Written Artist Interview
Tell me about yourself. What do you like to do outside of writing. What is a day in the life like for you?
I love movies. I mean, what I really love is stories and characters. I read a lot but I keep coming back to movies. I love going to the theater but especially when I am drawing I love to pop on a movie while I work. Other than that, I am married to a wonderful woman and we take care of our dog, CJ. We like to cook our own food and try out different recipes. I act, too, somehow I’m paying the bills with that, some career, huh?
What inspired your first novel? What was the thing that got you into writing in the first place?
As an artist I started out reading comics and watching cartoons then eventually something just clicked like, hey somebody busted out a pencil and made this stuff why can’t I? One day, I sat down with a copy of The Ultimates next to my sketchbook and imitated Brian Hitch’s Hulk drawings. I still think about that Hulk everytime I draw.
How do you come up with characters? Are they spontaneous or meticulously planned?
At first it is always spontaneous. The idea hits like a magic dart in the brain or something and then I’ll either write a general description on my phone or sketch it out if I have some paper and then I get meticulous and later. I’ll sit down and flush out everything I want the character to be and maybe some situations they would insight or get involved in.
What are some of your favorite genres to read? Are there any books you’d recommend to first time readers or people looking for something new?
I have a passion for action and horror. I love superheroes, I love Stephen King. I just read Under The Dome, unbelievable. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up just mentioning the title. Maybe stay away from caffeine with that one, I almost had a heart attack multiple times because I had some coffee before opening that up.
Berserk is amazing. I am working my way through that right now. Can’t go wrong with X-men. All-Star Superman was cool and if you’re gonna go All-Star Batman go for Snyder NOT Miller. Can’t stress that enough.
What’s the most difficult thing about being a writer?
I would say finances. I would be so much further than I am if I didn’t have to torture myself for 40+ hours a week. That and chores, dishes, laundry all that crap it’s impossible for me to keep up. If I didn’t have my wife, ya’ boy would probably still be on paper plates and dixie cups.
What is your process to completing a novel from outline to final product?
For all the major stuff it all starts out with pencil, I get a nice generalization of the shapes that make up each character or element in the scene. It depends, sometimes I can do some basic chicken scratch with circles and squares and then I can bust out the ink and get down to the details but more often I will pretty much draw the whole piece in pencil, snap a pic for sentimentality then ink over that. Once that is done I can’t paint worth a shit so I scan my stuff into photoshop and color it there.
What’s the most unhinged thing you’ve written in your novel? Don’t worry, we don’t judge here.
I love some violence. Mostly my stuff just goes into dismemberment and decapitation but I’m working on some more disturbing stuff, you’ll see.
What’s one thing about being a writer that absolutely drives you up the wall?
Color for sure, I mean, everything looks better with color I just hate doing it myself. It’s absolutely necessary for a lot of stuff but yeah I’m not much for painting and mixing and all that leave me to my inks, man!
What does being a successful writer look like for you? What type of life do you want to live as a writer?
I just wanna make my stuff, man. I don’t give a damn about being rich or famous I just wanna be able to pay my rent off of my drawing. Maybe take a trip to Aruba or something once a year.
Describe your writing journey. If you had to write a story centered around it, do you think you could pull it off?
I started as a kid writing and drawing, sometimes I feel like one can’t exist without the other. I mean sure somethings I draw they are just cool or provocative or whatever but there is always a story there, some context where these concepts fit in. If I had to make a story about my life I’m sure I could it’s more of a matter of if anybody would want to read it, y’know? Knew I should’ve gotten into more fights, at the very least that would be fun to draw.
Follow and Connect with Roy Berreth
Roy T. Berreth is a writer and illustrator based out of NYC. He works traditionally with pen and ink then takes his drawings digital for coloring. He is working his way up the ranks of the indie comic world with his story, Born A Storm (@bornastormcomic on Instagram). You can commission Roy for work by reaching out to him on Instagram (@b0red0mprevails) or support his efforts through his Redbubble page.
Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/b0red0mprevails/shop?asc=u
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