#Laura Watton-Davies | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

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Conversation

Interview with an Artist - Laura Watton-Davies (PinkAppleJam)

CaC: How old were you when art became your passion/hobby/career goal?

LW-D: I’ve always drawn ever since I was a young kid, personally I cannot remember a time I wasn’t drawing! I always try to encourage my friend’s kids to draw and hope they get as much enjoyment as I do from any and all art materials.

When I was a teen I really wanted to get a comic published, to have my name on a book – after working on my own and being published with a few companies, I have decided for now I really enjoy the control I have publishing my own comic work, and happily continue to do occasional freelance works, so I get the best of both worlds.

CaC: Did you take Art in school or did you teach yourself?

LW-D: A mix of both - I was always drawn to line art and cartooning (the very first thing I remember reading to myself by myself was a “Sugar and Spike” Marvel Digest) and I always drew comic-inspired works as a kid. The older I got the more materials I was introduced to. I have my favourites that I use a lot but I’m always open to try new methods.

CaC: Which artists inspire you and helped you feel the drive to improve your skill?

LW-D: Though my comics are heavily Japanese-pop-culture inspired, I’ve been inspired by a number of Western artists too. Many comic artists cite Alphonse Mucha as a huge influence, because of the smooth and strong lineart qualities his work displays. I love loads of Art Nouveau prints too. I like contemporary artists such as Coop, Jason Brooks, Rob Zombie, Adam Warren, Rick Mays, Fiona Staples, Babs Tarr.

My main Japanese inspirations have been character designers and comic illustrators such as Rumiko Takahashi, Akemi Takada, Johji Manabe and Miwa Ueda - I read all types of Japanese comics (shonen, shojo, josei etc) for different ideas regards comic panelling and pacing.

There are some methods I try to emulate, I feel I need to do my own version of a technique, and occasionally use YouTube videos to help recreate looks and feels of artists’ work I like. It’s different for everybody, so try many ways and utilise methods that help you feel like you’ve achieved comfortably ^__^

CaC: Do you try to draw things that are out of your comfort zone to help you learn? For example a lot of people will avoid drawing hands because they are too difficult. Do you push yourself to draw them even though they might not look great?

LW-D: I absolutely have to, even if I do not want to – then I find a way of enjoying it, so it never remains a chore. This doesn’t work for 100% everything, but it does for a lot of stuff. For example the idea of drawing lace patterns was once terrifyingly boring, but once I had a go and tried to replicate lace by drawing my version of lace patterns, I found it quite relaxing and end up “zoning out” when drawing, so it is never boring now for me. Which is a good job because I like Gothic and Lolita fashion, and you can never have too much lace!

CaC: Do you prefer creating your comics in Colour or Monochrome?

LW-D: Definitely monochrome, I as I have more confidence in my lineart than my colour use, so I tend to use coloured graphical patterns and thick strong line designs for my backgrounds and ideas. I have put some time aside to go through some colouring tutorials and work on subtler colours, because a whole load of what I do is quite in-your-face.

CaC: When you have an idea for a comic, how does it usually start for you? With a character or the story idea?

LW-D: It has started with both – for my long-running comic Biomecha, it started with the characters, and for short stories, always the story-format. This is mainly because the length of story will always depend on what you want to say. Short stories focus on getting the point across because character development always takes so many more pages.

Because comic work always forces the artist to develop, I always, *always* recommend younger artists work on short stories. (Think of them as standalone OAVs or TV specials.) This is because not only are they harder (because they are less self-indulgent that character focussed ones), literally between pages 1 and 10 you will improve, and consistently with each story you make. With a long running story (*sobs quietly*) you will always feel awkward that the artwork is completely different and representative of a person you are not at the current page.

CaC: What’s your Favourite comic/manga at the moment?

LW-D: I am currently reading a whole load of stuff in between catching up on some novels. I’ve recently bought Jem and TMNT by IDW – amazing reboots of childhood franchises. I really enjoy Saga by Image, the writing and art are equally great. I’ve got back issues of 2000AD to go through, which my partner has kept since the 90’s. I have Bakuman books 1-20 lined up when I am ready to get going with my comic again, after I have republished book 1 and compiled book 2 – excellent motivation.

CaC: Comics can be quite a gruelling process on days when you lack the motivation to draw. Do you have something that keeps you motivated on those days?

LW-D: While the internet is a vast, inspiring and giving resource, sometimes it can actually be detrimental to production. It is easy to fall down the rabbit hole of the web and think “why bother”, “this art is so much better than mine”, “somebody’s probably done that already” – but these thoughts can’t win you over! The feeling of doing your own version as well as something unique and appropriate for you is so important – remember that YOU have a story to tell and people will want to hear it!

It’s good to rewatch or reread things that “stoked a fire” inside you about comics in the first place, so immerse yourself in a comfortable media-place and just doodle for fun. You do not have to put everything online and have your work validated by random ‘likes’ - just by yourself. That one picture you sketched out that one evening should be good enough for you ^__^

CaC: Any advice for those that are beginning in their artistic journey?

LW-D:(1) Start small! A 20-volume gigantic epic manga sounds amazing, but will require practice, time and effort that can only be gained after producing small things first.

(2) Make comics with your friends and make an anthology containing everyone’s works. Split production and share table costs. Help each other.

(3) While comforting to keep drawing the same face or same type of character, draw older characters, fantasy creatures, old people, animals, backgrounds.

(4) Everything you read will influence you positively and will help create a truly original production.

(5) Unplug yourself and have fun drawing, either with friends or away from a computer. Comics were created decades before anyone had a computer - all you need is a pen and paper!

Laura can be found here: http://pinkapplejam.tumblr.com/

PinkAppleJam.com

#interview with an artist #laura watton-davies #pinkapplejam

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