"The best horror comic in a generation. This Mignola guy is a wizard." Frank Miller
Mike Mignola visited LCA tonight and - all I can say is - what an awesome guy! I'm not a huge comic book fan, largely due to my visual impairment; meaning I can't read the speech and thought bubbles and follow the narrative, but I admire the skill of the artists and inkers. Mike is renowned though and as a comic book movie fan - thanks to the wonders of audio description - I am well aware of his status in the comics world. One of my friends, currently on Level 6 Illustration, draws and inks his comics and the amount of time, patience and skill required is nothing short of astonishing!
• Reading Dracula as a young kid changed Mike's life and welcomed him to the world of horror.
• Some of his first projects included Rocket Racoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk.
• He worked for Marvel and developed his style - going from a terrible inker to a much better one.
• Mike went on to draw the comic adaptation of the Dracula film in the early 90's.
• He always wanted to draw monsters for a living and finally got to create his own...
• Mike moved to Dark Horse Comics and created Hellboy. There are 13 graphic novel collections, 2 animated movies and 2 live-action movies to date.
• He became a writer to draw what he wanted. When he can't draw something, he omits it from the story!
• He lost his confidence in his work due to having too many ideas and not being able to refine them. Drawing what he wanted to draw enabled him to get back on track and enjoy his practice again.
• His process is organic and he tends to script as he creates thumbnails.
• Mike works 7 days a week in between projects and often stays focused as there is nothing else he would rather be doing.
• He is usually always in his studio with his television keeping him company.
Fantastically, I had the opportunity to ask Mike two questions about his influences and advice for illustrators starting out. I've always wanted to know who he was inspired by, aside from Horror fiction and movies and I'm always happy to hear words of encouragement from seasoned illustrators!
"The easy answer is to say I'm influenced by everything... Early on I wanted to be Frank Frazetta. Every few days I wanted to be a different guy. Mostly I'm influenced by painters. I don't wear my influences on my sleeve. You don't need to find your style... your style needs to find you! You can't manufacture a style because even if you are successful, can you continue that? It's just evolution; good, bad or otherwise."
How is this relevant to my practice?
I want to be able to graft and generate a body of work in a similar fashion to Mike; his enthusiasm for his practice, his clear hard work and dedication over the decades, and his passion for keeping busy 7 days a week really showed through when he talked about his immense portfolio. I also found a connection when he mentioned that he has too many ideas sometimes and finds it difficult to hone in on what he wants to explore... Drawing for fun solved his writer's block and this is something I want to start experimenting with more as an illustrator. Drawing for my own enjoyment, seeing the results and (hopefully) the passion and crafting showing through, and going with that.
• Reading Dracula as a young kid changed Mike's life and welcomed him to the world of horror.
• Some of his first projects included Rocket Racoon, Alpha Flight and The Hulk.
• He worked for Marvel and developed his style - going from a terrible inker to a much better one.
• Mike went on to draw the comic adaptation of the Dracula film in the early 90's.
• He always wanted to draw monsters for a living and finally got to create his own...
• Mike moved to Dark Horse Comics and created Hellboy. There are 13 graphic novel collections, 2 animated movies and 2 live-action movies to date.
• He became a writer to draw what he wanted. When he can't draw something, he omits it from the story!
• He lost his confidence in his work due to having too many ideas and not being able to refine them. Drawing what he wanted to draw enabled him to get back on track and enjoy his practice again.
• His process is organic and he tends to script as he creates thumbnails.
• Mike works 7 days a week in between projects and often stays focused as there is nothing else he would rather be doing.
• He is usually always in his studio with his television keeping him company.
Fantastically, I had the opportunity to ask Mike two questions about his influences and advice for illustrators starting out. I've always wanted to know who he was inspired by, aside from Horror fiction and movies and I'm always happy to hear words of encouragement from seasoned illustrators!
"The easy answer is to say I'm influenced by everything... Early on I wanted to be Frank Frazetta. Every few days I wanted to be a different guy. Mostly I'm influenced by painters. I don't wear my influences on my sleeve. You don't need to find your style... your style needs to find you! You can't manufacture a style because even if you are successful, can you continue that? It's just evolution; good, bad or otherwise."
How is this relevant to my practice?
I want to be able to graft and generate a body of work in a similar fashion to Mike; his enthusiasm for his practice, his clear hard work and dedication over the decades, and his passion for keeping busy 7 days a week really showed through when he talked about his immense portfolio. I also found a connection when he mentioned that he has too many ideas sometimes and finds it difficult to hone in on what he wants to explore... Drawing for fun solved his writer's block and this is something I want to start experimenting with more as an illustrator. Drawing for my own enjoyment, seeing the results and (hopefully) the passion and crafting showing through, and going with that.
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