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| << April01, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 569.2 |
April01, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 569.6 >> |
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Jennifer Rodgers, Colorist RV: How did you end up being a colorist? Jennifer Rodgers: I'm an illustrator and I digitally color all of my own work. I always found color to be one of my strengths and, being a fan of comics, I decided to pursue colorist work. Seems to be working out so far! I was lucky enough to meet Dave Lewis at WizardWorld East last year and he gave me a shot at some sample pages. Lone and Level Sands, a very cool book, is my first published work in the comics industry. RV: What do you think of the art you are coloring on The Lone and Level Sands? JR: Marv's art is great. He's got a really fresh, quick and dirty kind of style. There is lots of emotion in there too. I like it a lot and I like how my colors work with his art. We make a very good team. RV: Can you explain how you color a comic, what the process is? JR: Sure. I'll give a quick summary. I'm assuming you don't want all of the Photoshop geek details though. Usually, the client sends me a digital file. I take this into Photoshop and I use a beautiful 9x12 Wacom tablet and stylus, which I would die without. I change the line art from Normal layer mode to Multiply. This setting causes white in the layer to become transparent. Then, I color everything up on separate layers underneath all of that. First getting all of the flat color in there and then, if needed, adding lighting and shadow. Often, the client will send me color reference that I use to determine the palette, but sometimes I make it all up myself. I actually had a lot of creative freedom with Lone and Level Sands, which was great. RV: Do you work on any other comics? JR: I don't have any regular books. Most of what I do is game illustration, but I have the occasional comic project. The last thing I worked on was BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE #1, a book for SkyDog Comics. I did some colors for it. It's a fun kid-friendly book for this year's Free Comic Book Day. RV: Why is coloring important to a comic? JR: Color really makes the art come alive. It increases the focus and depth of the art, but it can also add to the emotion of the story. Really makes the viewer feel the mood. This was actually one of my main goals with LaLS and I feel that I was pretty successful. RV: Do you feel colorists are under appreciated? JR: Absolutely. I don't think too many viewers understand how much color contributes to the final product. I think I'll just leave it at that! RV: How do you create the degrees of shading in coloring? JR: A lot of this is done manually with a soft paintbrush tool in Photoshop. Painting in the shading using a Wacom stylus. I also use the occasional gradient. RV: What do you do in your spare time? JR: I certainly don't have a lot of that! Let's see...in the downtime, I'm usually watching a horror movie or an episode of MST3K with my husband. What else? Cooking. I love cooking and I specialize in Indian food. Getting attacked by the cat...reading comics. Occasionally, I'll even get out of the house... RV: Why do you enjoy comics? JR: You know, it's hard to say... I've just always loved them. Since the first time I picked up an X-men comic at a 7-11. There are so many great stories out there. And the merging of visual art and words is fascinating. There's so much that can be done with this medium. I appreciate just about any form of visual communication really, but there's something special about comics. RV: What comics do you read if any? JR: Right now, I'm addicted to both FELL and DESOLATION JONES, written by Warren Ellis. I'm also really enjoying EX-MACHINA. Beautiful art and colors in that book. There's more, but that's what immediately springs to mind. RV: What would you like to accomplish that you have not yet? JR: I really want to get into comic cover art. And concept design for comics, video games or film. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get around to doing a comic book of my own some day! RV: Any words for the readers of The Lone and Level Sands? JR: Thank you very much for reading our book! Please feel free to visit the Archaia forums and tell us what you think. We'd love to hear from you. ***** Kevin McCarthy writer on "The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist" from Dark Horse Comics interviewed by Richard Vasseur www.jazmaonline.com RV: What was it like working on "The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist"? KM: It was a great pleasure. I am a big fan of the novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and when I'd heard there was an Escapist comic-book in the works, I knew I had to be involved. After I was brought on board, I got to work with many of my favorite comic-book creators AND had the privilege of adding to The Escapist mythos in the bargain. RV: What is the basic story of "The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist"? KM: It's a collection of "reprints" which span the 60+ years' worth of Escapist Comics from his earliest appearances to today, showcasing the best of the many incarnations of the character from throughout his checkered history. The Escapist is a super- hero escape artist who uses his skills to combat tyranny and oppression wherever they are found. RV: You have worked as an editor, writer and artist which one do you prefer and why? KM: I don't have a preference, really. In fact, I look forward to adding letterer and colorist to that list someday. I just like telling stories, and welcome the chance to do so -- in any capacity -- whether it's alongside a creative team, as part of that creative team, or as a one man band. RV: Have you worked for any other comic companies besides Dark Horse? KM: Sure. My first book, Casual Heroes, was through Motown Animation and Image Comics. I've also done some work for Marvel (Spider-Man Team-Up), DC (Orion), Top Cow (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), Dynamite Entertainment (Army Of Darkness), Disney (ALIEN8), and a number of titles for a company called Ultimate Sports Entertainment where we took professional athletes and turned them into super-hero characters. RV: What is McCarthy Comics? KM: I guess you could call it my brand of comic books, or cartooning or what have you. It's also the name of my Web site <<www.mccarthycomics.com>> although, it's little more than a place holder and a contact E-mail address right now. Under construction! Coming soon! RV: What would be your dream comic to work on? KM: I would love to revive Casual Heroes at some point. I was never able to finish what I started with that project, and I have a lot of "slacker super-hero" stories left to tell. I would also love to return to Jack Kirby's Fourth World via a couple of characters I created with artist John Paul Leon for our back-up story in Orion #15. RV: Why do you enjoy being in the comic industry? KM: It's nice to be able to make a living coming up with crazy stories and drawing little pictures. RV: Where does your inspiration come from for writing and drawing? KM: What about my inspiration for editing? You mean, where do my ideas come from? Probably just from absorbing the world around me. What I hear, what I see, what I read, what I think . . . all of it, finding it's way back out again. It's a little bit like going to the bathroom. You could say that a lot of my ideas are comparable to what you might find there. RV: What future projects do you have? KM: I am currently hard at work on two projects -- both are science-fiction stories -- written and drawn by me. Look for an announcement to be made fairly soon. RV: What do you do when your not working on comics? KM: I am most likely sleeping. Or watching television. Or playing softball in a local beer league. RV: If you could have any super power what would it be and why? KM: Bilocation. It might be cool to be in two places at once. Then I could sleep AND watch television at the same time. I've actually been practicing just that, and I think I've pretty much got it down. RV: What comics do you read now and which ones did you read as a child? KM: When I was a kid, my grandfather gave me Will Eisner's The Spirit, Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon and Herge's The Adventures Of Tintin. Nowadays, when I am not rereading those, I look for the latest from guys like Kyle Baker, Steve Rude, Mike Mignola, Dean Haspiel, Paul Pope, Ashley Wood, and Scott Morse. RV: How can someone contact you? KM: Go to <<www.mccarthycomics.com>> or <<www.cartoonistconspiracy.com>> RV: Any last words of wisdom? KM: "Under construction!" "Coming soon!" Don't take too long to get around to what needs doing. But what do I know? ***** Grupo EsComics! colorist/inker on "Judo Girl" from Bluewater Productions interviewed by Richard Vasseur www.jazmaonline.com RV: Who works at Grupo EsComic!? GE: Grupo EsComic! has 12 artists, each one with differents abilities in all comic books and animation process, who range from pencil artists, inkers and color artist. Some of them have more than one skill, wich give us the chance to work a lot of diferent styles in a very short time. RV: What does an Inker do on a comic book? And what does a Colorist do? GE: The inker cleans up all the pencil art. He studies the final look of the image and traces it accordingly. We work the color as a team with one people defining the style and the rest will follow it. First, someone do the flats, and others made the final colors. We usually work in 3 or 4 comics at the same time. RV: Do you ever do any penciling? GE: Yes we do. We can do a full comic book. We've worked several comics for clients who use them as a tool in publicity. RV: How was Grupo EsComic! started? GE: We started at University in 1993, drawing our own fanzine. We organized a comic conventions which was call "EsComic!" (is a Comic!). Afterwards we started to sell drawings, illustrations, and even animations. Finally in 1998, we settled as Grupo EsComic! RV: Do you do work for other companies besides BlueWater? GE: Yes we do. Actually we are working for 15 diferents clients , from Mexican Goverment to private companies, some of them in US Arcana Studio, EAdult Comics, Reelmarks. Also, we do the key character designs for the TV show "DESCONTROL" in TV AZTECA, one of the most important TV company in Mexico. RV: How do you create vivid colors that stand out? GE: First we do a color test for some pages in low res to get a general idea of the color balance. Then we do the flats at a neutral tone, like illuminated with a modest white light. Then we apply a filter to move the colors to a certain ambient light. This brings the main mood to appear. Next we add shadows and lights trying to mimic the reality, but we control the color of shadows and lights to get the desired tones to blend into the mood. We like this technique as it gives a mood letting us control the color detail. RV: Does the type of paper used make a difference in the coloring? GE: Of course, is very important to know which kind of paper we will use to print the comic book. We have experencie in a lot of diferent kind of paper in Mexico, the paper quality defined the way to made the color. RV: So what does Grupo EsComic! think of "Judo Girl"? GE: We like the character and the story. As a girl she is always getting the attention. We are very glad to have the opportunity to color this comic as we have the chance to set our particular touch to it. RV: How long has Grupo EsComic! been in business? GE: Since 1993: 13 years by now. J RV: Where do you see the company going in the future? GE: We are setting a new vision in Mexico by being one of the first studios to do professional work in comics and animation a like. RV: So what do you do for fun? GE: We have our own characters. We do a fun comic named "La Iguana" (quite famous between in comic fans in Mexico). We love movies, jokes and music. We promote creativity by letting everyone be themselves, to say whatever they want and to reflect that into their work. RV: How can someone contact you? GE: Anyone! Just write to info@escomic.com or visit our page at www.escomic.com and http://escomic.deviantart.com RV: Any words of advice for up and coming comic professionals? GE: work-fun-work-fun-work. Grupo EsComic! / www.escomic.com _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH TO WEAR TIGHTS IN THIS TOWN In the same 1943 BATMAN serial, the Caped Crusader faces death at the end of each chapter, only to escape at the beginning of the next installment. At the end of Chapter 5, Batman and two zombies are fighting inside an airplane over an army training field. Artillery brings the plane down and it crashes in a field. At the beginning of Chapter 6, Batman climbs out of the wreckage as though nothing has happened, and drags the unconscious zombies to safety. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Interviews Paul Dale Roberts Silhouet98@cs.com Interview with Robert Walker, Creator, Writer, Penciler of Delete. Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher, www.jazmaonline.com Question: Tell us something personal about yourself, your family life, schools you went to, etc. Well, I grew up in Jacksonville, FL in a very modest family home. I always loved drawing since I was 3yrs old. As a kid my mom used to say I drew on walls when I was a toddler. Then at 9 or 10yrs I discovered comic books. X-Men (Chris Clermont/John Byrne era) and Red Sonja were my very 1st comics I ever read and purchased, that changed my life forever. I knew right then I wanted to become a comic book creator. Question: What was the first comic book you ever read? 121 of X-Men and Red Sonja Question: When I first saw Delete, I was absolutely flabbergasted at your penciling. How did you become such a great artist? Thank you so much for your kind words. I attended the ART INSTITUTE OF FORT LAUDERDALE, and FIT in New York. But I really drew all my life even before I attended those schools. So I guess I was practicing to make perfect. Question: How did the concept of Delete come about? Well, around the time Sept 11th happened. I live in New York. I was hit by that day very personally since I saw that whole tragedy happen right before my eyes. It made me look at life very differently that day. I always wanted to have my own comic book company and had a few Idea (ala X-men, Justice League) but after that day I wanted to do a comic book that really said something and not about just pure useless entertainment. I wanted to my book to speak on issues I feel passionately about - ecology, social economic, politics, war, racism, sexism, religion, human condition, and relationships amongst ourselves and the universe. One day I was in a comic book store and I saw a bunch of kids inside the store from different nationalities. The kids who were white (girls and boys) and African American male all called themselves heroes that they could identified themselves with. But one beautiful African American girl replied to the other kids saying "I wish I was white or a boy so that I can be a superhero". That hit me like a ton of Bricks! All of a sudden I was looking around the comic store and realized that there were very few if any great African American superheroines in the comic industry that African American Females could identify with. That, with my Ideas I already start to form DELETE. Question: For people unfamiliar with Delete, can you please brief us on the storyline? DELETE is about a beautiful young woman named Cynthia is bestowed the power of Magic and Technology called Magitech. The reason for this power is because she is the guardian of our universe from demons infiltrating our universe's modern technology possessing human host to take over our universe. Question: Tell us about some of the characters in Delete? DELETE (Cynthia Hopps) is a young woman who grew up in Harlem who is a natural born genius in creating hi-tech gadgets. Growing up in the rough parts of Harlem Has made Cynthia very thick skinned and very tough. She experienced much hardships and trails growing up in Harlem. But when we are introduced to Cynthia in the pages of DELETE she has straightened out her life by joining the marines. She's now a top ranking soldier and gadget head in the Marine Corp. She's a total perfectionist and is very hard on herself about many things. Question: Before Delete, what other comic book related projects were you working on? I worked as a free lance comic book artist for Marvel, Dc, Dark Horse (Thor annual, Sub-Mariner, Hardware, Barb Wire, etc...) Question: Are you working on any other projects? Only concentrating on DELETE. My only interest. Question: How did it feel to see the first issue of Delete on the comic book racks? Naked... excited.... horrified... uninhibited. The book is really a lot about who I am and my voice. Now seeing it on the shelves for thousands of people to see. It's pretty amazing. Question: What conventions will you be attending or have attended? Next year I plan to do the convention thing. I want to do it right in the way I envision it. Not just having a table with books. When I come out with it you'll know it's a DELETE booth. Trust. Question: How can someone contact you? Checkout the website www.cyberdelete.com All the contact and other info is on there. Question: What is your website URL address? Again, www.cyberdelete.com Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities? Renting kick ass videos, going skydiving this summer, Gym, going to travel the world to learn about other cultures and lifestyles. Doing charity work for different organizations that help the less fortunate. Question: If you can have 6 dinner guests, 3 fictional and 3 real-life from any time period, who would those 6 people be and why? Fictional: Black Mamba (Uma's character from "KILL BILL") KING KONG (from the new movie of 2005) and William Wallace (Mel Gibson's Character from Brave Heart) and Blade (Wesley Snipes' character) Factual: GOD (the embodiment of the whole universe) Jesus, and any alien life that exists in our universe. Question: If you could go into any time machine, what year would you stop at and tell us why. During the BIG BANG Theory period. I would love to se how it all began. Question: What TV shows, movies, cartoons do you like? Love HBO animation of Spawn series, Kill Bill, Brokeback Mountain, G-force old school. Question: If Delete became a movie, who would play the character parts and why? I would totally go for an unknown and make celebs the side characters Question: This ends the interview, any encouraging words of wisdom? REACH FOR THE STARS AND ALL OBSTICLES WILL BURN AWAY ***** Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. 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