Artist Profile: Robert Richburg

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Artist: Robert Richburg
From: South Carolina, currently based in New York City

What comic art/illustrations influenced your artwork?
No one artist of style influenced the artwork for this particular comic; I generally draw inspiration from many artists when conceiving and creating my own work. In particular, I'm a huge Charles Burns fan. I try to evoke the same authority with which he generates and changes the 'mood' in his work in my own comics and creations.

What is your story about?
My story follows the experiences of a lone space colonist. He's trying desperately to make a living on a wet world whose soil lacks nutrients necessary for normal plant growth. His garden, like his efforts, does not bear fruit, and some plants seem to have disappeared entirely. This leaves him rather distraught, until, one day, he discovers what's been going on, and finds help in the most unlikely of places.

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What do you think of rain?
I love rain, be it as a phenomenon or as a conception that is represented by various symbols and representations. A life giver and a destroyer, it i neither caring nor cruel; rain is a true force of nature!

What is your goal for the next year?
To have even more of my life illustrations and short story comics available at MoCCA Fest 2012 on April 28th-29th. Further down the road, I hope to continue creating comics and developing storyboards.

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Where can we check out your artwork?
website- www.robertrichburg.com
twitter- twitter.com/robertrichburg
blog- rob-richburg.blogspot.com

Artist Profile: Steve Yurko

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Name: Steve Yurko
From: Washingtonville, New York

What comic art/illustrations influenced you?
Eiichiro Oda, 'One Piece', and Akira Toriyama, 'Dragon Ball', were two of my earliest inspirations; their work continues to motivate me, but my attention shifted from manga to story telling while reading 'Watchmen' (Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons) in college. Since then I've been open to more comic than just manga, and they all inspire me in one way or another, whether it be by design or narrative. My motivation is not limited to just artists I also tend to draw from my own experiences in life.

What is your story about?
I think an abundance of people live their lives as drones, and they seem to have no desire to bring other people in to their story. Even the most mundane chores can be enjoyable if done with a confidant. Another element I explored was the occurrence of unpredictable, uncontrollable, and inevitable changes; people can be swept up and be overwhelmed by disruption. But these occurrences don't have to be disastrous, but it could also act as a renaissance- like the reborn phoenix shaking off its fresh wings of the soot of it's former existence, a new life is buried amoungst the ashes of past events. Also, there's a flood, with fishies and a giant squid!

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What do you think of rain?
I have two opinions; depending on the location: If I'm at home, then I experience the soothing effects of down-state rain. The relaxing sound of this rain provides an excellent white noise. In the city the rain is more of a nuisance. You're walking more instead of riding in the safety of your car. A rainy day in the city will usually leave me wet and miserable. If it's raining, then I'd prefer not to go out at all.

What is your goal for the next year?
I'd like to continue my search for that so-called "professional work" everyone's been going on about. But, for the time being, I'll keep drawing and searching for freelance gigs. I plan on getting a web comic going in the near future, which would allow me to hone my skills and to improve my discipline by working on a weekly story. Also, this would allow me to continue my favorite hobby: cartooning!

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Where can we check out your artwork?
You can find me work on a number of websites:
www.steveyurko.com
sanjiscool.deviantart.com
steveyurko.tumblr.com

Artist Profile: Nana An

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Artist: Nana An

From: Korea

What comic art/illustrations influenced your artwork?

My everyday life is inspiration for my work. As does music, food, friends, family, past and contemporary artists such as Pierre Bonard and Mark Rothko.

My is your illustration about?

I did two album cover illustrations of 'Btl Btl' by 어른아이 ('Uh Lun Ah Ee' which roughly translates to 'Young Child')

Rain drop sounds are in the background of the song. In the lyrics the singer says, "Walking into a small room, lying on a bed, my tired body and listening to raindrops, I close my eyes slowly."

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEL9BQ78vrI) I tried to picture images in my head that followed up with the lyrics while listening to the cold rain drops in the song. These two illustrations are about the same song yet they're very different. By creating two images at different times, I created two different atmospheres. One is softer than the other.

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What do you think of rain?

I do not like walking during a rainy day because my clothes get wet and everything gets messy. But, I like listening to rain drops at night in my room. The sound of rain drops make me feel comfortable and calm; it clears my mind.

What is your goal for the next year?

Making a book out of my drawings and paintings.
Having my own gallery show and learning new things in everyday life.

Where can we check out your artwork?
Here are a few sites to check out my work.

Website: hnanaan.com

Tumblr (greeting cards): hnanaan.tumblr.com

Blogspot: nanabananaan.blogspot.com

Artist Profile: Julian Rowe

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Artist: Julian Rowe
From: NYC

What comic art/illustrations influenced you?
There is so much amazing art that is so readily accessible right now. I think anyone who has drawn anything has discovered something unique about the way we desrcibe life with pictures. I like to steal those ideas and make my own pictures with them.

What is your story about?
My story is about a trigger-happy space marine and an eco-conscious photographer, sent to an unknown planet to research it's potential for mining natural resources.

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What do you think of rain?
I'm okay with every form of precipitation as long as I'm prepared for it.

What is your goal for the next year?
Draw more!! I have a graphic ovel screenplay I'm working on with a very talented writer. We're hoping to ake it into a high budget TV series. I would also like to see the earth fromthe moon someday...

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Where can we check out your work?
www.julianrowe.com
jarowe47.deviantart.com

Artist Profile: Dayoung Jung

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Artist: Dayoung Jung
From: .... Korea but really from Santa Fe, New Mexico and currently in NYC!

What comic art/illustrations influenced your artwork?
Kiyohiko Azuma: creater of 'Yotsuba&I!', and lots of Disney movies.

What is your story about?
My comic is about a little girl trying to save a lost chipmunk in the middle of a hurricane without being caught by her mother. It was inspired by Hurricane Irene that hit New York in 2011. I placed my 'Sisters' characters it. They're characters that I've been working on for a while. I wanted to place them in that setting and thought about how they would act in that situation. This rain story is one of many chapters in the 'SISTERS' saga!

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What do you think of rain?
Refreshing: It's nice when I'm not walking in it!

What is your goal for the next year?
My goal for 2012 is to draw more!! YEAH!

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Where can we check out your artwork?
my website: www.dayoungjung.com
My blog: dayoungjung.wordpress.com

Thanks for reading and supporting 789 Studio's RAIN project! :)

Artist Profile: Manuela Saenz

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Artist: Manuela Saenz
From: Costa Rica, but living in Arlington, VA

What comic art/illustrations influenced you?
For most of my life, Disney. I grew up in love with Micky and his friends. I think this is the reason why I tend to draw more animals in my work than humans, and also why I love drawing children. Really, most of my years before college was made up of getting yelled at by Barnes and Noble staff to buy something, playing video games, and looking at artists I would find on the internet. This led to how and what I draw. Now I'm mainly inspired by: Kazuma Kaneko, Liz Prince, Max Ernst, Hayao Miyazaki, Natsume Ono, Stan Lee, Kanata Konomai, and old school tattoo designs. Most of all I'm influenced by fellow artists, who are my friends, that I'm around that are like family to me.

What is your story about?
My comic is about the few little moments I have left in my memory about my first time at sleep away camp. It was the first time I was really away from my family and dog. The first night there, there was a thunderstorm. I don't really remember most of the trip.. other than the storm and bad food.

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What do you think of rain?
When I was younger and had long hair I hated it. Rain meant messy fuzzy hair and it still does today, even though my hair is short and much easier to maintain. Other then that I think rain is really calming. I enjoy listening to it when I'm inside my room being warmed up by blankets.

What is your goal for the next year?
To get into a masters program and get back to New York.
As for comic making, I'm working on a weekly comic strip and I'm finally writing the script for a story I've been thinking of for the past few years. And I'm hoping that someone would want to work on it with me on the art. Another plan I have is to remake a comic I had worked on during college and make the story more coherent. I really wish to become a better artist and find satisfaction in my own work. With all things said, I would like to be happier with my life for the year 2012.

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Where can we check out your artwork?
www.Madam-Manuela.com
greeneyed-monster.tumblr.com
twitter.com/#!/Littlenightmare

Artist Profile: Emily Hu

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Artist: Emily Hu
From: California

What comic art/illustrations influenced your artwork?
Eduardo Risso, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Takato Yamamoto, Ito Junji... those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

What is your story about?
My illustrations are about a post apocalyptic red riding hood scenario. The sterile, white medical hood as the young girl ventures out into the city gradually becomes stained red by blood, completing the vicious circle of life and tainting of innocence, in the words of English romantic poet Snoop Dogg.

What do you think of rain?
It's nice when I'm inside.

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What is your goal for the next year?
The webcomic I'm drawing for, Boston Metaphysical Society, is debuting. So I would love to keep working on that. I'm also working on perhaps getting my own webcomic out, as well as sending out portfolios to publishers.

Where can we check out your artwork?
My website: http://superautomatic.net/
My Deviantart: http://021.deviantart.com/