February 28, 2008

Creating the "Super Indian" comic

Q&A with diva Arigon StarrICT: Been cartooning long? Do you also create fine art?

Starr: I've cartooned since I was a child. I was a fan of "Archie" comics and loved the DC and Marvel superheroes. The dramatic, scary comics "Creepy" and "Eerie" fascinated me. They had great stories and creative black and white artwork. I also work with oil, acrylics and another favorite medium, gouache--a type of water color. My cartoons are part of the current "Rock Art" exhibit on Alcatraz Island--images of leaders of the 1969 Occupation--Atha Rider Whitemankiller, Richard Oakes and Belva Cottier. My work has also been used on promotional postcards for Native Voices productions.

ICT: Describe your graphic process and how you learned it.

Starr: Trial and error, trips to the library, Borders Books and Amazon.com. Marvel has a wonderful method for learning to draw super heroes, and DC Comics has an entire series on producing comics from pencils to final coloring. It also helps to be computer proficient. I'm a big fan of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I've also found great sites online, such as Comicraft.com for tips on lettering and word balloons. I start with a rough sketch and a typed document describing dialogue, scene and action. From there, it's a tighter pencil drawing, then pen and ink, and a quick computer scan. I use a Mac to color and insert lettering. It's a lot more detailed than the sketches I used to do when I was bored in class. AAY! When finished, I'm going to self-publish.
Comment:  For more on "Super Indian," see Native Plays and Other Stage Shows. For more on Native-themed comic books, see Comic Books Featuring Indians.

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