Telling Stories and Making Things Up, Too

An Interview with Illustrator Lesley Frances Vamos

Part 1 of 2 (Link to Part 2)
Click on any picture to embiggerize

In the city of Sydney
A girl was born at five to three (am)

Skin so white she looked quite dead
and hair as black as Elvis's

She grew to live a happy life
with two sisters from different wives

Always older than her age
She had at four her future paved

She'd be an artist and maybe sing
but drawing really was her thing

It changed a little here and there
Illustrator, animator... Olympic figure skater?

And through her life she's come to find
No matter where your passion lies

You must be open,
try everything
and make time for all the little things...

As you might have gathered from the ‘biographical poem’ above, its not often you meet a 4 year-old with their life planned out and a solid idea of what they want to be when they're older already set in their mind.

Now before you get overly concerned, I am not talking about introducing a new trend of interviewing infants here (though I might be able to better hold my own in these situations ... hm, no, probably not). But this is exactly how this week’s guest, Lesley Vamos, introduces herself when you visit her web pages. And oh what a clever yet tiring handful she must have been! She goes on to correctly point out that its even rarer for these same toddlers to wind up wanting to do the same thing 20 years later (well, I wanted to be a mad scientist, so I got half of it right). But Lesley insists that she is indeed that kid!

I first came across Lesley’s work via one of her ‘fan art’ pieces: an amazingly accurate and well-thought out illustration she did of the Simpsons, projected if you will into real life (she notes that Homer of all people was the trickiest to get the ‘essence’ out of... go figure). My explorations into her budding work would then take me not only through what is an impressive and grin-inspiring portfolio, even at this relatively early stage in her promising career, as well as some absolutely side-splitting tales of fun that she has put together! Sure, it’s been said (or sung?) that every picture tells a story, but it’s rare to find these two aspects combined in such a way that you find yourself going through the whole ‘which came first, the chicken or egg’ logic of their creation!

I hope therefore you enjoy not only viewing Lesley’s illustrations and our interview together, but also several linked-in collections of whimsy, memories and rhyme!

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Welcome to the show Lesley! Tell us a little about yourself please!
Just a little, ok… well, I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia in a place out West called Baukham Hills. I’m short, freckled, have an unusually high voice, and a silent laugh that makes me look like I’m crying.

I am not ticklish on my feet. I love telling stories, making things up and eating eggplant. I don’t really cry but laugh all the time and have been told that I give rather a good shoulder massage.

Now if my geography is any good, you attended High School in New South Wales which is not a million miles from Sydney correct?
NSW is one of our many states (joke… we only have 6 states in Australia … and one shouldn’t even really be included because you’d never find the town that’s in it without detailed directions… which ironically is our capital city). But Sydney is indeed in NSW.

I attended Willoughby Girls High school which is coincidentally located on Willoughby Road in Willoughby. You can see they were incredibly creative when coming up with names.

What is the overall art-slash-design scene like in that area? Were you surrounded by such a focus or even atmosphere from an early age?
I think in order to answer this one you have to have a better general idea about the art scene in Australia itself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my country and think we have a lot going for us; but when it comes to the arts, we resemble a high school that only cares about the sports teams while everyone in the creative faculties are ignored. Imagine having a school assembly where you get to watch the sports kids get awards for various accolades on stage. On the other hand, the awards for creative people get passed out unceremoniously in homeroom.

However, I joined the high school after finding out that the year 12 art students were given their own room to work on their major works in what looked like a cool underground hide-away. Well, maybe it wasn’t that cool, but it was at least a space of our own under the school building.

Having said all that though, I do have creative parents who always encouraged me to pursue artistic aspirations – even though they both ended up as lawyers. Plus, after discovering I was easily amused with a pencil and paper, they made sure I was always well supplied. Once I knew I loved drawing – I was about 4 years old – I decided to set my own course and made sure I had things around me to learn from and be inspired by.

In looking at your various on-line offerings, I have found myself trying to peg your influences, which appear to be quite varied. For example, I would venture that you have at least a strong affinity for the ‘Disney / Pixar’ style. Was this one of your strong influences or were there others perhaps even totally unrelated ‘inspirations’ that have driven you in this direction?
Over the years I’ve had countless influences so its hard to peg one style in particular.

As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to watch television, so I started out in ‘illustration’ by looking at children’s books. I would go to the library everyday after school with my friend and we’d slowly devour one illustrated book at a time, taking turns to read each paragraph. My favourites were Alison Lester, Elizabeth Honey, Craig Smith and a few other Australian authors/illustrators. That’s when I decided I was going to be one myself.

Later, once I was allowed to watch TV on the weekends, I was only aware of Saturday Disney so I started to be influenced by that. It wasn’t long before I wanted to be an animator.

When I got to high school, we started to learn art, you know, ‘classically’. This meant I was shown a lot of various Masters’ works. I fell in love with Da Vinci and would spend hours and hours making my own manuscripts. I would also use the grid method to draw Michelangelo’s frescos.

In addition, I got into architecture and famously decided my first foray into building – using clay – would be to make a re-creation combining the Mosta Dome in Malta and the Notre Dame de Paris, complete with little flying buttresses… Well, by now, you may be thinking I was a strange kid and, well, you’d be right.

Still, looking at influences, once I got to University and discovered the Internet (yes it took me that long), I haven’t looked back. I find about 20 new artists a week that I can learn from and am inspired by. I think my favourites are usually French artists as they have a roundness and an appeal to their designs that I find myself consistently trying to replicate.

With this in mind, what is it do you think that makes your style uniquely YOUR style?
Its really hard to say. In fact, I wasn’t even aware I had my own style until I was told so.

Its funny, because I would ask many of my artist friends and mentors how to develop a style. I was always told that as long as I kept looking at inspiration and drawing everyday, that I would eventually fall into one. This left me extremely sceptical. But I continued to draw what I liked and to copy my idols until – sure enough – I turned around and someone was saying I was doing something unique.

I’m basically a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ of a hundred different artists I admire. Having said all that though, I find that my style is slightly whimsical, a little old-fashioned and favours nice round shapes that I think give it that Disney/Pixar look.

I mean no offence, but looking through your list of accomplishments, training and previous job experiences, I have the feeling your ‘upbringing’ in the industry so far has been very similar to a sushi menu: a lot of delicious projects but served in many small portions. How have you approached finding work and/or getting commissions to date?
No offence taken at all. Finding work has been tricky, I’ve been fortunate enough to be recommended on a couple of projects. The rest has come from me then just hounding studios in the area to take me on for work experience (similar to an intern).

As for freelance projects, they’ve come in the last year and the majority of these were from friends or friendly recommendations. I’m actually doing my first commission at the moment for someone who contacted me on-line, so that’s really exciting! (ZN: for the poem that accompanies this thoughtful piece, please see here)

You list one of your main experiences as Logo Designer. Are you still pursuing this avenue of graphic design or is it something that just comes as may?
I kind of fell into Logo design. I was lucky to attain a pretty diverse range of skills from my studies at COFA, logo design being one of them. Still, getting ‘jobs’ such as this usually starts with someone I know that has no idea I design or illustrate telling me they need help... and then me offering my services (usually much to their surprise)!

I still remember the time my MUM was explaining that they needed a designer at her company to help with re-branding. I looked at her, eye’s wide, and said in a voice as calm as I could muster, “Why don’t you ask me?” She looked at me surprised and said, “Oh… do you do that?” “No mum… I only studied design for four years!”

And I simply must comment on one of your main experiences, namely as a ‘Jack (or should that be Jill?) of all trades’ for the so-called Cartoon Kingdom. I am curious if this was indeed a lot of fun or did it eventually turn into a kind of living hell? Sorry, but with two young monsters (= children) running around the house my opinion may be jaded in terms of working with hundreds of kids (but the massages do sound dreamy)!!
Hm, where do I start with Cartoon Kingdom?

Firstly, it is and was a great opportunity, let me say that. I think I should start from the beginning as it helps you get a better idea of what working for them is like. I saw a flier in my first year at COFA advertising a local cartooning company who needed someone who could draw, had a car and wanted money. Well, thinking I’d never been so suited for a job in all my life, I called them and was scheduled for an interview the next week.

I met with Danny Cohen the boss and without looking at any of my artwork he sent me on my first gig, which wound up consisting of face-painting at a couple of caravan parks in Gosford (a 2 and a half hour road trip from my house). I packed my stuff – I had leftovers from a face-painting business I started when I was 10 – along with my sister, and headed out. I had no clue what to expect and hadn’t received any instructions on what to do when I got there.

The day was interesting to say the least! But when no complaints came in from the park owners, Danny was happy and signed me on full-time. Since then I’ve done everything from caricaturing at fancy parties on boats in Sydney harbour to running and teaching cartooning to over 300 kids in the cartooning camps we run on the holidays. I’ve been all over Australia to some wonderful parts… and also to some not so nice parts. I’ve had some great – and not so great – times. I’ve met some fantastic people and some not so … well, you get the idea.

The jobs usually begin with a call that goes something like this:
Danny: Lesley… do you make balloon animals?
Me: Umm, no… But I can learn!
Danny: Great, you have a gig this weekend, wear something clownish.

All kidding aside, at the end of the day it helps a lot that I love kids. Plus, I love to draw and can usually think on my feet as the situation requires. I’ll never forget the time I showed up to a gig with a broken leg and one small box of Lego, being expected to entertain 40 kids for 2 hours! As you can imagine, the lady running the holiday car was a little sceptical ... a fact she made clear when she came to me after and congratulated me on a job well done!!

Oh, and on a little side note: when it comes to the 300 kids at cartooning camps, believe me: they are NOTHING compared to the parents!

In terms of your educational experience, it appears that a good deal of both your University training as well as other special course-work and of course the software you are skilled at has focused on Digital Media. Why is that, compared to for example focusing on and getting an education in the so-called fine arts?
It was just the nature of my course work, which definitely had some holes in it. However, I came away with a nice broad range of skills they rightly assumed to be dominant in the field at that time.

I did have the option to do a Fine Arts course-work at the same University; but thinking then that animation was my main aspiration, I ended up applying to some courses in Perth (you are only offered one course [degree] per state in Australia). After getting into something similar to what I had tried out for in Sydney, I moved to Perth for a year, a quick decision that greatly surprised my dad – especially since I informed him once I had already left.

Then, after University, I still had animation on my mind and as the course-work in Perth had only offered so much, I sought to fill the gaps in my knowledge with extra workshops and training sessions. Having now decided that illustration is what I would really love to be doing, I do find myself wishing I’d had gone for a more traditional/classic instruction at school. But lucky for me, finding willing teachers outside the school system is actually quite easy and a lot of fun.

To this, I am curious how an artist balances the digital – which can be sleek, fast and very flexible – with hand sketchings and even something as maddening (sorry personal experience creeping in) as watercolours?
First, I have to admit that I’m a complete and utter control freak with a heightened case of perfectionism. So I know exactly what you mean about watercolours, which is probably why I stay well away from them.

Having said that I prefer traditional methods as I feel I have more control over the line, not to mention having a need for the feel of paper under my palm (that sounded less strange in my head). In a perfect world, I would only deal in pencils (both lead and colour) but as I needed to find ways of replicating my work and getting it on-line this vision quickly dissolved. And after much trial and error – with emphasis on LOTS of error – I finally found a nice compromise that works for me.



Continued in Part 2

Telling Stories and Making Things Up, Too

An Interview with Illustrator Lesley Frances Vamos

Part 2 of 2 (Link to Part 1)
Click on any picture to enlargentize

Lesley, could you take us through the steps it takes you to create a piece? Which steps in the process do you find the most difficult to master and why?
Coming up with a piece really varies. What I call ‘fan art’ is heavily influenced by the world I’ve chosen to live in, whereas my original art can come from anywhere and at anytime. I try my best to use my own life as inspiration (‘a nose knows’). And it’s not so much that I have to think a piece is brilliant but that I can say with confidence that it’s unique.

In terms of the process itself, I generally start by drawing my line work in my sketchbooks; then once I’m happy with the look, I scan it into Photoshop for colouring. The process is still a work in progress as each day I learn new things about the program and ways to make the drawings retain that traditional aesthetic. Not to mention that I am still looking at ways to make colouring faster and more enjoyable, a part of the process that takes 90% of my time.

There are many times when I start with a sketch and get an idea half way through before I start making ‘changes’ to my original plans. For example, when drawing ‘Cloud Chaser’ above (ZN: again follow this link for the accompanying ‘story’ as well), I really wanted to have a go at drawing a plane. When I had finished I realised no one was flying it. Not wanting to rub it out or mess up the design, I had to figure out another way to get a person into the piece. So, I put the girl on the roof and it all flowed from there.

Really for me, the most difficult part is staring at a blank page before coming up with or getting an idea. This can be fairly daunting as I’m sure many will tell you. To combat this, I try and make sure I have an idea before I even take my sketchbook out. Either that or I start with fan art or just plain ‘copy’ things until I feel ready to tackle something more original.

Plus, I don’t really enjoy colouring as many will tell you (ZN: hm, we wonder if maybe it’s related to her issues with tanning? ^_^). I don’t know why, considering that as a kid its pretty much all I did (it was something I could easily control). To make the process more enjoyable I always make sure I have music or a movie playing to get me through. Plus when I was in California, I found talking to my boyfriend on skype helped quite a bit too… one of the only advantages of being so far away from him!

I’ve seen as well that you have run different blogs over the years, ranging from your adventures in California to your latest more art-focused postings. Do you find blogging to be the most efficient method of getting your ‘message’ out there or does something else such as your DeviantArt account (or Facebook, etc.) work better for that? Do you intend to expand your on-line approaches?
I don’t know that my blogs are to get my message out there as I doubt very many people could stand to read the amount of content I put up (my family included).

My travel blogs are more personal and started because as a kid my mum always made my sister and I keep travel journals on our large trips away. The blog documenting my final year at the University started out of a course requirement and just kept going. I’m nothing if not prolific.

My art blog on the other hand is very new. The initial idea started, as with most social network forums, because of peer pressure. Basically, I followed a few blogs and was convinced to start an art blog by those not interested in looking at my page on DeviantArt. Before I started though I wanted to make sure the blog would be a worthy investment of my time and others.

So I spent some time thinking of a concept that would be a bit different and would challenge me. My final idea was to write and illustrate a small story once a week. I do relax the rule every now and then for time reasons, but its so far been a great way to get a new crowd to offer feedback on both my art and writing style.

You write amazingly voluminously (or perhaps more politically correct-ly put, quite fast and in thorough detail?). Have you missed your calling and instead want to secretly write?
Its actually quite funny how much I write these days (ZN: for the poem that accompanies this picture, see here). When I began to write stories in primary school, I was absolutely shocking. Being contained within the bounds of my then (and still) poor spelling skills and not having a clue what to write about, I would usually stick to the same story each time. My stories would be again and again about something along the lines of a trip to my dad’s house or to my mum’s hospital (noting that my mum wasn’t a doctor or nurse and has never owned a hospital).

The story was in fact copied from my friend who suggested I write about what I did on the weekend. After she showed me what she had written, I decided to write the same thing… all year. I would never end the stories, figuring that concluding with “it was all a dream”, “to be continued” or my classic “what do you think happens next” would suffice.

Then one day, I had an almost otherworldly epiphany and wrote a story that was 10 pages long. I was so proud and my teacher likewise that she told me to take it to all my previous teachers and read it to them and their classes (still one of the best encouragement’s I’ve ever received ^_^). Since then I’ve found it much easier to write. It helps that I have a tendency to talk too much – which I channel as well as into a good memory for the many mundane facts of my life and other things.

But to answer your question, my wish is to be able to do both. I like presenting my work in this way. It started as a challenge or self-dare, and is slowly becoming something that I just simply really enjoy. Its nice not only to be able to practice writing and drawing things that relate to the text and encapsulate a paragraph in one still, but that allow me as well to reminisce on my childhood.. one that I was very lucky to have!

Recently you have received a good deal of attention on the e-waves as mentioned for your ‘re-imagined’ Simpsons portrait of the family as ‘real’ humans. This is of course not your only redux of a known story – where I’m still torn between HHGTTG, Scooby-Doo or the Wizard of Oz as to which is my favourite (ZN: for more examples, see at the end of Part 2 of this interview). Why do you think these exercises in (re-)tackling known characters are useful for you?
Hm, I do this for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s a way to get my name ‘out there’. If you really want to get some feedback or people to look at your work, the best way to start is with a pre-existing fan base.

Another reason, as I mentioned, is that I usually find doing fan art useful when I’m struggling with original ideas. And finally, it’s a great challenge to take something that’s really well-known and established and give it your flavour so that it’s both recognisable yet new.

I would think that one of the most obvious potential outlets for your style would be children’s book illustrations – admittedly a very difficult and competitive market to break into – or at least perhaps even the general cartoon market for the younger aged audience. Is that a specific aim for you or do you feel that is too limiting for you to commit to at this stage?
I definitely find I seem to gravitate towards a younger age group. I think it’s a combination of the fact that I love kids and want to give them something meaningful and memorable to hold onto. Plus, being a big kid myself – not to mention that I still look about 13 years old – helps it all nicely fit together.

I also really enjoy working with round, appealing shapes and find they come more naturally. So I’d love to work in children’s book publishing, doing both writing and illustrating. Having said that though, if anything pops up that is completely different that I think will give me a neat challenge and is a great opportunity, I’ll take it!

Along these same lines, I notice from at least your on-line portfolio that most of your works have a true sense of innocence to them. Is that intentional? In addition, you once mentioned that you’re not comfortable being scary. Why is that?
The innocence is not intentional at all. It’s just who I am.

I’ve always been a slightly naïve person and have always been told I had an innocent-looking face (I have no idea what that means). Again, looking much younger than my age plays a big part in all that I’m sure. People won’t even swear in front of me. Not because I don’t like it or don’t do it myself (I do!) but because people just find it really uncomfortable. Something profane is always followed by a furtive glance in my direction and a quick apology – which I honestly do not get!

It’s even funnier when I swear and people scold me: “Lesley, you swore! You shouldn’t swear!” I suppose to them its similar to seeing their grandmother or a baby letting one fly. So yeah, the innocence is something I can’t seem to escape, not that I mind; but I would like to be able to draw things that generate an emotion besides: ‘aaaawwwwwwwww’. Still, scary for me though usually comes out fat and cute.

I recently asked another artist about their experiences working both as a lead character designer, which involved 360° views, coloration under different lighting and more in comparison to their assignments as a lead conceptual artist. As you’ve experienced both as well, do you (or would you) have a preference for one approach or the other in that regard?
Not really. I love character design, I think I likened it once to having children. You get to create a life and personality, although unlike making children, all you need is a pencil and paper. But I also love coming up with scenes and illustrations that are more conceptual or storybook related.

Bottom line: I love to draw! Beyond that I’m honestly not that picky.

Lesley, you have 'collected' an amazing array of talents and skills through your educational focal areas of Digital Media, Film, photography, animation, design as well as your own listed interests – which include in addition to art and illustration reading, singing, playing instruments, being active, cooking (OK mostly eating). With that loaded description now in mind, what area have you not worked in at all or would like to work more in?
Oh that’s a great (and tough) question. I’m known in my family for being a serial ‘try-er’.

I would always try a different activity each year and once I had an accolade OR was not getting better quickly enough, I would stop and try something different. I would best sum this up in a conversation I once had with my mum:

Mum: Lesley, are you sure you need to get your own skates? You’ve only been figure-skating for 6 months… I still don’t know what to do with the tae-kwon-do uniform and ballet outfit you HAD to have?
Me: ~sigh~ mum, if I’m going to be an Olympic figure-skater, I’m going to need my own skates!

Of course, this would eventually turn into something along the lines of me wanting to be an Olympic swimmer, or hockey player, prima ballerina, gymnast, acrobat (noting I almost joined a circus and still know how to juggle), karate master, Sai swirling ninja... the list goes on. So you can understand there isn’t a lot I haven’t tried. (ZN: for the side-splitting story that goes along with this illustration of Lesley trying out ‘Sumo wrestling’, please see here)

I would love to do musical theatre, and get involved in stage production – set design and costume design, etc.. I used to write plays in high school for drama that I thought was lots of fun. Oh and I’d also love to continue to indulge my passion for teaching and start some art classes for all ages and skill levels. I’ll stop myself there before this becomes an essay!

So what’s next for Lesley Frances Vamos?
As much as I can manage!

In a few years I would love to be writing and illustrating my own children’s books. I think it’s about time Australia had some more original literature characters to look to and represent us! So I have some ideas for how to approach that.

I’d additionally like to be doing things such as freelance for animation studios doing character design, writing young adult fiction, as well as continuing to create poems and maybe even songs. I want to start taking singing more seriously and maybe dabble in musical theatre. I also want to run Art classes for children and adults as well as continue to teach at parties and other events.

Finally, my biggest and perhaps most challenging goal is to improve the art community and culture in Australia, something I can see turning into an on-going project but one that really NEEDS to happen.

To close out Lesley, what is something about you that would make the rest of us – kids or even just those of us who are kids at heart – chuckle?
Unfortunately, people find ways to chuckle at me on a daily basis, because I’m both a complete klutz and also because I tend to just blurt out all the fairly random things that pass through my head. So, its hard to pick just one.

One thing that does come to mind now is my ability to attract strange people. My mum is convinced she passed it onto me as she too seems to draw in the crazies. Honestly though, just spend a day with me and you will almost certainly have a conversation with a homeless person, be invited somewhere by a creep and be witness to some of the weirdest situations you’ve even seen in your life, including people getting into the boots of their car before they drive away at the shopping centre. It does make for some great stories though!! ^_^

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Lesley Vamos is a talented illustrator and designer who beyond any shadow of a doubt has an extremely promising career ahead of her. Her updated blog site (or perhaps better said, newest blog site) is a great place to not only enjoy her latest sketches but also her daily travels, be they in current times or those that head down memory lane.

If you want to look back, she has one of those fabulous ‘Experience’ sections in her CV that reads, well, that reads a lot like my own from way back when. She’s done character and concept design work, flash animation, logos, signs and more! She’s been hired as a professional photographer under the most stressful of conditions (read: wedding photos, gasp!) as well as several other free-lance tasks. She’s just returned to the great Land Down Under after spending a year at UC Irvine in sunny Burbank, Cali-For-Nigh-Yay, where she looked to gain experience in the animation industry as well as meet her idols! She’s now busily working on getting her next challenges lined up, including working on a new web-site plus setting up a shop for prints and clothes.

Oh and do NOT forget her recent production of these awesome, self-decorated shoes, even though we’re not sure if this is going to be a commission-based activity or not! (ZN does point out that you are responsible for procuring your own cool socks, noting Lesley is known for wearing ‘stripey’ knee-high socks, proudly possessing an eclectic collection of 14 different pairs and counting!)

And in breaking news, some of Lesley’s work has been recently published, where she is proud to have placed 5 illustrations in a very sophisticated business tome (additional: that the author is her father had in fact no bearing on the assignment which was put up for bids by the publisher! So extra kudos for that!!). In addition, she’s recently taken the plunge into the dog-eat-dog (but in a nice way) world of children’s book writing and illustration by becoming a card-carrying member of the scbwi. In the meantime, if you’re now totally enamoured with her work, drop her an email any time for print or commission queries!

And now a few extra treats because you’ve been such a good audience:

Scooby-Doo and The Gang (I always had the hugest crush on Velma):

The Wizard of Oz:

Futurama:

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

And finally, Lady Gaga (just a few months before she got famous):

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All pictures, videos and other media are used with written permission of Lesley Vamos or are available in the public domain (noting copyright and other restrictions, accordingly). No further reproduction or duplication is permitted without contacting the artist directly.

Some pictures have been modified slightly or combined only for the purpose of space limitations.

It's Time to Get Things Started

An interview with Illustrator Amy ‘Mimi’ Mebberson

Part 1 of 2 (link to Part 2)
Click on any image to largify

Something amazing happened at the end of the 1960’s. Now I apologise to all of you that reached the last months of this epic decade perhaps at an age above 6 and as such maybe have a slightly different take, but please bear with me. You see, until that time, the highlights of my life had been receiving my first collection of plastic dinosaurs (which drove me to not only be able to name them but also recite their Latin designations ... and of course employ them to attack and destroy all the Cowboy and Indian figurines which to that time had been my play-time staples); the moon landing that July that was SO COOL if for nothing else because I got to stay up late to watch it live (which drove me to want to be able to travel to the stars and back ... with my dinosaurs in tow, of course); and the shocking realisation a little over a year earlier that my parents were actually going to keep my new-born sister and not return her to the hospital (which drove me to so much anguish that I can’t even begin to describe it all here).

It was in mid- to late 1969 when quite a buzz was moving among the local parents and teachers. Even we wee ones were hearing that the evil device known as television was going to try something radical, something unheard of ... it was going to try and help kids learn in a non-commercial, even wholesome environment. This widely anticipated moment came then on November 10th, 1969. My family and I crowded around our 15” black and white TV to watch history unfold before our eyes, namely the premiere of none other than Sesame Street. The show, of course, included an amazing combination of the great Jim Henson's Muppets, who not only had their own quirky ways but also interacted with real humans. It was for my 6-year old brain like a great lightning bolt from the heavens had charged into me and opened up a gateway to a new world!

Those first few shows were crammed full with animation, live shorts, as well as culturally relevant references galore. According to the modern fo(u)nt of knowledge, Wikipedia: ‘It was the first pre-school educational television program to base its contents and production values on laboratory and formative research, and the first to include a curriculum "detailed or stated in terms of measurable outcomes".’ By its 40th anniversary in 2009, the phenomena that is Sesame Street had grown so that today it is broadcast in over 120 countries with an additional 20 independent international versions being also aired.

And more importantly to me, after that first show, the Muppets became my obsession. Though I understood somewhere deep inside that they weren’t ‘real’ living things, their humour, their ability to express themselves and the limitless variety of forms they came in caught hold of every fibre of my imagination.

My respect for the genre and especially the brilliance that Jim Henson and those that followed him shared with us all remains unshakeable through to today. I still find my eye automatically drawn to anything that was or is even in the most remote fashion influenced by these creations. I include here such examples as the amazing interactions of characters in movies such as ‘The Dark Crystal’ and ‘Labyrinth’; or the wide range of ‘Star Wars’ creatures that owed their existence if not in total (Yoda) then in part to this method; or even ultimately so much of the stop-motion and CGI effects of today’s films, ranging from ‘Toy Story’ to even the more dark ‘9’ or even ‘Coraline’. And it is especially true when someone has the talent to bring such vibrant characters to life through illustration.

Amy Mebberson does just that. Amy – or ‘Mimi’ as she is often known as on-line – is an ultra-busy artist working on both Muppet and Pixar comics for BOOM! Studios. Even though BOOM! has not been on the scene that long, it is already gaining a very strong reputation in the market, putting together an impressive list of titles, with top-quality graphics and stories. Their commendable focus is ‘simply’ to bring back comics to kids, with stories written that seek to achieve the same targets as those started back in 1969, namely engage, enchant and enrich audiences’ lives. And if that weren’t enough, Amy is also very well-known in illustration circles and beyond for her expressive and spot-on style, which ranges from the sultry and sexy to the uniquely imaginative, often even with a strong nod to some of the greats of animation throughout the past decades.

We were very fortunate then to catch Amy between deadlines and the high demand on her regular appearances at comic-cons everywhere!

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Hi Amy, welcome to the show (or is it Mimi ... and if yes, why Mimi? Just curious, my step-mom is also ‘Mimi’ but in her case it’s short for Marjorie).
My on-line name of Mimi goes back to my music study days, when I first joined the ‘net. ‘La Bohème’ is my favourite opera, so I borrowed the name of its rather fragile heroine, having sung a lot of it by then.

Speaking of journeys, can you describe how you came to focus on a career in illustration?
I have drawn about as long as I could hold a pencil. My mother has the picture I did when I was 21 months old to prove it.

Still, I never got a lot of encouragement to seriously pursue it as a child. I guess my parents figured I drew so insatiably that I needed no encouragement and I was managing just fine under my own steam (laughs).

In fact, during my last 2 years of high school and my first year of University, my career choices went from vet to animator to classical singer. I settled on classical singing and got my degree in music.

However, further study in London convinced me that an opera diva career wasn't for me and I went back to what I'd done all along, which was drawing. I returned to Sydney and spent five years at Disney's animation studio there, which I loved. After the studio was shut down in mid 2006, I relocated to the States with my husband and switched over to comics.

You mention in your on-line profile that you’re ‘just a Sydney girl living in Oregon, making a living drawing funny pictures. I want to be Charles Schulz or Brad Bird.’ Other than these gentlemen, who are / were your biggest inspirations, even from other walks of life in the arts (fine arts, not-so-fine arts, etc.)?
That's tough. I really don't have a list of people who have guided me to where I am in terms of inspiration.

I admire the greatness in anyone who has made a difference in the world, whether it's saving countless lives or just making people laugh. Jim Henson, Charles Schulz and Chuck Jones tend to be near the top for me because of the fortuitous circumstances that ALLOWED them to create their great bodies of work.

They had the charisma and talent and the right settings to keep their unique creative voice in spite of working for major corporations.
(ZN: for the ‘influence map’ illustrated here, Amy says ‘The bigger areas are the real life-changers. The things that marked major milestones in my evolution as an artist. The smaller squares are influences most precious to me right now.’)

‘In spite of working for major corporations’? What do you mean by that?
I hate the divide and attitude that exists among artists, namely, that so many think that if you work for a company, you're a sell-out and that only by sweating blood for years on completely independent art is the only way to be a 'legitimate' artist. There are plenty of fantastic artists working in studio systems right now and the great ones know how to produce great work despite creative restrictions.

During my research, I very much enjoyed going through the nice collection of your ‘variant’ covers for several titles. However, I’m not quite up-to-speed on the concept of what a ‘variant’ cover is or why it’s done this way, especially when if I understand correctly, all of the versions are released simultaneously. Can you help a novice out, please?
A variant cover is simply a piece of cover art produced in limited quantities and often by commission from a single comic retailer. Sometimes a particularly high-profile artist might be commissioned to produce a variant.

They exist for their exclusivity and are aimed at comic collectors more than casual readers. The comic collector market is immense and publishers producing limited variants is standard practice for certain retailers, conventions etc.

(ZN: the examples provided here being ‘A’ and ‘B’ variants then for the same issues... neat!)

As you’ve just mentioned you obviously have an enormous amount of respect for the works of Chuck Jones and many others. But to be a bit – I don’t know – confrontational: since you are a lady of the female persuasion (huh?), did you have specific female artists that you respected or wanted to emulate growing up? Or otherwise put, did it ever discourage you that there has been a rather sparse selection over the past 50 to 60 years of female illustrators to choose from?
Absolutely not. I have never categorised myself as a female artist trying to make it in a historically male field. I am a cartoonist and I expect my work to be judged on equal terms to any other cartoonist, male or female.

I have never felt marginalised as an artist who happens to be female or encountered anything like a glass ceiling in my career. Okay, maybe that’s because I tackle my work never expecting to find one. But clearly, my gender does not define my work.

What you project in terms of confidence and artistic identity can sometimes have an impact on what kind of obstacles you might encounter.

What is your allure with the ‘pin-up’ as a subject (having noted you ‘love Disney and (you) love pinups. Easiest math in the world.’)?
Like many artists, I find the female form pleasant to draw and aesthetically pleasing to look at. I would draw princesses when I was a little girl and I still draw them now, for fun.

I think sex and eroticism in mass media has really lost its sense of humour in many ways. If you look at mid-century burlesque dancers and strippers, sure a lot of the routines and costumes are cheesy and silly. But not only do these women still take their skills as entertainers VERY seriously, you can tell they are really having fun with it and at the same time, not taking it too seriously at all.

For me, there's such a palpable sense of fun in old school pinups and vintage Playboy cartoons and the like. There is a lot of comedy in sex and I see no reason why a sexy girl can't be also be a clown. I'd much rather see a real woman in pasties doing silly things with bananas than some Photoshopped, tanned model looking dull-eyed and surly.

It must be a nice break from the world of Kermit, Nemo and others when you draw these alluring pin-up pieces. But do you ever worry that doing the latter may in some way threaten your work with the former? Please bear with me here (I am originally from the ‘Bible Belt’), but I’m just wondering if there’s either concern that someone might complain to ‘management’ about the artist that’s drawing her little one’s comics is also posting some tasteful but still provocative pictures up somewhere else?
Oh not at all. Even in my pinup art, I never do anything that could be called pornographic.

A naked breast is about as risqué as I get and again, the context of the genre (vintage-style cheesecake) makes it pretty clear that my pinup art is all good clean fun and not lascivious or demeaning in any way.

Continued in Part 2!!

It's Time to Get Things Started

An interview with Illustrator Amy ‘Mimi’ Mebberson

Part 2 of 2 (link to Part 1)
Click on any image to biggerize

Amy, while we’re on the subject of your pin-up work, I really enjoyed your Disney selection that also got a lot of attention on the Internet recently (see more below... oh Edna, you naughty little minx!).

Are all of these characters really Disney based (that is, did I see King Kong in there, too)?

Also, I hope you find this to be a compliment – which I mean it to be – but your Cinderella from this set reminded me so much of the sexy girl from Tex Avery’s Droopy!! Classic!
Yes, they're all Disney canon characters.

The girl in the gorilla hand is Jane Porter from Disney's 'Tarzan'. And yes, my Cinderella is a deliberate nod to Tex Avery's Red Hot Riding Hood.

You mention that you have an interest in ephemera, where you seem to not only collect images but often include such stylings into your own sketches of characters, including those of actors from days gone by. Why the fascination with these retro views of life and other artefacts from the past (I love old ads myself!!)?
I'm interested in ephemera as a mirror of everyday life in the past. I especially go after cheap, disposable stuff like flyers, pamphlets and periodicals.

Old magazines made a business of covering topics relevant to society at the time and it's really fascinating to see how things were back then. Yes, old print ads present a very sanitised view of past eras, but they were simply using the life people aspired to as an alluring selling point. That's ‘Advertising 101’ to this day. Even something like an old Women's Home Journal provides endless information on what life was like for the average woman, just by looking at the sort of products and services the ads offer.

I also collect current ephemera, like promotional postcards, gift cards and business cards, to chronicle how graphic design changes over the years. Maybe they'll fascinate someone else fifty years from now.

I also wanted to ask you about your rather, um, clear stance on using your images. Perhaps I’m a bit sensitised as well to this subject (I’m reading a Jack Kirby biography and we know how much it STILL means to his family), but what is it like as someone who makes their living from images and really must post them to get exposure to have to try and then protect them at the same time?
It's a bit of a win-lose situation. There is really nothing to stop people stealing work, except the knowledge that the law is on your side. I have to post stuff to promote it and the nature of the Internet means that yes, it risks being ripped off.

I just have to keep trying to get famous enough that people won't TRY to pass my work off as their own. And use lots of watermarks!

You’ve worked in various media obviously but have recently done some terrific sketches using brown paper and often white pen. What attracted you to this wonderful albeit often more expensive type of 'canvas'?
I love my brown paper sketchbooks, even though they're hard to find. And yeah, they’re often expensive as well. But I like the dual freedom of not only using conventional shading but being able to highlight as well.

I have tons of different types of sketchbooks and pads lying around, from smooth Bristol to heavy water-colour, tinted Canson, Sumi-e paper, photocopy paper, newsprint, craft cardstock in pretty patterns and regular old black-bound sketchbooks.

But I usually end up coming back to the brown paper. I don't know why. I guess I'm just comfortable with it. Plus, character designer Nico Marlet and the guys in the LA Drink and Draw Social Club – who are all huge inspirations to me – use similar paper in their work.

I’ve got to know: after having lived and/or worked in Switzerland for 20 years, what pray tell is a ‘Swiss Army animator’? (I’m going to feel stupid here aren’t I?)
Swiss Army Knife = lots of tools and functions. As an assistant animator/in-betweener at Disney, I did a bit of everything.

I did animation, I did assistant animation, I did cleanup... I did then as well what I call the in-betweening work, adding special effects and tones, and even what we called ‘take 2 fixes’...

Who’s the ‘11’ guy that keeps showing up here and there in your collection? I get a serious ‘Chris Isaak’ or even ‘David Byrne’ vibe, but that happens relatively frequently anyway...
That would be Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor in the iconic BBC series 'Doctor Who'. He is awesome.

Also, I go from one description you give in your FAQ section (I read it, I promise!!) about essentially trying not to come across as a bitch and then I have this mental image of what I always envisioned as the very calming activity of knitting. Seriously, knitting? Or when no one is looking, are you really practising your nunchuk skills?
No, I really do knit. I like making socks, gloves and scarves and sock yarn is my crack cocaine. I also do cross-stitch and play a lot of Rock Band.

Plus, the dog ate the nunchuks.

Almost finally, I’ve got to know: what’s your favourite kind of beer?
If I am in a brew-pub I've never been to before, I usually aim for the IPA (ZN: = Indian Pale Ale... I think... either that or it has something to do with the International Phonetic Alphabet). That and my love of barley-wine ales means I'm obviously a bit of a hop-head.

It took me a while to get used to ales, coming from a predominantly lager-loving nation, but I was helpless in the face of Oregon's countless microbrews.

Finally, a couple of ‘what if’ questions:

If you could get a hold of any project you could imagine, what would it be and why?
I would like to story-board or concept-art at one of the big animation studios, that would be a dream for me.. even if only for a little while on one movie.

I just love animation concept art and collect ‘Art Of...’ books obsessively. Most of the artists currently working that I actively fangirl are the animation artists - Chris Sanders, Nico Marlet, Nate Wragg, Lou Romano, Stephen Silver, Shane Prigmore, Joe Bluhm.

So I'm steadily honing my writing and storytelling skills with my comic work and I hope some day I might be able to use it in animation pre-production.

You’ve just won the Super California Lottery, and you’re richer than Bill Gates. What becomes of your illustration career and why?
I would dedicate my time to producing art-books and self-publishing, I think. I have a massive laundry list of all the art things I'd like to do but never have the time.
(ZN: shown here is Amy’s first published sketchbook ‘On Air’)

What is a super cool fact about yourself that you would like to (or can) share without getting arrested, beat up in a dark alley or even worse, being forced to vote for Sarah Palin in 2012?
I have perfect pitch, can cut keys and have an entire brain lobe dedicated to huge slabs of memorised British comedy.

However, in the interests of my own personal safety, I refrain from reciting Monty Python in public places.

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As Amy recently pointed out on her blog: ‘My artistic epiphany took place when I saw Belle dancing with the Beast in that ballroom. I'd always loved Disney, but THAT'S when I knew I wanted to be a Disney artist. Muppet Babies and Sailor Moon each inspired several years worth of artsy bollocking around in my younger years. I drew Jill Barklem-esque mice constantly when I was 11. I still have the sketchbooks (eek).’

Well, obviously she’s come a long way since then! A former animation artist for Disney and LAIKA, she has also paid her artistic dues with 2 graphic novels for Tokyopop, not to mention her own list of releases, including the latest collection of her sketches, ‘Stacked’, which we can only assume is a set of pictures depicting books neatly piled on top of each other.

Amy was born as many Australians are that are from the same region in Sydney and currently resides in Portland, Oregon – or as she affectionately says the ‘Home of the Weird.’ Her work with BOOM! Entertainment ranges from work in the present or the past on such titles as Monsters, Inc., The Muppet Show Comic Book and other BOOM! titles. She has also drawn, created/co-created and produced her own web-comics including Thorn (2007-2009) and As If! (2001-2004). To try and list a selection of her biggest fans ‘out there’ would take a while, but ZN can highly recommend these interviews, including one from a really true-blue Muppet fan found here as well as a good overview by Disney Comics Worldwide.

More of Amy’s fantastic plethora of art and words of whimsy can be found at her website, her blog, and on both Twitter and Flickr. You can also check out many more of her illustrations at either her deviantART page or at the GirlsDrawinGirls site (updates pending) and much more!!

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All pictures, videos and other media are used with written permission of Amy Mebberson or are available in the public domain (noting copyright and other restrictions, accordingly). No further reproduction or duplication is permitted without contacting the artist directly.

Some pictures have been modified slightly or combined only for the purpose of space limitations. And we’re serious about copying. She will find you and stab you repeatedly with her knitting needles if you mess around.

After all, one doesn’t draw Miss Piggy over the years without picking up a little attitude ... and quite possibly some kick-ass karate skills as well...