Section 6:  School of Visual Arts/Art School

When I was in high school/college there were many students I knew who would love to become comic book artists, but they always seemed to dread the art class lessons of perspective drawing, figure drawing, color theory, etc. What advice would you give to these students? What’s important to succeed in this field?  (i)

When I was a kid, I would always eat my vegetables first. Instead of drawing the gravy part, take care of the spinach — and you’ll soon develop massive forearms of a consummate draughtsman.

What is your take on art schools in general?  Do you think that they are necessary to make it in the art industry?  (xii)

Things have changed so much since I graduated which is weird because it’s only been like 5 years.  I’ve just seen a huge momentum in the art world mainly due to the internet and the proliferation of pop art culture through magazines and new pop culture stores opening up.  I guess nowadays you really can acquire an arts education just over the internet looking at your favorite artists, stealing…err, borrowing…from them.  Art school, however, for me was really important.  I was there for four years and it pushed me to a level I wouldn’t have been able to achieve on my own just reading comics.  Now with that education my mind is more perceptive and aware of different things.  It really affects how I think critically about art, my craft, and the business.  Things are definitely changing…and really quickly, too.  It’s kind of scary in a way, but I think things are getting better.  People are getting visually savvy and more in tune with what artists are doing.  Even when I was in school I knew nothing of this Southern California arts culture.  Basically, art school is what you make of it. 

You studied at the School Of Visual Arts in NY. What sort of work did you do whilst studying there? How did it affect your career? (iv)

I was in the illustration department, and I studied with great artists such as Jim McMullan, Thomas Woodruff, and Steve Assael. The practice and knowledge I gained at SVA is absolutely vital to the way I work now.

Tell me a little about your training at SVA.  (ix)

…or "svah" as we called it.  Our foundation year consisted of painting, sculpture, photography, and graphic design classes even though I had chosen cartooning as my major.

This broad exposure to art helped me discover that I was a far better painter than a cartoonist, so I soon changed my major to illustration, and learned the many technical aspects of conceiving a picture.

I spent most of my time trying to master drawing and painting, and probably sat in twice as many classes as I was allowed to take.

Any noteworthy professors?  (ix)

My most influential teachers were Jim McMullan, Steven Assael, and Thomas Woodruff.  They all had very different approaches and opinions about art, which clashed at times, but I got along well in their classes.