[HISSTANK]

Originally posted by: Shin Densetsu @ Hisstank.com

Quote:

HISS Tank had the chance to interview G.I. Joe Origins artist Tom Feister recently. In this interview, Feister talks about artist's block, his favorite influences, his plans for G.I. Joe in the future, advice for aspiring comic book artists, and more!

Check out the full interview below, and don't forget to check out Feister's work on G.I. Joe Origins, The Darkness, and more!

HISS Tank-Will you be we teaming up with Tony Harris, your partner from EX-Machina again on a future *G.I. Joe* book?

Tom Feister- No.

HT- Who are your most significant influences?

TF- There are several, they range from Dave Johnson, Alex Toth, Adam Hughes, Gil Kane, Steve Rude, J.C. Leyendecker, NC Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Albert Dorne, Mike Zeck, and many more. Wyeth in particular has a painting of a parrot in a cage, that looks incredibly realistic, but is rendered with just SIX brush strokes. I try to look more at painters and illustrators outside of comics. Painter Edward Hopper has been a huge influence on my work. His paintings are bascially just flat colors laying next to each other and the color choices describe the form of the image. I think my originals are dismissed by people because they don't see the final piece. I've seen my pen and ink drawings unfavorably described as looking "like a coloring book". Fine, I get that, but I think they miss the point. For some artists, that original is the work of art. I get that. I marvel at the guys that make highly detailed pen and ink drawings. But that's not how I see the image. To me the drawing is just step two. My approach to an illustration is that that drawing is just the foundation from which to make the final color from. The colored image is my goal. The more I put down on the inked version the less freedom I have in the color stage.

HT- That lives up to the saying of "less is more".

TF- Exactly.

HT- Do you have any vehicle covers in the works?

TF- There is nothing planned right now, but I'm hoping to do some eventually. I really want to draw a cover with the VAMP & Clutch. I beat the hell out of my VAMP as a kid and I feel like I owe poor Clutch some payback. The Jet pack has to show up too, but It hasn't come up yet* *NOTE: G.I. Joe Origins #13 features a Skystriker on the cover**.

HT- Between Rise of Cobra and Resolute, which one did you like best?

TF- I preferred Resolute. It was what I wanted the movie to be. I think the film maker failed

HT- What is your overall goal when illustrating your covers?

TF- My main goal is to get you, the prospective reader to notice it above all the other books on the rack and be interested enough pick it up and look at it. If I can't get the book in your hands you're not going to buy it. That's the job of a cover artist. Personally, my take on the look for Origins is I want the characters to look the way I originally saw them during childhood. ***Feister added that he prefers the V1 look of Snake Eyes with the ski mask over the V2 knight visor...something he shares in common with DESTRO***

HT- A question that came up at the start of G.I. Joe Origins, is why aren't you drawing the interiors anymore?

TF- There were serious family issues related to my Father's health that came up at the time I started working on #1 and it impacted everything in my life. I was falling behind schedule and Andy had to make a call. I still feel terrible about it. IDW was kind enough to ask me to stay and continue drawing the covers. After that I was just staying busy doing covers. I am still working on future covers Origins covers too. I'm working on #16-18 now and we're making plans for the rest of the year

HT- Speaking of interiors...

TF- Right now I'm doing interiors on a book for TOP COW. I'm really excited to be working with Ron Marz on it. I'm still hoping to draw interiors in the future for a G.I. Joe project with Merrill Hagan. Merril wrote the Snow Job issue of Origins and has a Batman story coming out soon too. Merrill and I have a Rock & Roll story we really want to tell. More than anything right now, I want Andy to let me do a Ghostbusters cover for IDW. My kid and I both love Ghostbusters, so much so in fact, that I had the Central Georgia Ghostbusters come to Jack's 5th Birthday party just like in Ghostbuters 2. For X-mas Jack got a Ghostbusters uniform complete with his name on the chest.

HT- What was your most memorable Origins cover?

TF- To me the most memorable one is related to a memory with my son, Jack, G.I. Joe Origins #8(Snake Eyes cover). Normally my son could care less what I'm doing. He just wants me to wrestle with him and play Legos, and talk about Sponge Bob. When I was coloring #8 and he walked up behind me and said "Hey, that's Snake-Eyes. That's awesome!" I finally felt like a cool Dad.

HT- What was the hardest Origins cover you worked on?

TF- The covers for issues 2, 5, and 13. I am never happy with my drawings of women. I've resolved to draw 5 women a day for the next year in hopes of improving my comfort level.

HT- You are part of a large group of fellow comic artists, and of course, fans are wondering, will *Studio Revolver* collaborate on a future issue of *G.I. Joe*, or even a series?

TF- That's not outside the realm of possibility; maybe in the future. Right now, everyone is busy on different projects for Marvel, et al. When Dexter Vines and I, along with Tariq Hassan formed the studio 6 years ago we thought we might work together more but we're all so busy with our own stuff it just never comes up for us to work together on projects. I just did a cover for a project tied in to an upcoming film called THE CRAZIES and Dexter helped me out on the inks. It's a very different style for me. I'm anxious to see how people react to it.

HT- If you could work on an established property, or your own creation, which would you choose?

TF- That's a tough call. My long term goal is to work on my own stuff. Having said that though there are a number of characters I haven't gotten to work on yet that are close to my heart. I need to draw Spider-Man before I die. Nightwing and Robin too.

HT- For the aspiring comic artist, would you recommend attending the Savannah College of Art & Design(SCAD)?

TF- The best advice I can offer is to draw, constantly. Find working artists. Hang around them; learn from them. Draw all the time. Bring a sketchbook with you, everywhere you go! Most guys I know got in the biz by being in the right place at the right time or by knowing someone who needed help with a deadline. Find any job you can that allows to to draw or be creative. The skills you develop doing it 8 hours a day will serve you well over time.

HT- How do you recommend dealing with artist's block(like writer's block but for people who draw)?

TF- I struggle with it all the time. It's like surfing; some days the currents are calm and you just sit on your board waiting. Some days the currents are powerful and you ride the wave as long as you can. Sometimes I sit at my desk and there's nothing. No ideas at all. Those days are pure hell. Those days come less often but when they do I get really depressed. I recommend keeping yourself busy with drawing, as it takes your mind off of it; keeps you from dwelling on it. What keeps me in good shape is to keep working as much as possible. Often I will sleep under my desk at the studio just so I don't break the momentum I have built up over the course of a week or a few days.


The staff here at HISS Tank would like to thank Tom Feister for taking the time out to let us interview him!

Read More: HISS Tank Interview With G.I. Joe Origins Artist Tom Feister @ G.I. Joe - HissTank.com.