April 04, 2011

Interview with artist Dave Hamann

Hello,

Today we bring you an interview with artist Dave Hamann. For those who don't know, Dave Hamann is the illustrator of Richelle Meads "Dark Swan" graphic novel.




GCR: Hi Dave, thank you for visiting Good Choice Reading and for taking the time to answer our questions today.

D: Thanks for having me!

GCR: How long have you been an artist?

D: I have been drawing pretty much since, I wanna say, the 3rd grade? Mostly
Ninja Turtles and Darkwing Duck back then. My mother undoubtedly still has
some of them stashed away from blackmail purposes. I didn't get serious
about it as a career, though, until I decided I was going to go to college
and spend way too much money on art school.

GCR: When you first drew up Eugenie, did you have in mind exactly how you wanted
her to look?

D: Pretty much. I've read all of Richelle's books prior to getting this gig,
so I was well versed on the Dark Swan characters and their descriptions in
the books. She's pretty straight forward.
Sea Lion actually had a couple different artists take stabs at her first,
however, and so I just basically tweaked her a little from there.

GCR: Out of all your work, is there one you're most proud of? If so, would you
share it with us?

D: A project I was really proud to work on was the "33" back up for the Amory Wars. I'd been harassing Claudio Sanchez online and at cons, and when he wasn't around his (now) wife Chondra, with sample packets. I'm a huge fan of the band Coheed & Cambria so finally breaking them down and getting to work on a story that so closely followed a song was a pretty greatmoment for me.

Dark Swan is rapidly moving up the list, though. It's always great when you
get to work on characters and worlds you already enjoy. That doesn't happen
all that often when you're freelancing.

GCR: Have you ever based any of your illustrations on real life?

D: I've done a few portraits of people here and there. There were a few assignments back in college where we were asked to draw out a scene from our lives. One particular was our trip and subsequential arrival to the actual school.

GCR: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to do what you do?

D: Draw all the time and love it. If sitting and drawing upwards of 20 hours(
often times more) a day isn't something that sounds appealing, I would
recommend pursuing another line of work. It's not something most people can
be successful at if they just kinda like doing it. It's very hard, very
frustrating and even depressing at times. You need a thick skin in order to
survive.

GCR: What about the good choice reading logo stands out to you the most? By the way, thank you so much for the picture of Eugenie wearing a good choice reading shirt. We love it!

D: Great! Glad you enjoyed it! I think the first thing I noticed when I saw your logo was how crisp and clean the "girls graphic" was.

GCR: Can you share with us what you're currently working on now?

D: Right now I am working on the cover for Dark Swan, issue 4. From there it's full speed ahead with issue 2 interiors and some Otherworld designs.




Lot's of Thanks to Sea Lion Books and Dave Hamman!



If you missed the press release about Richelle Mead's "Dark Swan" Graphic Novel, you can check it out here: Richelle Mead's - Dark Swan Graphic Novel Press Release.



2 comments:

  1. What is not to love about Richelle mead. I loved the interview with Dave. I am amazed at the amount of time he dedicates to drawing. His drawings are incredible.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great interview! And the drawings are fantastic. Love that style. Seems so simple but it isn't--at all. Complex simplicity is hard to create. Love!

    ReplyDelete

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