ZOMGWTFINTERVIEW: Scott Hepburn
Interview by Bowmanitis
Scott Hepburn is a 35 year old comic book artist from originally from Port Elgin now living in Toronto. We attended classical animation together at Sheridan Collage Oakville back in 1998 and have watched him grow up over the years, into the unstoppable professional artist he is today. Scott is presently finishing issue #5 of 12 miniseries named Orchid, written by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, being released by Dark Horse comics. I recently caught up with Scott and asked him about his adventures so far.
Full interview & artwork after the jump.
Q – What are some of you more favorite titles that you have worked on?
A – I did enjoy working on the Star Wars titles a few years back. Being part of franchise like that makes you feel like your work is being seen and appreciated, and it got me fans from that world who may have never seen my drawings otherwise.
Q – How the hell did you get this Morello gig?
A – Well, I was doing work for Dark Horse for a couple years, on the Star Wars titles I mentioned. So when they needed an artist for Orchid my name was thrown in a hat. I got an email last year asking if I was available for a 12 issue series and given a breakdown of the story and characters. Oh and by the way it’s written by Tom Morello.
I read the material and was really excited by the visuals built into the book. I could see a lot of the characters and potential scenes right away. So I did a couple of sketches and sent them off with an email saying I was very interested, and the next thing I know I’m on the phone with Tom Morello talking comics for an hour.
Q – How much of these images/characters is your own creation? Obviously you had some direction. Was this one of your more liberating endeavors to date?
A – The characters had clear personality and some visual cues built into them but I had a lot of freedom to bring them to life. I worked close with Tom to get the feel of them right for his vision of the book but from the very beginning Tom’s and my sensibilities have been very close.
This book has been the most creatively satisfying work I’ve ever done. From characters to locations to page layouts and stylistic approach, everything on the page is mine. Seeing an illustrator like Massimo Carnevale use my designs is amazing.
Q – How did you enjoy your animation schooling and what did you take away from the experience?
A – I’m really glad i went to school for animation rather than fine art or illustration. Though I’m sure there’s strengths to having those backgrounds as well. Animation teaches about story telling in a way that translates very well to comics. The workman’s approach to drawing, the fundamentals of art in anatomy and perspective and composition.
Q – What were your major influences artists, TV shows and movies growing up?
A – It’s hard to pin down what exactly my influences are given how much TV movie comic books and video games I’ve taken in over the years. I have a laundry list of artist that I love but my earliest idols where Mike Mignola and Art Adams. When I was setting the style for Orchid I looked a lot at Guy Davis, Sean Murphy, Rafael Albuquerque, and Goran Parlov. Artists that have a loose confident style, with great storytelling and composition.
Q – For those who don’t know, what is R.A.I.D. Studio?
A – The R.A.I.D. (Royal Academy of Illustration & Design) Studio is a working art studio with a bunch of the top comic book artist from around Toronto. Its roster has changed over the years but currently we have Ramon Perez, Willow Dawson, Andy Belanger, Francis Manapul, Marcus To, Kalman Andrasofszky, and myself.
Q – What comic characters would you love to work on one day? Fantasy top 5
A – My dream, ultimately is to take over drawing the Family Circus. Failing that, Hellboy, Batman, Hulk, Wolverine, Spiderman, Thor.
Q – Shameless plug time. What’s your site and who are you checking out these days?
A – I haven’t kept up with my old blog for over a year now but you should check out all the books that the R.A.I.D Studio gang are doing. Kill Shakespeare by IDW, Jim Henson’s Tales of Sand by Archia, The Flash and Huntress by DC , Hyena in Petticoats by Penguin.
Q – What’s next? After this great gig is done what’s next for Mr. Hepburn?
A – I have no idea what the future will be. this will take me into late 2012. I do have a couple personal projects I’d like to pitch. If I can talk my way onto a Hellboy title, or a Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (both also published by Dark Horse), I’d be pretty happy.
