GOOD EARTH, BAD PLANET:
AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES DALY III

Having landed the penciling gig for RAW's Bad Planet, James Daly's career as a comicbook artist is going from strength to strength. Also working as a senior conceptual artist, Daly has produced illustration work for Raw Entertainment, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Eidos Interactive, UBI Soft, Sony Online Entertainment, Activision, Hasbro and Kenner.

EC: Welcome to Erth Chronicles James.

JD: Thanks, glad to be here! I’m really enjoying the Erth Chronicles story and art.

EC: Complete this sentence: Three cavemen are sitting round a fire, one says to the other…

JD: “The prophecy says that two Coreys will rise again…be ready and prepare.”

EC: Where were you brought up and how do you feel this may have imprinted on your visual style?

JD: Wisconsin. Frigid winters can keep you inside, warmed by the light of the boob-tube between shovelling the driveway. Lot’s of time to watch movies, cartoons, read comics, sketch monsters, and escape into someone else’s imagination or my own. Even if it’s a bad movie, I like to just sink in and let them take me away. Of course, the more interesting the movies and art became, the more I wanted to stay inside…even in the summer. I know that affected my appreciation for pop culture, and art. My favorite way to draw is something that came from studying European comic artists, and the artists published in those 70’s and 80’s back issues of Heavy Metal. Their work really stole me away into their worlds, and stories…so much texture and just so different contextually than the super hero comics. They were setting their stories in these amazing worlds, or places nobody else was.


EC: You are currently working on RAW Studios’ Bad Planet. Tell us a little more about RAW and the series.

JD: Tom, Tim and Steve are passionate about comics, and fans too. They are of course all elite professionals. All of them dedicated to their individual crafts, but they love classic comics, art, pulp, horror, science fiction and I think it shows in the stories they want to tell in comics, novels or film. That is what they are producing, and because they are all pros individually I think they bring a shared quality not often seen in comics.

As for Bad Planet… It is an invasion story, it’s got a unique sense of humor and drama and it is science fiction with some horror mixed in. The Convict, the alien star of the story, is a monster himself. It is really interesting, and though I think it definitely is a story built by people influenced by their favourite 50’s sci-fi comics and films…it’s not just a throwback, or a study on a genre, like say Grindhouse seemed to be for film, but unique in the landscape of super heroes and zombie books out there.

EC: How were you approached by Tom, Steve and Tim?

JD: Tim started talking to me first. I was at a Dallas Comicon show, and Tim flew in for it along with Berni Wrightson, Steve and Tom. Tim introduced me to Tom and Steve and told me about Bad Planet a bit and at the end of the show.

Tim has been a friend for 15 years, and really helped me out when I was younger, as he has done for so many people. I know he’d seen my work as it evolved over the years, and respected what I do as a concept artist in games…but he was interested genuinely in what I was accomplishing on the pages I had. I wanted to impress Tim again by the San Diego show.

I did more pages and a few sketches for a werewolf book that Tom and Todd Farmer had come up with, Tim was art directing it, and they were considering me for that book. Then, he asked me if I wanted to finish Bad Planet, cut my teeth on that series. I also had to pick up where Lewis left off and was challenged to keep the book’s style intact. I loved the first issue of Bad Planet, so I was way into doing it. Here I am finishing the series, and I was waiting for it like everyone else! I feel especially responsible for doing my best because of that.

EC: The beauty of RAW’s titles so far seems to be their almost ‘throw away’ quality - that they are not trying be something they are not. Do you feel this is a return to what the readers out there want to see in comics?

JD: I know that Tom’s love for comics is huge. Maybe people wouldn’t expect that because he comes from outside the industry professionally. I think his ideas on how these books are being done are definitely something readers want to see. Quality stories, quality art, even down to the paper quality. Cover art from Michael Kaluta, Bill Stout, Dave Stevens, Mark Schultz, Bradstreet, and Berni Wrightson on Bad Planet and Alien Pig Farm 3000 shows some dedication to bringing something good to the comic racks in my opinion.

EC: It is clear that RAW look for an artist with the same passion and interests which are clearly evident in the titles so far - from 50’s noir to John Carpenter. Do you feel this is the key to working on the same wavelength when collaborating - that it’s not simply a case of being a talented artist?

JD: Absolutely. Tom and Tim gave me a list of movies to watch, to refresh my memory and find the mood. I had seen The Day the Earth Stood Still maybe once, and Forbidden Planet and some of the other big ones just a handful of times. The films were of that era, and had a certain feel to them. I am a huge sci-fi fan, BUT…I grew up on Star Wars and grew up really through the late 70’s and 80’s. I was into, Alien, Aliens, Blade Runner, Close Encounters, Terminator, Robocop, Road Warrior… I definitely had to understand the mood they wanted from classic sci-fi, and study that stuff visually, understand the rhythm of the stories and the humor of them as well. Tom was involved with the layouts, ideas for even the shape of panels and monster designs. Tim was there directing me with the intention of making this book have weight visually, focused on the storytelling, designs, everything. Tim and Tom worked really closely with me to get what they wanted. Once the framework of what I needed to do was established, I knew where I could use the creative freedom they afforded me. I had to make sure my own decisions were not in detriment to the feel of it.

EC: Do you see the series going beyond its six issue run?

JD: I certainly don’t want to spoil anything. I think everyone reading it will get a sense of where it’s going.

EC: It’s interesting reading other interviews with Tom (Thomas Jane, star of Stander and The Punisher) and seeing how much his heart is in comic books. His experience and connections in the film industry is certainly an advantage for RAW. This really is the key to holding onto their own material when it comes to possible film adaptations, don’t you think?

JD: Tom loves comics, loves the art. He came down to Tim’s studio to even help us ink pages, spotting in the black areas. He was dedicated enough to come down, pick up a brush and pen. He cares tremendously. Does his status in Hollywood help? Can’t hurt. I assume that’s the case, but Tom, Tim and Steve have all worked in film and they all have experience with intellectual properties, and dealing with publishers or studios on projects.

EC: Growing up during the 80s what do you remember most about this period and how does it continue to influence your work today?

JD: I remember Star Wars, Blade Runner, Thundercats, Galaxy Rangers, The Muppet Show, Dungeons & Dragons, The A-team, Gi-Joe, Transformers, Robotech, and I remember Superman: the Movie. Conan, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Tron, Amazing Stories, The Dark Crystal, and there was a lot more adventure on TV than all this reality garbage we have now. I will take Airwolf over American Idol any day. I think of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, and James Cameron and the stories they told. The 80’s had so many aspirational fantasies, so I got that out of it. Who didn’t want to be Michael Knight, or Luke Skywalker?

EC: Who have been and continue to be your main inspiration as an artist?

JD: My main inspiration has always been Jean Giraud Moebius and it’s really his ability to be several different artists at once that blows me away, and the way he designs such unique stuff. So, Moebius, Iain McCaig, Phillipe Adamov, Alan Lee, Berni Wrightson, Milo Manara, Paulo Serpieri, Jamie Hewlett, Cam Kennedy, Mark Schultz, Katsuhiro Otomo, Richard Corben, Frazetta, Michael Kaluta, Mike Mignola, and definitely my friend Tim Bradstreet. These people are all respected for their work, so as much as their work is visually inspiring, their success inspires me too.

EC: It was sad to hear about the death of Mike Wieringo last month. An inspiration to many and helpful to you as a younger artist.

JD: Mike was an amazing artist and a warm, genuinely nice person. Incredibly nice. When I first started in comics I went to New York for the first time, at 19 years old. This was for a convention and I was pretty freaked out to be in Manhattan coming from small town Wisconsin. Mike was staying with some people I had just started working for, an independent publisher and my first job in comics, and those guys from the publisher were all able to go out and drink the first night. I was a bit too freaked to go walking the city just by myself. Mike wasn’t going out to drink, so he invited me up to his hotel room, where he and some other artists were all sitting around looking at artwork, putting stuff together for the show the next day. He just started the Flash, and was getting a name, and really being gracious with his time I thought. He just made the whole trip there easier, really encouraged me. I would find him whenever I was at the shows so I could show him my work, get his advice. He was humble, and real. There were always those few REAL people I would try to see every single convention to get honest constructive criticism from and build professional relationships with, also make friends. A few of those people have become my closest friends. I was not close friends with Mike, but he always gave so generously of his time. The fact that he shared any of his time with me, I feel so incredibly humbled.

EC: What’s the first film you remember seeing that had an influence on you?

JD: Star Wars. No question.

EC: Visiting your official site, it seems you have a more visceral style going on. You’ve mentioned this is you favourite way of working?

JD: Yeah, it’s the more textural stuff. It’s the European influence and scribbling a lot, staying somewhat loose and organic, but detailed and conscious of interesting designs. I definitely want to continue to develop and improve it, apply it to more sequential stuff. It’s my favorite way of working because I am drawing on my influences, but in a natural way. I’ve worked in whatever style I can, as that skill tends to lead to more jobs, but this is certainly more personal.

EC: I’m assuming your Bad Planet pencils are to make room for Tim Bradstreet’s inking?

JD: I pencil the tightest pages I can, giving Tim every last thought I have and all the information he needs to expand the work in the inks. I think Tim has taken what I have done, and added in the inks that classic horror comics flair. He’s inking almost everything with a brush, adding additional lighting and texture to bring out that EC Comics vibe to the art. So am I making room for him? Not specifically, as he is getting these really finished pages…but I was from the start into him embellishing the work with his style, so I think we are making the two styles into one really special look for Bad Planet.

EC: Explain your working relationship with Tim.

JD: Tim is the art director, as well as the inker on Bad Planet. (and about a thousand other Raw-related jobs) When I send out concept designs, or completed pages, Tim will direct me on textures, facial expressions, and help pick the design for a space ship or monster that best suits the story. Tom also contributes here as well, and he sometimes wants very specific types of monsters, but ultimately I think Tim keeps the whole visual language together. That’s the mark of any good art director to me. I’ve helped Tim here and there inking in the studio, and he always shows me where he’s going on the pencils while I am there, or VIA e-mail. I trust Tim to do what he does, but it’s great that he asks my opinion on certain things. I think we work pretty closely on Bad Planet in general.

EC: How would you describe looking at the final artwork, knowing that it is a more collaborative piece. What do you feel you bring to Tim’s inking?

JD: Bradstreet’s inks on Bad Planet are intentionally going in the direction of the EC stuff, and much more illustrative, textural, so it’s really cool to see my pencil work evolve to something a bit more classic and illustrative. I think the project itself has brought something to Tim’s ink work, more than my pencils. Trying to capture that classic feel is key for him, and my pencil work is the jumping off point more than me influencing his stuff.

EC: Explain your own process of working.

JD: I actually took photos of my process for my myspace page, so people can see it up there. It’s very specific for Bad Planet, as I had to complete a book that started in a style that was not my own. I usually work on tracing paper, rough out the whole page there, scan some elements to scale things, and then light-box the pages so they are super clean for Tim to ink. Check out myspace.com/jmdaly3, under 'pics' and 'Drawing Bad Planet' for more specifics. I really feel that process allows me to build up the highest quality stuff I can do, as at each stage I am refining the work.

EC: What do you feel is the common trait we all share as creatives?

JD: I hope it’s a desire to tell stories, since the most compelling work I have see is when people do that in their work.

EC: What is it you learn each time from working on a new project?

JD: I always learn new techniques, styles, problem solving, improving my design work, and how to better tell stories. I think also that working with different people is just awesome, there are so many great talents I have gotten to work with and I’m grateful that I’ve had all those opportunities. I really try to proactively improve and evolve my work on each project.

EC: You once worked as a toy designer, creating Transformers and GI-Joe at Hasbro. How has this helped to inform you as an artist?

JD: Those jobs were interesting, as that company solicits work for the same character from several freelancers. If I did 20 designs, then 3 other guys did the same amount. They would pull from that pool of concepts to get the shapes they needed. If anything, it furthered my understanding of art direction, and information control. Those pieces are under strict NDA, so it certainly made me understand how important intellectual properties are and keeping them under wraps.

EC: Are you working on any personal projects?

JD: Yes. It is called Good Green Earth. It’s a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi graphic novel with an environmental theme. My friend Aaron DeOrive and I came up with the idea. He’s written a great story, and one of the goals I have is to take people on an emotional ride. If I can make one person cry, feel tense, as one might feel during a great film…I will feel successful on the visual end. Aaron has written tons of fiction for video games, and is also a screenwriter, so the story is very cinematic. I’ve been developing the concepts and story boards for almost 2 years now. I will begin illustrating it in a few months in my spare time. It will probably take me about a year to complete. I think it’s something unique we’ve come up with, as well as drawing on our influences. I can’t wait to put it out there for people to read, and it is especially great to work with my friend on this.

EC: Research is an integral part of the art and design process – do you feel that this helps inform us as individuals and therefore the work we produce? What would you use as an example of ill informed art and/or design?

JD: It’s crucial to pull shapes from life, and the things all around us to lend credibility to design, in my opinion. Creating powerful silhouettes is important too. The type of reference is all of course based on the individual project, but I find that character, environment, vehicle and costume design comes from research and using shapes we might overlook. Can I combine a doorknob, Art Deco, and neon to create a visual language for armor? That’s where my head goes. I want to mix up shapes and visual touchstones to create something powerful and unique. I think the unsuccessful design work comes from artists who are drawing only on the shapes others have used. Pulling reference from other artists’ interpretations can often lead to things that look redundant. There are useful things in looking at other artists’ work for sure, it’s just how you use those pieces of reference. I think looking for the things that make designs fail in telling the overall story, and problem solving those issues is necessary to tell a consistent story.

EC: Do you find working as a comic book artist more rewarding than being a conceptual artist – or do you feel they can often be one in the same?

JD: Both are rewarding, and I love both for different reasons. Comics are all about the story, and I feel like the director of a movie, directing the actors in their scenes, finding the right camera angles, creating pacing and drama, and of course concept design comes into play there with set design, character design, etc. The conceptual work is about problem solving in the design, and really watching those things come to life in 3D in a game world. Comic work is a bit more personal …like 3-4 people making something together, and game work is 200 people with this huge goal to achieve. I am grateful to be able to do both.

EC: In your experience so far, both in conceptual art and the comic book industry - how important is art direction? Is there ever any further input from Tom and Steve once they have sent you the script?

JD: Art direction is crucial. It creates a consistent visual language, and maintains the quality of work. Tom and Tim are the guys communicating stuff with me on Bad Planet, as far as input goes. I do layouts, they review them and I go forward with pages, and they might have little changes or occasionally big ones later, but I do tighter layouts so I can get all that feedback initially.

EC: What is the process of working on such a collaborative project like? The concept, the pencils and fine-tuning - the overall development?

JD: It’s fun, challenging, and sometimes a lot of working hours. As much as I am telling the story the way I like to, I do feel like I am Tom, Tim and Steve’s instrument to tell their story…so I want to be successful for them and for the book. It’s challenging to mix in all that criteria, but it’s so much fun to see it completed and know that we all did this together. We put love into it.

EC: Do you think digital art has affected traditional techniques - if so, in what way?

JD: These are just tools to create art. I love painting with the Wacom monitor, where you paint right on the screen, it feels real and has made me want to paint all the time. I used to be really intimidated by painting in Photoshop before I used that monitor. I did not learn to paint traditionally at all really, I had no formal training, so that tool has ramped up my skills pretty quickly. I’ve also had some great teachers, and fortunate that I have been taught while working. I think digital art for production is extremely useful, a time-saver, and I think using both techniques is a good exercise for growth. One thing missing is the original artwork for collectors, at least with comic fans, but if the book is drawn or painted digitally and looks awesome….who cares right? It served the higher purpose, did its job as a tool to tell the story.

EC: Fantasy and Science Fiction has grown tremendously the past ten years, thanks to the likes of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, continuing to inspire many fellow artists and film makers. Do you think we’ll eventually see an epic horror or dark fantasy?

JD: I hope so…an Epic Horror film series? Yeah, I’ll wait in line for something good at least. I would love to see Stephen King’sDark Tower as a film franchise, especially after that gorgeous comic adaptation Jae Lee and Richard Isanove illustrated. I think the science fiction genre needs something really special again. Battlestar Galactica and Firefly are all I can think of that I have really enjoyed recently. I am looking forward to Tom’s new film Mutant Chronicles (www.mutantchroniclesthemovie.com/) and I have to say I love the Riddick character…give us more of that guy! I am even willing, after these last Star Wars films to give the upcoming TV series a chance…that’s how desperate I am for sci-fi. How about something thought provoking like Blade Runner was? Both Bradstreet and I were just completely excited recently to see Danny Boyle’sSunshine in the theatre, but it had a limited release here in the states…so we missed that. I was disappointed that it did not release wider.

EC: The ‘Hero’s Journey’ is synonymous with mythical story telling – do you feel that this device is still apparent in the more pulpy stories? Do you think it is left out or cleverly hidden?

JD: I think you can find it in a lot of stories, even if that story isn’t an epic, mythical quest. Luke Skywalker or Frodo have clear goals and are seeking clear results. They are noble, honorable, and easily understood because of the nature of their worlds. Good vs Evil, right? I think those elements are part of most stories, and each character has an individual set of goals they want or need to achieve for themselves or the world they are in. What if someone truly evil believes their journey is a noble one? I could really spend a lot of time with this question, but simply put I think I can find those things in most stories despite the context, world or individual character.

EC: Rumour has it you may be contributing to Erth Chronicles? What is it that has attracted you to the project?

JD: I would certainly like to, and it’s because the world is so interesting visually. At least from what I have seen thus far. I love great escapism, so being able to contribute ideas there would be a lot of fun.

EC: What advice would you give current artists at Erth Chronicles in continuing to effectively bring someone else’s vision to life?

JD: It’s all about the story, escaping into it and constructing visuals based on their passion for the elements they are creating. Developing and maintaining a consistent visual language. If the work takes away from the story, it fails to evolve or serve the visual language.

EC: What’s the most important professional advice you would give a prospective artist?

JD: Know your strengths, weaknesses and work to improve and hone you skills. See the competition, and learn to examine your own work by comparison. Don’t be discouraged by criticism, use it to better yourself. Talk to every pro you can about your work for advice. Know the industries you want to work in. Research and study every aspect of the job you want. Be humble, prolific, open to learn new techniques, styles, and use those experiences to evolve as a professional. Learn to communicate well with others, make lot’s of professional contacts, and learn to work on a team. Strive to be original. Be confident, but not egocentric. So many great artists have come before us, and will come after. Make a constant effort to better your work, increase your knowledge. Oh yeah, and have fun!! We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to be so creative while we get paid.

You can view more of James' work including Bad Planet by visting:

www.myspace.com/jmdaly3

www.jmd3.com

For more information about RAW Entertainment, check out their comic book and film projects over at the official site www.rawstudios.com

The first 3 issues of Bad Planet are currently available from all good comic book shops.

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