Picture it: Sacramento’s Emilio Soltero goes online for a Comic-Con drawing lesson

Sacramento artist Emilio Soltero will give a free presentation on figure drawing July 25 at 5 p.m. during an online version of the San Diego Comic-Con.

This year, spidermen and superwomen will not descend on San Diego. Comic-Con’s organizers changed to an online format called Comic-con@home, scheduled to take place July 22-26, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Soltero’s art tutorial will be available online.

“It’s really neat because usually it’s very difficult to get to the convention and this is free. Anyone can view it,” Soltero said.

He presented in person at Comic-Con last year alongside comic artist Arvell Jones, who created some of the original art for the Black Panther movie posters. The artists showed examples of their work and then walked the audience through the process of creating their own drawings, teaching basic technique and anatomy along the way. Soltero said he hopes to offer a similar experience through the virtual class.

Soltero got his Ph.D. at UC Davis, where he studied using art to teach literacy, including through graphic novels. He has taught art at various colleges as well as at the Crocker Art Museum and currently teaches art to at-risk kids in the Sacramento area.

“One of the things that I’ve enjoyed is I’ve gotten to teach basically at every level,” Soltero said. “And that’s what’s unique about the presentation. I like to present in such a way that anyone can learn how to draw, and someone can take something away no matter their level.”

Soltero has worked in many mediums. He contributed to Maury Turner’s “Wee Pals” comic strip in The Sacramento Bee for a time. UC Davis hung several of his paintings. He said drawing and watercolor are his favorite mediums, but he likes variety.

“What’s interesting is, when I did fine art and oil painting people would make comments about comics or cartooning like it’s a different, kind of odd thing. And then people that did comics and cartoons look at the fine arts as kind of bourgeois,” Soltero said. “I always felt that one shouldn’t have to be restricted.”

See for yourself

When: 5 p.m. July 25

Where: On YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/ComicCon

More: http://emiliosoltero.com/