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 kick things off with Irene Koh, an incredible artist whose work has been published by Marvel, IDW, Oni, DC and more. She is currently the artist on Dark Horse’s Legend of Korra series, the first volume of which is due out in July.
What current projects are you working on?
The Legend of Korra graphic novels for Dark Horse and some personal projects.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Loosely.
What’s your workspace like?
There are snacks everywhere within reach, and the desk is an organized mess. The room itself has to be pristine, though.
What do you listen to when you work?
Nothing, but if my ears are craving something, the Deep Focus playlist on Spotify, or some Bill Evans Trio. I studied music extensively for most of my life, so I can’t passively listen to anything anymore; it’s too distracting.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
There’s a finite amount of bad work in an artist, and an infinite amount of good work. The faster you can get through the bad stuff, the sooner you hit the good pile. Just keep making stuff.
How do you get into art mode?
I can’t work in the morning, so I’ve stopped trying to force myself. I’ll enjoy the early part of the day, eat, read or watch something, play with the pets, and try to avoid my desk. Then around late afternoon, I’ll boot up Photoshop and just get started. I take a lot of snack breaks to keep me engaged.
Is your work paper or digital based?
It’s all digital now, though I used to sketch with pens and markers quite a bit. I miss traditional, but I have a much more relaxed hand with digital, especially with the advent of really great custom brushes.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
I love how loose and free my sketches look, but I have a difficult time translating that to my comics work. The closer I can get my comics to look like my daily sketches, the happier I’ll be.
When’s the best time to work?
Night, or early morning. I like working quietly, by myself, when everything else has calmed down.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
For modern, Nicolas Nemiri and Daisuke Igarashi, for their collective looseness in style. Their lines can look almost chaotic, but the image is so clear and so expressive.
As for classic, my hero will always be Klimt. His mix of loose style and structured Wiener Werkstatte design is just so distinct and attractive.
Artyom Trakhanov is a Russian artist with a unique and thrilling aesthetic. His work has been published by DC, Image, Boom and more.
What current projects are you working on?
Nothing I could say too much about right now, I’m afraid. Drawing lots of covers, finishing an one-shot story for a zine I’m planning to publish with a fellow Russian artist (hopefully in both English and Russian languages)… Other than that, I’m finally starting my new “big” book, and very excited for you to finally hear about it in a year from now! 😀
Use one word to describe how you work.
Frantically!
What’s your workspace like?
It’s simple and almost spartan— a pretty small table with the tiny easel on top of it plus my laptop (with a decently sized additional monitor connected to it) with my old Wacom tablet on the left and a goddamn mess of books and drawings on the right.
What do you listen to when you work?
A lot of dumb YouTube videos and shitty horror movies. On very rare occasions— some OSTs from video games and movies. I need to stuff garbage in my brain to produce more garbage!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Don’t do work for free”. Never followed it, though! To be serious, I’d probably remember something a really good and wise artist said to me that one time if not for all that garbage in my brain, so I can’t remember.
How do you get into art mode?
With some terrible metal creaking while my rusty mechanisms are trying to work again.
Is your work paper or digital based?
I do all my sketches and pencils digitally, then print them and ink with traditional media. Sometimes I do some work 100% digitally, but it’s mostly for small pieces (like character designs, short comics, pin-ups or illustrations).
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
I really, really want to become more sure about my artistic decisions, because this would make my work more consistent. I try to treat every book I do with a certain approach, but end up jumping from one thing to another multiple times ( sometimes even on a single comic page).
When’s the best time to work?
Sadly, it more often is during nights or early summer dawns.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
James Harren and Connor Willumsen, John Bauer and Jack Kirby! Those are my bread and butter.
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