Ben Templesmith is one of the most idiosyncratic artists in mainstream comics, with pages whose figures and settings often seem much more dreamlike (or nightmarish, as the case may be) than anything like the harsh realism strived for by many of his peers. The layperson knows enough about draftsmanship to make some presumptions about how most artists create a comic book page, but Templesmith's dark, painterly style has always been mysterious to me in that I can't work out how he achieves such rich, textured images.

As it turns out, he uses beer. That's right, Ben Templesmith sometimes paints comics with beer.

Filmed by Dyami Serna early last year at San Francisco's Isotope Lounge, the video depicts Templesmith drawing an issue of Fell, his creator-owned Image Comics series with Warren Ellis. Presumably it's the long-awaited issue #10, which Ellis confirmed had been delivered to Templesmith in January 2011. The video is soundtracked by a DJ Sam Supa mix of what the YouTube description indicates are Templesmith favorites, including Nine Inch Nails, so beware not-safe-for-work language.

The beer bit comes in at about the 40-minute mark.



[Via Bleeding Cool]