Questionable Comics is a series where Dan Hill surveys professionals from every corner of the comics industry about their methods and experience. Up first this week is, Paul Tucker, a Canadian artist who has published comics at IDW, Comics Experience and more, and is part of Justin Gray’s current anthology project Jail Bait & Trailer Trash, which is being Kickstarted here.
What current projects are you working on?
I have a couple of pitches in progress and currently on the drafting board is a short slice-of-life style story written by Justin Gray.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Lovingly.
What’s your workspace like?
I’m pretty spoiled in my current studio. A couple years ago my wife and I had our basement renovated into a large shared work space. My father-in-law came and spent a week building us custom tables and storage (he referred to this as a vacation). I have my drafting table in one corner and my wife has her easel in the other. We have a large shared table in between. I have an old stereo setup (no record player… yet). Oh and there’s a dart board and a sofa which I find essential as I’m a big believer in the power nap.
What do you listen to when you work?
What I listen to depends on the task and the time of day. When I’m thumbing or doing my initial pencil roughs in the morning, I usually have on classical music. I’m a big fan of KBAQ as they have a high quality stream and there are unobtrusive DJs to keep the lonely comic artist company. If it’s evening time, I almost always tune in to Gideon Coes’ excellent show on BBC 6 Music. If I’m inking or coloring in the morning it will be a mixture of BBC world service programming and local radio. In the evening, I’ll listen to podcasts – of which there are many I enjoy but I’ll shout out Who Charted and Roderick on the Line as two all-time studio favorites.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Everything is relative. I think it came from a color theory video I watched and it really clicked. A color will look different next to anther color and vice versa. I love that – and it applies to many aspects of picture making (and living life).
How do you get into art mode?
I tend to keep a pretty regimented schedule. So often just by sense memory I tend to get into the zone pretty easily.
I also try to continuously expose myself to new things, so that there is always fresh inspiration to keep the batteries charged.
Is your work paper or digital based?
I use both like a lot of folks these days. I have a day job as a graphic artist, so whenever possible I like to use analog tools when I’m home in the studio. Using the same tools that comic legends have always used (like dipping a nib into India ink) has a certain romantic appeal. That being said, scanning a page and messing with it digitally is often a way to fix issues a lot quicker then the old school way. And coloring on the computer is a no-brainer.
A page from Paul Tucker’s collaboration with Justin Gray for Jail Bait and Trailer Trash
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
Only one thing? Ha. I’m always trying to get better at female portraiture. If there’s one thing I will end up redrawing a million times it’s the subtle lines that suggest a mouth, eye, or chin.
When’s the best time to work?
I switched to a morning schedule a good few years back. It’s funny because I still don’t consider myself a morning person. I get up at 5 a.m. and after a splash of cold water to the face and half a cup of coffee I can get some decent work done. I like that the house is quiet and no matter what happens with the rest of my day I’ve already gotten a few hours of drawing in before heading to the day job.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
There are so many great inspirations inside and outside of the comics field. The EC comics gang looms large, in particular Bernard Krigstein and Marie Severin. Krigstein kept a toe in the fine arts world, and having graduated from a visual arts program I relate to his perspective. I keep my giant art history survey close by and generally crack it before any project begins. My coloring work is heavily in debt to Ms. Severin. I read somewhere about how she would introduce bright yellows just to lighten up the mood of heavier line work. I’ve certainly employed that trick!
Along with those two I’d count a lot of the usual suspects amongst my influences: Kirby, Toth, Moebius, Mazzucchelli, Pope, Mignola. Erik Larsen holds a special place in my heart, as Savage Dragon was my gateway drug back in ’92.
Stefano Gaudiano is a veteran inker and artist, with credits at Marvel and DC, and he currently inks the megahit Image/Skybound series The Walking Dead.
What current projects are you working on?
Inks on The Walking Dead, ink assistance on Manifest Destiny, random illustration.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Connected.
What’s your workspace like?
A life raft.
What do you listen to when you work?
On my own, Podcasts (On Being, History Extra, This American Life, FatMan on Batman, Comic Zone Radio, Serial, other random programs). In the studio with Brian Thies and Tony Akins it’s usually Brian’s music playlist. Conversation is also good for inking.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
From Joe Kubert: just because I really dislike your work it doesn’t mean there isn’t an editor out there who would love it. Keep showing your work around.
How do you get into art mode?
Inking is fairly easy. I just need to set up a workspace, and if I’m particularly distracted a good long podcast or personal conversation keeps me connected to the board.
For drawing “getting into art mode” is a much harder wrangle, like trying to control weather, so I don’t do it much and prefer to just let it happen.
A peek at Stefano Gaudiano’s inking process on Michael Lark’s pencils for Amazing Spider-Man
Is your work paper or digital based?
Mostly I ink on paper and use Photoshop only for small adjustments.
I’ve used Photoshop more extensively on drawing assignments, for initial composition and to tie elements together.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
Better coordination between imagination, spontaneity, and precision of rendering.
When’s the best time to work?
Second shift, after a satisfying day, getting started before sunset and calling it a night around 3am. That’s not my usual schedule, but I found it to be best for work early in my career and revert to it when necessary.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
Ditko, Kirby, Caniff, Romita Sr. and Hugo Pratt. Alberto Breccia, Gene Colan, Steranko, Craig Russell, Barry Smith & Gulacy. Alex Raymond, John Buscema. Frank Miller, Neal Adams, Sienkiewicz. Andrea Pazienza, Sergio Toppi, Crepax, Gianni De Luca. Carl Barks. Joe Sinnott, Klaus Janson, Tom Palmer, Frank Giacoia, Byrne and Austin, Mike Golden and Art Adams. Mignola. Robert Crumb. Damion Scott. Tony Salmons. The ones I’m forgetting and the ones I haven’t thought about. God bless ’em all.
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