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COLORING CONAN: DAVE STEWART INTERVIEW WITH CONAN.COM
Dave Stewart is an Eisner and Harvey award winning colorist whose work spans the comic industry from books like DC’s New Frontier to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy for Dark Horse. His unique style has helped define and energize the new Conan comics from Dark Horse. Conan.com caught up with the busy color-slinger for a chat about his experiences on Conan.
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What attracted you to this area of comics and how did you break into the business?
Coloring kind of found me. I started as a design intern at Dark Horse about nine years ago. I was hired on as a color separator (translated painted guides into a vector based program called TintPrep from CoddBarrett Associates). I worked really hard and eventually editors started to notice my work.
Who are your influences? What do you consider your breakthrough work?
I learned a lot under Mike Mignola. He really taught me how to apply color to comics. I love to look at the work of Van Gough, Greg Manchess, Peter Sylvada, Matt Hollingsworth, Frazetta, Tardi, Bjaren Hansen. Specifically for color, I'm always looking at palettes and color combinations where ever I am. Starting on Hellboy and doing heads was momentous. I have to say starting that gouache look with Javier Pulido's work, and carrying it over to New Frontier and BPRD, was cool. Conan though is a biggy. I still have a lot to learn, but I feel Conan is going to be an interesting path.
How do you approach a job like Conan? What considerations are there, and what are your working habits?
I like to get big chunks of the book at a time so I can visually map it out. Usually I start out slow because it is really such a different style than anything else I'm working on that I really have to reset my mind to get into the project. I'll start picking up and my goal is to turn the book over in seven days, but it usually takes eight.
How do you balance art and technology now that computer-assisted comic coloring is the norm? Or is this a false distinction since old school comic color was basically hand-cut dot screens.
Well, I started out with computers and blueline paintings were rare. I can say that I want very little of the computer to show through when I work, accept the beautiful color range it allows. I like that I can draw on the feel of an oil painting and everything it implies, but still turn out three pages a day. The computer can be so cold and mechanical. I don't like hyper realistic airbrush for the same reasons. I've tried to include the warmth of a human touch in what I do by imitating natural media. I'm not trying to fool anyone, just take away the harshness of the computer.
With Conan you are coloring over pencils, not inked art. How is that different?
I have to pay more attention to form and page layout. I'm replacing the inker in a way so I have to strengthen the pages like they would. Cary and Tom at one point said that I wasn't creating dark enough areas to give that feeling of blacks and that was a great observation. That kind of thing is up to me in a way now.
Do also pursue other artistic disciplines, like painting or sculpture?
Photography when I get a chance. I work to much!
Do you have a "philosophy" or set of principles that you bring to your coloring work?
I like to service storytelling first. Place, time, emotion, rhythm, action are all things you have to consider when laying in those values and tones. People shouldn't think about the coloring, but just see it as part of the art and story.
Thanks a lot, Dave. I’m sure we’ll be enjoying your work for a long time to come.
conan.com
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