Hi Skybounders,
It’s Tuesday again, and that means 7 Questions. For this week’s questions, I spoke with Todd Nauck, the amazing artist behind Guarding the Globe.
1. You have been drawing fun and upbeat pages for near twenty years… how do you keep excited to hit the art boards every day?
I started at Image’s Extreme Studios in 1994. Still feels like yesterday sometimes…
What keeps me excited to hit the boards? A non-stop love and passion for comics and storytelling. I’ve been drawing all of my life. I draw almost every single day in one way or another. I’m thankful that I get to draw comics for a career and enjoy every moment as best as I can.
2. How has it been drawing the Guardians of the Globe- are they no more or less challenging than the previous rosters you’ve tackled?
I’ve been reading Invincible since issue #1. It’s one of my favorite reads every month. So I was very familiar with most of Robert’s superheroes. It was very cool when Robert contacted me with the offer to draw this new monthly.
Most of my past projects have involved team books with a fairly large cast (WildGuard, Young Justice, NewMen). I love drawing lots of characters. Cory and Ryan’s designs are fun and fresh. It’s a blast to draw them! Some of the designs have been a little challenging. But that’s still fun. Like figuring out a puzzle and mastering it.
3. How has the process been working with Phil Hester? He’s drawn comics – has that affected the way you two work?
Phil is the first writer I’ve worked with that is also a pro artist. He’s been very complimentary of my art/storytelling. That means a lot since I have a great respect for his art (His work on Green Arrow was awesome!).
Phil has been really easy to work with and open to my input and questions. And his plots have been crazy fun to work on. It’s exciting every time a new script comes in and I get to see what happens next!
4. Okay, break it down for me: how did you become such an amazing draftsman?
Wow. Thanks! You know, it’s pretty much years of practice, studying and trying to find new/better ways to draw things. I try to challenge myself as much as I can and evolve as an artist. And I feel my current work penciling and inking Guarding the Globe is my best work to date.
5.Have you changed your process with the advent of drawing tablets, iPads, and so on?
I’m still drawing everything on paper. I do use Photoshop for resizing and converting the art to blue lines from layouts to pencils to inks.
I’d love to try some of the new tablet tech. It’s amazing to see what artists are doing with that stuff nowadays. But I still think I would prefer to do finished art on a board and have that one-of-a-kind piece of art.
6. Which comics on the stands are grabbing your attention currently?
Dan Slott is making Amazing Spider-Man crazy fun. Geoff Johns has made Aquaman cool and bad ass. I finally got into Walking Dead via the trades last year (never thought I’d get into a horror comic!). Danger Club is my most recent discovery. The first 2 issues have been interesting. I look forward to seeing where Walker and Jones take that story.
I’ve also found myself really getting back into comics from my youth (the 80’s-early 90’s). I’m enjoying reading (or re-reading) series like John Byrne’s She-Hulk, Walt Simonson’s Thor, or the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League.
7. Outrun or Flash—who would win in a race?
Which Flash are we talking about? New 52, Old DCU, Barry Allen, Wally West, Jay Garrick, Bart Allen?
I think that would be an awesome crossover to find out who would be faster… And I think Wally West Flash and Outrun’s personalities would make for an interesting mix!
