We’re going to take a little detour and instead of taking about the coloring we’re going to chat a bit with Ed Waysek. Ed was the artist responsible for not only the reference bible used by Lee Oaks for the graphic novel but also the artist who did the cover for the book and the interior artwork for all three books of The Divine Gambit Trilogy.

    Ed Waysek is a Joe Kubert school graduate, he has worked on various projects related to The World of Tralodren® since the beginning, and he has helped mold much of how the setting looks and has some pretty interesting things to say about the process and of being an artist. For the purposes of this interview we’ll be focusing a bit more on his working on these projects and The World of Tralodren® in general.

    So sit back and enjoy the first part of this interview with Ed Waysek.

How long have you been doing art?

    I've been drawing ever since I was very little. Crayons on the wall. That sort of thing.

Where are is your studio located?

    I'm currently located in Northern NJ.

What brought you to it in the first place?

    Well, I had a fascination with dinosaurs when I was young, so that's mainly what I drew during my younger years. Dinosaurs and monsters. After a while I started coming up with my own characters and stories. I just never really stopped drawing since the beginning.

Do you do other type of art besides comic related work?

    For a long time, comic books were my main focus, but that's changed in recent years. I've been focusing primarily on illustration and character/creature design. There are a lot of things I want to do with my art, like concept design for film and games, and toy design. It's not easy, though. The art industry is very competitive.

That sounds like some very fun areas to be getting into. What is the process you go through in order to do a piece of artwork?

    For a scene illustration, the first thing to do is figure out the layout of the image. Who's going where, and what are they doing? Next I compile reference images to make sure the characters and scenery feel authentic or believable. I sketch everything in lightly with pencil, but not too detailed. This isn't a comic book, where one would start by creating a fully penciled masterpiece. I prefer to do my actual drawing in ink, using technical drawing pens. Whatever the smallest size pen tip I can find is, that's what I use to create my images. I actually draw fairly small, so the images you see in The Divine Gambit Trilogy are close to actual size. For certain images, ink isn't quite enough, so I'll go in and add some pencil shading on top of that. I handle character designs essentially the same way, but it's more important to make every detail clear in that type of artwork -- especially if another artist is going to be working from those designs.

Do you have any favorite artists and if so, who?

    It's hard to pick my favorite artists. It's fairly dependent on what mood I'm in. I have a lot of favorites, though, from American comics to Japanese Manga and game design. Sometimes I need to look at some of these artists' work to get me pumped up and ready for a particularly challenging project.

How did you find your way into working on Tales of Tralodren?

    After providing ink illustrations for Seer's Quest, Chad approached me about working on a graphic novel project. I was excited at the idea and wanted to tackle the entire book myself from pencil to color.

You must have been really eager. From all accounts it was and still is a huge project. How did you get through it all without going insane?

    I nearly did, actually. ToT really was an epic project, and in hindsight it's clear that it was far more than one artist could illustrate. As it ended up, I wasn't able to provide interior artwork for the project, but I was happy to contribute what I did.

You were responsible for the cover and the reference bible and drew a lot of people, creatures, etc. Did you have a favorite one or group that you liked over the rest?

    I like different designs for different reasons. I was able to develop some designs much more than others, and it was a bit frustrating being unable to create fully detailed character illustrations for each Tralodroen inhabitant. I still have a fondness for the Jotun design. The arctic polar bear garb was really fun to put together -- especially those boots on the female. Of course a lot of the creatures were fun to design, like the Ryu. I also enjoyed designing the four types of Titans.

You also worked on the illustrations for The Divine Gambit Trilogy, as you’ve already been mentioning. How is that sort of work different than doing a reference bible or cover for a graphic novel?

    The reference bible was essentially a collection of full character designs, character and creature sketches, and I believe some object sketches. The Divine Gambit Trilogy art incorporates those items but puts them together in a setting. From passages Chad selected out of the novels, it was my responsibility to illustrate a single moment for the reader. More than just making the characters look cool, it was necessary to place them in an equally interesting and believable environment. Each image has to tell a story. As for the graphic novel covers, that was different yet. The front cover is obviously much more abstract that my usual work, but it was necessary to convey the Light vs. Dark concept. The back cover is closer to comic book artwork. The throne and dais were penciled, inked, and then colored digitally.

Out of the two experiences you had working for The Divine Gambit Trilogy and Tales of Tralodren™ which did you like better or did you enjoy them both equally?

    Series bible versus novel illustration? It's hard to say. They both had their challenges, and of course there are still things I would like to go back and improve in both projects. I would have liked to give some of the TOT characters the same treatment I gave those in The Divine Gambit Trilogy: fully detailed ink illustration.

It's been understood that you’re a fan of comic books as well as fantasy. What sort of comics do you tend to find yourself currently reading/interested in?

    I got into comic books when I was about eight years old, and I loved them. For the longest time I was a dedicated Marvel Comics reader, favoring Spectacular Spider-man and Uncanny X-men. I still feel some influence from the first comic books I read. Sal Buscema's work was very dynamic and I hope I achieve some of that quality in my own work. In recent years I've lost interest in Marvel. I've always read the occasional independent comic, or something from Image or Dark Horse. There was CrossGen, too, but we know what happened to them. Actually, after CrossGen collapsed, I found myself without any interesting comics to read. That's when I finally made the jump to DC Comics, and that's what I've been reading the most of ever since. I caught up on Crisis on Infinite Earths so I could read the newer Infinite Crisis, and I loved both. Right now I'm catching up on three year's worth of Green Lantern. I have to admit it's a good read. I really get into the cosmic stuff, but at the same time one of my favorite stories in recent years was DC's Identity Crisis. Just solid storytelling. Good stuff.

What sort of fantasy interests you?

    Anything from Lord of the Rings to Final Fantasy. Like science fiction, fantasy is a genre that allows us to see and experience things that either don't exist or can't happen in reality. Giant creatures, ancient civilizations, I eat it all up. Conan is definitely a favorite of mine, but I also have to mentioned Hayao Miyazaki's work, like Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. You can fit a lot under the fantasy banner. I recommend any of the Studio Ghibli films, as a lot of people still haven't experienced those yet.

Since you have been in an unique position of getting to work on the novels and graphic set in The World of Tralodren®, do you have anything to share about the setting on general?

    Well, one thing I can say for certain is that Tralodren is very expansive. From my experience working with the characters and settings, it was clear that this was a fantasy project that shares some elements with Lord of the Rings,, or Record of Lodoss War, but Tralodren has its own unique history and inhabitants that set it apart as something different than what we've seen before. New concepts, and new takes on traditional fantasy concepts. It's all very epic, and I really can't wait to see the final product -- that being the Tales of Tralodren™ graphic novel. Working on The Divine Gambit Trilogy was very fun, and the characters were great. TOT, however, opens up the entire history of the world those characters live in, and will add new depth and context to the novels. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

Any favorite characters or scenes that you wish to share?

   I think my favorite illustrations in The Divine Gambit Trilogy are the library scene in Seer's Quest, and the birds scene in Gambit's End. Those images came together very smoothly, and I'm still pleased with how they came out. As far as my favorite character, I guess I'd have to go with Dugan. I suppose I have a soft spot for angry, bloodthirsty barbarians.

So what does the future hold for Ed Waysek?

    That's what I'd like to know! Like I said earlier, I hope to work in a number of different fields within the realm of art. I'm going to try my hand at sculpting, so that should be interesting. Ultimately, however, I'm aiming to present my own characters and stories in one form or another. Comics, cartoons, games, toys -- I want to do it all. Let's just hope I live long enough to do it.

Where can people see more of your work?

    My personal website is www.edcomics.com, and some of my favorite drawings and images are on there. I also have two deviantART galleries that can be accessed from the menu bar on my website. Most of my newer illustrations and sketches will show up there before I enter them into my main gallery at www.edcomics.com.

Any advice you like to pass on to other artists?

    Don't be lazy! Don't procrastinate! You'll only suffer in the end!

    Ahem, aside from that, it's just the usual stuff. Draw constantly. Draw everything. Don't let yourself go a week without drawing because you'll regret it. If you're serious about art, you have to realize there's an insane amount of competition out there. It's important to be rounded as an artist, so you can work outside of your specialty when needed. At the same time, you should focus on what you really enjoy, and always push yourself to improve.

Thanks, Ed!

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