Karina Sembiring
CEP121.2204
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Interview Report
The person I chose as the interviewee was one of the professors in the Art
department by the name of Helmut Eppich. Besides working as a professor in LaGuardia,
he is also an accomplished comic artist, and he had released many titles. He had been a
professional for over twenty years starting around mid 1980s. Prof. Helmut’s specialty is
in the sci-fi genre and he also has vast knowledge on the history of comic books dating
back to the early 1950s. During the interview, he kindly brought along his portfolio and
showed me some of his original and copy sketches, and also samples of finished pages
for a project that he is currently working on. The comic field, especially in America, is
dominated by two big publishers, which are DC and Marvel, but Prof. Helmut claimed
that he is more interested in working with independent publishers because he feels that
they give him more freedom in workplace and also freedom to express his creativity.
Being a comic artist has intrigued me ever since I was a little child, inspired by
the graphic novels I used to read. Prof. Helmut stated that he firmly believed the same
goes to most of the comic artists nowadays. Many started by loving certain comic books
along with the experience derived from reading them, and from then on came the
inspiration and ideas. Another part of being a comic artist that intrigues me is just the
simple fact that I can ‘write’ in visual form. I realized that I best express my artistic skills
through this technique, and I enjoy creating comic pages as much as I love the art of
drawing.
Karina Sembiring
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CEP121.2204
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Like many other occupation, being a comic artist also has its downside. Prof.
Helmut and I agreed on the issue of deadlines. I have an experience as a comic artist
myself, and I know exactly how it feels. Deadlines have always been the frustrating part
of a job, be it as an artist or in any other profession. Prof. Helmut mentioned that he often
had to pull an all-nighter in order to meet the time limit, and sometimes it would last for
days. Another concern includes dealing with difficult editors, but according to Prof.
Helmut this is less likely to occur. However, when it happens it can be bothersome
especially to the artist and often leads to discomfort in the workplace.
I would definitely consider a career in this field. As I mentioned above, I have a
passion on thriving as a comic artists and I am determined to accomplish such goal.
Currently, I am working toward fulfilling that particular ambition by working as a parttime illustrator and comic artist. I accept commissions from both online and a few
connections I have gathered for the past four years. Similar to Prof. Helmut, I have
worked with a few independent publishers, but I am looking forward to publishing a
series of graphic novels under bigger publishers. The progress on my effort has been
quite fruitful and I am continuing to improve the quality of my works as well as putting
my name out.
The interview I conducted with Prof. Helmut had presented some very interesting
difference of the working methods between the American comic artists and other comic
artists. According to him, in the United States each page-making process differs from one
company to another, but they are still essentially the same in the matter of breaking down
the tasks. There are the writer, penciler, inker, letterer, and colorist, and each has their
own share of pay. Prof. Helmut said that writer receives the highest income, while the
Karina Sembiring
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CEP121.2204
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rank between the rests is fairly uncertain. This type of process was unknown to me before
because I work under a totally different way. I am aware that comic artists from other
countries also depend on their assistants, but usually the main artist would double as the
writer and penciler. In other country, in addition, there is no colorist, but rather it is
replaced with what is called a ‘toner’, meaning the person responsible for applying the
gray tones since most comic books in other countries are in black and white format. If a
colorist were wanted, the main artist would typically take over the responsibility. This
working procedure, however, is not absolute. Some artists prefer working by themselves (
I am the perfect example) just because of the sole reason of freedom despite the heavy
workload.
When I mentioned the growing influence of Japanese cartoons and comics over
American ones, I am surprised when Prof. Helmut said that they never really compete,
but rather inspire each other. For instance, there are many Japanese sci-fi works that are
inspired by American movie masterpieces, and many American superheroes that derived
their muse from famous Japanese characters. Prof. Helmut believes that both cultures
actually complement each other and they will continue on doing so. The impact on the
comic world can been seen today by the art style younger comic artists develop. Many no
longer favor the generic big-eyed Japanese manga style, nor they favor the overly
muscled superheroes style that American artists are so accustomed to. Instead, young
artists nowadays incorporate the best elements from both sides into a new comic style
that is very appealing to many people. This particular style is evident in works published
by publishers such as UDON, Dark Horse, and even the two comic giants DC and
Marvel.
Karina Sembiring
No. of Pages: 4
CEP121.2204
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Majoring in Art in LaGuardia actually has little impact on my skill as a comic
artist. However, as an artist in general I have gained a lot of knowledge, both technical
and historical, about art that can be applied into my career. The technical skills are in
particular significant since those are the ones that I will most often employ. I still need to
improve my paneling, script making, and coloring skills, and I hope to develop those as
soon as I enrolled in my choice of art school. The art school that I am planning to attend
after I graduate from LaGuardia has an illustration/cartooning major, and from the
reputation of the school, I am certain that they can provide me with exceptional
education.
Aside from being a comic artist, I have also considered other art related career
such as graphic and web designer, art director, and even fashion designer. These types of
careers I have considered pursuing before, but I decided to stay with the decision of
succeeding as a comic artist. Nevertheless, that does not mean that I completely disregard
the other choices. I especially have interest in the fashion field, and in my spare time I
have come up with multiple designs influenced by the goth/punk culture. These designs
were presented to some of my connections and many were pleased with them. Maybe
someday I will collaborate with a designer and create my own clothing label just as I
always have been dreaming.