Artist Spotlight: Joel Zain Rivers
February 25, 2020
Everyone’s work is deeply idiosyncratic: in our regular Spotlight segment we explore artists’ experiences and inspiration to understand what defines and inspires their unique styles.
Can you give us a brief background on yourself?
I have been drawing cartoons, comics, and monsters since I can remember. I attended a arts magnet high school in San Francisco in the 80’s called, Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, (SOTA). I received a Bachelors of Fine Art from Humboldt State University, graduating in 1992. After being disenchanted with the idea of being an artist for a while, I worked on a short film/children’s book for a friend. Around that time I re-discovered comics, notably Allen Moore’s books. After trying and failing, I got a grant to self-publish my first series of comics. Lots of things happened after that, like partnering in a concept art company with 2 other artists while in Maine. Lately, I have worked as a web-comic artist for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and have done some recent storyboard projects.
What kind of influence does your location have on your career?
I now live in the desert southwest in the United States. There are not many opportunities for commercial artists here, so I rely on my network, clients, and contacts from elsewhere. This has made me more introspective, and I think more and more seriously about independent ventures and projects. It is less expensive to live here, and the cultures and landscapes are part of what drew me here and continue to inspire me. Also my roots are out here, so I feel at home.
What is your process like when combining traditional and digital methods?
I’m in my 40’s so traditional media is part of my ritual when creating art, sketching, or coming up with ideas or visual approaches. I love the ease and quickness of using Painter, ArtRage, or Sketchbook Pro, but the experiential and tactile reality of paper, pencil, ink, etc, and the randomness of mistakes, reactions to mistakes, and making them “work” is part of my process. When you can’t “undo” you make different choices.
Could you pick one piece of art that has made a lasting influence on you, and if so why?
Well, I can say that the first time I saw a comic drawn by Joe Kubert, a Tarzan comic that was fighting a Pterodactyl, that moment crystallized. I loved dinosaurs and I loved comics as a kid, but in that moment I saw you could combine things. You could make a surreal world where there were no rules limiting you. That has stayed with me. Also the work of Moebius - the great Jean Giraud.
What skills or techniques are you working to try improve at the moment?
I am always working on anatomy and composition, those are always challenges. I find just drawing every morning to get the bad drawings out, so to speak, is mostly the key. Also good reference material is absolutely crucial.
Can you give our readers a tip or trick you have come across that has made your work a lot easier?
Use as many layers of preliminary drawing as you need. Draw a layer, then bring it to 30% visible and draw another layer on top. Just keep going until it clicks. I recently added, using values, a flat gray for shadows BEFORE I do final lines in a digital comic page. This really helps with proportion, composition, and clothing.
How can people who are interested in discovering more of your work find it?
Scriba is a revolutionary digital stylus that is ergonomically designed to comfortably fit your hand and uses unique Squeeze-Motion technology. Order here.
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