@_piombo_ | www.facebook.com/pages/Comics-Drawing-Spirit/
We are honored to have, Paolo Benella, as our Featured Artist, he is an amazing artist that draws some amazing comic book art that we fell in love with instantly, check out all his awesome work on his wall and while your there make sure to hit that follow button to support a fellow artist!
How long have you been an artist? What is your specialty? Where do u find inspiration?
I’ve drawn comics since 13 years old, but I’ve always loved art. I like drawing superheroes the most, inking and coloring with different techniques, my inspiration rises when I see great action, with a good storytelling, my beginning was (like the most of my generation) in manga comics, they influenced much my first years of work, I always try to put in my drawings the typical energy of Japanese comics.
Do you have a job in the art industry? If So, what’s one thing you don’t like about it? If no, where would your dream job be?
Unfortunately I’m not working as comic artist, but I hope one day I will, I don’t have a real target for now, but I would like to be comic artist or illustrator.
Do you have a favorite Artist?
I have lots of favorite artists, and I knew the most of them only recently, Riccardo Federici, Alex Ross, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Enrico Marini, Greg Capullo, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Steve McNiven, Goran Parlov, Mike Mignola and others… in Japan, Akira Toriyama is my favorite.
What is one accomplishment you’ve had in your life? Does not need to be art related.
I didn’t have so many goals in my life yet. I’m still 24 years old, I ‘ve had a job for three years but it’s not a work i want to do for my life.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 20 years?
In five years i hope I’ll have a house, a car, and a life with my actual girlfriend, after five years I started to think about it. in ten or twenty years I dream a family, and a lot of work as comic artist, character design for video games, and enough time to handle all this!
If you could meet and talk to any person in the world, dead or alive, who would it be?
I’m not sure about this answer, there are so many people I’d like to meet, actually I don’t have an absolute idol, in my life I had different idols, Akira Toriyama was my childhood with Dragon Ball, I’d really like to know him, but recently there are lots of men I’d like to meet, powerful and inspiring artists of western comics. Having to do a heart choice, my answer is Master Toriyama.
How is one way you make money with your art?
For now, I sometimes sell my original artwork to make money, in this first part of my artistic journey my main target is to improve always more, there’s never end in this, and in these months I started to have requests and commissions, so I hope this is the right way.
If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be and why?
I think I would go to Australia, there’s still so much to know about that land, every side of it is very interesting in my opinion, but I love Alaska, too. Its magnificent views are very good frames for movies and comics.
What is your favorite brand of art supply? Whether it’s a brand of pencils or brand of camera or software
In my opinion, the best one is Winsor & Newton, I mean I didn’t try every brand, but for the most of material, you know W & N is an excellent choice, for brushes, watercolors, for markers, too. For acrylics I use Liquitex Heavy Body, I think it’s very brilliant, and for last, I feel like to mention Liquid Acrylics Magic Color, I often use them for my artworks, they are very versatile, brilliant and strong, but also used as watercolor they are good. Enrico Marini used them for his last Batman: The Dark Charming Prince, and he obtained beautiful colors.
Any advice for young artists?
To young artist (like me) I say: No matter what people or parents or someone else think about your love for this beautiful thing that art is, you mustn’t refuse the artist you are, you have to give it all yourself, and the road is very long and difficult, and not always glory is waiting for you, I don’t know if I will arrive to work in comics, but I’ll do my best to accomplish this wish, you have to watch movies, read books, comics, you have to look around of you, search perspective, search anatomy, search the shapes of the world, no matter what is your style, abstract, realistic ecc. To be an artist means to know more than every other job knows, you’re wrong if you think it’s an easier job than others.
