Steve Rude Art

It’s a masterpiece of story and art (which I have come to expect from this series and its creators) but this is a new high. I also love seeing the process from pencils to inks to finals. And all the added extras. A great purchase.

My first and second impressions are that this is a beautiful and wide-ranging piece of work. Pencils are shown alongside finished b&w artwork and very occasionally color and SR gives a brief introduction to each selected issue. It's something that I look forward to reading and examining in some detail! Highly recommended!

When I saw Ralph, I knew I needed to get him for my son. He loves bassett hounds and he collects comic related autographs? So this was the perfect gift.

First, I must compliment the great care with which this big, heavy, expensive book was packed and shipped. The book was wrapped in a plastic sleeve to prevent scuffing and scratches, then secured snugly with foam pads inside a sturdy box. The book arrived in great shape with sharp corners, much to my delight.

Second, the book itself is impressive, with quality paper and good binding. I haven't read all the contents yet, but it's great to see Rude's Sunday-newspaper-strip style art at this large size. I hope the Rudes are proud of the significant accomplishment this book represents.

The only suggestion I could make for any future volumes is in the organization of the contents. This book presents all the Gourmando pages in their final colored form, then in pencils, and then in inks. It makes sense to present all the colored pages together to be read as the final product, but I would have preferred to see the pencilled and then inked version of each strip on facing pages of the book, as was done in the fantastic Nexus Chronicles book from Flesk. Seeing these two successive stages of the pages side by side would make comparison easier and give further insight into the process Rude goes through to create his magnificent comics art.

Steve Rude is that rare artist that can produce beautiful work and show you the tools to create your own. If you're looking for trendy "tips and tricks" you won't find then here. What this great book does offer is a treasure trove of fundamentals that are the foundation of any serious student's work. This book couldn't be any better even if it were written on stone tablets and cast down from Mt.Sinai.

Yoda wasn't talking about this book when he said "size matters not." The size of this book adds to the grandeur of the amazing art and story within. A treasure trove of art/storytelling education included as well. Highly recommend!

As an art educator in the animation industry, it's rare to find a publication that covers areas that are important to what we do on the production side of things. Steve Rude's "How-to Draw the Animated Nexus" is an exception in that much of what is missing in other material is covered in his book.

For example, not enough attention is paid to character rotations in other how-to books dealing with character design. Rotations are a very important aspect of the design process when preparing for production. They define the look of the character and are used by storyboard artists and animators as a reference for how to draw and stage the character. Rotations are the foundational aspect of character model sheets in animation.

Steve Rude's book is full of character rotations. It's an excellent reference source for artists. In fact, most of the book is fashioned as a pre-production model package and complemented with lessons in the basics of action / adventure character design with various illustrations, vehicle designs, scene layouts, action poses, and is a marvelous showcase for the work of an extraordinary talent.

It's a spiral bound book which makes it handy for placing it flat on your drawing table and would be a fine addition to the collection of animation and comic art connoisseurs.

I would highly recommend "How-to Draw the Animated Nexus" as a must have for all up and coming animation and comic artists as well as art students and professionals in general who are looking to learn something new or just gaining valuable and inspirational content to keep their chops up as well as those who appreciate the distinctive quality of the author's great skills and beautiful work.

Charles Zembillas
The Animation Academy

I have several piece of original art and books done by Steve Rude. They are prizes of my collection. Steve has always been an utter delight to deal with and to talk to. The art is always better than expected, which shouldn't be a surprise as it's The Dude. If you're thinking about it, don't. Just buy. You'll be more than happy.

Like everything Steve draws, it’s gorgeous and I couldn’t be happier. Great service too. Looking forward to more orders in the future as well

Mike Baron and Steve Rude’s epic "Nexus Newspaper Strips, Vol. 1: The Coming of Gourmando," is MASSIVE. The production quality is top-notch from front to back. The heavy stock gloss paper and gorgeous color and black and white reproductions are a joy for the senses. Once a suitable location is found to comfortably absorb it, the book’s enormous size presents a thoroughly engrossing viewing experience.

"The Coming of Gourmando" is an incredible tour de force that reaches far, far beyond the telling of the Nexus story. It is an entire history and technical course in the art and writing of sequential illustration between two covers. The level of professionalism in Steve Rude’s art on all levels is astounding: from thumbnails to finish and all stages in between, this is a top-notch revelation into the creative process. He is a born teacher.

Each of the various in-depth sections that make up the book stand brilliantly on their own, with the sum of the parts coalescing into an even greater whole. The result is a forward-looking throwback into the whole history of comics by a true master of his art at the peak of his powers. This volume should come with its own diploma!

I liked the personified inscription Steve made signing one of my books. Nexus is a great character and has amazingly brought to us readers a super hero within a futuristic science fiction environment. The books I ordered were packed with great care to secure safe delivery. Shipping time and receiving purchase was satisfactory. Will check on Steve's website periodically to see what else he'll offer; would definitely order from his site again if finding something that peaks my interest.

Another great book with fantastic customer service in regards to packing and fast shipping!

Always wanted to check out Nexus, but the Dark Horse vols are out of print and very expensive. As it Happened, is a great price and in glorious black & white! I noticed the print date was from 2009, is there any chance the rest of the series will be printed?

While the story is interesting if you're on the Steve Rude website it's because you are a fan of his right? So the art is the main attraction here. I got the Jim Lee cover but there is a variant with a Rude cover to match the interiors. If you know Kamandi you know he lives in a world inhabited by beast men and Steve does a fantastic job rendering the world with many inhabitants with scenes that remind you of Nexus but this isn't an outer space story and its a DC property instead.

A beautiful book that looks like a definite labour of love. Great to see Baron and Rude together again, and I love the newspaper page format