It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s DC Comics!
One of the world’s leading comic book publishers with its well known stable of superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and their teammates in the Justice League.

So just how does an artist break into the specialist and very competive field of comic book illustration? We ask Daniel Scott Gabriel Murray about his work at DC Comics, his Star Wars Cover artwork and his personal project GHOST, 15 years in the making.

Daniel when did you first realize that you wanted to be a commercial artist and illustrator?

When I was 5 I did a drawing, my Dad looked at it, he seemed to see something in it that I couldn’t see at that age and said, “Kid, keep that up, someday they’ll pay you for it”. So that’s exactly what I did. Drawing and Illustration has always been the Shaman that released the demons from my never silent head.

Did you gain any formal qualifications?

I attended Philadelphia College of Art for a short period in the early 80’s before some creative changes in the Regan administration cut funding for student loans. Apart from that It’s been the crash and burn method.

What made you choose to focus on the comic book style?

I was a HUGE fan of comics, cartoons and shows of the mid 1960’s. Growing up long before the age of 24 hour never ending television and the vastness of the web I sat and watched Herculoids, Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr., Star Trek [when it first came out ] and the holy grail of cartoons, Jonny Quest. And GHASP, I read books.

From a kid I’ve immersed myself in the world of the fantastic and like Peter Pan, I never grew up. At 46, married and with 3 grown children I still see the world with wonder. It’s the limitless world of the comic that allows me to venture into any direction I choose. Drives my wife nuts.

Have you always been a comic book fan?

Since I could read, yes.

What was your first commercial project?

Some advertising for a local firm in High School was the first ‘paying’ gig. Some horrid poster design for a DJ company, the design took longer to create than did their career in the DJ business. Hopefully that’s no reflection.

What have been the highlights in your art related career to-date?

Highlights? The greatest moment happened 2 years ago. I was at Comic Con in NYC and was introduced to one of the editors at DC Comics. We chatted and I offered to show my portfolio. After a few minutes, he said, “Yea, we got some work for you”. I was floored. “Don’t I have to sleep with a producer or something” I asked? Apparently not, I’m still doing image work for them and frankly I’m amazed. As a kid growing up it was a dream to work for one of the big ‘2’, the other obviously being Marvel. The fact that I literally walked into the booth, had a 20 minute meeting and VIOLA! They send me a check for doing something. Don’t get much better.

Well Ok, it does… At the same time [nearly] I ran into Bob Shreck, he was at the DC booth as well. Bob is Mr. BATMAN. He’s in charge of everything batman there. I had no idea really and was introduced quite by accident. Before I knew it he had my portfolio and after a few glances, [in which I braced myself to be ripped a new one] he complimented me and directed me the editor who just gave me the gig. I think the stars were aligned that day.

Other moments, Let’s see. Adam Hughes liked a Tomb Raider image I did, of course HE got a copy. [duh, he frikkin ADAM HUGHES] Had some great compliments from Jim Starlin and Mike Kalutta. How cool is it to meet people whose work has inspired you from 8 years old, meet them, have them look at your work and say, Wow, that’s really f*#@ing cool. Break out the cardio unit, I need to be defibulated.

How did you manage to get commissions with Lucas Film and DC?

DC, as mentioned was the right place at the right time. Lucasfilm was similar. I was at Comic Con in San Diego [Notice a trend here?] Demoing at the e-frontier [Poser] Booth. I met a man who worked for LF and we chatted, I had some pieces on display and he said “Want to do a cover for Star Wars Insider?”, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?? Who in their right mind would say no. Charles Manson perhaps. Not me Buckeroo… I managed not to pee my pants when offered the gig. There’s a handy tip for ya.

I understand that you are a police officer as well, how do you manage both careers?

That my friend is the $64,000 question.

Police work is a noble and proud tradition. And for the last 17 years I’ve been involved in Law Enforcement. Long story of how I got here from a comic kid, but here I am none the less. I walk in 2 worlds, one being the ultra cool world of Spiderman and the great artists that draw the adventures that inspire generations and the other is the never ending job of keeping the idiots that steal your stuff at bay. Trust me, keeping them separate is a chore. The folks I work beside are some of the bravest and hardest working people you’ll ever meet, Police work is a thankless job, Sure there are ding dong cops out there that screw up in a spectacular fashion and make us all look like dopes. BUT by and large the public doesn’t see what goes on behind the scenes and that’s the long hours put into investigations, patrolling the sticks and dealing with people that no one else wants to see. I’m proud to be one of the folks that runs toward that thing everyone else is running away from.

What art mediums do you use?

Every thing I do these days is digital. I grew up with pencils, oils and zip-a-tones. These days, Scanners, CGI and Photoshop.

What software do you use?

I use a number of software bits. E-frontier’s Poser 7 is a core, then there’s 3DS MAX, VUE and of course Adobe Photoshop.

How much of your work is based on Poser?

Darn near everything.

What do you find has been the main advantage of Poser for you?

Figures are pre-rigged, meaning that they’re already set up for posing [Hence the name Poser, go figure] Plus there’s a TON of content for Poser Figures. What I don’t have or doesn’t exist; I create in Photoshop or zBrush. The big advantage is that 3D allows me to see an image from an angle that I never though of initially. Just a tweak of a camera angle, or focal setting or changing lights makes an image 100% different. I could create figures in zBrush, but frankly I don’t have the time to model. Why reinvent the wheel? Someday perhaps…

Do you use a tablet?

I use a Wacom Intuos 3 6/8 can’t live without it.

Can you please explain your workflow from concept to final submission?

An idea forms in my rattle-trap of a mind. Sometimes I’ll sketch it out, sometimes no. Then into 3D. Usually I’ll create and position the main subject first and build the world around him/her/it. Assuming I don’t hate it, I’ll render it, then render the background separately, Assuming I don’t hate that. I’ll repeat this process as necessary until all of the elements are in place. Then, Phase II. [Sounds more impressive than it really is]

Photoshop. Inside PS I’ll layer everything so that all the elements are in the correct order. Now rule #7 SAVE YOUR WORK. Mac/PC/Linux I don’t give a tinkers cuss, save save save. You never know when a harddrive is gonna hick up or a piece of software is gonna foul up or if the planets are gonna align and allow great Cthulhu to awaken in R’leyh and cause everyone to go mad and sacrifice small childr….oh. um sorry. I never said anything about Cthulhu. Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn… Move along.

Anyway save save save. Rule #7 Never work on your original layers. Copy and work on that. Rule #7 [have I mentioned that all rules are rule #7?] Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Now assuming at that point I still don’t hate it. I’ll do my thing, repaint figures, create costumes, fix glitches, relight, add, remove, subtract, bend, fold, spindle and mutilate until it either A: Reaches a point where I scream “SCREW IT!” and delete the file or B: decide that I can stand it and finish it out.

What standards do you have to work to for publication?

You are at the mercy of your editor. They’re the ones signing off on the piece and they have the expectation of what they want. Rule #7, never bite the hand that feeds you. If your editor says “it’s great but I need him to wear underpants on his head…” then for God’s sake put underpants on his head. I have an editor at DC, God love her, she’s a sweetheart and she tells me what she wants, then I do that. I don’t stamp my feet, I never throw artist tantrums, I do what I’m told simply because they’re paying me to do it. I’ve had a number of extra gigs assigned to me because someone else backed out as a project wasn’t cool enough or didn’t feature a frontline character.

Folks I don’t care if I’m asked to create Commander Toilet Bowl and his side-kick Flushie. That’s what they pay me for. Create their vision. Artistic integrity is for my own work [which I’ll get to]. If your reputation as an artist is ‘Ok can do, I’ll have it for you tomorrow” then you’ll get called back time and time again. If it’s one of “What?! I did the way I wanted, he looks stupid the other way, I’m not changing it!” Then you’ll get paid your kill fee and the phone goes mysteriously silent.

Speaking of I’ll have it tomorrow, If you can turn around quality work fast your phone will ring more. I’ve gotten a bunch of ‘need it asap’ and that’s what they got. My editor calls me with work. The ground she walks on, I worship. Works out well.

What sort of deadlines do you have to work to?

One never knows. Lucus Film is generally 6 months in advance plus. Which is good, they’re quite particular. I did 34 versions of a cover for them. 34 kids. Granted they were not all finals but that’s still a lot of work. Bottom line, I got a check for a grand and see my stuff on a publication that goes world wide. DC is usually several months in advance as well. Other folks, depends,… rarely is there an OH MY GOD Deadline, but it has happened. 12 hours with the shortest I ever did. Made it though.

Here’s a bit of inside dirt. Licensing is where cash lives. Sequential Comic work is great and a huge ego boost. But Licensing pays better, less name recognition though. I did some work for DC that everyone on the planet sees everyday and will instantly recognize and no one knows I did it. I do, and have the check to prove it. No ego boost but it’s great in a portfolio. Cover work is great if you can get the gig. Usually they reserve covers for names that draw sales. [Read: Adam Hughes, Alex Ross] 3D/CGI Covers were tried and met with not-so-enthuisiastic response, it’s a drawback for me, I survive though.

Do you also work on the layout?

Depends, DC, here’s what you get: This is typical for one of their VS. trading card series.

There’s your cue artist. Do your thing.

As you can see there’s a lot of room here for freedom. Lucas film by contrast is very specific as to what they want. I get detailed paragraphs spelling out, angles, focus, framing etc. That’s their right, they know what they want, I’ll give it to them as best I can.

Rule #7, be wary of “Oh just send us something and we’ll see”. WARNING DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Tiptoe around this one. You can get sucked into the “that’s cool but not what I was thinking, let’s try again…” You’ve just entered the never ending cycle. Occasionally you need to set some ground rules. Be polite and professional but trying to see what they’re thinking without them telling you is a tiger trap that’s 40 feet deep.

Do you follow other art styles?

I follow everything. Frazetta, DaVinci, Brom, DeVries, Monet, Doug Wildey, you name it. Learn all that is learnable. All hail Alex Toth!

Do you think manga and other Asian styles are having an impact on more traditional western comic book styles?

Abso-friggin-lutely. Manga and Anime are creeping in all the time. Just look at the Manga section at Borders or Barns and Noble. Huge. Like it or not, it’s here gang. I love the dynamics and the drama. I can live without the doe eyed cat eared people though, what’s up with that? [JOKE, don’t hate me]

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?

How much room do I have? Yes. His name is Frank Frazetta. He’s the Sangrail of fantasy and hero illustration. If not for Frank, thousands of artists would have nothing to emulate. Gut level testosterone driven manly man men with women that make you go ‘oh my…’. Dynamics, light, power, emotion, beauty, sexuality. I only hope I can meet the man before he leaves this earth. I’m not fit to clean his bathroom…

Others? Dave DeVries. Great Guy [Hi Dave!] Excellent illustrator, brilliant execution, Hard working and a great mentor. I WOULD NOT have a DC gig without him.

Alex Horley. Again, great guy, beautiful painter. Don’t see him enough.

Rick Bryant, inker extraordinaire. Look him up. You’ll see.

Adam Hughes, Jim Starlin, Bill Sienkiewicz, the list is ad infinitum.

What advice would you give to those wanting to enter the world of comic book illustration?

There are hundreds and I do mean hundreds of artists clamoring for work. Go to conventions, you’ll see. [see next question] I’m a hack who was in the right place at the right time. Unless you’re Alex Ross or someone so outstanding that the world is beating a path to your door, it can be cut throat world like everything else.

Rule #7. The comic circle is very small. DO NOT CUT OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE. Screw over an editor or a client and see how fast the news spreads.

If you’re planning to get rich and retire drawing comics think again. Work, work work. Artists will tell you, it’s check to check and job to job. You’re always looking for another gig. Polite, professional, courtesy, respect, listen, directions, deadline. There ya go.

At conventions you’ll see artists that you’ve grown up with, I did. Artists who for years were the cat’s ass. Then styles change, tastes change. Now they’re working just like you, gig to gig. They have a name and they have the chops, still they’re getting work like everyone else.

Do you think the various comic book conventions are a help to budding artists?

YES! Go to contentions, you’ll meet people who will guide you. Show your work. ACCEPT CRITISIM. Take advice, learn. You’re gonna meet people who are the salt of the earth, you’re gonna meet people who will cut you down to nothing. Avoid the latter. Reputations on who to avoid will make themselves known.

Meet editors, make appointments, be prepared. Have 10-15 pieces of your best work ready to go, clean polished, not tattered crap, have a card with your contact information there and then. Don’t be afraid, you’re gonna get rejected, hit everyone, small press, obscure publications, the big boys, everyone. If it’s what you want, you WILL find it.

Network. You meet people who know people, who know people. 6 degrees of separation. I met a dear friend/amazing artist/great guy at a convention years ago, he introduced me to another artist/great guy who is kick ass who hangs out with Frank Frazetta, and suddenly I have an introduction to his place in PA. Go figure.

Please do tell us of the progress of your personal work GHOST. I understand the first draft is now complete?

GHOST. The dream of a High School comic nerd daydreaming sitting in English class reading the Scarlet Letter. GHOST has been my baby since Junior year. She’s waited and evolved since sometime around 1977, jeez am I that old?

Time is what it is, All things in their time. It took all these years for the story to gestate. Through many incarnations she’s evolved. Now I’m working with a writer who understands what I want and in whom I trust to let her run with the story and I must say, she’s doing an amazing job. Draft 1 is complete. 200 pages of story. Now to move to Draft 2 and bring her to life.

What has the initial feedback been like?

Very positive. What impresses people is the story. Here’s the rub. STORY. You can have all the kick ass imagery you want, if you have no story, you’ve got nothing. Hamlet, Richard III, King Lear, Macbeth, these are stories that are timeless, that are passed from generation to generation told over and over again “…let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven, Keep me in temper:” Story is the thing.

Look at the Matrix Movie Series, Lots of visual brilliance. What happened to the story? Crinkle, snap, fizzle. The trick is to take a chick in a cat suit and write a story that makes you interested in her life, if all she does is fight evil and look sexy, then frankly, who friggin cares. Big deal. So what?. It’s been done to death. Next. [See Catwoman, even with Halle Berry, wow stinkerino. Must have been the same moron who wanted to make Superman with no costume, no flying and who fights a giant spider. He went on to make Wild Wild West. Uh huh… now you know how Hollywood works.]

GHOST, and I’m tooting my own horn here, is story driven. It chronicles the life of a woman who from birth is tortured by dreams she can’t control. Whose life is one of anguish and loss. Yet it’s all preparing her for who she was born to be. ‘Angels still walk the earth, they’re just not what you think.

When are we likely to see they first book released?

2008 if the stars are right. I’ve got a lot of illustration to do. We’ve decided on a illustrated novel as opposed to a graphic novel. A prose story with full page illustrations, 100+, Avoids word balloons, and panels and can capture an entire moment, Plus doing 4 100 page graphic novels [it’s written in 4 books] would take AGES in 3D. My shoulder would give out and it’d be released around 2040.

And finally we have to ask who is your favourite superhero and why?

Batman. One of the greatest ever conceived. A man, that’s all. No power, no ability, Just a man. He can bleed and he can die. He’s hurt, he’s driven and he borders on mental instability on occasion. He’s us, trying to make sense of a world that took his family in the thunder of a .45, an action so simple any coward could do it. Pull a trigger for greed. We see it all the time in cities across America. We see it in Iraq. He’s created and recreated everyday somewhere.

Everyday someone’s life is destroyed by an event beyond their control. There is no rhyme or reason. There just is. How you deal with it is the rub. Some of us overcome, some of us succumb, some of us become the thing that took our very lives, some of us never face it and every so often, some of us become Batman.

It’s our story, THAT’S why it’s endured. Story, Story, Story.

Peace. Out.

Daniel

http://www.alpc.com/

Interview by Daryn Fitz
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