BRIAN MUMPHREY
In which I interview a talented artist.
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| All images in this post belong to Brian Mumphrey. Click to embiggen. Trust me, you want to embiggen. |
Now that would be
a cover that stands out. That's what I thought when I first saw your art. No
swords. No half-nude barbarian women (or men). No hooded assassins with a five
o'clock shadow. Also, your characters weren't patently Caucasian!
Instead I saw a strong influence of Otherness. The
characters you depicted were very real but exaggerated, the way heroes often
are in classic literature and comic books.
1. As a writer, I would love to ask you about your childhood
and all that jazz, but I have a limit of 1000 words per blog post, so let's get
to the important stuff. What kind of books do you like to read and why?
Brian:
A lot of the books I read tend to be fiction-based, in any number of settings.
My favorites are science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history but I
try to stay versatile in my interests as it fuels my concept work. While I
read mainly fiction for entertainment, I probably read a lot more in history
and space/science exploration to further increase my ability to
create believable environments and characters for my own projects.
2. Name three authors who have changed your (artistic) life
ie. how they've influenced you.
Brian:
J.R.R. Tolkien (For his work on The Silmarillion. His creation myth for The Hobbit and LOTR were
amazing to read and for someone to put so much work into a world they created...)
Alan Moore (The Watchmen
and From Hell were amazing
narratives. Watchmen in
particular was great for me to read for the first time because of the character
Doctor Manhattan.)
Chuck Palahniuk (Snuff
(yeah it's gross, but so good), Pygmy,
Fight Club. Although his
subject matter is usually pretty, uh, disturbing? He has a way with words
and descriptions I have always appreciated.)
Now, let's put our serious pants on. (Hands Brian a pair of
serious neon green pants.)
3. Do you need to read a writer's completed manuscript? Or
can you work with a plot synopsis or character descriptions?
Brian:
It really depends on what I'm working on for the story, but usually a plot
synopsis/character designs are all I need to get started. As things
develop I like to be as informed as possible in order to get the best image for
the current goal. For a front cover, the more the better, as it's always
nice to throw subtle hints in with the overall design of the story to
come. (J: Badass.)
4. I blog for writers who have already finished a story and
might be considering self-publishing on platforms such as Kindle and Amazon. As
an artist and reader, what do you look for in a book cover? In other words,
what draws your eye to particular books?
Brian:
As far as what I look for in a book cover or even when I'm designing one is to
go for broad strokes that are visible from a distance, but details that can be
appreciated when looked at more closely.
Sometimes balancing this can be
tricky because something that might look good from a distance in a store or as
a small thumbnail on a website such as Amazon might fall apart when you go in
for a closer look, and vice versa. A buyer can be attracted
to your design when they see it among all the other books in a search
option, click on it but then are quickly turned off when they go to view it
closer.
This can reflect badly on the contents of the book and cost you a
sale, so it's important for me that the design can read from all distances and
sizes.
5. I just looked at some of your recent futuristic squid
vacuums and baddie silhouettes. One question: How do I get into your world?
Seriously, though, when looking at your work, I feel stories behind them.
That's how we ended up collaborating on some pieces a while back. You were
really easy to approach with changes and you replied promptly to all my
questions (like: can you make a symbol that looks like a thing with a pointed
thing across it?). What do you look
for in a collaboration?
Brian:
As far as the worlds and characters I create they're really just fueled by the
real world more than anything. One of the most important lessons I learned from
creating believable characters and environments is they have to be grounded in
a recognizable ideal that most people can digest.
Making a smoke
alien from a planet that supports life of that type might be very
real and scientific but there's nothing on this planet that looks
like that so people tend to quickly dismiss it as lame. Now, if you take an
insect, make him 2 times larger and slightly change anatomy, stance,
and mannerisms then it's something that people can relate to. Then
all you have left to do is make it look "cool."
Openness is the most important thing for me in
a collaboration. I need the person I'm working with to be happy with the
work, or else I'm not happy with the
work. More often than not I'll prefer to do Skype/video chat with a client so I
can better judge their approval/disapproval for a design/idea, especially
if they don't like what I'm designing or they like it but have such a specific
idea in mind they're having a hard time portraying that in a typed email. (I'm
never hurt by someone not liking a design. Not every design is right for every
story.) With the ability to see the look on the person's face, I can tell if
it's something they're truly stoked about or on the fence about or just plain
hate.
6. Do you have to like the story to work with a writer?
Brian:
No but it helps! But seriously, it's not that I have to
"like" the story as much as accept that it's not my project or vision. To that degree it has just as much
credit and validation as anything I would create, but for a different crowd.
Then all you have to really ask yourself is if my designs fit your narrative.
Most people who are writing a romance novel wouldn't approach a designer
like me considering 95% of the things I draw have guns or skulls on them.
Or both.
7. How much do you charge, and what does that price range
depend on?
Brian:
What I charge depends on the project and the funds of the person
or organization. A flat rate I usually tell people is $25/hr
but that's really steep for a lot of people who are trying to publish
on their own and I would never expect that rate from anyone unless they were an
actual founded company. What I charge independent writers and people just
starting up would be between me and the client and would depend
heavily on what other projects I'm working on as well as how passionate I am
about the story. Which isn't to say I won't work on it if I don't like
it, but it helps if I'm not getting paid much (or at all) if I believe in and
enjoy the project.
Thanks, Brian. I look forward to seeing more of your art!
I also have a permanent link to his site on the right side
of this blog.
Happy writing,
J
Coming up:
Betas
Characterization
Jay Groce
Dialogue Tags
Passive
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