In today’s Artist August interview, we have the writer/artist of the breakout hit Nonplayer – a comic so hot that it has only had one issue four months ago and it’s already netted it a movie deal! If that doesn’t speak volumes about the talent behind the man, then I suppose the only thing we can do is allow the man behind the talent to speak about the talent used by the man.
Check after the jump as we chat with Nate about his craft, Nonplayer, and the advantages of digital devices.
Can you look back on your life and recall the single moment that made you want to work in comics? Or was it more of a natural progression that led you here?

Nate Simpson: I think I probably wanted to draw comics as a kid, but in the same way that I wanted to be an astronaut or a fighter pilot. I didn’t take art seriously as a career path until after college — before then, I thought I was going to be a paleontologist. It was only recently that one of my game artist friends, Ray Lederer, suggested that I try taking a crack at a comic book. It sort of hit me like a lightning bolt: hey, I have some savings, I know how to draw, I can spell — why not?
Who or what – both in and outside of comics – has influenced the development of your own art style?

NS: My big four are Moebius, Geof Darrow, William Stout, and Arthur Rackham. I got exposed to each of them at just the right moment in my life, and I love them all.
Your first comic work, Nonplayer, was immediately well received critically. For a first time endeavor that you both wrote and drew, how was the experience for you in entering the world of a professional comic book creator?

NS: The whole process feels like it’s been a dream. I never expected that the book would even find a publisher, let alone be published by Image. And now the Russ Manning Award… it’s very hard for me to fit all of these events into the pattern of my life up to now. I suppose if there’s a drawback to getting so much exposure, it’s that I feel quite a bit of pressure to get the second issue out quickly, and at a comparable level of quality to the first. When you’re laboring in obscurity, it’s a lot easier to experiment freely and let things flow naturally. Now that I’m being watched, it definitely feels like I’m working without a net. But this is a good problem to have, obviously.
The thing that sets Nonplayer apart from other comics on the stand is the incredibly detailed artwork, fully realized from your imagination and brought to the page. When filling in the tiniest of tiny details for the art, how do you decide to assemble the characters and scenery?
NS: Well, I’ve definitely learned a lot about the difference between clutter and useful detail. In a lot of cases, detail can be used to create a contrast between a foreground and a background element, or to help articulate a complex surface. Of course, it’s much easier to do on a computer, because I can get in there with the magnifying glass and noodle to my heart’s content. The trick is really to keep pulling back to a full-page view to make sure I’m not drawing such fine detail that it’s invisible at print resolution.
How long at any given time can you illustrate for? I’d imagine that you have to take quite a few breaks…

NS: I think my personal best is probably around the two-hour mark. After that, I need to stand up and let my eyes refocus at something distant. So I’ll usually work in a series of five or six two-hour bursts, with little breaks in between. I used to surf the internet during those breaks, but since my name has started popping up on the web, I’ve learned that I’m too easily distracted by comments about my work. Now I save the surfing for the end of the day.
Continued belowObviously Nonplayer is very influenced by videogames, and you initially worked in the video game industry before coming to comics. How different is it to work on a game than it is a comic, and what changes when it comes to illustrating a comic versus creating concept art for a game?

NS: Working on a game is a collaborative process, so you’re constantly exchanging ideas with team members and checking in with managers. A creator-owned comic, by contrast, happens in almost complete isolation. Having total creative control is wonderful, but I do miss the social interaction. I have a fantasy that once I make a little money from the comic, I’d like to start a studio of Seattle comic artists, sort of like what Periscope is to Portland. It can be very energizing to be around other artists who are grappling with similar challenges.
As far as the differences between concept art and comics — drawing a comic is actually a form of writing. You’re telling a story with pictures, which is just about the hardest thing in the universe to do. I find page layout especially daunting. I really envy guys like Mike Mignola who seem to be able to lay things out beautifully with so little fuss. After all my misadventures in page composition, I suspect I’d find concept art much easier if I went back to it. Only one panel to think about? What’s the catch?
What is the most difficult element of creating the world of Nonplayer? And conversely, what is the easiest?

NS: Well, having been a dinosaur guy, I find the fantasy creatures pretty easy to draw. The real-world parts of the story are pretty challenging, because it’s already such well-traveled territory. How do you follow Akira and Blade Runner and The Fifth Element? I want the world of the future to look credible, but I’d also like it to have its own personality. So I spend lots of time fretting about what doorknobs or cereal boxes should look like. Also, I sometimes have trouble with facial expressions — my characters can look a bit blank. So I’ll sometimes rework a face five or six times before I can live with it.
On your site you have some pages for Gordon and the Stareater. What was this, and are there any chances of it seeing a release (if it hasn’t already)?

NS: That was a comic I fiddled with in my spare time in 2005. It had some major story issues, and I never quite got it sorted out in my head before I started drawing. So I sort of painted myself into a corner. I think that story’s likely to stay on the shelf for a while. I look at it as a useful learning exercise.
In the digital age, new tools are available to artists all types. How does that affect and expand your work?

NS: Nonplayer absolutely wouldn’t have happened without digital tools. Being able to undo has given me the confidence to try things that I don’t think I’d have attempted with traditional media. And of course, my coloring style is completely dependent on Photoshop gradients and blend modes. And if you want to expand the list to include promotional tools like blogs, email, and social networks — all of these have been indispensable to Nonplayer’s emergence. I suppose Gordon and the Stareater is a useful comparison — I drew ten pages in total isolation, nobody noticed, I got demoralized and ran out of steam. For Nonplayer, I posted the pages to my blog as I drew them, people like Brandon Graham and Warren Ellis reposted the material, and suddenly I had an audience. I’m not at all sure Nonplayer #1 would have gotten finished if I’d been working in a vacuum.
Does feedback (both positive and negative) with fans and critics via social media push you as an artist? How does that aspect affect your art?

NS: I am way too sensitive to feedback. I’ll basically believe anything anybody says. So for a little while after Nonplayer #1 came out, I’d have whole days ruined by somebody on the internet saying my speech bubbles sucked or my dialogue was mediocre. But that can also push me to improve. As far as positive comments go — it can be very intoxicating. I think I got a little bit addicted to that dopamine hit that came with every compliment, to the point where I’d catch myself spending a lot of time cruising the internet for my next fix. Really, the solution to both problems was the same: unplug the internet cable while the sun is up. Maintaining an even keel has turned out to be the biggest challenge for me, post-release. Now it takes a bit more effort to keep both my neuroses and my ego in check.
In the average comic book criticism or review, artists are typically given a lot less hype than writers are, even though this is a visual medium. Why do you think that is?

NS: In the end, story is everything. I love great art, but I’d rather read a good story poorly drawn than a bad story drawn well. My favorite example of this is Neil Gaiman’s 24-hour comic about Heliogabalus. The man is emphatically not an artist, but he created the only 24-hour comic I’d ever describe as a page-turner.
Comics, even with increasing acceptance amongst the mainstream, are still a niche medium. With that in mind, have your friends and family always been supportive of your pursuit of a career in this field?

NS: My family has always supported my career tangents, so if anything’s going to stop Nonplayer, it’ll be hard, cold economic reality. The jury’s still out on whether or not Nonplayer can pay for itself. But as far as comics being insufficiently prestigious, no, I don’t think my family has any problems with the medium. After seeing the convention floor in San Diego, I think they’re amply convinced that there’s an audience out there.
Who are your favorite artists working in comics today?

NS: Brandon Graham, Benoit Springer, Moebius, Naoki Urasawa, Katsuhiro Otomo, James Stokoe, Marley Zarcone, Corey Lewis, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Mike Mignola, Bengal, Eric Canete, James Harren, Ryan Ottley, John Kantz, John Porcellino, Chris Ware… I know I’m forgetting a ton of people. Keep an eye out for Marcel O’Leary, too — he’s a new kid out of England who I think is going to turn some heads.
Desert Island question: one book, one album, one film and one comic. What do you take with you?

NS: Slaughterhouse Five, “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye, The Thin Red Line, and The Incal.
While we know you’re hard at work on the second issue of the series, can you tell us a bit about your plans for the release of the rest of the book? And do you have anything else on the docket for the coming year?
NS: For the coming year, Nonplayer is my only project. As much as I’d like to take on side work, I’m pretty bad at maintaining momentum while multitasking. As far as long-term plans, it’s looking like it will now take at least seven issues to get to the end of the first story arc. There has been some discussion about re-releasing the book as a series of large-format 50 page albums, so once the second issue is done we’ll hopefully get moving on that with Image. And then way down the road, it’ll of course be collected in trade form. I’m also in the process of working out reprint deals for several foreign languages, which I’m very excited about. I’m looking forward to hearing what Europeans think of the book!
