Collector's Confessions Interview
Added 2025-04-30 00:08:21 +0000 UTCAn interview I did for the Collector's Confessions podcast is now up and available for viewing/listening. We talked about comics, Staten Island, Milk & Cheese, fandom, going to comic conventions as a kid in NYC, and some other stuff I can't remember offhand. Look for Winky the Pirate Cat's appearance in the beginning of the interview.
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mJZaDScliI
Comments
There's a couple of reasons. For one thing, I never wanted to draw like someone else because I understood that was pointless. Copying is a way to learn but professionally, it's a way to earn a reputation as being generic and replaceable. And I thought it would be embarrassing to swipe an art style, it felt like theft. Influence is one thing, and slipping into someone's style in places can happen, but mimicking a style is a disservice to the artist you're emulating, yourself and the audience. Also, even if I wanted to be a Kirby or Elder clone, I'm not good enough. That barrier certainly keeps my style my own. I have a lot of quirks and shortcuts I developed early on to get around my lack of proficiency in drawing, and some of those stuck with me as I tried to improve my art. Also, as I got older, other people and things influenced me, and that added to the soup and turned it into whatever my style is now. It's still a tug of war between cartoony and trying to do a mainstream style if I'm working on some projects. When I work on a licensed project like The Simpsons, I wanted to do it as close to "on model" as possible, even though I was told I didn't have to, because I don't have a ton of confidence in my style and the Simpsons style was very strong and I was able to do a pretty good job aping it. If nothing else, it just kind of happens. Your style comes out of you eventually, unless you consciously choose to show off the influences of the artists you copies when starting out. Some artists choose a style they like and develop their style with the overarching approach in mind. Some unconsciously develop a style, the influences soak in and their style is a kind of osmosis. I'm the latter, I guess. I just drew and a style emerged, and it didn't really crystalize until I was in my 30-40s to where I felt I drew decently.
Evan Dorkin
2025-04-30 22:41:08 +0000 UTCHow did you develop your own drawing style? How did you let go of the overwhelming urge to draw like the people that influenced you and find your own artistic voice?
Doug Bostick
2025-04-30 22:22:44 +0000 UTCYes! For some reason I can NEVER remember it, even after being reminded. And I had the Atari 2600 version, also. Video game senility. But I can recall that morning just watching people play at Playland in Times Square. Glad you liked the interview!
Evan Dorkin
2025-04-30 22:09:06 +0000 UTCEvan, the game you couldn't recall the name of was WARLORDS. Good interview!
Jamar Nicholas
2025-04-30 20:53:40 +0000 UTC
