In the past five years, Cat Staggs has emerged as arguably one of the best cover artists around. Capturing celebrity likenesses in the uncanniest of ways, her stellar work has adorned the covers of various TV tie-in books published by DC, chief among them Smallville Season 11, The Vampire Diaries, Adventures of Supergirl and, more recently, Wonder Woman ’77.
At a recent convention, DC recorded her giving a tutorial of sorts for an episode that happens to be the latest in their line of Art Academy videos. After seeing her put pencil to paper in this clip, I wouldn’t hesitate in calling this a master class.
Not surprisingly, the character they’ve asked her to draw is that of Wonder Woman, whom she said is becoming one of her favorites to work on. The moderator inquired about the difference between drawing a standard comic book version of Diana Prince or the classic TV version, to which Staggs responded:
“[With the] comic book one, I don’t have to worry who it looks like. I can just draw a woman. So, Lynda Carter Wonder Woman is a little more of a challenge.”
As I said moments ago, likenesses are what Staggs excels at. It’s quite obvious that every human subject has their defining features. When it comes to Carter, there’s a specific trait you must capture:
“The trick to Lynda is her eyes… if you can’t make them piercing, you missed it.”
Be sure to stick around for the rest of the video as it’s a treat for any fan of Wonder Woman ’77. There’s much keen insight offered for aspiring comic book artists as well, such as what moments you should know how to bring to life aside from big fight scenes.
