[url=http:\/\/www.john-howe.com]http:\/\/www.john-howe.com<\/a>[\/url]<\/p>\nYou talk about copying book covers on your website. Does that fall into the \u201cdraw all the time\u201d advice you give aspiring artists?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a firm believer that people, when they are quite young, should not be afraid of being obsessed with things.\u00a0 The deeper you throw yourself into copying someone else\u2019s work, the faster you get through it and identify the elements which may eventually become part of your own way of approaching things.
\nThere seems to be a self-consciousness about copying things as a student.\u00a0 But that seems to me to be rather strange, because what\u2019s wrong with that? It\u2019s a tradition that\u2019s been going on for millennia.\u00a0 You\u2019re trying to understand another\u2019s work and the only way to understand is to try to do it. I must\u2019ve copied millions of things when I was in my teens.<\/p>\n
And you understand things from copying that you don\u2019t get from other types of more structured training?<\/p>\n
Yes. Because what are you looking for in all this? You\u2019re looking for yourself somewhere.\u00a0 You\u2019ve identified something that you think you can use.\u00a0 You need to try it and you need to make it your own.\u00a0 Imagine a road.\u00a0 You see a section of it way up ahead\u2014because someone else has been drawing for ages and they\u2019re professionals with all these techniques and gimmicks and gadgets.\u00a0 You get a glimpse long before you could get there by cutting through the woods yourself.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing shameful about it\u2014it certainly is useful. Once you\u2019ve understood it, you may realize it does not correspond to your aspirations; but now it\u2019s behind you and you can forge on.\u00a0 The quicker you do that, the quicker you evacuate it from your system and move ahead. Holding back out of some notion of originality at any cost will simply slow your progress.<\/p>\n
What led to your decision to go to art school?<\/p>\n
I had some money from high school that I could only spend on tuition. I wanted to go to art school anyway\u2014that seemed to be quite natural. We grew up on a farm, my brother and I.\u00a0 My brother was the one who was going to pick up farming when my dad quit.\u00a0 It was never in the cards for me, because I was the second one in line and had always drawn pictures.\u00a0 So my parents were very encouraging.
\nI had a very good friend who had the Writer\u2019s Market. In there was the ad for the Artist\u2019s Market and I thought \u201cOooh that sounds interesting.\u201d\u00a0 Obviously, I wasn\u2019t ready to start writing to editors in New York.\u00a0 But in there were all these schools with all the addresses.\u00a0 So I wrote off to a half a dozen of them and then chose one.
\nI was looking for every clue I could get.\u00a0 It was very gratifying to see all of these categories and to realize how many there were.\u00a0 To think, \u201cMy goodness\u2014what a large world of illustration and creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a previous interview you said you learned at art school that \u201cas long as the sketch is not received, it is not finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s really a property that\u2019s inherent in illustration.\u00a0 It\u2019s a communication media.\u00a0 You can illustrate your heart out but there\u2019s not much point if it\u2019s not going somewhere for someone.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just a question of expressing things.\u00a0 I do believe that much of the illustration is actually not in the illustration itself; it\u2019s in the person who looks at it.<\/p>\n
On your website, you say a lot of your early commissions were nightmares.\u00a0 How did you get those early commissions?<\/p>\n
I was very young, just out of art school working for my first commissions.\u00a0 And obviously when at that point you take anything that\u2019s offered because you\u2019re so relieved to get something.\u00a0 You\u2019re more likely to find yourself in a situation where you\u2019re just not the right person for the job.\u00a0 Thank goodness I don\u2019t need to do that kind of thing too often now. I work very poorly in those conditions.<\/p>\n
Can you describe any valuable lessons you learned from those jobs?<\/p>\n
To persevere.\u00a0 And never to scorn the people you\u2019re working for.\u00a0 This is something that seems a little more prevalent in advertising, where you hear more \u201cclients are idiots\u201d and \u201cthe people we\u2019re selling this stupid product to are all jerks.\u201d\u00a0 There is a feeling of superiority towards the people you\u2019re exploiting in a certain sense, which I think is very bad.\u00a0 In my mind illustration is a slightly more sincere undertaking.\u00a0 It\u2019s that you\u2019ve accepted a job, you accept the parameters that are given to you – it\u2019s a book cover, it has to be done by such and such a date\u2014there is a story that you have to respect\u2014which is going to be in the book, behind the cover. And that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about.<\/p>\n
What enabled you to leave that type of work for the art you enjoy?<\/p>\n
Well, I think I improved a bit over the years\u2014I hope so anyway.\u00a0 And it takes an incredibly long time to establish a reputation, either good or bad. It took me a while to get back in touch with the English speaking world\u2014because living in continental Europe, I wasn\u2019t able to go and see editors in New York and London regularly, to say the least.
\nYou have to do a lot of footwork, before your work does it for you.\u00a0 So, before people see your covers and books in shops regularly, then you need to do your self-promotion yourself, rather than having all these products do it for you without lifting a finger.\u00a0 So there is a lot of running around involved.<\/p>\n
What are some specific things that you did as far as self-promotion when you were establishing yourself?<\/p>\n
We used to go regularly to the Children\u2019s Book Fair in Bologna, Italy.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the world\u2019s biggest and is specifically oriented towards children\u2019s book illustration.\u00a0 Otherwise, I sent off portfolios with slides and photocopies and all sorts of things to all kinds of people.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your opinion on samples? What\u2019s best to send?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very hard to judge what you should send.\u00a0 To really sum it up and oversimplify it, you have two choices: either you are one of these lucky people who has a large palette of things you can do\u2014I know illustrators who can do 10 different styles and work with equal happiness in black and white and color and stylized, realistic, cartoony or whatever\u2014or, you\u2019re like the rest of us lot who just do one thing and not much else.\u00a0 It\u2019s a little harder then, because it may take you ages to find the first editor who thinks that what you do corresponds to what he wants to publish.
\nBut it is very hard to judge WHO is a good editor for what you do.\u00a0 Because the tendency is to go and see a book at a bookshop and think \u201coh that\u2019s great\u2014that\u2019s just the kind of subject I love\u2014I\u2019ll go and see them.\u201d But there\u2019s no point because the book\u2019s already done and they may not do another book like that for 10 years, if at all.
\nAlso, so many art students make this terrifying mistake of sending a lot of very boring academic schoolwork\u2014beautifully framed and matted and there\u2019s nothing worse.\u00a0 This is your personality. You are trying to make them understand who you are not necessarily what you do.\u00a0 When you\u2019re just out of art school or still in art school, what you do may not represent who you are.
\nBut once again, once you get anything published\u2014anywhere\u2014it\u2019s a brick in the wall you\u2019re trying to build.\u00a0 So, what you send is very important.<\/p>\n
What has your experience been as far as book cover illustrations? Have you had clashes with art directors, marketing departments\u2014changing\/altering\/putting big text in places you think they shouldn\u2019t?<\/p>\n
I have.\u00a0 Usually I accept changes.\u00a0 There\u2019s quite a strict protocol involved in all this.\u00a0 The starting point is a fairly tight sketch. I do mine in black & white, never in color.
\nIn theory, once the sketch has been okayed, clearly defined elements of the sketch should not change.\u00a0 But there may be things in the finished picture which are not how they imagined.\u00a0 Then they may come back and say, \u201ccan you fix this please?\u201d or \u201ccan you redo that?\u201d\u00a0 And occasionally you get something wrong; you misread the text and put black hair on someone who has blonde and things like that, which are a bit silly\u2014but that\u2019s fine.\u00a0 I\u2019m not always very happy to revisit an illustration, but that\u2019s part of the job.<\/p>\n
Of the book covers you\u2019ve done (other than Tolkien), how did you prepare?<\/p>\n
The most difficult part is when you read a text and it just doesn\u2019t give you a picture.\u00a0 Quite often you don\u2019t even get a text\u2014you just get a cover brief.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done jobs where you have the format, sometimes not even the final title, and the editor\u2019s comments on what he\u2019d like to see. Maybe\u2014or you just have nothing and you go ahead and do something that feels it\u2019s appropriate. It\u2019s quite common in an industry run by sales meetings and publishing schedules. Occasionally writer and illustrator will deliver their work at the same time.<\/p>\n
How do you handle rights for your covers? How do you use sub-rights?<\/p>\n
Basically\u2014this is only for book covers\u2014the editor purchases the right to use that illustration for a book.\u00a0 He can reprint the same book for a million years if he wants, but he can\u2019t put that cover on a different book without your permission.\u00a0 You are allowed to resell that cover for a different book to a different publisher.\u00a0 It\u2019s never a fortune – and you would be wise to not sell it to a competing editor for a similar book in the same country.\u00a0 For example, if I do a cover for an English editor, I\u2019m happy to resell it in Germany, Greece, wherever. The original remains your property.
\nFor Tolkien it\u2019s a bit special\u2014because although I theoretically have the right to sell Tolkien related material to other editors\u2014I don\u2019t.\u00a0 I go back to HarperCollins and ask what they think of it and quite often they refuse because the covers are quite intimately tied to the books.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bit of a gray area; so I prefer to abide by their decisions.<\/p>\n
The Lord of the Rings series of board games is your first experience with game illustration.\u00a0 What are the similarities\/differences between game illustration and other kinds of illustration?
\nThere are graphic differences because it\u2019s quite cluttered. The illustrations had to accommodate massive amounts of playing squares and text. So it meant doing something tone on tone with only a very small area where you could really let the contrast come to the front. There were also a great number of cards.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to slow down and treat them properly, as illustrations rather than just whacking them out.\u00a0 You tend to imagine all the cards at once and then it\u2019s hard to keep your concentration on any one when you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n
Is there anything you wish someone had told you in the early days of your career?<\/p>\n
Lots of things.\u00a0 They\u2019re not things that you\u2019re apt to listen to when you\u2019re starting out.
\nIt is your living, after all. You must never undersell yourself. It\u2019s very difficult when you\u2019ve been contacted by an editor and you\u2019re trying to figure out how much you should ask for the job and they say, \u201cWell what do you want, what\u2019s your fee?\u201d\u00a0 And you may be so happy to have the job initially and you don\u2019t want to scare them off by being too expensive.\u00a0 On the other hand, you can\u2019t expect the same fees as someone more well known. This is why agents are so useful. Agents can talk about money without getting embarrased.<\/p>\n
You said, \u201cDrawing must seek for interest not admiration, because admiration wears quickly.\u201d\u00a0 Do you think this philosophy is responsible for your success?<\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019d like to think so.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a big fan of these artists who basically take a body-building magazine or an issue of Playboy and put a dragon behind the girl and make it into a piece of art. I loved that when I was a kid, because it is a question of admiration, you admire the technique and all the gloss.\u00a0 You\u2019re basically blown away by how well done it is.\u00a0 But it\u2019s all on the surface.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if something is technically quite flashy.\u00a0 That\u2019s not where the interest is.\u00a0 I really believe there is a strong value to narrative painting that goes much deeper than appearances.
\nI think you\u2019ve either got something to say or you don\u2019t.\u00a0 And if you have not a terrible amount to say but a really flashy technique, that\u2019s fine.\u00a0 You can get away with that sort of thing for ages and it will appeal to adolescent boys at 18, but it may not have the depth to carry it through into something a little more serious and a little deeper.<\/p>\n
Did you have any reservations about The Lord of the Rings movies?<\/p>\n
Yes, for a quarter of a second or so!\u00a0 I was so embarrassed when they phoned up because I didn\u2019t have a clue who Peter Jackson was. I couldn\u2019t just ask on the phone, \u201cexcuse me – how many movies have you made?\u201d\u00a0 So it was really quite a leap into deep water.\u00a0 But there were no risks involved, because the full family went down to New Zealand. With such an opportunity, if it doesn\u2019t work out you just come back.<\/p>\n
What was it like suddenly being surrounded by all these people entrenched in Tolkien world creation?<\/p>\n
It was great.\u00a0 It was very strange. New Zealand is already a world apart;\u00a0 while it\u2019s culturally American, English, European, it\u2019s geographically so far away that you feel a bit out of touch.\u00a0 And then we were in this other parallel world\u2014Middle Earth\u2014working away and it was quite disorienting but enormous fun.\u00a0 Added to that the enormous privilege of meeting Alan Lee.\u00a0 After years of wanting to one day meet him, here we were working in the same office.
\nThere was such a spirit of\u2014people who worked on the project consistently say this\u2014there was a real Fellowship of interest and enthusiasm, knowing that there\u2019s not going to be a remake of this film in our lifetimes.\u00a0 You know that it is something special.\u00a0 But that doesn\u2019t mean there\u2019s something intrinsic which will make it work; you still have to work hard.\u00a0 We worked 10 to12 hours a day\u2014drawing straight\u2014which is unimaginably difficult.\u00a0 But there was a real momentum behind it all.\u00a0 You carry part of it and part of you is carried by it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
MONA MICHAEL is assistant editor of Artist\u2019s & Graphic Designer\u2019s Market, Children\u2019s Writer\u2019s & Illustrator\u2019s Market and freelances as a writing consultant.<\/p>\n
Reprinted from 2004 Artist\u2019s & Graphic Designer\u2019s Market
\nCopyright \u00a9 2003 by Writer\u2019s Digest Books<\/p>\n
Link to Artist\u2019s & Graphic Designer\u2019s Market at Writer\u2019s Digest Bookstore: http:\/\/www.writersdigest.com\/store\/booksearch.asp?category=Market+Books<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spent the week before last running about in front of a film crew, entering stage left and exiting stage right, when it wasn\u2019t the opposite or vice-versa. (The big problem of course being how the heck do you make in any way interesting a guy who spends all his time indoors crouched on a chair, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,22,43,48,23],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronicles","tag-exhibition","tag-gandalf","tag-gruyere","tag-illustration","tag-middle-earth"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1PY8Y-3I","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/jhowe_young_petit.jpg\" "\\"Talented")
<\/a><\/center>A Big Hand for Gandalf:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/gandalf_4501-petit.jpg\" "\\"Gandalf\\"")
<\/a><\/center><\/div>\n<\/td>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/gandalf_4541-petit.jpg\" "\\"Gandalf\\"")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/center><\/div>\n<\/td>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.john-howe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/gandalf_4601-petit.jpg\" "\\"Gandalf\\"")
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