Anne Timmons is a versatile artist. She has drawn and painted her way into quite a
successful career, the latest project being a comic called Go Girl, written by Trina Robbins.
I am also proud to call her an online friend of mine. So, come with me as I talk with Anne
about her career in art and comics.
Sheryl:
Have you always been interested in art?
Anne:
Sheryl:
What were your earliest influences?
Anne:
My mom was an artist. She taught me how to draw. We'd spend hours drawing
people. My aunt designed for Jantzen . She also encouraged me to go into
fashion illustration, which I studied in college.
Sheryl:
I know you have educational preparation in art. Tell me how you decided on
art as a career, and how you think it helped you as an artist.
Anne:
Initially, I was going to be a teacher, but I couldn't bring myself to
grade kid's artwork. I like working with kids, but just one-on-one, or a
VERY small group, without any pressure.
I have a done a variety of commercial jobs, mostly illustrating. When I
have time, I'll just pull out some watercolor paper and paint.
Sheryl:
I find watercolors extraordinarily difficult to work with. Did
your mother teach you the technique, or is it just something you have
a natural affinity for?
Anne:
I did get some coaching from my mother but I also took private art lessons
while I was growing up. When I was at OSU I took watercolor and oil painting
as well as illustration. Watercolor is hard. I have had to teach myself to
work very carefully, especially working light to dark to avoid getting
colors to muddy. One thing I learned in class that works well for me is
this little tip:
- Sunny day = warm lights, cool darks,
- Over-cast
day = cool lights, warm darks.
Sheryl:
You have done other kinds of art besides comic art. What other kinds of
jobs have you done, and did you enjoy them?
Anne:
I studied art Oregon State. I think watercolor painting was my favorite
subject. I liked the way the pigments blended. I have illustrated for a
variety of projects. Some were in the educational field. I also painted a
mural. Biggest painting I've ever done. (11 ft x 25ft) All done in Miller
Acrylic Latex! The mural is located at a college residential hall at Portland State
University.
I enjoyed the mural but it took forever. Nearly 2 years. The ladder climbing
was very exhausting!
Sheryl:
How did that mural job come about? And what was it like, working
on one piece for 2 years? Did you get bored with it, or was the
process of creating enough to keep you interested?
Anne:
The mural was a labor of love. It was really a class project that just
extended into 2 years of work. Originally there were 9 of us in the class
and it was going to be a joint effort. After two terms, we started to loose
our steam. I really wanted to finish the mural. So, I was the only one left
to finish a big job. I didn't get bored with the project, just exhausted from climbing up
and down the ladder!
Sheryl:
And knowing many artists as I do, do you drive by and look at it, and
whisper to yourself, "I could have done better with that" ?
Anne:
I do. There are many things I could have done, but sometimes you just need to
end it. Two years was a long time and I was ready to move on.
Sheryl:
You must like painting on a large scale, though. Tell us about the comic shop
window art you did.
Anne:
The window was a commissioned job I did for the owner of the shop. He
wanted to have some female characters on his window. The paintings are both
painted in reverse on the inside of the window done very much like an
animated cell, black first and then the colors painted on top. Both
characters were completed with written permission by the publishers. The comic
shop is Aces High and it is located in Vancouver, Washington.
Sheryl:
Have you always been interested in comics?
Anne:
I used to draw comic books when I was kid. My mother was a teacher and she
would bring me home reams of paper for me to draw on. (usually the unwanted
extras the teachers ran off for tests) I would make up my own stories and
put together little folded comics. I still have a couple of them.
Sheryl:
What made you decide to do art for comics projects?
Anne:
I have always been interested in comics. I was fortunate to take a comic
book art class at Portland Art Museum. I learned about storytelling and page
dynamics. I also joined a studio with other artists. We shared ideas and
work space. I did some commercial work as well as helped put together our
own comic. CHIX.
Sheryl:
What kind of comics do you personally enjoy?
Anne:
When I was growing up, I read Archie Comics and I loved the Sunday Comics.
I read Conan, Tarzan and Wonder Woman. But I didn't like the way they were
printed. The registration was always off and they always laid the colored
down on top of the black, which really made them look terrible. It was in
the nineties when other comics started to attract my attention. I liked
Batman: The Dark Night because it looked so different from other comics I'd
seen. It was printed on white paper, for one thing and the colors were
strong, not washed out as they were before. I noticed other publishers
started taking care with their printing process. Of course, this care led to
the price increase, but for some books like Death: The High Cost of Living,
it was worth it.
Sheryl:
How did your association with The Friends of Lulu develop? Do you
see Friends of Lulu membership as being helpful to your comics
career?
Anne:
I joined Friends of Lulu at the '96 San Diego Comic Convention. It has
given me the opportunity to meet more artists and writers. I met Trina
Robbins through FoL, too. The membership of Friends of Lulu is growing all
the time and they really encourage young people to get interested in the
comic book industry.
Sheryl:
Did you meet Jim Ottaviani through the Friends of Lulu?
Anne:
Actually, I met Jim Ottaviani through Steve Lieber, (artist on Whiteout). I
was working at Studiosaurus at the time and he came by to visit members in
the studio. Steve mentioned "Two Fisted Science", Jim's Xeric Award book he
published in '97. He told me that Jim would be doing a similar science
themed book but this time featuring all women scientists and he suggested I
send Jim some samples of my work. Later, he asked me if I would like to do
a story on Birute Galdikas, the scientist "Wild Person in the Woods" is
based on.
Sheryl:
The front cover of Wild Person in the Woods was gorgeous! Was it your
idea to do the painting?
Anne:
Thank you! Jim wanted a full color cover. I was delighted when he told me I
could do it in any medium I felt comfortable with. Gouache, or opaque
watercolor, is a great paint to work with because the paint is very
brilliant and it dries with no paint brush marks. Excellent for comics.
Sheryl:
Did you work from a full script on Wild Person in the Woods, or
did you just have a loose script and pace it yourself?
Anne:
Jim provided me with a very detailed script. I made a few suggestions that I
thought would make the art more dynamic. He was open to a lot of my ideas.
I thought we worked very well together.
Sheryl:
Was it a surprise to you when your story got included in
Dignifying Science along with a lot of well known women creators?
(An aside: it shouldn't have been a surprise, your story was good!)
Anne:
Actually, I knew it would be included in Dignifying Science because he
wanted to do an anthology from the beginning. And yes, I was delighted to be
included with the other talented artists.
Sheryl:
For the average Josephine or Joe, what do you see as the benefits of
belonging to the Friends of Lulu? Do you see associations like this helpful in
spreading the appeal of comics?
Anne:
Yes, Friends of Lulu has helped me meet some really fabulous people who are
very passionate about helping the comic's industry . Helping comics be for
everyone. Like it used to be, especially girl readers. Expanding the
readership in this industry has many benefits, including inspiring new
talent.
Sheryl:
Tell us a little bit about Go Girl, the comic you are doing with
Trina Robbins.
Anne:
Lindsay Goldman is our heroine's real name. She inherited her mother's
ability to fly. Her mom was known as Go-Go Girl, a superheroine in the
1970's, and when Lindsay wears her mom's old costume she becomes the
teenage superheroine: GoGirl!
Sheryl:
How did your and Trina's talents combine to make Go Girl? Did you
do character sketches, or did you bounce ideas off of one another?
Anne:
Trina has wanted to do a comic about girls for girls for a very very long
time. When we talked about doing one together, I learned that Image was
open to creator-owned projects and to our delight, they were very open to
GoGirl! Trina sent me a full script with descriptions of the characters,
story. etc. I designed the characters following some ideas Trina sent. We
decided we wanted a specific look. Lots of bright color and kind of
cartoony. I think we both work well together because we both like what the
other one does. I love her stories with their clever sense of humor and she
likes my drawings.
Sheryl:
The road to publication of Go Girl has been rocky. It has been
scheduled, canceled, and resolicited. Why do you think it is
difficult for creators to launch new projects right now?
Anne:
Retailers were very skeptical about our book. They didn't order enough to
cover the cost of production and we were canceled. However, after we were
canceled, we were amazed at the support people have given us. I mean, we
had GoGirl fans even before the book was out!!! Many folks sent very kind
words and hoped that we would try again in the future. Some of these folks
were people who have comic book industry websites. We forwarded some of
the fan mail to Image. And they showed their support by resoliciting us
again. And through this second solicitation, we've had some of the
retailers write some very supportive words in their ads. I can list their
URLs at the bottom of this interview, if you have room to put them in. I
think deserve recognition.
Sheryl:
What made Image change their minds about publication? I would
think that a comic directed at girls would be welcome by everyone who
wants to see the comic market expand.
Anne:
Image has been very supportive from the beginning. They want to have girl
readership and more female creators, too. So, when we were canceled, they
thought by resoliciting GoGirl may show folks how seriously interested
they are.
Sheryl:
Looking at your body of comic work, it appears that you keep
doing projects directed at women and girls. Knowing the mindset of
some folks in the comics business, are you worried that you are going
to get labeled "an artist who can only do that female stuff?"
Anne:
I am delighted to do this kind of work. I hope there is more opportunity for
me and other creators in the future to do more female stuff! If something
comes around that's different and I think I would do well, than I hope I
have the opportunity. I really enjoyed Vertigo's " Book of Faerie". Love
drawing period works!
Sheryl:
Anything else you'd care to add for our readers?
Anne:
GoGirl will also be featured in a four page story in the Comic Reader
magazine in August and then after that as a monthly one page strip. I will
also have artwork on a cover in the August issue of The Comic book Artist.
It will feature GoGirl, Wonder Woman and other female comic book characters.
Can you guess whose who? :)
