1. How would you describe yourself as an artist?
I am the type of artist who loves to try new things. I always experiment with new mediums and attempt to learn new techniques. I am well versed in many different ways of working. The need to learn new forms of art goes well beyond the visual medium for me. I want to learn all there is to know about other forms of art, including dance and the culinary arts. In my opinion, all art has the same root goal of making others feel something.
2. What inspires your work and what does your process look like?
I want to become an animator, so naturally I am inspired by motion in our everyday environment. I start with a base idea of what I want, and after deciding the subject, I begin sketching on a surface, adding flat colors to the linework. After laying down the flat colors, I build them up with highlights or shadows. Quite often, I have actually gone straight to the surface without a plan at all. It is easier to let my hand and mind wander freely than to plan a piece sometimes.
3. Character creation seems to be central to both your comics and your paintings. What do you have to consider when inventing a new character?
It is always important for the viewer to connect with a character in some way. Some of the best and deepest characters have very human qualities. I think about upbringing because it often shapes a person's decisions and mannerisms. From the moment you put yourself in the character's shoes and make choices for him/her, the character comes alive.
4. How does setting impact your characters or visa versa?
Our world would be stagnant without life interacting with it. Life would be nothing if there were no world. Setting plays just as important a part as characters. Some would argue that even the setting itself comprises a character. A person's surroundings directly impact his/her actions. The biggest challenge for a life form in the desert would be finding water. The moment you place a character in the desert, it will act to attain water. Some obstacles to gathering water would be found in the character's personality, but also largely in the setting.
In a more controlled environment, like a city, characters impact setting. A person might buy space to build a doughnut shop in Manhattan. As soon as that person's business begins to flourish, other entrepreneurs might grab space next to the doughnut shop. Next, what begins as a street of small shops becomes a hip hangout for the younger crowd. That one doughnut shop owner influences many people, but more importantly, he impacts the setting and changes it.
5. What are you looking forward to in the future?
I want to get myself back in school. I really want to go to an art college where I could study animation. In the not so distant future, I hope to enter more art shows and art contests. I want to sharpen my skills as an artist and become the best artist I can be. I am working on a graphic novel that I am writing and drawing, and I hope to have a portion of the book ready to show at SPX 2012.
