10 QUESTIONS WITH NEIL SEGURA
The newest Cartoonista answers the questions fans are dying to know....well...maybe just curious to know!
1) To those who haven’t read your work, How would you summarize the Neil Segura/Forever Freshman creative universe?
“Forever Freshman” is an all-ages, semi-autobiographical comic book I Illustrate and co-create with my good friend and writer Ray Mendivil. The characters are based on ourselves as two socially awkward teenagers. We were huge band geeks in high school lacking any social skills, money, or transportation living in the outskirts of Los Angeles. We thought this would be a fun story to tell and we are more than happy to poke fun at ourselves and hopefully make people laugh in the process.
2) Fans of ____ will dig Forever Freshman?
Tacos, Girls & Rock ‘N’ Roll!
3) If you could make a movie of your book- Who would you cast as the leads and who would direct?
I’m thinking a traditional 2D animated film. I could see Billy West voicing our characters. I’d also bring the Farrelly Bros into the mix to direct. I’d like to see what they would do with an animated film. Oh, and NOFX could do the soundtrack.
4) What’s the best thing about having your very own art/comic book show?
We recently had our comic release party at Geeks in Whittier and were blown away by the amount of people who came out to support us. It’s a great feeling when people go out of their way to see what I’m doing creatively. I love it when someone gets a laugh from the book, it let’s me know I’m doing something right.
5) How important are your particular art tools to you style?
When working on Forever Freshman I like to keep my style as consistent as possible so I will try to use the same pens and brushes. Right now I use a Pentel brush pen for most of my inking. The comic is one aspect of my overall artistic style. I emphasize the cartoony look because that’s what works for the series. I go through phases all the time with styles and tools, it all depends on the project.
6) If people only judge a book by its cover- what’s one thing that would surprise people about you?
I once ended up in the hospital after a wild night of karaoke.
7) What do you listen to while you draw?
My ipod is on shuffle most of the time which has everything from Billy Joel to N.W.A. Sometimes I want something more dramatic, so I’ll put on a movie soundtrack to get into a storytelling mood. My go to soundtracks right now are “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Tron Legacy”. I have tried listening to podcasts, but they get too distracting while I’m drawing. It’s like chewing gum and walking for me.
8) Do you draw from photo reference usually or from your mind’s eye?
I use a lot of photo reference. I think it’s important to study what I am going to draw in order to make it believable. Google has helped in a big way to search for any image in seconds so there is really no excuse.
9) How do you handle critiques of your work?
I take criticism in the spirit in which it’s intended. I am always interested in other people’s opinions of my work, I may not always agree, but if they are sincere about their criticism I can respect that.
10) What is your latest project, and where can people find it?
I am concentrating on Forever Freshman Issue 2, which will hopefully be available early 2012. Find us at www.foreverfreshman.com
If you want to see what I am up to on a weekly basis I update my blog with sketches, illustrations and other fun artsy stuff http://neilsegura.blogspot.com/
