolo, but if I remember correctly he used magnets to keep everything in place. The back of his board was metal and then he just put things in place with some strong magnets on top of that.

[@kingmebrown1059]

@@thecomicarchive THANK YOU!!!!!

[@kylenorvell5186]

I totally agree with you GummyTumor! I have been searching the web for at least a year trying to figure out how to do this. Any feedback helps!!!

[@PumpkinPails]

Thanks for the info! It looks like I got a little project to work on this weekend now that I now what to look for.

[@DERRICKLEONIDAS365]

WHERE IS HE NOW? ANY NEW VIDEOS?

[@thecomicarchive]

I haven’t chatted with Paolo in a little while so I’m not sure what he’s up to these days. But I also miss his work. Such an amazing artist.

[@joshuaahood]

Holy crap that 11 point divider is $185.00 I thought the decimal point was in the wrong place when I saw it.

[@1MightyR]

Uh cool vid uh great art uh i subbed 2 u.....uh!!!!!!!

[@thecomicarchive]

Hey there. I asked Paolo and he sent me this link where you can purchase the mini-eraser. jetpens.com/search?q=%22Tombow+Mono+Zero+Eraser+-+2.3+mm+-+Circle%22

[@MrSweetRoman]

Paolo Magnetto

[@Boske2811]

4:09 for thumbnail

[@dapencilshinobi]

That divider is expensive. $130-$300 dollars . Yikes

[@theonebegotten]

God this place looks uncomfortable

[@iggybug1]

shitty autofocus😤

[@rudycaruso4757]

I have to say this, whoever is holding the camera for these comic archive videos is horrible. There are so many times where the video is blurry or he's not getting the shot of what the artist is talking about, it's so annoying.

[@BradPitbull]

awesome logical set up