Archive for the Artists Answers Category

Name:
RHStewart
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
Drinker of coffee drawer of comics.
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you realised “this is what I want to do”?
No specific moment. Comics have been apart of my life since early childhood. I was lucky enough to grow up in a time when you could buy Comics at the Newsagents. As a child I would often emulate (draw) what I was reading.
What was your favourite comic growing up?
Depends on the artist 😉 2000AD and Incredible Hulk were my constants though.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
I’m proud of all my work in some shape or form, every page unique it its own way. Aleister Crowley: Wandering the Waste with Martin Hayes was created through sheer will, determination and bloody belligerence! Getting it finished and published was a saga in itself.
What is your preferred material to work with?
I breathe life into my illustrations by using a verity of mediums from the traditional pencils, pens, markers, and paints to the very latest Adobe packages such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign by creating different layers and textures from my sketches and photocopies, also cutting and scanning my work into the computer. I enjoy the best of both worlds when creating my work, seamlessly blending the traditional approaches with the new.
What is your least liked material to work with?
I’ve never taken to acrylic paints and am yet to use oil paints.
What’s your dream project? Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
Some would say I am already creating my dream projects as the subject matter can be deeply personal. Shogun Warriors, Rom, Deathlok, Moon Knight and Adam Warlock would be something I would like to sink my creative teeth into.
If you were hired to create a book cover based on a classic story. What would the story be and how would you tackle creating it?
Fahrenheit 451 – By making a mess! While the techniques can remain the same the outcomes will always vary. You will often find me surrounded by bits of paper, photocopies, old magazines, new and old books, spray mount, PVA glue, scissors, scalpels, pencils, rubbers, pens, markers, paints, to work this way is a release, a method of personal expression. The rules go out of the window when the mind is set free and given a chance to play. Perhaps this is not the correct way of drawing but who is to say what is? It seems the more mistakes I make the better my illustrations become, as the French would say ‘serendipity’.
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth – Part Two
- Powers:Fearful & Divine
- Hob’s Lane
- The Monument
- 6 Page Judge Dredd story for Zarjaz
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
Ashley Wood.
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
Why did you steal my life 😉
Tell us something about yourself that people wouldn’t normally know!
I am a qualified teacher specialising in Art and Design.
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhstewartillustrator
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhstewart74/
Hire An Illustrator: https://www.hireanillustrator.com/i/portfolio/roy-huteson-stewart/
RHStewart Blue Fox Comics Work
The Shadow Over Innsmouth Part One
Sinners Volume One
Sinners Volume One – Digital
Hexes Volume Two
Hexes Volume Two – Digital

Name:
Willi Roberts
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
I’m a comic book artist and illustrator.
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you realised “this is what I want to do”?
I have been drawing since I was 5 years old, after drawing realism for many years, I was introduced to the world of comics 10 years ago discovering Alex Ross.
What was your favourite comic growing up?
Spawn and the Death of Superman.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
The Commander (Red King Press) 2013
What is your preferred material to work with?
Wacom digital tablet, but original watercolours in the beginning.
What is your least liked material to work with?
Crayons.
What’s your dream project? Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
Batman with Alan Moore.
If you were hired to create a book cover based on a classic story. What would the story be and how would you tackle creating it?
It by Stephen King, recreating Pennywise. And using a classic comic style for the past and a modern to present.
If you had a spirit animal, what would it be?
Technically I am fox. They live in their own world, away from worldly stress.
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future
- City of Ruins, Vengance (Australia)
- The Hands That Feed (USA)
- Clodagh (Blue Fox Comics UK)
- Blacklight (EDJ Comics USA)
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
Lee Bermejo. He keeps perfecting himself through the years and never seems to slow down.
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
How it maintains the continuity of its style making it better?
Tell us something about yourself that people wouldn’t normally know!
Well, I have been working as a waiter for 12 years, while I was not working I was drawing and I managed to dedicate myself to this. Thanks to my wife Laila and my daughter Lin, I received a degree as a graphic designer and I never practiced that trade and art had more weight in my life, I am also a music lover, I love to play piano and guitar and football too.
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willirobertsart
Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/willirobertsart
Willi Roberts Blue Fox Comics Work
Arcane Rites: Cult of the Pajoli Paperback
Arcane Rites: Cult of the Pajoli Hardback

Name:
Ben Edwards
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
I’m an illustrator, comic artist and game designer.
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you realised “this is what I want to do”?
I was in a fairly low point in my life and ready for a fresh start! I always loved drawing as a kid so wanted to revisit that hobby, which lead to making my own children’s book (which I hope remains lost to the internet). Through that process it reignited my passion for creating stories and the determination to get good enough to tell them! I haven’t looked back since.
What was your favourite comic growing up?
Embarrassingly I never read many comics as a child so a little late to the party. Although I do remember finding a Pokemon manga and was obsessed with the panels inside.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
Well that would have to be Blue Fox Comics very own Nemo, the first comic I published. This was the first time someone took a chance on my work and help me share a story. Being in my final year of uni it was hard not to be proud of that!
What is your preferred material to work with?
I’m all digital! Left handed people know why…
What is your least liked material to work with?
Chalk! Credit to anyone who can tame such a smudgy beast!
What’s your dream project? Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
Well, I’m currently working on a board game but between working full time and juggling a few projects it’s going to be a long process! It’s coming together great but if I had the chance to commit more time to it that would be the dream!
If you were hired to create a book cover based on a classic story. What would the story be and how would you tackle creating it?
I often enjoy the creepy stories! Wouldn’t say no to a H.P. Lovecraft tale and taking on that challenge of the cosmic unknown. Though growing up I LOVED the Spook books by Joseph Deleany and for a chance to illustrate one of those covers would be incredible!
If you had a spirit animal, what would it be?
A Quokka! Those happy little guys got it all figured out.
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future
Well! Currently juggling 3 main projects all of which I post updates on my social media…
- A board game named ‘Legends of Larp’
- An action comic ‘Wasp’ (unconfirmed name) with writer Jordan Sam Adams
- And finally a table top RPG module for all you fellow dice nerds out there!
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
Dan Berry, he has a lot of experience in the field so always cool to hear his insight.
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
What is the greatest advice you’ve ever received while working in the industry?
Tell us something about yourself that people wouldn’t normally know!
I have a qualification in gym and fitness instruction… can’t remember a single thing about it!
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benedwardstoons/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenEdwardstoons
Big Cartel: https://benedwards.bigcartel.com/
Ben Edwards Blue Fox Comics
Nemo
Nemo – Digital

In April 2020, Blue Fox Comics published Adam Fyda’s The Mountains of Madness graphic novel. The book received a lot of praise, and we asked Adam to explain why he chose to adapt HP Lovecraft’s famous story in this artist interview.
“Vast, empty spaces always worked on my imagination, so this is the most picturesque of Lovecraft’s books for me. Reading this story, I saw pictures: there were huge snow-covered mountains and a small plane, lost in this space. And everything was colorful: drowned in blue reflections of the sky and violets and oranges falling from the low hanging sun. As in Nicholas Roerich’s Himalayan paintings.”
How did you approach the project?
“From the beginning I wanted the comic book to be full of colors, even if a large part of the story takes place in the underground corridors. I wanted to show this Lovecraft’s story in a different way than we usually expect – not as dark images full of terrifying monsters, but more as a story about the lost in a beautiful but alien world. The challenge was to show the era of that time, all the details – like ordinary torches or clothes used during the expeditions to Antarctica, not to mention ships or planes. So I started working on the comic book by collecting a lot of documentation and it took me some time.”
Why build on the story, instead of a simply adapting it?
“First, building on the story wasn’t my first intention. Yet reading the book and thinking about its adaptation, I had ideas in my head for other scenes as well. Such as the mysterious character observing the departure of the expeditionary ships or finding the diary, for example.
Second, I was interested in the climate of horror and the characters’ search for what are the discovered remains, what are they hiding inside? So I decided to change the whole story a little bit. I thought it might be more dramatic and mysterious to tell the tale of the second expedition, where the crew gradually discovers the terrible story of the previous expedition until they have no way back.
Thirdly, there are already 2 adaptations of this story, but they are very literal.”
What editions are available?
If you’re a Lovecraft fan, or indeed just a fan of graphic novels, check out Adam Fyda’s The Mountains of Madness graphic novel – get the fantastic softcover edition, the in digital version or the hardback edition.
Find more about Adam on his website, adamfyda.com.

Name:
Eda Çağıl Çağlarırmak
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
I am a freelance graphic designer and illustrator.
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you released “this is what I want to do”?
I can’t remember such a memory because I have been drawing ever since I could remember. But for my mom, there is a such a memory. When I was a little girl, mom saw that I was painting the walls of our home with crayons. So mom could tell I was going to spend my life drawing. She says that when I was 4-5 years old I was telling everyone that I want to be an art teacher.
What was your favourite comic growing up?
In fact, I did not have many comic books while I was growing up. I had a Tex, left from my mom. There was a cartoon show called ‘The Witch’ when I was little and I loved watching it. And in one of the magazines I have been buying regularly, there was a few page comic story of that show and I loved reading it.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
I can say that the illustrations for a children’s book about the pioneering woman of Turkey are the work I’m most proud of so far. I have illustrated fifteen successful Turkish women for the book. It was an honour to draw Selda Bağcan musician who composed many great songs, Semiha Es who went to Korea war as a war photographer and many great women like them.
What is your preferred material to work with?
I love crayons and colour pencils. After working long hours on the computer and drawing tablets, it makes me really happy and chill to get my hands dirty and paint with crayons.
What is your least liked material to work with?
I really don’t like to use gouache. Haven’t used them since high school years.
What’s your dream project? Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
I am very interested in history and mythology. I want to create a book about these topics which have a graphic and illustration potential.
If you had a spirit animal, what would it be?
I think that would be a cat. I think I can be soulmate with my cat.
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future?
I’m working with Blue Fox Comics on a title named ‘Herebey Dragons’. I’m working with different companies as freelance an illustrator and also I’m working on my finishing project. I can not predict what will future bring.
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
That would be Sabiha Rüştü Bozcalı. She was the first woman illustrator in Turkey. When she was born here Ottoman Empire was still on reign. Two years ago there was an exhibition about her and many old works of hers from archives was exhibited. And there was where I get to know about her. Unfortunately, she is not among us now but I would like to make an interview with her.
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
I would like to ask her how does it feel to live in Turkey of those times and doing this job.
Tell us something about yourself that people wouldn’t normally know!
I can never sit on a desk and work. After a half an hour I go and sit in an armchair. When I’m home alone I always sleep with a few lights on.
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edacagill/
Behance: https://www.behance.net/ceee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1662613410
Eda Çağıl Çağlarırmak Blue Fox Comics
The Herebey Dragons #1
The Herebey Dragons #1 Digital

Name:
Edward Bentley
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
Independent Comic book artist and writer
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you released “this is what I want to do”?
Matt Hardy of Mad Robot bullied me into it. He started off asking me to do a small couple of page comics and then one day we just decided to keep going. After a while the comics got bigger and then one day we were like shall we publish this?
What was your favourite comic growing up?
Tintin was defiantly the comic of my childhood. It was a proper adventure every time I sat down to read it.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
Madhouse No.1 from Mad Robot. It was the first comic I held in print and it was a real accomplishment. It’s not our finest work but it holds a special place. Every time you hold a fresh printed comic you have been working on in your hands there is an amazing feeling.
What is your preferred material to work with?
Currently digital but I also love a good technical pencil.
What is your least liked material to work with?
I enjoy most mediums although I really dislike photo comics.
What’s your dream project? Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
Probably Tank girl because it’s an awesome comic and it’s pretty fun.its a comic I have enjoyed a lot over the years and I think I could bring something too it.
If you were hired to create a book cover based on a classic story, what would the story be and how would you tackle creating it?
Maybe a really creepy Pinocchio or Peter Pan. I really enjoy a good twisted fairytale.
If you had a spirit animal, what would it be?
Squirrel?
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future?
I’m working on a few bits at the moment inc… Dan Earey and myself are twisted gay horror Darkboy & Adler, Mad Robots ongoing Cadavers and the sci-fi Morrigan with Doug Ross & Richard Johnston. Currently, the future holds more of the same with these three being ongoing but I do have a couple of secret projects on the go that I can’t disclose at the moment.
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
Warwick Johnson Cadwell
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
I’d like to ask him how he makes squiggly uneven lines look amazing and perfect. It’s an art form that I’m insanely jealous of.
Tell us something about yourself that people wouldn’t normally know!
I trained as a stop-motion animator but I wasn’t very good.
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Instagram: www.instagram.com/edward-bentley-comics
Website: www.madrobotcomics.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/darkboyandadler
Edward Bentley Blue Fox Comics
Hexes Volume Two
Hexes Volume Two – Digital

Name:
Antea a.k.a. “Aisling”
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
I am a person who wants to put on paper (by drawings or words) whatever is walking through her mind at that specific moment.
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you released “this is what I want to do”?
I’ve always loved cartoons and illustrated books since I was very little; and I’ve always loved reading and the idea of creating anything thrills me, even just in my mind. So, I believe, I’m always thinking of some new challenges because I really can’t think of my life without creativity in it.
What was your favourite comic growing up, Aisling?
I really can’t say I have a favourite one. I’ve always loved superheroes but I’m not really enthused about drawing them. I prefer drawing grotesque characters and fantastic creatures from ancient stories. I really love fantasy books and art in general though.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
A CD cover I realized for my cousin’s band where I had to portrait him and his friends in a grotesque but still resembling way. Still really proud of the portrait of my cousin, it makes me laugh so much, it’s just him!
What is your preferred material to work with?
I must say I both love digital and non-digital art. I like the quickness of the first one but I also love the touch of a 2B on the paper and the lines I get from the pencil represent better than when I use a Cintiq what I’m feeling when I’m drawing in that specific moment.
What is your least liked material to work with?
I’m not that good with painting. So I’d say I really prefer black and white stuff.
What’s your dream project? Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
I would like both to create an illustrated fantasy book and other projects that include just my true love for writing.
If you were hired to create a book cover based on a classic story, what would the story be and how would you tackle creating it?
I would probably use some of my wit (people often say you can see my drawings are witty) and I’d also like to put in the drawing a lot of hidden hints about the story. I surely would start by reading carefully the story, to be sure I have made the characters in it mine and then I would start studying the best identity for them and, just in the end, I’d add what would make them mine and unique in my own opinion. At least, that is what I would like trying to achieve.
If you had a spirit animal, what would it be?
I would like to think of a wolf. I’m a bit of a loner but I also like being in the company of the few ones I love so I would fit in in a pack, I believe, but I also like to have my own spaces. Even though once I’ve done one of those silly tests on “what’s your totemic animal?” – or something like that – and it looks like I’m fit for A DOVE. That was quite disappointing, I must say! Though they’re a symbol of peace and stuff like that, and I must admit that I’m a kind person so, I believe, I should appreciate it anyway… but still! Wolfs are fluffy and kind of mighty and fierce…
Aisling, what are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future?
At the moment, even though I admit it with a bit of disappointment, I’m concentrating on other matters and I draw in my free time. Though I try to find the time to write my own stories and create my own characters, even though they’re all still hidden in a drawer.
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
I love many artists, even though many of them are so different in many ways, I really can’t name one. I surely love Glen Keane, I think his art is perfection and true love for the matter. But I also respect one of my S.I.C.’s (Scuola Internazionale di Comics – International School of Comics) teachers very much. He works for the French BD: his name is Paolo Grella. I believe he is a great artist and teacher on so many levels. I’ll always cherish what he taught me.
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
I’ve asked him lots of questions about technique, execution etc. in my school years, but I’ve always admired how he encouraged us to exceed our limits and what little we already knew to became so much more. I’ve always asked myself how was he able to believe that much in us to make us really reach new levels and improve so much. How was he able to do that? It still looks amazing to me after six years. The point is that he taught me that you can do whatever you want to do just by trying and wanting it. It’s amazing.
Tell us something about Aisling that people wouldn’t normally know!
I’m quite an open book! But probably many people don’t know that I’m a huge nerd and I love PC games: I’m a Blizzard and Riot fan and I painfully admit that I spend way too much time on games.
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Instagram: @ladyofshalott89
Aisling Blue Fox Comics Work
Blue Fox Comics Dragon Colouring Book
Blue Fox Comics Dragon Colouring Book – Digital

Name:
Lyndon White
In a sentence, who are you and what do you do?
I’m an illustrator, comic artist, designer and sometimes writer.
What got you started? Was there a specific moment or time when you released “this is what I want to do”?
I’ve always been interested in art and animation. I knew I was going to do something art related, most likely illustration. While I was in college someone handed me a copy of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth and that is when it “clicked”. I’d already made a few short comics at that point but I didn’t release what the comics medium was or meant. I read comics but didn’t want to draw superheroes. Despite Arkham being a Batman story, it opened up what comics were to me, both from a writing and art perspective.
What was your favourite comic growing up?
I loved Spider-man. I’m from a small town so I had limited access to them growing up. The only things I could get hold of were what I could find in a WHSmith and that was only if I got there first, before the few copies were sold out. I once managed to buy a collection of someones comics on a car boot sale, that was like a gold mine.
What was the first piece of work or project that you were really proud of?
That would be Pinnacle, my second fully printed 24 page comic. It’s a silent comic and drawn completely with pencil. It follows an old man trying to reach the top of the mountain with a monster chasing him through the blizzard. Since the artwork was really stripped back, everything had to work. The emotions, body language, pacing etc.
I usually dislike a lot of my work. Especially once its a few months old. But Pinnacle is one of the favourite one-shots that I’ve done. Its now out of print but people who bought my early work still bring it up, which is a sign that people liked it and the silent storytelling worked.
What is your preferred material to work with?
I mix a lot of different media but if I had to narrow it down to a single one, that would be a Staedtler Mars pencil. If you can’t tell, I love sketchy line work and I feel my illustrations hold up with just pencils (if they need too). Adding the inks, paint and colour is extra.
What is your least liked material to work with?
Watercolour. I despise using the stuff. How it mixes and even moves across the page is grim. People tend to look at my work and thing I use watercolour a lot, but it is in fact ink.
What’s your dream project. Forget about money, time, popular demand or any other variable. If that was all covered and you would work on whatever you wanted. What would it be?
Generally it would be one of my own stories. If I could sit and write my stuff and then create it into comics, that would be the dream projects. I do enjoy working with other people and writers but getting to every aspect of making a comic is fun but also really rewarding. Working by yourself means you can see it all coming together from the initial stages. Thankfully I do get to write and illustrate my own stories, but not all the time. I’d go into more details about said stories, but I aim to pitch them so your out of luck.
To name something that people might know, I’d love to take a stab at Dorian Grey in graphic novel format or a Shakespeare story. Drawing The Dark Tower would also be amazing to do, but alas, its already been done.
If you were hired to create a book cover based on a classic story. What would the story be and how would you tackle creating it?
I’ve already done this and it was Bram Stroker’s Dracula. Which came from sketch out the idea when I was waiting for a painting to try. The cover showcased Castle Dracula with candles in the foreground and a vampire-esk skull floating above the castle. It had a lot of purples and orange glows. It was one of my favourite single illustrations.
If you had a spirit animal, what would it be?
An otter or a platypus. Depends on the season.
What are you currently working on and what’s coming up in the future?
I’ve just finished working on a new concertina book based on H. P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu which will be out in May. I’m currently working on a 4 part mini series for Hellbound Media, Mandy the Monster Hunter with each issue being released every few months this year. There also a bunch of stuff from Blue Fox Comics, including a new Hexes story.
Other than that, I’m developing a few different pitches at the moment. We will see what happens in the coming months.
Which artist(s) would you like to see interviewed? Why?
Alexis Deacon. He is fairly new to the world of graphic novels but his work on Geis is utterly amazing. You can tell he has a long history in illustration and children’s books. Hearing him talk about his approach and what else he plans to do after he finished the final Geis book would be interesting.
What questions (apart from these ones!) would you like to ask them?
I think I supplied a number of these questions to Blue Fox (you have now been publicly outed). So a good chuck of the questions above.
Tell us something about yourself that people wouldn’t normally know!
I’m partly colourblind, detest wearing socks and don’t drink milk.
Your Links (Facebook/Twitter/Website/Instagram/etc.)
Twitter: @lyndondraws
Instagram: @lyndondraws
Website: www.lyndonwhite.com
Lyndon White Blue Fox Comics Work
Hexes Waking Nightmare
Hexes Volume One
Hexes Volume Two
Sparks and the Fallen Star
The Mind of James Svengal