Interviews 

Artist August: Ramón Pérez [Interview]

By | August 29th, 2013
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

One of the most renowned and varied artists in recent years, Ramón Pérez is a veteran of all kinds of projects, including recent work on Marvel’s “Wolverine & The X-Men” and “Uncanny X-Force,” Jim Henson’s “A Tale of Sand” and even his own creator-owned webcomics in “Kukuburi” and “Butternutsquash.”

Pérez has developed quite the career thanks to his energetic style and fluid, lifelike storytelling. Today on Artist August, we talk to Pérez about his growth as an artist, his recent work, the pressure associated with telling the story of one of his idols, and much more.

What made you first appreciate comics, and how did you first decide that you wanted to pursue it as a career?

Pérez: To be honest comics was never really a career choice per se, it was more an aspect of one. I love to draw, and especially tell stories through my art; I’ve been doing that as long as I can remember. I predominantly grew up reading newspaper strips; Garfield, Frank & Ernest, Hagar The Horrible, and of course; Calvin & Hobbes, to name a few, along with the infamous Archie digests, and spanish comics like Mortadelo y Filemon. It wasn’t till much later, probably my early teen years, where I started reading Marvel (and some DC) series such as Classic X-Men (the reprints), Moon Knight, and Epic series Elfquest, and Alien Legion. Despite being a huge fan of the classic 60’s Batman TV series, I was never able to get into the comics. Later, as I attended college my tastes changed and I picked up books like Sandman, Kid Eternity, Sandman Mystery Theatre, Hellboy, and then later 100 Bullets; probably the last ongoing series I collected.

In college I studied Illustration and began my career in that regard, with a side-line love of comics. Even though I put together portfolios, I never focused my efforts entirely in getting work in comics, I rather focussed on the greater whole; getting work as an artist. With comics, I had no interest in jumping through hoops which I find this industry has you do a lot of, I’ve heard the term “proving yourself” so many times it’s suffocating. I had my portfolio, and stood by it. While developing my career as an illustrator (predominantly in role-playing game books, concept design, magazines, editorial, and children’s books) I also began to develop my own webcomics; first Butternutsquash, followed later by Kukuburi. It was when people began to take notice of my independent comics works, combined with my illustration work that my comic career began to develop.

There are digital tools for every aspect of art in comics these days. How traditional do you stay, or have you incorporated digital tools into the process of your artwork?

Pérez: I do most of my preliminary layouts digitally, and have been doing so for a couple of years now. However, I then refine and ink the pages more traditionally. Though sometimes I have done some smaller projects completely digitally; like my upcoming short in the True Patriots anthology. From the day I began doing webcomics I’ve also been colouring digitally as well, though I often want to revisit more traditional media like watercolour. In the end, as much as I love the benefits of working digitally, the tactile and randomness of traditional media always is preferred. Plus, I hate staring into a monitor for hours on end.

Right now, you’re working on Wolverine and the X-Men at Marvel. For you as an artist, what appeals to you about working on this book? Why is it a good fit for you as an artist?

Pérez: As of this point I’ve wrapped my arc on Wolverine and the X-men, but I did quite enjoy my time while there! The team was just outstanding, from being able to work with Jason Aaron, and then have Laura Martin colour my work; I was truly spoiled! Nick Lowe, and Jordan White, were fantastic to work under. Wonderful editors, inspiring, a truly perfect fit – I do miss it.

The appeal of working on such a series is that I get to collaborate with such great talent, and gain knowledge from such experiences. Whether it be the craft of writing, and character development from Jason, or colour inspiration, and tricks, from Laura. Every book should be such a great learning experience.

Continued below

Perez's Work from Wolverine and the X-Men

Wolverine and the X-Men is a book that has a rotating cast of artists on it. For you as an artist, does that fit you better? Is a monthly schedule too daunting for you as a creator?

Pérez: It’s great to be able to step away from a project and take on new opportunities in the interim. Especially with Marvel’s double shipping schedule on such books, no artist can keep up with such a schedule and maintain a healthy lifestyle. By sharing the limelight with Nick Bradshaw and Chris Bachalo, both artists I admire, it gives you a little breathing room allowing you to do good work, and also inspires you as you see the art your peers are creating. You don’t want to burn out or else the quality of the work suffers. Would I hate being a month to month artist on a series that I enjoy? Of course not, but it doesn’t hurt to have some extra time to do some of my own projects on the side, or work with other creators whose work I admire.

One of the things I love most about the book and your work on it is how lively and energetic your illustrations of the kids are. When you started working on the book, what did you do to help develop the look of the cast in your vision? How closely did you work with Jason Aaron in doing that?

Pérez: First off, thank you. It’s something I aspire to; bringing life to characters in these 2D worlds we play in. To be honest, I pretty much jumped into the deep end without looking. I created my interpretation of the characters as I drew them on the page. There was no preliminary sketching or development. I just took Jason’s script, which fully defines the cast through descriptions and dialogue, and as I sat and drew I tried to get into each characters head and think; based on their dialogue and descriptions what would their body language be? What kind of shoes would they wear? How would they wear their school uniform, and so on.

A page from A Tale of Sand

A book you worked on in the past couple years that generated a huge amount of acclaim for you was Jim Henson’s A Tale of Sand. I’ve always been curious about the origins of that project. How did that project come together for you?

Pérez: I had been working as a fill in artist with Jim McCann on a Dazzler comic for Marvel and he in turn had recommended me to Archaia Entertainment.

They were sitting on the un-filmed screenplay that was Jim Henson’s Tale Of Sand, and they approached myself, along with a few other artists, about doing a graphic novel version of Henson’s vision. Like so many I had been a huge fan of Jim Henson and was immediately interested in the project. I did a couple samples as to how I would possibly interpret the script which were then shared with Lisa Henson. She admired my interpretation and chose me as the artist to adapt the screenplay. It was a grueling schedule to finish on time but it was so worth it. I felt like I had come full circle by adapting a work of one of my creative idols.

When it came to actually adapting the book, what were the challenges of adapting something by Henson, a man who is one of the most beloved creators ever? Did you feel a lot of pressure in bringing that project to life?

Pérez: I never really felt any pressure during the process of adapting the story. It felt quite natural. I just did what I did and stuck to my vision. Some pressure came in maintaining the schedule so the book would get out (relatively) on time. But this is something I’m used to working as a freelance artist; at times you disappear and devote yourself to a project, and when it’s done you reappear. The only real nervousness came once I had finished the book, and it was released. I recall the day it came out, nervously wondering how the public would digest this strange creation. I had been working in a vacuum, doing what felt right to me, but now it had been released to the public and it was their time to judge…

Continued below

Last time I checked, you were a member of RAID Studio with a number of other hugely talented artists in Toronto. For you as an artist, what does working in a studio around other talented artists do for you? Do you find that you push each other’s work in such an environment?

Pérez: Conditioning yourself to make it into the studio is a great bonus. Rolling out of your bed in your pajamas and walking over to your drafting table is nice but it can lead to too many late starts and distractions at home. With my studio mates it is also great to be able to fire ideas off each other and get second thoughts on panel layouts and such. You can easily find yourself inspired when you work with a group of talented people. A quick check in with a peer can jog the mind when you hit a bit of creative brick wall.

Previously, you’d worked on creator-owned web comics ButterNutSquash and Kukuburi. Both were left open ended, but obviously, you’ve gotten just a little busy. Could you see yourself going that direction again some day? Is working in creator-owned something you’re interested in?

Pérez: This is definitely a direction I want to return to. I would say it’s more my calling than anything else, and where I derive the most creative joy from. There is more to come from Kukuburi (I am planning on a sabbatical to wrap up the existing first story arc), and as for Butternutsquash, we gave that a open ended closure. Though, my co-creator Rob Coughler and I have been talking about it again recently. It’s been almost 15 years since our lives reflected the characters we first brought to the web. It would be interesting to write about our lives as they are now and let the audience see the directions our characters have taken in those intervening years.

I have so many ideas above and beyond Butternutsquash and Kukuburi, and every story will (hopefully) be told, it’s just really about organizing my time and creating a balance within my career, between my corporate work and my more independent endeavors.

Lastly, you’re in a studio with other gifted artists and a city filled with others. I’m curious, whose work from both today and yesteryear do you find inspiring to you as an artist?

Pérez: This is something that is always morphing and changing as I discover new artists; whether they be current or those from years gone by. I would happily rhyme off such great comic artists as Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan, Duncan Fegredo, John Paul Leon, Stuart Immonen, David Aja, and Jock, along with youthful contemporaries such as James Harren, as definite influences. There are great classic artists whose work inspires, such as Alex Toth, Alex Raymond, Al Williamson, Albert Dorne, Johnny Craig, Stan Drake, and Hank Ketchum. Throw in some classic artists like Durer, Schiele, Klimnt, and Mucha, as well as renown illustrators such as Robert McGinnis and the list just keeps growing…


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David Harper

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