With the Kickstarter now live for Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa from Oni Press, we are delighted to be joined by artist Lewis LaRosa. Lewis has a career spanning 25 years and has worked on numerous comics, including Bloodshot Reborn, Divinity, Harbinger, Firestorm, Punisher MAX, Savage, Shadowman, Transformers and X-O Manowar.
Hi Lewis, it’s so wonderful to have you here with us. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Thanks for having me, ComicBuzz! My name is Lewis LaRosa and I’m an artist who’s primarily worked in comics for the last 20+ years. I also specialize in paleoart and character and creature design. I’ve always been an artist, I’ve been drawing since my earliest memories. It’s just something I’ve always been compelled to do, it’s an obsession. I have a wide range of influences that I hope shows in my work, countless comic book artists, animation, illustrators, fine artists, wildlife artists, paleoartists, my interest in animal anatomy, and my years of study in art school drawing and painting from life. Despite my best efforts I failed to ever catch on to any form of digital art. I don’t have anything against it, I’m just very bad with technology and in the end I prefer paper, pencil, pens and brushes. I love the tactile experience and creating a piece of original art that physically exists.
Can you tell us about the origins of Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa?
I’d been thinking about putting together an art book for a few years but I’m easily overwhelmed and probably lack the executive functioning skills for putting something like this together. The Carbon Based project came about because I’d mentioned in passing my intention to make an art book to my ol’ editor buddy, the great Karl Bollers. Thankfully he proposed letting Oni birth this baby. I’d worked with Karl previously and he is a prince, the nicest coolest guy. Karl and then the wonderful Chris Cerasi did a beautiful job putting this together making for a far better organized and professional book than I ever could. Plus they really made my life easier so I could just focus on drawing. Production, licensing, shipping, and fulfillment is all handled by Oni. It’s heading to the printer this fall and should ship next March. Really looking forward to having it on my shelf!
What has it been like curating your art for this retrospective?
It’s been a real trip curating my work. I’m not the fastest, most productive artist but after 20 years it does pile up! What has been nice is seeing that there has been a lot of growth. At the risk of sounding immodest there were things I was trying to scratch the surface of when I launched The Punisher MAX in 2003 as a 24 year old that I’m now able to do as a cranky old man, and then some. However there is always always always room for growth. I’m painfully aware of this because I’ve always tended to focus on my mistakes, flaws, weaknesses and outright failures. At a certain point though you realize that that is all ok, that there is no one right way to make art. There are no bests. You try to develop a grasp of the fundamentals but then it becomes about developing your own unique approach, your own techniques, your own voice, personality, and vision. You learn to stop worrying about the destination and just try to enjoy the journey mannnnn.
Is there a particular illustration or project that you hold dear to your heart?
It’s hard to pick a favorite project or single illustration. This is such a Sophie’s choice question but gun to my head it would have to be Savage for Valiant. They basically wanted a proxy for Turok but the brilliant writer B. Clay Moore developed a totally different type of character to set amongst dinosaurs. I had the privilege of co-creating the character with Clay which was such a pleasure, but getting to do a dino-centric book after being completely obsessed with dinosaurs since my earliest memories was a lifelong itch that FINALLY got to be scratched. I’d been asking for dinosaurs for many many years. Editor supreme Warren Simons promised he would give me the dinosaurs. He delivered. Getting to flex my dino knowledge on that title opened the door for me to become a legitimate paleoartist. My Archaeopteryx reconstruction for the great Dr Jingmai O’Connor of the Field Museum in Chicago just made the cover of the science journal Nature and I am still pinching myself over that one. Bucket list stuff for ol’ Lew.
As an artist, has your approach to creating art changed?
My general approach to creating art has not changed at the macro level but definitely in detail. I still usually start by taking a bit to zone out, maybe lay down and close my eyes or take a long walk to visualize the scene, make it real in my head, move the camera around, find the best angle, the most intense and dramatic moment. I’ll then work out some 3×4.5″ layouts to work out the composition. The more I can work out at this small stage the better. I’ll also make a folder and fill it with as much reference as I can find, whatever is appropriate and I think will help. The key is to use it loosely to inform and flesh out the layout that’s already been composed, you don’t want to be beholden to it like I was in my early days. Then I transfer to the full size art board (I use heavy smooth Eon boards). I don’t use a light box or projector, I draw a grid on the layout and a grid on the board, use that as a guide, eyeball it and redraw it. It keeps energy in the drawing, keeps it fresh. I found tracing brings a stiffness to the work.I use a 2B and 4B pencil to break it down but I don’t take it beyond a sketch. I avoid rulers if I can too, I try to freehand as much as possible like the late great Kim Jung Gi and life drawing perspective master Paul Heaston. Then I do some delineation with an 005 and an 05 micron pen. I love linework, I love the clarity and boldness it brings. Then I tone, render, and texture for many hours, many days. I used Copic markers for many years but I’ve since abandoned them and do this all with brush and ink wash. I try to visualize everything in 3 dimensions to the point where it feels like I’m sculpting in 2D. Final touches are done with white paint, maybe even do toothbrush spatter effects. Scan, upload, then collapse.
For fans of your art, what can they expect from Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa?
With Carbon Based I just hope people will feel like they have a pretty fun collection of drawings to look at. There’s quite a variety of subject matter, my process will be shown, my growth arc will be on full display, and it’s all just some lucky clown making marks on paper. Hopefully there’s something to learn from my work, even if it’s what not to do, and hopefully it’ll inspire someone in their own work to just absolutely go for it. It’d really just be great if I could give someone the itch to draw.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Huge thanks for listening to me yak about my book! I’m honestly living the dream and I know it wouldn’t be possible without the generosity and support of people who dig my doodles. It is extremely appreciated!
We would like to say a big thank you to Lewis for chatting with us and wish him the best with Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa.
Feel free to check out Carbon Based: The Art of Lewis LaRosa on Kickstarter.
