Creator Spotlight – Kipjo Ewers, Sci-Fi Author of The First & The First: EVO Uprising
Peace to all of the Followers and Fans! Today’s Creator Spotlight is Best-Selling Sci-Fi Author, Kipjo Ewers!
Tell us about yourself. I am a first generation born of Jamaican descent from two of the greatest parents a kid like me could ever have. They kept me on the straight and narrow, while not wanting for anything. They pushed the value of a good education, being a good person, and reaching for whatever goals I aspired to as long as it did not hurt others. Formerly, from Mount Vernon, I went to Catholic school all my life from grade school to college. As a kid growing up, I was heavily into martial arts, comic books, professional wrestling, Kung Fu movies, anime, writing and storytelling. My brothers and I would use either our G.I Joes or Transformers and play out these complex storylines that sometimes lasted all day and into our next play day.
Now that I am older, I’m still into martial arts though not as heavy (big fan of MMA and the UFC). I’m a sword collector (I have my own set of Conan Father and Atlantean swords from the Arnold movie among others). I still watch anime from time to time, and I collect comics although I’m more selective with what I collect. I also make kitbash action figures; basically you take a base model twelve inch action figure and customize it. It’s a pretty cool and expensive hobby. I made my own Gen 13 characters, and a Dark Knight movie version of Batgirl. My other hobby is 3D artwork, I use programs like Poser Pro (2012 and 2014), DAZ 3D, and Photoshop Element to create them. I’m also a huge Star Wars fan, and will be dressing like a Jedi for the upcoming movie. So all in all I am a big Jamaican-American geek.
Did Art choose you or did you choose Art? I kind of chose it. I love art but never really had the skill for it. I took a couple of art classes in high school and in college. As I got older, I learned Photoshop at a company I use to work at, and then started using it to create my own personal artwork. I learned how to cut and paste pictures to create my own characters. When 3D software programs like Poser and DAZ came out it helped me to take my artwork to the next level. With the combination of both software, I can now take what’s been stored in my head for so long and make a finished product that I am proud of.
You have a very distinct style, what were your earliest inspirations and how did you develop your style? For my characters, I try to give them a semi-realistic feel. Everything about what they wear has to be functional, especially for the women. The old Wonder Woman and Power Girl outfits were sexy as hell, but seriously they were not combat function (laughs).
What are some of the projects you’ve worked on? In the past I use to make commissioned artwork for e-fed wrestling sites (the wrestling version of fantasy football and baseball). Now I create artwork mainly based off of characters within my novel. I plan to collaborate with a traditional artist in 2016 to create a comic book series of my first novel. Still looking for the artist (laughs).
What genres do you most enjoy watching and creating? I’m a huge anime and manga fan, my two favorite artists are Akira Toriyama and Tite Kubo. For American comics it’s Jim Lee, Alex Ross, John Romita Jr, Frank Miller, and the legendary Steve Ditko.
Do you have any personal project? If so, what are they? What are the origins of the project? What has been challenging or rewarding about working your own project?
I’ve work on characters for my own novel, I like to have a visual representation of them as I write them. I also did a couple of pieces that I called “Women and Beasts”, basically warrior type women who ride on large animals. You can check it out on my Deviant Art page at EVO Universe or Runtime DNA Inc. The hardest challenge to creating my characters is hunting for the 3D accessories to put them together. 3D artwork is not a cheap hobby or profession, you can find some free stuff here and there, but if you want to make some killer artwork you have to fork out some serious money.
Check out my science super hero novel series titled “The First” now on Amazon:
“The First” is a superhero origin story of Sophia Dennison. Wrongly tried and convicted of the murder of her husband, she is executed in Texas via lethal injection. However Sophia does not die, she resurrects with superhuman strength, overpowering several correctional officers until she is brutally gunned down. But to everyone’s shock and dismay, she resurrects again. Completely healed, this time she is bullet proof and much stronger than her first death. She breaks out of prison and is on the run where she learns about her abilities and hunts for the answers as to who framed her for her husband’s murder.
“The First: EVO Uprising” is the aftermath of “The First” eight years later. Due to Sophia’s indirect actions of saving the West Coast she has changed the world. Through her, many people across the planet have been gifted with superhuman abilities. Some use their abilities for good taking up the mantel of heroes, others for evil becoming villains, while others join and form super human military units within their respective countries building towards another possible Cold War. Unable to fit in with the race she was once a part of, and unwilling to embrace the race she created, she lives a life of semi-isolation using her power and abilities to help people as she sees fit taking no mantle. However a new threat to the planet will force her to not only confront several spectrums of her past, but her possible destiny.
In the EBook version, you get concept artwork that inspired some of the characters in the novel, and a mini-comic book retelling Chapter 1 and part of Chapter 2.
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 work on a Hulk or Iron Man book. Iron Man was the first comic book I was introduced to as a kid. If I was going to do a twist, it would be to re-power the Hulk’s son Skaar. I was really ticked when they depowered him, he was a great character. I would do stories where there was more of a better relationship between father and son, Marvel just made Banner out of be a deadbeat dad (laughs).
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? As a 3D digital artist, I’ve seen a lot of advancements throughout the years. The new software is more advanced and it makes creating characters and scenes easier. New rendering engines have made final products look more realistic.
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 contact me and check out my work at:
Email – kipjo.ewers@evouniverse.com
http://evouniverse.deviantart.com/
What impact would you like your art to make on the world? Positive impact. I hope my extremely diverse characters can send a message to every little kid out there regardless of their race or gender that says “You too can be a hero”. I believe children are more inspired when they see positive characters with their own skin color. Not that there aren’t diverse heroes out there, but it is very hard for them to get noticed when they are not on the level of a Superman or Iron Man. We need heroes on that level with their own names to be noticed by children of different cultures so that they know they are not alone. That is what I am aiming to do with my artwork, inspire the next generation to be a good generation.
What are your favorite quotes or philosophies of life that help you improve as a person or artist? There is only one race…the human race. Embrace this truth and evolution can begin.
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Peace, Power & Prosperity!
Ced Pharaoh
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