KAZU, Inspiration...

[rightbraind]

Hi Kazu,

First off, I'm a definite fan of your work. I love Flight, those covers are amazing. Though, I think Copper suits my fancy the most. I really dig it, and I can't wait to get my hands on Amulet. Which brings me to the main reason for this email...

I'm an aspiring comic artist, and I have lots of ideas, but I don't even know where to start. So here's some questions I have for you:


1) How do you come up with your story ideas? What inspires you? More specifically, what inspired something like "Copper"?

2) Do you write down a rough script, refine it, and then start the actual production? Are there any brainstorming techniques you use?

3) How did you land a gig with Scholastic?


I know you're a busy guy, so I'll understand if it takes a while for a response.

Hope to hear from you soon...

Cheers, Noah Albrecht

[Kean]

Just moving this over to the Questions & Comments corner of the forum...

[rightbraind]

Thanks for moving this into the right area. ^_^

~N

[Kazu]

Hi Noah,

1) I try to find inspiration from everywhere, but most of it is drawn from my love of cinema. Copper is my monthly storytelling exercise. I have to draw a story that has a beginning, middle, and end on a single page. It's like being able to create short films on a minimal budget, and the exercises have taught me so much.

2) I have a pretty detailed tutorial on the process of creating Copper here: http://www.boltcity.com/workshop/copper_tutorial/

3) Scholastic was looking to contact me about doing a project, and when they found out I was working on Amulet, they were pretty much on board to publish it (based on my experience with Daisy Kutter and the work I did on Flight). After that, it was a matter of my agent finding any other options and making sure we had the best deal all around.

[rightbraind]

Hey, thanks Kazu for posting that reply. Yeah, I find myself inspired after viewing an awesome film. Nothing like it.

Since (you mentioned) McCloud is a mentor to you, do you find that his book "Making Comics" is helpful to you on your journey?

~N