Creator Spotlight – Anthony Piper, Talented Illustrator & Colorist
Peace!
Thank you for reading this Creator Spotlight! Here is Anthony Piper aka Ant Boy! He is making a name for himself, so take a look and find out more about him.
Anthony Piper
ARTISTIC/DEVELOPMENT
As it relates to your earliest memory as an artist, did Art choose you or did you choose Art? The earliest memories of drawing dates back to when I was a kid. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had its first animated series. I think every kid was drawing the turtles back then. I can’t even say, I was any good; my family thought so and they kept encouraging me. I guess you can say “Art” chose me, cause it was probably the only thing I was into.
Who or What were your earliest inspirations and present influences that that inspire your art/comics/writing? Hmmmm…I think all artists have multiple inspirations, so its hard to pinpoint one. I would definitely again say TMNT, just because that was my earliest experience of action cartoons. During my teen years, Joe Madureira’s work really shaped my urge to have a career in comics. I loved his art style and for the longest, I tried to emulate his work. I think, I’ve grown into my own “style” now, even though I used a lot of his building blocks to create mine.
As far as present influences; Takeshi Koike. Ronald Wimberly. Chase Conley. Chris Bachalo. George Molina. Greg Capullo. Khary Randolph. Those are just a few, but probably the most prominent.
How important is it to study your art and how do you approach keeping your skills sharp? I study my work pretty intensely. I’m always trying to understand where I’m going with my work. Lately, I’ve been doing dynamic poses and becoming more loose with my line work. Studying my work, helps me learn about my shortcomings. For instance, I’m not good with symmetry and I tend to draw on a slant. LOL. Funny, but these are things I would’ve never noticed, if I didn’t study my work. Now, I’m able to compensate for those flaws when working.
As far as keeping my skills sharp, just drawing daily takes care of that. Also, it’s good to get new inspiration from time to time, and draw outside of your comfort zone.
What are some books that are on your personal shelf? A lot of graphic novels. When studying artists, I like to look at a collection of their work; to see how they approach many different elements when it comes to telling a story: characters, emotion, expression, environments, splash pages, layouts, textures, colors, cover art, etc. I also have a few books on animation and storyboarding, which will likely be the next stage in my career.
Are there any titles that you are currently reading? I’ve been following Scott Synder’s and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman for awhile now. It’s a good series. I also got back into Uncanny X-Men, mostly because of the art though. I really miss the 90′s X-Men. Dead Body Road was Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera was pretty good too…short though.
Blaze Brothers – Cover
Route 3 – Cover
Captain Marvel
WORK/STYLE
Give us a description of your Creative Lab or Studio where you work and how is the environment a co-creator or partner in ultimately what you create? I work from home. Its really just me in my room surrounded by my laptop, Cintiq and a LOT of books. I really would like to work in a studio amongst other creatives. I think its good to have a balance of the two.
If Art can save the world, then that makes the Artist a Superhero; and every Hero needs theme music. Name the song or songs that you listen to for inspiration as you create? LOL! That depends on how I’m feeling. I listen to Pusha T and 2 Chainz. I also listen to a good amount of Kanye West, just because I can relate to his determination to succeed. I’m not that arrogant though.
What techniques & tools do you employ to bring ideas to life? I’m mostly digital due to convenience of the medium. It’s easy for me to move from sketching-drafting-coloring. As a medium, it’s sometimes frowned upon, but it’s a inevitable transition, if you’re coloring your own work or plan on moving into animation.
How would you describe your writing style or artistic technique? Hmmmm…very urban/hip-hop inspired. I’m always been a big fan of hip-hop, comics, and cartoons so I try to fuse them, as much as possible, in my own way. I know to some, its sounds cliché, but I just think it’s something, that’s hasn’t been explored deeply enough outside of characters wearing hoodies and headphones.
SOUL/ART
In terms of personal projects, what is the Flagship creative project for your company and how did you come up with the idea for the concept? I honestly have YET to work on my own project, which is the reason,I started drawing again in the first place. It’s a pretty, deep story about a lot of personal issues, I’ve had to deal with growing up but hidden behind a lot of action. Right now, a drawing that I put out as a joke has been gaining a lot of traction, so I’m doing a few things with that currently.
Here’s a fun question. Name a mainstream project/character or an independent project and/or character that you’d love to work on or revamp and what would you do to put your twist on it? I would love to revamp Captain Planet. It’s a goal of mine.
For the independent artist, how has technology affected the way you are able to do business or make progress on your art? For example, but not limited to: Finding Clients? Artistic Collaboration? Getting work done? Simply put, without technology, I don’t think I would be doing this full-time. Its easier today to reach people across the world, publish your work, generate a following, etc.. It truly is a good time to be an artist
LIFE/EXPRESSION
On the idea of Art Imitates Life or Life Imitates Art, is the role of Art in human existence a catalyst for behavior and community building or is Art a mirror to reflect the world of what was and what is? Tough one there. LOL. I think it goes both ways but I’m more on the side of “Art Imitates Life”, since I feel we can’t really create without having some type of experience or reference. For instance, almost every alien you’ve seen in a sci-fi movie resembles something human or some type of an animal species. I don’t know, maybe the concepts of basic anatomy don’t exist in other alien forms, like a mouth or an head. LOL. I’m going off on a tangent, but I think you may understand what I’m saying.
Due to budget cuts for schools, classes and after-school programs, primarily in black and Latino communities, the youth are not getting exposed or are exposed to very little physical education and the arts. How important do you feel the arts are to the lives of the youth? Very important. As humans, we’re all meant to create in some way, shape, or form. Art is one of those tools that help us express ourselves. I mean, think about how boring this world would be without art. Almost every form; entertainment – watching tv/movies, reading a book, attending a concert, listening to music, comics, etc – is a form of art. We need artista! We need to teach them our kids how to express themselves and what consitutues as good art.
Trill Robin
Whether it’s the concept of Six Degrees of Separation or Its A Small World, the culture to are smaller than outsiders know. To bridge the gap between yourself and your peers, do you belong to any artist groups or forums, if so which ones?
I mostly post, share and converse with other artists on Facebook. There are a lot of art communities out there, but since I started on Facebook and I’ve come to know quite a few artists on there, and made many friendships on there, I just mostly stay on there. I don’t know how people juggle multiple social media accounts. LOL!
Now to bridge the gap between your art and the public at large, give the name and address of your sites and forums where people can see your creativity and how people can get in contact with you for commissions and/or to follow your work?
You can find most of my work on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/anthonympiper
Also my professional site is: www.anthonypiper.com
But, you’ll have more fun following me on Facebook, since that’s where I post all my sketches, doodles, and occassionally start hilarious fights with other artists.
What impact would you like your art to make on the world? I used to have this obsession with being one of the best skilled artists in the game. I don’t feel that’s my calling, as there are so many more talented artists, than myself. I feel as if, I’m “far” off from that crowd. I don’t think my work will ever be studied or ground-breaking but after seeing that I can make a lot of people laugh with a lot of my ideas, I think I’m more concerned now with just entertaining people with my art.
What are your favorite quotes or philosophies of life that help you improve as a person or artist? There’s this quote from Steve Jobs–
“Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure –these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I now to avoid the trap of thinking you something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
I think that pretty much breaks down everything, as far as just going out there to achieve your dreams.
Is there anything else that you want the readers to know, feel free to elaborate? Yeah…I just hope people to support what I’m trying to do. I want to do something big to bring more ethnic artists into the industry. I feel the lack of diversity in the industry is something that needs to be addressed, It’s something that has to be done collectively. It’s a silent movement happening right now, that I know some may not see, but once organized, it will change the face of comics and animation.
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Thank you Ant for your time! I appreciate it!
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Until next time!
Stay Healthy,
Stay Positive,
Stay Creative!
- Ced Pharaoh
