Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

36 year old Dan MacKinnon is a fantastic artist who has been illustrating several fantasy pieces. He’s also about to launch his Kickstarter “From the Ashes” where the world is rebuilding from the devastation unleashed by Wraith King Arthon.

Garruk (Inked) :

Garruk (Coloured) :

Thanks for your time Dan.
Where are you from?

I’m from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Currently living in Duncan, British Columbia. I live on the west coast for the climate but I will always consider myself an east coaster. Where I’m from and how where I grew up are a big part of my identity and something I’m very proud of. I just got married moved in to a little house in the country with my wife and my big ol dog, Bruenor.

Were you always an artist?

Haha . . I spent 13 years as a tree planter and worked all across Canada and the US. Ive planted just over one and a half million trees by hand and am fiercely proud of the time I spent and the things I learned doing it. I went to university to be a teacher because I didn’t get accepted in the fine arts program. I taught English in China for a while then went back to planting trees.

However I have always been an artist but after I didn’t get it to art school, I kind of gave up on it as a career but I never stopped drawing. At some point I decided that it was an itch that I needed to scratch or I would never forgive myself so at the age of 30 I went back to school for illustration. I finished a 3 year college program in Toronto and have been a freelance artist for the last 3 years.

The works I’m showcasing all have a fantasy element. How would your describe your work and influences?

American comic book style meets dungeons and dragons with a touch of traditional illustration is how I would describe my style I suppose. I love the dynamics and explosiveness of modern comic book storytelling but I have a real desire to keep things realistic, even when drawing unreal things. Comic books and fantasy art asks you to suspend your sense of disbelief so much already in its subject matter that I feel like the artwork has to keep you grounded or it might as well be a cartoon. If it doesn’t look real, I’m never afraid something real might happen. If it all looks like a cartoon, there’s no fear that there might be real consequences to the actions of the characters and that ruins it for me.

I am heavily influenced by Jim Lee. I have lots of other guys who I love like Stuart Immonen, Wayne Reynolds, Marc Silverstri, Jeff Easley, but it all comes back to Jim. He was the guys I learned to draw by copying so he’s the guy I always to back to for inspiration.

I noticed a lot of your work are based on Magic the Gathering (MtG) characters. Is there any particular character you enjoy illustrating?

My favourite MtG character is probably Ajani just because he looks so cool. I can’t get enough of that insane weapon he wields. The worlds of fantasy had me in awe as a kid and keep me creating to this day. I was mesmerized by the artwork in the players handbook and the monstrous manual. I couldn’t get enough of it and that’s what drew me to MtG. I like the game itself but its the artwork and the world that keeps me interested. Crazy monsters, unbelievable worlds, the power of magic, the fury of dragons, this is the kind of stuff that excites me.

I love fantasy artwork as well! However do you much “superhero” work?

I stop loving superheroes because it all seemed so boring. It all took place it plain old today in the plain old real world. Every background was skyscrapers and cars, every character was essentially the same, jumping around in their underwear flexing their muscles. I find it nauseating these days. D&D and MtG showed me stuff Id never even thought of, it continues to blow my mind to this day.

What work do you have completed?

I recently did some work for the Design Mechanism on the RPG game, Runequest and I got to do some illustrations for their players handbook and draw some of their monsters. I was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever had the privilege of doing. The thought that there are young people out there playing Runequest looking at my drawings and getting inspired to draw or create still chokes me up even after the 4th book. It’s a dream come true to be able to give back to an industry and a genre that inspired me so much as a kid.

I’ve just finished working on Mythic Britain, my fourth book for Runequest which just came out. I did a 60 page graphic novel called The Merciful for Underbelly comics a few years ago. I’ve finally stopped pretending that I’m gonna do anything other than draw monsters and wizards for the rest of my life and I can’t tell you how good it feels.

From our previous discussion, I know you are launching a Kickstarter “From the Ashes”. What can you share about that project?

It’s a story I started 20 years ago! I can’t believe it’s about it’s about to launch. Here’s a sample page.

Thanks for your time and good luck with your Kickstarter when you launch!

Dan is currently available for commissions (pricing information on request), please contact him danmackinnonart [at] gmail.com

His work is also available :

• http://danmackinnonart.com
• https://www.facebook.com/danmackinnonart
• https://facebook.com/FromtheAshesComic

Only 5 days to go on the Tabby Kickstarter! Trying to see if we can reach the $2500 stretch goal. On offer will be a free A4 print (limited to ONLY 250 copies) by Voon Ann Chong. This one is an incredible piece of Tabby Junior and Cait. Last chance to get your pledge in.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1917428739/tabby-action-romance-and-lots-of-cute-cats

Robert Sage initially created artwork in oils for various galleries and art fairs. He has started his transition into story telling and more sequential work. He’s also currently on first play through of Final Fantasy XII and reading Douglas Adam’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

Above the Treetops :

Thanks for your time to answer a few questions! How would you define your work?

In my illustrations, I play God with physics and biology to create fantasy and sci-fi realism with a surrealistic twist. I am trying to do this with my current project, creating my webcomic as well. I often play with scale, making subjects smaller or larger to make ordinary objects and places seem magical by giving it a new perspective.

Where do you get your inspiration for your work?

A lot of my inspiration for my work comes from being out-doors, traveling, or being generally curious about the possibilities of every-day things or experiences. I find life’s little micro-dramas to have a lasting effect even though we tend to push them to the side of our imagination. Creating a fantasy out of that, instead of say dragons and castles, is the primary focus of my artwork.

Are you currently studying? Where do you see your next steps?

I’m attending classes at CGMA and hope to finish their program for concept art and character design. Once I am finished or during I hope to find a job working in concept art for movies or games.

You mentioned earlier that you wanted to move more into story telling. Is there anyone (or works) in particular that you follow?

Two of my favorite storytellers have to be Hayao Miyazaki and Shinichiro Watanabe. Hayao for his portrayal of women and female leads as well as his focus on nature and whimsical themes bordering on the surreal, and Shinichiro Watanabe for his ability to bring together characters with such broad backgrounds and create a story that is as much about them as it is about the world they live in.

Visually I find myself being drawn to artists such as John Singer Sargent, for his loose brushwork but steady composition, and Magritte for his subtly outrageous portrayal of ordinary objects in extraordinary ways. More recently I find myself drawn to more contemporary artists like Stjepan Sejic and Miles Johnson for their ability to create realistic figures from their head.

Are you currently working on any projects?

I’m currently working on a scifi webcomic called “A Cup of Martian Coffee” I hope will be ready at least by mid February. It is a story about Jess, a shapeshifter that travels the galaxy photographing alien life, ruins, and unfamiliar planet-scapes; TEN, a sentient robot who gave up space piracy to open a coffee shop called “The Eye” on Mars, and a girl named Dana, a graphic artist born in 1990, who after waking up from being frozen finds her graphic design knowledge is 113 years out of date, so finds a job working at “The Eye” to pay the bills when she is not traveling around with Jess as her artistic apprentice, and finding adventure along the way.

Wow! That sounds like an interesting story.
Thanks again for your time and good luck with your future endeavours!

You can contact Robert for commission through social media or by emailing him robert.jones.sage [at] gmail.com.

For more of his work please check out :

• Deviantart: http://sagethethird.deviantart.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sagethethird
• facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sagethethird

Snow :

Click to check out Nyobi Kickstarter.

Nyobi #1 written by Larry Higgins and illustrates by David Coates is the first issue of a J-Pop who discovers she has teleportation powers. However the writing is not your standard superhero fare.

Cover :

I was provided an initial preview copy and was impressed by the writing. The initial pages focused on the victim as as fiend seeks out his next target to torment. The slow build up rather than jumping straight into a display of Nyobi’s super powers developed the story better.

I have previously seen Coates’s work on Psychosis and his art in the preview pages suits the story. It has a nice flow and I especially like how the fiend (who’s basically a shadow) is drawn in and interacts with the panels.

Sample Interior :

What was your inspiration for Nyobi?

Nyobi is a character I created back in 1990. I was doing alot of table top RPG’s such as Heroes Unlimited and I created this spunky Jpop teleporter. Over the years I kept her and played her in other superhero RPG’s. I started to draw her and used her in my own games. A few years back we were sitting around the gaming table and I said wouldn’t be cool to take our characters and write a comic. We had so much imagination and I had 20 years to developed Nyobi. After that night I was on a mission, I was going to make this comic and I never looked back since.

How far have you plotted Nyobi?

Currently I have plotted out the first 12 issues of Nyobi which all ties into each other as we get to #12. It leaves us with some answers and some questions. Our goal is to have this as an ongoing series, there is no ending until we feel that it has ran it’s course. As long as people want Nyobi we will aim to deliver.

Has Nyobi been easy to write?

The hardest part of writing Nyobi was how to start it. Once I had that figured out the rest was just a matter of time. I wanted Nyobi to be more then your standard comic book. I want Nyobi to be a book with a message. We take on social issues in our book. We look at it from the point of view that this is a real world with real problems and just not who the villain of the month is. We are delivering stories that people can really related too. The character Nyobi is over 20 years old, and she still remains my favorite character I have created. It’s only now that she really evolves, bringing her from RPG’s into comics really makes one examine their creation more closely.

How is it working with David? What do you like about his artwork?

David is fantastic, without David this would never be happening. David and I had talked about this on and off for months and I am so glad he is on my team. Andre Boulard is our cover artist and he also has set the shading tones in the book. I work with two of the best, two guys with a love for art and a passion for comics. Each brings something unique to the table. David brings that dark aspect, that grim reality style he has to the book. David has away of taken what I have written and enhance it beyond my imagination. Andre’s covers and prints speak for them selves, they are dynamic, they are flashy, they are in your face. His art showcases the attitude of Nyobi. He and David make an awesome team and expect more from them in the future.

I also have to mention Veronick Roy who has guest art in our book along with 7 other fantastic artists. Veronick has been the team’s leading cheerleader. She has help keep everyone on track and has provided wonderful incite to all of us. Finally my family who has been my strongest supporters and backbone, thank you. And a shout out to Emily Zombieguts, our fantastic cosplay model

Emily Zombieguts :

Any last message for the readers?

Walking away from Nyobi #1, I hope that everyone felt as if they went on a journey. I hope the book makes you think, I hope it provides inspiration. I know by the end of the book you will be hungry for more !!

Thanks for you time and good luck with the Kickstarter!

Click to check out Nyobi Kickstarter.

Less than 2 weeks left on the Tabby Kickstarter! Thanks for all the support and pledges so far. If you are planning to pledge, please pledge before the time runs out. It is really appreciated if you want to share the link around!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1917428739/tabby-action-romance-and-lots-of-cute-cats

Tirso Llaneta is a 39 year old Filipino artist who is showcasing an incredible X-Men piece. This was created using Pentel brush for the outlines, inks for the shadow and markers for the shadows. Some water colour was applied for the skin tone.

Pencils :

Inked :

Coloured :

That’s an awesome X-Men piece!

Thanks! It was a request a great and kind art collector who asked me to draw them on 11″ x 17″comic board. He provided the characters he wanted to see and I had fun with poses, composition and background and others. I know this is a once off commission but I always myself doing this one day for either Marvel or DC if God gives me a chance to do so!

What other works have you done?

From 1993 to 1996, I used to work on local comics before doing lay-out animation from 1997 to 2012. A highlight would be working on Little Mermaid (Ariel’s Beginning) for Walt Disney! I’m currently working as a sketch card artist and taking commissions.

What helps you to draw?

I listen to a lot of rock music while working to get me in the groove. I don’t drink or smoke but I am addicted to coffee which helps me draw!

How did you get into being an artist?

I didn’t attend any Art school and it was a gift from God that I could draw. I’ve been working really hard to foster this gift. I been practising seeing other people’s compositions and learning from my mistakes and weakness. I still have a lot to learn to be a sequential artist.

You mentioned you learnt from other artists. Do you have any artists who works inspire you?

There’s a quite a few but notable ones would be Jim Lee, Olivier Coipel, Greg Land and Jerome Opena.

Thanks for you time and good luck with you future endeavours!

Tirso has comic book “The Glory” by Glenn Moane which is coming out later this year and is working on a noir crime mini series. To check out more of his work, check out http://katoti.deviantart.com/.

He can also be contacted via email tirsollaneta [at] rocketmail.com for any work or commission enquiries.

Check out Issue #2 on Kickstarter NOW!

I had the opportunity to review XCT (Xtreme Champion Tournament) #0 & #1 and discuss the story with the creator Shaun Paulet. However I do want to showcase that XCT #2 is currently on Kickstarter! Please check out the Kickstarter and support this great Australian story!

XCT #2 Cover :

XCT #0 & #1 Review :
XCT #0 starts out as Spartacus is being flanked by different Roman armies and he makes one risky play for glory. Unfortunately for Spartacus, his plan does not succeed and this sets up the premise of the story. Spartacus is revived in the future to battle in a future gladiatorial arena!

XCT #0 Cover :

XCT #1 Cover :

In Issue #0, Paulet maintains a similar story of Spartacus’s demise. Although the reader does know where the story will end, the writing from Paulet and Brendan Halyday is crisp with an attention to dialogue. Jerry Gaylord’s (artist) pencils in the origin story suits the kinetic fight scenes and I was actually hoping that somehow Spartacus would be able to defeat the Romans! It’s a very minor detail but a darker colour scheme with more shadows would have suited this issue #0 as it is very much the “tragic” opening chapter.

Issue #1 changes everything as Paulet resets the world. With Spartacus brought back to life, this is a platform to now launch some great stories! The artwork against compliments the writing and the fight sequences are amazing. There is very good sequential panels which convey the movement of the battle! Again (it’s a very minor detail), a darker colour scheme would better suit the fight sequences however does not distract from the story.

I’m eagerly anticipating the building on the story arc and seeing the story develop. It’s off to a great start.

Thanks for the opportunity to review XCT #0 and #1. Good luck on the Kickstarter launch of #2! Why did you pick a historical figure like Spartacus? What was the inspiration behind it?

I have always liked mythological stories, but especially the individual story of Spartacus ever since I saw the Kirk Douglas version when I was a kid.

I remember that movie! I am Spartacus! Anyway Why Spartacus?

I have always been intrigued by those who are able to inspire passion in others and I have found how Spartacus was able to raise an army and fight Rome a quite intriguing story, especially as there is not that much actually written about him. Recently the rise of the sport UFC has also become a strong passion of mine, being something as close to gladiatorial sport as you can get this day and age.

The inspiration of the series came after the end of the TV Series Spartacus from STARZ ended. I really didn’t want the story to end there and wanted more. I found myself dreaming of a story where he was cloned and then forced back into a Gladiatorial environment like the UFC in the future. At 3pm in the morning I jumped out of bed and started writing down everything I could. And that’s where XCT was created.

How far have you plotted out the story? Do you have a definite ending you want to reach?

There is a generic plot for about 36 issues of the series with an ending I would like to reach. In saying that some great advice I received off David Peterson (creator of Mouse Guard) is that not to be too set on any one thing. Like anything else creative a comic is a living thing and can change depending on readers, certain events or perception. Being open to things changing is the best way to keep your series interesting and interactive with fans.

Jerry was great find. As I mentioned in my review, very fluid fight sequences. What was the process to find him?

This process was much easier than I would have thought. It was a bit of luck in timing also. Jerry had just finished his run on Boom Studios Fanboys Vs Zombies which I had loved. When I knew the series was ending and the current artist I had planned to work with pulled out, I thought what couldn’t hurt emailing him to see if he was available. After a day or too he seemed interested in the project and has been on the series ever since and is signed on to do the first story arc which ends with issue #4.

One thing that’s part of your promotional pack is that you got actors from the Spartacus (TV Series) involved with your project! How did that happen?

I have to give both the actors from the series and the conventions Supanova, Dallas Comic Con and Rebels Convention a big thankyou in regards to this as without the help of the event organisers and the willingness of the actors I don’t think I would have been able to get them involved. Most of the actors from the STARZ series are either Australian or New Zealand so when they heard about the creation of a new Spartacus story they were only more than happy to get involved. Now having attended a few conventions with both Manu and Liam they are always great in catching up with me, tweeting about the series or just chatting about all things pop culture. I was quite surprised about how geeky Liam actually was.

What’s the next steps? Planning to reach out to more countries?

Having done most conventions in Australia I really wanted to take XCT international and with the creation of some Spartacus conventions it gave me a great opportunity to visit other countries and reach other Spartacus fans. Also with the creation of regional con’s like Sugar City and TropiCon it’s been a fantastic to bring my product to a regional fan base. They don’t always get these type of events and I felt like I had to make the effort to give back and support some of the smaller conventions.

Thanks for your time to answer the questions.
Good luck with your Kickstarter!

Check out Issue #2 on Kickstarter NOW!

Jun Premiro is a Filipino 39 years old illustrator who has the most amazing line work. I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with him to ask him a few questions.

Thanks for Jun for your time! How long have been drawing for?

Been drawing since I held a pencil in my hand back when I was 5. Every school notebooks full of doodles and scribbles starting from the back. Ever since then there wasn’t a day that I didn’t draw.

Besides illustrating, do you do anything to relax?

I watch a lot of adventure/thriller movies and TV series, specially those with really epic storylines. And listen to a lot of rock music which fuels me with my artworks.

I love your line work.
How would you describe your creative process?

For me, my artwork reflects my state of mind. You can tell my mood through my artwork. And I can say that my artwork’s style is not fully mine. It is a mixture of many influences just molded out by my own instinct, thus producing a style of my own in the process.

I’m mostly self-taught, and constant practice driven by my interest and passion back then. Even before I studied Fine Arts in college I already knew how to do art. College and workshops polished it.

Who would you rate as artistic influences?

There’s quite a few. Lan Medina, Whilce Portacio, Jim Lee, Finch, McFarlane, Capullo, the Kuberts and Frank Miller.

Is there any published works of yours to look out for?

Under two US indie comic labels, there are some stuff in the works. I’ve been planning to publish my own comic book for years now.

What is your own comic book about?

The first book is called Gasera, it’s a story about a hero who represents the light in a war against demons. The hero is also battling some demons of his own. (More information http://www.facebook.com/GaseraGraphicNovel.) The other one is called Teen Primates which about some kids who are changed to apes and fighting the people who changed them.

That’s sound awesome! Some great concept stories. Thanks again for your time and wish you all the best.

You can see more of Jun’s work at :

• http://www.facebook.com/obragalleria
• http://premiroklase.deviantart.com

Jun is available for work and/or commissions. He can work on both traditional or digital mediums. For pricing and the cheapest rates, please contact him directly via his FB page http://www.facebook.com/obragalleria

Click for Epilogue – Page 2

Click for Kickstarter. Support Tabby for awesome rewards!

Project Tabby has been written by a Sydney (Australia) Newspaper! (Link to Newspaper Article) The print and the web versions are slightly different. I’m so excited about this write up! They have also requested to do a follow up story at the end of the Kickstarter and to discuss any future projects.

Thought I’d also showcase another Kickstarter sketch rewards! This one is Tabby hanging out with the Black Cat (Felicia Hardy). I hope this gives a taste of what to expect for everyone who has ordered some original artwork! Perfect for framing.

Amazing Artist Proof by Frank Kadar of Gamora, Angela and Captain Marvel now available on eBay. This one is a Marvel 75th Anniversary Artist Proof Sketch Card and is hand painted by Frank. Bid high and bid often!

Guardians of the Galaxy :