Four Eyes - An Interview with Artist Max Fiumara |
Watch our review of issue 1 here |
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By Paul Fiander
Artist Max Fiumara spared a little time with us to discuss the second story arc of Four Eyes. With an insight into the research needed to create a believable alternate reality as well some other nuggets we thank him very much for his time and highly recommend Four Eyes (Review Incoming). |
Four Eyes: Hearts Of Fire #1Launching the second arc in the critically-acclaimed story of a boy and his dragon on the hunt for revenge in Depression-era New York City. The training begins.
Published on the 6th of Janurary |
For our Interview with Writer Joe Kelly click here
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1) The genre clash in Four Eyes is different to say the least with the 1930’s meeting Dragons, Can you tell us a little bit about where the inspiration for the series came from? Well, it was Joe’s conception. I came in when the concept was already alive! 2) Your choice in design for the human characters allows for a spot of anatomical exaggeration, are there reasons behind these on an individual level? Basically, I tried to go a little bit looser with the style for the book, from the way I had been drawing before. Just because I wasn’t happy with the way I was drawing! And for Joe, giving that the story has a very serious and dramatic tension in some moments, it was important to give readers some air to breath with the dark stuff, not to make it too heavy. 3) The 1930’s was a time well known for its fashion, how important was it to get the feel of the clothes right within the art? Very! I did a lot of research for the fashion and also the buildings, and the way of living in that depression era. Bought books and more books from that time and visited the tenement museum in New York. I enjoyed this part of the process a lot. 4) You’ve gone for a mostly (but not all) black and white style, is this your preferred style? Yes, I prefer a lot more a black and white feel for this story. But I wanted to add just a little bit of color too. What is most important to me is for the art to feel more like a texture experience rather than a color one. The greyish aspect of if plays quite well with the story, I think. |
5) Four Eyes is an amazing looking creation, where did the inspiration for his physical make up come from?
We did a lot of tries for his design. Four Eyes is the one that took me the most to come up with. The idea was always to keep him as real as possible. Not like a mythological dragon. Something more like a dinosaur, more relatable. So I looked for a lot a reptiles and different sophisticated animals out there. For instance, the Malayan flying lemur was a reference for the way Four Eyes wings are depicted.
6) We've met some dragon's already but is each breed going to have a specific visual style? And if so how many have you already created?
Yes, there are many species and each is different. We got 4 or 5 different species, and they are designed based on different animals, just like Four Eyes. The idea was to make them as weird as possible, and each dragon design is done based on its abilities and the part of their bodies that are used as weapons in the fights.
7) And finally how have you found the creation of the series to date? Has it been enjoyable creating a series from the ground up our do you prefer working on projects for already established characters like Abe Sapien?
I enjoy doing both kinds of books. But Four Eyes is the most enjoyable world of all I’ve worked on. It helps that I created the visual aspect of the book. But I love Enrico’s story so much, that I can’t wait to draw it, every time I have the chance to.
We did a lot of tries for his design. Four Eyes is the one that took me the most to come up with. The idea was always to keep him as real as possible. Not like a mythological dragon. Something more like a dinosaur, more relatable. So I looked for a lot a reptiles and different sophisticated animals out there. For instance, the Malayan flying lemur was a reference for the way Four Eyes wings are depicted.
6) We've met some dragon's already but is each breed going to have a specific visual style? And if so how many have you already created?
Yes, there are many species and each is different. We got 4 or 5 different species, and they are designed based on different animals, just like Four Eyes. The idea was to make them as weird as possible, and each dragon design is done based on its abilities and the part of their bodies that are used as weapons in the fights.
7) And finally how have you found the creation of the series to date? Has it been enjoyable creating a series from the ground up our do you prefer working on projects for already established characters like Abe Sapien?
I enjoy doing both kinds of books. But Four Eyes is the most enjoyable world of all I’ve worked on. It helps that I created the visual aspect of the book. But I love Enrico’s story so much, that I can’t wait to draw it, every time I have the chance to.
Max's Biography
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Max has worked in comics since 2002, for Avatar Press, Marvel, DC and Dark Horse. His titles range from Amazing Spider-man, Namor and Hulk smash Avengers to Infinity, inc and the zombie tale Black Gas with writer Warren Ellis. In 2008, he co-created the book Four Eyes with his Spider-man writer Joe Kelly, published by MoA and Image comics. Since 2012, he’s been working alongside Mike Mignola on B.P.R.D. And he shares the art duties with his twin brother Sebastian in the ongoing series Abe Sapien.
CONTACT INFO
Blogspot
@maxfiumara on Twitter and you can also find him on Facebook
CONTACT INFO
Blogspot
@maxfiumara on Twitter and you can also find him on Facebook
