Interview with Ian Miller

Ian Miller is a British artist, illustrator and writer best known for his macabre sensibility, and surreal, quirkily-etched Gothic style. He is a graduate of St Martin’s School of Art Painting Faculty, and is noted for his detailed book, magazine, and graphic novel illustrations, including covers for books by H.P. Lovecraft, contributions to David Day's Tolkien-inspired compendiums, work for various Games Workshop-published fantasy gaming periodicals, role-playing and war gaming books and supplements, including popular Warhammer titles. His experience also extends to feature films such as Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards and Coolworld, and pre-production and production work on numerous short films and highly successful movies including ‘Shrek’.

1. What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity?

My mother worked for one of the leading theatrical costumiers in London during the early part of the fifties; so I was, from the outset, caught up in the most intimate workings of the Illusion Machine. My toy chests overflowed with the cast offs and oddments from a score of film and theatre productions. I was receptive to everything that was weird and wonderful. Fact and fiction were not in contention. Strange worlds could still be reached through the backs of cupboards, if you knew where to look. Bubble gum was made from Everglades swamp water - that was a fact. I remember, whilst travelling to Manchester on a steam train, seeing a herd of headless cows from the carriage window. When I mentioned it to the other occupants of the carriage, they just smiled, and said such things where commonplace in the North of England.

2. Your work is meticulous, highly detailed, dark and often humorous. What creative works inspired you or first drew you to your preferred forms of artistic expression?

Most everything, if truth be known. We are bombarded by detail wherever we look. I have always had an enquiring mind, and for me, making marks seemed like an appropriate response (making sense of, if you will). I used whatever tools were to hand; and by elimination, found the ones that best suited my needs. I do not think I set out with any preconceptions about how I wanted to express myself as an artist, nor how I should achieve that. I studied painting at Art School, but seldom went near a canvas. I think I got lost in seven years of Art History and Theory and always found myself painting like, after, or in the manner of, some other person or school. Etching and dip pens felt more like me, a more direct conduit to expression if you will. That said, however, I have a wide remit and my studio is cluttered with a plethora of large images and constructions. I started off at St Martin’s in the Sculpture Department and switched to painting in the second year. I think of this as a slow meander to God knows where? But I’m still drawing; so, “Huzzah!” for that.

3. Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it.

First, magic colouring books - you added water and the colours magically appeared. My father bought them in London somewhere. After this, twelve coloured pencils with a different colour each end. It was my sixth birthday. The vivid quality of the colours was startling; and even now, all these years on, I can still remember the excitement they aroused in me. Their arrival prompted my ‘Ancient Egyptian Phase‘. Frontality, hieroglyphic pillars, pyramids, and Ancient Egyptians was all that mattered. It must have been the desert yellow that started it. But whatever the reason, sand, asps, striped towels, palm trees and pyramids, filled the pages of my drawing books until every one of those twelve pencils was all used up. That was a very sad day for me. Then school, and those bloody awful powder paints, and small yard brooms they passed off as paint brushes. I remember I used to paint papier-mâché buns with the paint then eat them. I seem to remember I liked brown paper bags as well.

I took up etching in my first year at Art School and flirted on and off with the process for the next seven years of study. Needless to say, I was wholly intrigued by the process, but eternally frustrated by the difficulties of securing time on an etching press. The printing facilities at St Martin’s School of Art in the late sixties were not brilliant, and always heavily oversubscribed. This was a real shame because the staff and technicians were really very good. In any event, I came across one of my friends drawing with a Rotring Rapidograph and after trying one out myself, knew I’d stumbled on the solution to my problem.

The drawing point of the technical pen, although different in so many ways from that of an etching needle, provided a precise substitute. Although every image was now an edition of one, it did allow me to create the type of line work I wanted; and most importantly, when I wanted. This was a sheer joy. Admittedly, the mono line quality of these pens imposed limitations; but they were clean and efficient tools, and I found I quickly compensated for any shortfalls. In fact, building up surfaces / veneers, was so much easier and so much faster that my image production quadrupled. Laying down one pattern of lines on top of another, for so many years, in all manner of configurations and permutations, was perhaps the perfect preparation for understanding and manipulating the levels feature in Photoshop. Some might say, “What about working a knitting machine?” and I would have to say, “Yes, but I prefer the former.”

4. Of the work you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular work?

I do not have a fixed favourite. Mood dictates ‘favourite’ and, for the most part, all I see are the shortfalls in my imagery. That said, I always view this as a healthy state of mind, because it motivates me to try harder. My favourite painting is Mr and Mrs Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough in the National Gallery. I love this image in any mood.

‘Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.’ ~ Walt Whitman

5. Tell us about The Broken Diary.

The Broken Diary is a natural extension of my working practise, a necessary development. I have always loved storytelling, and picked the right tool and vehicle for the job. Transposing my thoughts and images into words is always an exciting process. I was inspired many years ago by Alfred Kubin’s book, The Other Side. The Broken Diary is a real life diary, juxtaposed against a twisting tale of delusion, dream and nightmare. Perhaps they are one and the same thing?

It was a very generic process. There were no real constraints. All things were possible. I’m now reworking a theatre project, which nearly made it to the London stage some years back, called The Shingle Dance for an animation project/film in the Netherlands. I also adapted it for opera, but the lighthouse collapsed in the Shetlands. Third time lucky, maybe?

6. You are a writer and artist who successfully applied imaginative skills to several creative outlets, including graphic novels and feature films. Tell us about any challenges you have faced with the adaptation of your work.

The creative imperative, in my view, is to push constantly at the boundaries of one’s practise, beyond the comfort zones, if you will. I try hard to do this. I do not always succeed, but I do try. I find the process of image making hard, and always have done. Sometimes I’m astonished I found a way through, despite a lifetime of application.

A tale about Hollywood?

It was whilst my wife and I were wandering penniless around San Francisco in 1974 /5, that Ralph (Bakshi) tracked me down via London and New York, and offered me a job working on his film, Wizards in Los Angeles. At that time, the working title for the film, as I recall, was War Wizards. This hunt was prompted by Ralph having seen a Gormenghast Castle image I had created for Pan Books some months earlier. After our frugal time in the old Gaylord Hotel near Union Square, where the lift threatened to die every day, and the event of the week was the free doughnuts and coffee on Sunday mornings, West Hollywood was a startling contrast. Although the scenery was not so good, the material gains were quite dramatic - in short, a fairytale transformation.

Seeing my work enhanced and animated was astonishing, as was interacting with so many talented people in the Bakshi studios. Ralph allowed me immense freedom of expression; and I worked all the better for it, I think. Such licence is rarely given or found. My association with Ralph was a dynamic, and never to be forgotten experience. Sometimes, I liken it to trench warfare for the artists. You lived ever second of it - whizz, bangs, screams, and all. It was sometimes exhausting; but it was never ever boring, or middle of the road.

7. Where do Orange Monkeys come from, and why are they so dangerous?

They pop into your head when you’re dreaming. Some people dangle them in cocktails by their tails and giggle a lot. I suspect that that pisses them off, big time. I swore I’d never say a thing, if they left me in peace. Even the spiders are frightened of them. Just pray they never visit you in your dreams.

8. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?

By taking a very deep breath, three in fact; and saying mantra style, “I can do this,” as many times as it takes to get me moving. I remind myself I have served my time and that I have the skills and discipline to follow through. The magic comes through application. The experience is always different, tantalizing even. There is always so much to learn, so much to hone and perfect, then there is magic.

9. You have worked on popular films such as Shrek. What aspirations, or reservations, do you have regarding the continuing application of your work to film and television?

My last stint working on a film was in Vancouver. It was a wee bit ‘humourless and sweat shop’. I went to work on development imagery, and everything was being pushed to finish from the very start. I did not feel it was an environment I could function well in. I left early. I have no problem with applying my work to film or any other medium. As I mentioned earlier, I’m adapting a script and imagery for an animation project. Wonderful stuff, if we get the funding. I’ll be working with some superb and talented people. It doesn’t get any better than that. I love the vital interaction these situations throw up, and I am always open to suggestions and offers. If somebody thinks I can contribute something useful, then why not give it a go?

10. Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal client?

Somebody who trusts me to do what I do well, pays an equitable fee, has a sense of humour, and sees beyond the pound or dollar signs associated with the project. Whether you attach a small or big ‘A’ to the word art that is what I try to do. I care a great deal about the process of image making.

11. Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently, and good books you’ve read.

The Matisse Cut-Outs exhibition at Tate Modern is a superb exhibition in my opinion. I hope to see it several more times before it finishes. I loved the Mira Schendel show, also at Tate modern, and the Lowry at Tate Britain, a month or so back.

Books: The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk, Berlin Letters by Robert Walser, and A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit. I’m about to start reading What is Madness? by Darian Leader, and War and Cinema by Paul Virilio, if the madness doesn’t take me first.

12. What other interests do you have?

Walking, sailing, staring at the sky, and talking to rabbits and dogs. Also, planning my next move in the search for my long-lost green sock, with the orange windmills on it - last seen by the ornamental lake, in Victoria Park, Rangoon.

13. Where can we find you and your work?

In dark cupboards; and if you look me up on: Wikipedia. In places I’ve forgotten I’ve even been. I’ve been scratching away for a very long time. Some of it would perhaps be best buried and forgotten.

Editor's note: I found Ian on his official website: www.ian-miller.org and you can too.

Interview with Samuel Z Jones

Samuel Z Jones is a prolific English fantasy writer. He lives on the Isle of Wight, and is perpetually working on several novels simultaneously alongside other projects. 

1.               Tell us about the Akurite Empire series of books.

Well, it's epic fantasy, but I've been told by some readers that what I'm writing goes beyond that definition. This isn't just another Lord of The Rings knock-off about elves in the woods and dwarves in the mines fighting orcs and goblins. There's none of that.

Can I summarise the plot of the whole series? Um... five immortal heroes quest across the history of their world to defeat an enemy from the distant future that plots to invade the past.

The story follows several generations of characters through the rise and fall of nations on a mountain plateau isolated from the rest of their world. Events sometimes take the story beyond this region, but fundamentally the books concern the wars and alliances between Silveneir, Kellia, Daricia and Uria.

The Silvans are a matriarchal, religious culture that arrived from the east several centuries previously, while the Kellions are a patriarchal nation from the distant west. These two cultures are fundamentally polarized and their politics and conflicts comprise much of the back-story underlying the setting. The Darians are a non-human race that dominate the southern half of the plateau; they have as much in common with elves as they do with trolls, being ageless and immortal but also massively strong   and muscular. They are the giants, the titans of this world. Finally, Uria is populated by hybrid beast men who are explicitly not natural races but rather the results of medical experiments involving humans, Darians and animals.

The structure of the series, which now runs to over a dozen books beginning with the Akurite Empire trilogy, is dynastic, so talking about one or two particular characters isn't really helpful; the lives of several hundred fictional people are interwoven so each novel is part of a vast tapestry.

2.               Why did you write this series, and what do you hope to achieve with it?

You've heard of the Neverending Story? Spoiler; it ends. But the idea at least was of a story that didn't. It's something of the holy grail of fantasy; The Worm Ouroborous, or Moorcock's Eternal Champion, Donaldson's Thomas Covenant, and others, have all tried to create a self-contained fantasy world that runs like a perpetual motion machine. Donaldson, I think, came closest quite recently with his Last Chronicles.

I'm going to do it, though. The overall plot forms a time loop, which when complete will allow a reader to pick up the story at any point, at any volume, and read on from there until they come full circle back to the place they started from. At this point, they will discover that the first book they read has a second main plot woven through it that they didn't notice first time around. And then a third time around. And a fourth; each revolution revealing deeper and more detailed stories that were previously invisible. I have the whole thing in draft, I'm halfway through publishing, and already a few readers have noticed the interweaving and layering of plotlines building this marvellous story-machine.

3.               Is there an underlying message in the Akurite Empire series?

I don't set out to make any particular point when I write a novel; the theme or message emerges from the process. Every book, conceptually, is an exploration of human psychology; the way people perceive and construct reality. From that arises the central theme of each book. I think in the current work-in-progress I'm saying something about gender-roles and post-modern feminism, but that's honestly not important if what you want is to read a good yarn about questing knights and women with guns.

4.               Of the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite? If so, why this particular character?

I approach characters as if I'm getting to know a real person; after all, how well can you really know someone? A supporting character I know about as well as someone I've had a few drinks with, a main character is someone I know as well as a close friend. Conceptually, I wander through an imagined forest meeting various people camping there. Sometimes I spend weeks or months camping with one character, hearing their stories and meeting their friends, before we part ways, perhaps to cross paths again in the future. The first character I had this experience with was Montesinos DeKellia, a character now so well developed that someone actually succeeded in channelling him. The person in question had never read the books; the mannerisms and expression of DeKellia simply overtook him for a few seconds and told him to get lost. He was very shaken afterwards, he'd done a lot of channelling and I sandbagged him with a fictional character.

Eventually, DeKellia told me he was off on his own for a bit and left me to chat with Sabra Daishen. She was his fencing student, a very aggressive but spiritual young woman who in her turn introduced me to knights, outlaws, assassins and a whole host of other people. I've also spent a great deal of time with DeKellia's son and Sabra's sister, who eventually settled down together in a nice house in the woods.

5.               What do you find most rewarding in the writing process?

Reading it when it's done. When writing, the story and imagery are changeable, reading it unfinished is part of the writing and editing process. Once finished, reading it again is like reading something written by someone else, but someone who actually writes what I want to read. I want emotional realism, fully developed ideas, vivid imagery, and that only crystallizes in the finished novel.

It's equally rewarding to know that someone else has read and enjoyed one of my stories; writing is in many ways an exercise in telepathy, I spend a great deal of time creating a highly detailed thought, and writing is the only form we have of transmitting that thought directly to another mind; even film doesn't quite do that, the imagined world is on the screen, while with a book it takes shape within the reader's mind, becomes a place they visit rather than a performance they watch.

6.               What do you find most challenging in the writing process, and how do you overcome it?

Making a living. The modern world keeps hassling me for money. I'd like it to stop, please, and the only way I can find of doing that is to sell enough books so I can write in peace.

7.               Just how do you produce so much work?

The way to learn any skill is to practice every day. The way to get good is to practice every day for hours. To write a book, you open your document and write at least one word per day. With a little effort, you can train yourself to turn out 2000 words a day reliably. With dedication, you can write 5000+ words a day, every day. Emotional and material concerns do affect this; in the best possible state (which isn't, incidentally, being happy and wealthy), I can write 10-15k words a day fairly consistently. Akurite Empire, all 300,000 words of the trilogy, were written in two months. Editing and proofing took a lot longer, but I left it alone for a long time and wrote several other novels in the meantime.

On average, I write three novels simultaneously and finish one or two a year.

8.               Tell us about your interest in martial arts and sword fighting.

From a purely literary perspective, one should write what one knows, even in fantasy. Others disagree, but logically if your genre features large amounts of horse riding, camping, and sword fights, it really isn't tenable to know nothing about them.

Let's see... my grandfathers on both sides of the family were boxers, one a professional coach and the other a bare-knuckle contender. I started Karate aged six and have pursued every opportunity to train any martial art or combat system since; I have about twenty five years of training. I hold a black belt, I've taught martial arts and self-defence in some of the roughest areas of London. Over the past few years, I've pursued Kobudo and Kobujutsu, which broadly means archaic weapons; I've taught nunchaku and fencing, among other things. I really will take any opportunity to grab a shinai (that's a Kendo sword), and bound out into the garden to fight anyone who's willing. Without body armour; padding is for sissies. I'd like to do more work with shields and pole arms, and I've yet to find anyone brave enough to let me come at them with my two-handed war flail... but we really would need armour for that (anyone reading my work may have noticed that I hold a special fondness for the terrifying two-handed flail, aka the threshal, corn flail, or a giant set of nunchuks).

I make an effort not to get technical when writing about swordfights and combat, but I can't help think that direct experience and study can only improve the way I write about these things.

9.               What have you done to promote and market your books, and what advice would you give to other authors?

Until quite recently, I was running all over Facebook waving links at people. I have used Twitter, and it does work, but I really don't like the site, it's like YouTube without videos. Currently I don't have the regular Internet access to make serious marketing efforts, but I do what I can. I'm looking forward to a near future where I can use YouTube and similar media again. Without a huge publicity budget, one really is down to WoM, even if we do that now online.

Advice... unless you can afford to hire a publicist, don't pay for anything. Anyone asking for money to read your book is ripping you off. The writer gets paid to write, they do not pay to be read. If you're already making a living from your books, you might consider hiring an editor or a proof-reader just to speed things up. If you really can afford it, or you're lucky enough to find someone who'll work on commission, hire a publicist.

Don't waste time canvassing blogs and vlogs that purport to review books: these folk are either fan geeks who want to bask in the reflected glory of their existing favourite authors, or money-making enterprises that are only interested in well-known writers (who already get tons of reviews anyway from both of the above).

If you want reviews and interviews, talk to fellow writers who run their own blogs and need regular posts (hi Wayne), these people are far more approachable and professional.

With ebooks, its possible to tap those people who read so much that they'll review anything in their favourite genre in exchange for a freebie. You can get a small fan club going like that, but it's unlikely to be the foundation of wealth and fame.

Ultimately, if you're serious, you have to approach the industry. That means contriving to sit down and have drinks with people already working in some capacity in entertainment: most deals are done at the bar, not over the phone, for what should be the obvious reason that people deal sooner with their friends than with strangers.

10.            Who, do you imagine, would be your ideal reader?

My readership seem to be mostly women. The most common thing people say about my stories is that they love the strong female characters... I'm puzzled by this, I just work for psychological realism. That means all my characters are products of their emotional traumas, as are real people.

My ideal reader, I think, is someone who wants to explore the frontiers of their own mind, and finds my stories a useful map in an infinite territory.

11.            What advice would you give to help others build the confidence required to write novels?

Give up! Give up now! I started writing a novel and it's completely devoured my life! Seriously, don't do it, think of your family, your children, your career...!

...It's not really about confidence. Writing is a learned skill, talent is just the desire to learn. Let the first rule be “Rules are there for a reason”, learn what they are and why they are the rules. Let the second rule be “Rules are there to be broken”, and go wild with your imagination. Let the third rule be “No they're not, get over yourself”, and put in the work necessary to develop technical skill.

Writing a novel is a massive undertaking, and I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who don't seem to realise that the primary skill of a writer is mastery of written language. When you write well enough, in the technical sense of actually knowing what you're doing as with any other skill, then confidence is not a major issue; competence begets confidence.

12.            Tell us about The Flame of Freedom.

This was actually a paid commission; there is a whole world of writing-for-hire which is hard to get into and easy to fall out of, but when you're in it is a great boost: you're actually getting paid a working wage to write! Break out the good booze and smoke a fat cigar.

Flame of Freedom is a story of two halves; George Washington at war, and Betsy Ross in British-occupied Philadelphia. Everyone (I hope) knows who Washington is. Betsy Ross is the woman who physically made the first American flag. It's officially considered an apocryphal story, but having researched it in depth I can say it is absolutely true.

Betsy lived directly across the street from Ben Franklin and was close friends with his daughter Sarah. Betsy was literally at the centre of the Culper Ring, Washington's spy network in Philadelphia.

So The Flame of Freedom follows the men's war on the battlefield and the women's war of espionage.

I'm currently working with the same publisher who hired me for Flame of Freedom, Gabriel Murray. We're working on a screen-adaptation of Hamlet. Gabriel's recent work includes Kingdom of The Crystal Skull and Obama's Irish Roots.

13.            Would you like to see your books adapted for the screen? If so, do you have any aspirations or reservations regarding this?

Yes! Give me my movie cheque! I want to sit in casting sessions while Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen literally fight it out to play Montesinos DeKellia! I want to lose my temper with executives who keep presenting willowy bimbos to play the six-foot female body-builder Sabra Daishen! I want to be presented with an endless queue of tattooed models vying to play Sorcha! I want to point out to censors that if Dr Manhattan can spend the whole of Watchmen literally balls-out naked, then there's no reason Isa Maxine can't bound around topless the whole time!

Reservations? Yes, obviously; there are great adaptations and awful ones. The great ones usually let the actual writer of the actual book actually call some shots.

I envisage adaptations of my stories as having the style and sensibility of Excalibur; if I'm writing with a director in mind, it's John Boorman (armed with modern FX and a massive budget). Much as I love the Lord of The Rings movies, the notion that all fantasy should be like that is sorely mistaken. Look at the Narnia films; someone in Hollywood thought that the way to do it was to smash Harry Potter and LOTR headlong into each other. Doing a LOTR treatment on my stories would have roughly the same effect; it's not LOTR, treating it as if it was would not make a good movie. There's no sex in LOTR, just for a start.

14.            Tell us a little about a good fantasy book you’ve read recently.

Currently I'm reading Joseph Campbell, which should say something about my grasp of mythology. I think the last fantasy novel I read was Unseen Academical by Terry Pratchett. I'd avoided this one because it's a fantasy about football, and I have no interest in footie whatsoever. I actually devoured this book in two days flat though because it had something unexpected; a good modern treatment of orcs.

I used to love Orcs as a kid, far more than I liked elves. I've always been disappointed though that Tolkien never went near the orcs as a culture or as characters, and attempts after him to write something about Orcs have always been LOTR knock-offs.

Pratchett's treatment of orcs in Unseen Academicals was brilliant, a well-spoken orc football player... I almost gave up writing completely when I read Pratchett's Nation, but then I thought “He's been writing professionally for over thirty years, of course he's better than I am!” Then I pushed on and finished Akurite Empire, and I personally reckon it's pretty good. I'm not as funny or as sociologically incisive as Pratchett, but then I'm not trying to be: He's definitely an influence, but I'm no more writing Discworld than I am LOTR.

15.            What are you doing now?

Writing or generally? Currently I'm working on the final draft of book three of The Lord Protector series, which is the sequel to Akurite Empire: While Sabra Daishen is away crusading, her most trusted knight attempts to rebuild the nations shattered by war. At the same time, I'm developing the rough drafts of three or four other novels in the same series, getting ready to bring the epic around into its complete loop. I'm also, as I mentioned, working on an adaptation of Hamlet.

Generally, I'm just waiting out the summer before taking a place at Portsmouth University as a mature student. It's about time I got a degree in Creative Writing, and Portsmouth quite reasonably offered me a place on the strength of being a published author, even if I am virtually unknown.

16.            Where can we find you and your books?

BOOKS BY SAMUEL Z JONES

ROMANCING THE SWORD

Book One: Kingdom of The Void

Book Two: Far Hrinor

Book Three: Sins of The Father

Book Four: Masters of War

Book Five: Weapons of The Gods

AKURITE EMPIRE

Book One: The Red Knight

Book Two: Golden Firebird

Book Three: Beyond The Sunset

THE LORD PROTECTOR

Book One: Gaes of The Red Witch

Book Two: Fortress of Knighthood

THE SORCHA STORIES

Book One: Sorcha's Story

Book Two: Sorcha's Revenge

Book Three: Sorcha's Revolt

OTHER BOOKS

The Flame of Freedom (with Gabriel Murray)

Sifu Dansac's Kung Fu Secrets

They Call Me Anonymous

OMNIBUS EDITIONS

The Complete Akurite Empire

The Sorcha Omnibus

E-book formats available at Smashwords.com
Hardback and paperback editions exclusively from Lulu.com

Interview with John Howe

John Howe is a Canadian illustrator and concept artist, best known for his work based on J. R. R. Tolkien's worlds. Howe and noted Tolkien artist Alan Lee served as chief conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, John Howe also did the illustration for the "Lord of the Rings" board game and re-illustrated the maps of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in 1996–2003.

His work is however not limited to this, and includes images of myths such as the Anglo Saxon legend of Beowulf. He also illustrated the board game Beowulf: The Legend. John Howe illustrated many other books, amongst which many belong to the fantasy genre. He also contributed to the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. In 2005, a limited edition of George R. R. Martin's novel, A Clash of Kings was released, complete with numerous illustrations by John Howe. He has also illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.

For the upcoming The Hobbit films, former director Guillermo del Toro and current director Peter Jackson have been in consultation with John Howe and fellow conceptual artist Alan Lee to ensure continuity of design. John Howe is a member of the living history group, The Company of Saynt George.

Bridge of Kazad-dum

1. You are a world-famous illustrator and concept artist whose work I have long admired. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with your work, tell us about your career and your artistic creations. 

I’m afraid I’ll have to leave the introduction to you; I am not very good at writing about my own work. I am grateful, though, to have been able to pursue drawing and painting as a profession. I suppose the best part is being under the constant obligation to LOOK at things, since so much is needed to paint fantasy, from an acceptable layman’s knowledge of history, armour, architecture, and much, much more, to landscape and light and the human figure, not to mention all the astonishing creatures that inhabit fantasy. This means you are always attentive to atmosphere and detail. 

Orthanc

I spend a lot of time visiting the cities in countries I go for convention or work, stopping at museums, visiting sites, getting up at all hours to catch sunrises, heading out in the rain to take photos. Insatiable curiosity is a desirable trait for an illustrator, it keeps you open to the world, rather than centring your technique on your own depictions, you can retain a certain vulnerability to circumstance, to the appreciation of everything around you. To have had that appreciation of things opened up for me is perhaps the thing for which I am most grateful.

Concerning my own work, it’s either done, therefore not really of much interest to me; or yet to be done, which, while I’m eagerly looking forward to it, cannot really say much about it. The best picture is always the next one.

Gandalf the Grey

2. What aspects of your childhood inspired your artistic creativity? 

A certain freedom, I think, to pursue drawing. Also, a certain undeniable obsession with a few fantasy illustrators likely helped. This was, you’ll have to remember, back in the ‘70s, before a lot of fantasy art books came out, and you had to search through stacks of old paperbacks to find appealing book covers. The first art book I bought was a collection of works by Gustave Doré. I knew nothing at all about art history, not even about the 19^th century fin de siècle painters, who have since become my favourites.

Smaug the Golden

3. Tell us about your learning process, and particularly how your work evolved as a result of it. 

I wasn’t able to follow many art classes in school, but finally did get into art class in the last year of high school, in the class of a lovely art teacher with whom I am still in touch. After that, I went on to art school in France. This said, although it’s a little trite, you never stop learning. It’s a process that demands a good deal of attentiveness, though, always keeping both eyes open, recalling visual relationships, establishing a little order in what you see, since a person’s wanderings, whether in situ or in books, cannot always be chronological or by category – so, when you stumble on a little church on a street corner in some small medieval town, you are much better prepared to remember (and profit from) what you see if you have some basic notion of architectural period and style. Fantasy is not a departure from history, but a refining and an enhancement of it. The only way to make fantasy real is to make it as solid as reality, but simply other or extra-worldly.

Lancelot

Lancelot

4. What do you find most rewarding in the creative process, and how do you overcome that which you find challenging?

I’d be tempted to say that the challenges are the most rewarding aspect. It would be a shame to fall into a certain routine. That’s why I enjoy illustration work; every picture on a theme is first and foremost an introduction to the vision of another, whether it’s the anonymous author of some ancient saga like Gilgamesh or Beowulf, or a modern fantasy writer. They open up a window on a world, and then stand to one side to let you try and capture the view. Remaining attentive to the text is like having them at your elbow, prompting, providing details you might have missed, enriching the experience. The process is what it all reminds you of, those things that you’ve picked up over the years, and which come into play with what you’re being shown. The result is a blending, interweaving, extrapolating and emulating of the two, a pictorial narrative where the story is either implicit or explicit, but underpins the image itself. I also very much enjoy the interweaving of narrative with the inner logic of an image in the graphic sense. These two can be complimentary or opposed, intertwined or independent of each other.

Mythago Wood

5. What advice would you give to anyone considering a career in art?

Go to school! Even just for a short time, to give yourself time to get a little experience and maturity before trying to make it in the professional world. Judging one’s own work is near impossible at the best of times, and it can be quite hard to step out of the world where you’ve grown up as the clever child who can draw and into a world where it’s your bread and butter (for better or worse).

Winter of the Raven

6. Tell us about your experience as a chief conceptual designer for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

It was very challenging, and enormous fun. I don’t think anyone realized at the beginning how huge it was going to grow. We created thousands of pieces of artwork to help Peter capture the vision he had of Middle-Earth.

7. Evolution is an inherent facet of contemporary art. What new developments are you aware of, with regards to the application of technology, in art?

"When an idea seems to revolutionize the world, it is really you that is changing. "-- Edward Robert Hughes (1851-1914)

Rainstorm

8. Tell us a little about any good art you’ve seen recently.

I’m far more interested in sculpture and metalworking than painting; I’ve recently seen some wonderful work by a number of artists.

9. What other interests do you have?

Many, though they are mostly related to history, architecture and art. I do enjoy blacksmithing, although my skills are minimal. I’m also involved in a re-enactment group, which is enormous fun, though I’ve not been to many events recently. I have done a little archery and fencing, but all on a strictly amateur level. Otherwise, I very much enjoy making things and often retreat to my little workshop and poke about amongst bits of wood, plaster and metal.

Perilous Wood

10. What are you doing now?

Back in the movie business for a brief stint! Looking forward to getting back to publishing, though I am working on texts as best I can, it’s not possible to draw and paint right now.

You can find out more about John Howe at his Official Website.

Listen to the artist, in his own words, in the Forging Dragons - Trailer.