We recently discovered that Voodoochilli Pro Member, Erik von Karl Agduma, is working on a brand new graphic novel project, with the working-title POST WW3. Erik is a US based artist who, besides his artistic talents, has a long-standing passion for screenwriting, and his current project draws all of these skills together. Erik took some time out from his work to give Voodoochilli the low-down on the project and share his experiences with other aspiring graphic-novelists.

V: When and how did you start making your art?
E: I started drawing at a young age.  Probably as young as I could grasp crayons, growing up in the Philippines. I can vividly remember watching some WW2 black and white movie, fascinated with that. I wanted to recreate it, and the only way of doing that was by drawing. I created art because of war and death. So clichéd, I know.

V: You’re working on a graphic novel. Can you tell us about it?
E: Ah, my graphic novel. It’s called POST WW3 (working title), a post-apocalyptic story with a sci-fi angle. The project is actually a product of failure pruned from another passion of mine – screenwriting. I abandoned drawing and the whole scene entirely for a period of time in my early twenties, and just wanted to do focus screenwriting. But alas, with that not having panned out (and at an age where I felt I should be doing something I love) I decided, instead of going through the rigorously insane process of having your story (soul!) sold in the ‘biz’, to do it myself without the fear of my work being butchered by other people.  So here I am again, drawing – my first passion.

V: Are you writing too, or collaborating with anybody?
E: I’m not currently working with anybody. I don’t think I will any time soon. I’d gone through too many bodies trying to achieve my projects, and it’s really crazy and sad to think nothing came out of it. I believe it was ego, coupled with the ignorance wrought from levity that we (myself and my many revolving writing/drawing partners) thought we could create something with just the pencil in our hands and the brain we were born with. It didn’t help that I was collaborating with close friends. I don’t think that ever works out; there’s too much subjective, ‘non-business’ flavor to the whole affair that’s just poison to a project. I know brothers and sisters have collaborated and succeeded in the past, but I don’t have any of those. I’m an only child. Uh-oh, I know!

V: What inspires your work?
E: Primarily music, movies, mangas, art books, and art from fellow peers. But you learn that inspiration can get you only so far with a big project like a graphic novel. You need to have a professional determination, and an attitude of not fearing anything – especially failure. I think I’m lacking all of the aforementioned! But I’m learning.

V: Describe one of your creative sessions – for example, do you listen to music, or have a favourite place to work?
E: I write at a coffee shop, and do my designs there also. Anything I can do on a paper, I do it there. But when it comes to drawing/painting, I hunker down in my room in front of my tablet, with a mug of joe, coconut water, and music. Music is the soul of motion, be it dancing, a scene in a movie, or in still art. I have a pretty much eclectic taste in music – be it tribal music from the Philippines, gypsy music, Kuduro music, Baile funk, Trip hop, string music, Norse Icelandic baritone singers, Weird Americana, or dub step. It’s kinda eclectic, see.

V: Any advice you’d give to an aspiring graphic artist / novelist?
E: Don’t die, that’s good advice, right? Don’t die but, if you have to, amass a lot of work first so you’ll have some chance of gaining success posthumously. It’s worked for some people, right? Seriously, though… I don’t usually plug motivational books, but if I had to it would be WAR OF ART by Steven Pressfield. You progress by treating art like a day job that you have to do, or else you and your family will starve. You have to feel the sensation of passion, yet avoid the excess of being some lofty artist; you do it out of necessity rather than by style. I think most of this was drawn from Pressfield’s book.

V: So where do you start?
E: I think one has to start with planting the seed of an idea in one’s head, never neglecting that seedling to the point of wilting. Let it hammer in your head until it wants to be written and brought in this realm of ours. To keep on hammering and not fearing failure is the best way to keep that fuel going, until completion. And distractions – get rid of those. I’m still getting rid of mine.

V: Do you have any favourite graphic novels / artists?
E: Too many to list, so I’ll name my top three, in no particular order: Otomo’s Akira; Gaiman’s Sandman; and Miyazaki’s Nausicaa.

V: What stage is the project at now, and what’s next?
E: My graphic novel is currently at a written-stage. Before, I made the grievous mistake of drawing first, then writing thereafter. Never doing that again, it was a mess. It’s like putting your underwear outside your pants. Other than that, I’m currently designing a clothing line with a few colleagues called ANTI. I hope, because I’m collaborating with other sentients, it won’t crash in a flaming failure like my previous attempt at working with other people!

View Erik von Karl Agduma’s portfolio on the Voodoochilli site.