I wanted to do some blog interviews lately, to help add some depth to my site. Here’s one I did with John Rodriguez otherwise known as Jar of Comics, a fantastic artist I know online, that did a commission for me as well. This is my Cherry Cyannide commission. And following that is the interview.
1) What got you into making art? When did you start?
Comics was what got me into art, and at a very young age. The earliest drawing I can remember doing was Batman and Robin when I was in kindergarten, and I am sure I was drawing before that.
2) What are your fave art mediums?
I love working in watercolor and ink, followed by dry pastels for traditional, and Manga studio and a Wacom tablet for digital.
3) Do you prefer outlining or colouring?
This is a hard one to answer, because pretty much every art pieces and comic I’ve done I’ve done all 3 stages (pencils, inks, color), but I will say that pencils stress me out more because I can become a perfectionist about pose and camera angle and background, to the point of obsessing sometimes. Inking and painting, however, I find to be very relaxing. so I guess I would say inking and coloring is tied, with penciling being second.
4) Do you prefer to make art of well known pop culture or unique custom work?
I enjoy pop culture for pinups and posters and prints, but for comics I prefer to create my own unique characters.
5) Who are some of your fave artists?
I read tons of 90s comics, Sam Kieth, Todd Mcfarlane and Jae Lee (splattered ink Jae, not the current super clean art Jae)
6) What inspires or drives you to keep making art?
The fear of being old and realizing I had a talent that I let squander.
7) What is your fave piece you’ve done?
The watercolor painting I recently did of Wonder Woman is my current favorite. Took longer than my usually pieces, I detailed the background even more than I usually do, and I am very happy with it.
8) With the internet do you find it scary that people may steal your art or try to pass it off as their own?
It has crossed my mind, and I have already found people using some of my older stuff as profile pics for facebook and twitter, but the internet has allowed me to create and establish an audience, so I guess the potential of someone stealing my work is a risk worth taking.
9) What would your advice be to someone trying to break into being an artist, to get their name and work out there?
Another tough one! There’s no better advice than to always work on your craft. everyday, every day, EVERY DAY. Use social media as a way to not only display your art to the world, but also to document your growth. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and to collaborate. I would not have any comics drawn if I didn’t collaborate with writer Mira Mortal (@mortalcoil on twitter).
10) Where can we find your work online? Any pieces you wanna showcase?
You can see my work on my website www.jarofcomics.com and by following me on Instagram and Twitter