Comic book writer and artist Francis Manapul creates using Surface Pro 3

I recently read an article about how the mind of a creative person works so differently. There is the never ending flow of ideas, a manic pace at times, then the total focus as concentration go through the roof when the creator is “in the zone.” I have been so lucky to meet a lot of creatives that build great things. Some of the most inspiring people have been those who make art that is both tangible & visceral. Almost two years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Francis Manapul. At the time he was the writer and artist for DC’s New 52 THE FLASH. Earlier in his career he paid his dues at smaller publishers, and eventually made his way up to handling one of the most iconic titles in the industry staring BATMAN. It also happens to be what the company is named after, DETECTIVE COMICS.

Francis recently started on a new personal journey – creating a new cast of original characters. I know everyone on my team is excited to see what Francis is creating because we have all fallen in love with his style, his process, and his work. Francis is using a Surface Pro 3 & we are humbled by that, but what really has me and the team excited is to see how his Surface has become a part of his personal workflow. When you see Francis work – it’s an amazing and fluid back and forth between the digital and the physical. What starts as a digital sketch, then becomes a physical piece, which gets a traditional ink and water color treatment, and finishing touches back in digital. The resulting pieces are full emotion.

What has me most excited about Francis’ work is that Surface plays a small but important part in the overall process. In Francis’ own words “Technology has allowed me to be more expansive in the way that I work and push the boundaries with everything I do today…” but it hasn’t changed the way he works completely. Surface play a vital role in the process, can aid his creativity when he needs it, but fade into the background when traditional mediums play center stage in his creative process. His go to app for working on Surface is Adobe Photoshop. As you know, we have been working closely with Adobe for some time to have a great experience in the Adobe Creative Cloud applications on Surface. Scaling the UI, enabling gestures, and taking full advantage of the Surface Pen are just some of the improvements that help keep Francis going when he is in the zone creating. Check out this video to learn more about Francis, his style, his work, and his Surface:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euXE5OKlC-k

If you want to connect with Francis and learn more about his work check out his website here.

Markus – Surface Manager