Questionable Comics is a series where Dan Hill surveys professionals from every corner of the comics industry about their methods and experience. This week we speak with two character-heavy artists, beginning with Kate Moon, who mostly focuses on character design work but has also recently done some excellent editorial comics work for The Guardian.
What current projects are you working on?
I recently made the switch back to freelance work after a contract finished and suddenly I’m juggling a whole bunch of things. I’m making a living by doing some character design work for some animated projects, and have an exciting project coming up involving drawing several sequential explainers on social justice issues. I’m also slowly chipping away at a ten page comic for an anthology (written by Ryan K Lindsay) as well as VERY slowly developing some personal projects. The personal work involves writing which I am very inexperienced with but also very excited about.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Frenetically.
What’s your workspace like?
I recently acquired a sit stand desk that has really changed things up for me. On that wonderful desk I have a Cintiq 24HD and a large Intuos 3 Waco tablet that I switch between depending on how sore my shoulders are that day, and how much precision I need in my brush strokes. I find that the Cintiq is better for precision but also causes tendinitis flare ups faster, so I try to use the Intuos where possible.
What do you listen to when you work?
I tend to listen to a mix of podcasts and community radio. When I feel like music I switch between RRR and PBS and if I want to listen to talking I’ll listen to Radio National or a podcast like Radiolab or Invisibilia. Sometimes, however, I forget to put anything on at all when I get stuck in work.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve never received much direct advice (I do wish I had experienced more mentoring in my time) but one of the main lessons that I’ve picked up is that there is no point in being afraid to fail. How else can you get better at stuff? It’s something I wish they had told me when I was in high school as I feel like I wasted a lot of years not pushing myself out of fear of being bad at things.
How do you get into art mode?
If I’m feeling really flat and uninspired I find that a sure fix is to browse art that I like on Pinterest. People collect the best stuff on there and it always gets me fired up to see so much beautiful art.
Is your work paper or digital based?
Almost entirely digital. To the point were I have become almost afraid of traditional media and that is something that I definitely want to change.
Lately Kate Moon has been doing excellent editorial comics for the Guardian Australia, like this section from a piece on the fight for Muckaty Station
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
One thing??? That’s way too hard! It changes day to day, but at the moment I am pretty focussed on light and colour. Further down the track I want to do more study in layout and composition. And I want to get more narrative into my illustrations.
Haha, see? It’s a very hard question to answer…
When’s the best time to work?
I like to get started around 11am to midday, I’m definitely not a morning person. At the same time I really dislike working late at night, I start to get stressed and frantic. So probably the afternoon and early evening is when I feel most productive.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
Gosh, this is something that regularly changes for me as well. Regarding comics, when I was younger some obvious influences were Jamie Hewlett, Philip Bond, Ashley Wood. These days I’m more interested in female creatures like Kate Beaton, Em Carroll or Noelle Stevenson. But I guess since I do a lot more character design than comics I suppose I’d say people like Bobby Chiu, Keith Acer era, Meg Park or Nicole Marlet are really masters of the field. There is just such a wealth of amazing talent out there it’s almost overwhelming sometimes…
Jesse Hamm is a Portland-based artist who works out of Helioscope Studios (formerly Periscope Studios) and has done work for DC, Vertigo and more.
What current projects are you working on?
I’m wrapping up a Sherlock Holmes story, and I’m drawing and co-writing an upcoming miniseries that hasn’t been announced yet.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Organic.
What’s your workspace like?
I have a drawing table in a basement studio at home, with many bookshelves, a filing cabinet full of comics, and a spinner rack. I also keep a drawing table at Helioscope Studio in downtown Portland, which is nice because it gives me a chance to get out of the house and socialize a bit while I’m working.
What do you listen to when you work?
I think silence is ideal for working, but when I feel like listening to something I’ll put on a DVD of a TV series, or stream one of those true crime shows.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
It’s not your skills but your ideas that will set you apart. Anyone can draw well with enough training, but only one person can share your impressions with the world.
How do you get into art mode?
Drink some coffee, look at some art books.
Is your work paper or digital based?
It depends. For the first several years of my career I was all paper, then for a couple of years I worked exclusively on a Cintiq. Now I toggle between the two. Last year, I pencilled an issue of Batman ’66 on paper and inked it digitally. I plan to ink my next project on paper, but I may do a lot of the pencilling digitally. I like being able to correct things easily when working digitally — moving parts around, erasing with ease — but Cintiq screens are still too slick; I tire of having to tiptoe around on them.
Some of our favorite pieces by Jesse are his slice-of-life X-Men drawings
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
I wish I had more time for observational drawing — just drawing stuff from photos or from life, for practice.
When’s the best time to work?
For me, 11pm to 4am.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
Classic — I like Alex Toth, Roy Crane, Heinrich Kley, Moebius, Jesse Marsh, Ralph Barton, Milt Kahl, Georges Beuville, Jorge Zaffino, Jorge Longaron.
Modern — I like Cory Walker, Goran Parlov, Man Arenas, Annette Marnat, Tadahiro Uesugi, Tetsuro Ueyama, Mike Mignola.
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