If you thought I was lying on a beach somewhere, you are thoroughly mistaken! Here’s part of what I’ve been up to this past year or so. Probably the busiest time of my life ever – and still is. Watch the video to find out why.
career
ProFile: Lukas Ketner
Lukas Ketner is the artist and co-creator of Witch Doctor, the hit launch title for Robert Kirkman’s Skybound imprint at Image Comics. He was a 2009 nominee for the Russ Manning Award for his Witch Doctor work, which has earned praise from fans and creators alike. Other work includes stories for Dark Horse Comics’ Creepy Comics and Supersized: Strange Tales From a Fast-Food Culture, along with covers for BOOM! Studios’ Hellraiser title. He has twice won entry into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual for his album artwork. He survived a successful full-body transplant from his hometown in Anchorage, AK to Portland, OR in 2000 where he currently resides. You can check out his work and drop him a line on Facebook.
What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?
For me, it was the realization that I could tell stories as well, if not better than prose and film — both of which I tried my hand at, and NO you may not see the results, they’re awful 😉 For me, comics can tell a story as well (if not better) than any other medium, and all it requires is ink, paper, and time. Sure, money helps, but that’s an obstacle that’s easier to overcome in the digital age to reach an audience.
What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?
Well, challenging and frustrating aren’t always the same thing, although they do overlap quite a bit 😉 For me story flow and lining up shots is very challenging and non-intuitive for me, but very fun and rewarding, much like solving a puzzle. It’s frustrating when I’m inking that same page and I can’t do it fast enough because I’ve added detail to areas that don’t need as much attention as I’ve given them. Then, that elegant puzzle I solved previously turns into a 2-3 day grind that’s totally unnecessary— comics pages shouldn’t take that long for a monthly horror book. It’s a mistake that I’m slowly making less and less, but it still happens. I really admire artists whose styles are more economical, but still great to look at. My studio-mates Jonathan Case and Steve Leiber come to mind, along with Sean Murphy. Murphy does have a very detailed style, but you’ll notice it’s rarely more detail than necessary to make the image really sing.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?
A rule I learned in design school, “Very Little, Very Well Done.” If you’re trying to get noticed, do a “done-in-one”, the comics equivalent of a short film. Make it one issue tops to start with, and NO cliffhangers. It’s got to be a full story, start to finish, no “prologues” or “to be continued”. That doesn’t mean it can’t take place in a world that you’d like to explore further in the future, but it needs a satisfying conclusion, and maybe a hint that there’s more story to tell (if that’s relevant). Print it up! Put it online for free. Put it everywhere that people can see it. You can sell it at shows to try to recoup some expenses, but don’t expect to make a profit. It’s proof that you can do the work and do it well; that’s what’s important. Get some interest behind you, and as much feedback as you can possibly get from editors and other successful creators. Maybe do another, again, done-in-one applying what you’ve learned. Why such small bites? Because you don’t want your first work to be a 12-issue epic, and then find out via feedback that you’re doing it wrong story-wise after you’ve put out two issues of hard work, and editors need to see that you can complete a story in a satisfying manner. I guess that’s a bit long for ‘one piece of advice’, but there it is 🙂
Comics for Beginners Podcast Episode 30 – Why We Quit
Making comics is fun – but also hard and lonely work! What do you do when you are dissatisfied with your story or your art? How do you stay motivated, when no one seems to care? How do you stay on track when you meet resistance from within? I offer some personal advice and insights in this episode.
Mentioned in this episode:
My graphic novel The Devil’s Concubine, which was almost abandoned
My crime noir graphic novel STILETTO finally available in English! Check it out at Thrillbent
Thomas Alsop vol. 1 trade paperback (collects issues 1-4)
Drawing for a Living – Podcast episode 29
Inspired by an article Molly Crappable wrote on freelance life, I sat down and had a discussion with myself about what it takes to survive as a one-man army. If you’re a struggling freelancer or considering becoming one, this episode is for you!
Molly Crabapple’s 15 rules for creative success in the Internet age
ProFile: Jeremy Haun
Jeremy Haun is the current artist on Constantine. Wolf Moon, by Jeremy and Cullen Bunn, debuted in December from DC. He recently completed a run on Batwoman. Over the past decade plus, along
with wearing calluses on his fingers doing work for DC, Marvel, Image, and others, he has created and written several projects. Some you might know are graphic novel Narcoleptic Sunday, Leading Man, and The Beauty, soon to be out from Image. He is a part of the Bad Karma Creative group, whose Bad Karma Volume One debuted at NYCC 2013, thanks to Kickstarter funding. Jeremy resides in a crumbling mansion in Joplin, Missouri with his wife and two superheroes-in-training.
What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?
I’ve always been a huge comics fan. I spent my childhood drawing and redrawing what I saw in comics and telling my versions of those stories. It’s what I always wanted to do.
What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?
Doing the comics themselves is challenging, but probably the most consistently frustrating part is managing the time required to make comics. While comics are perceived as a fun child-like medium, the time you are allotted to create a comic is about a month. With the amount of time needed to put out the kind of finished product I’m happy with, makes for some long, long hours at the drawing table.
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?
Keep working at it. Do your craft for the love of it. You will continuously improve. The industry is set up in such a way that it is difficult to get hired without having prior experience. But keep at it and do your own thing if necessary.
You can support Jeremy’s Kickstarter for his new Dino-Day Art Book here.
The Dark Side – Comics for Beginners Podcast episode 28
No time is more approriate for a little self- examination than the beginning of a new year. Sparked by a rather painful personal relationship issue, I dig deep and look on the dark side – not just only my own less-than-perfect psyche but also the general emotions like envy, the need to vent or the need for recognition – and what happens if we are not mindful about the vibes we’re sending out. I go through ten lessons I have learned in the past few years that hopefully helped me become a more positive influence and a happier person to boot.
The ten lessons:
- Complaining is the first step. BUT NOT A STRATEGY FOR CHANGE
- If you keep doing the same thing, you can’t expect a different result
- Negativity is not helpful
- Just because I have high expectations of myself, doesn’t mean I should have them on behalf of everyone else
- You don’t know what lies behind a success
- When you’re envious of others, it’s because there’s something there that you want
- The grass is not greener
- The need for recognition is not a hole that can be filled
- Hurtful episodes can be turned into something positive
- Being positive is just as annoying as being negative
Hopefully these painful lessons can be an inspriration and a wake up call to others.