Everything I draw ends up wearing a bow-tie

okay so this is a very scientifically accurate depiction of the various effects that the four main winds have on the British Isles developed by NASA hope it explains everything

I was wondering if anyone would spot that, well done!

Yes, he is pretty damned scared of water; but then I think you would be too if your head was an electrical appliance.

They do, and it does :)

You could say that

but in short this is a thing that happened.

What’s the deal with RGB’s collar?

I’ve had a few people asking me how RGB’s collar works, if it is a collar, whether it’s supposed to look like a satellite dish etc.

The answer is I wish I’d thought of that last one because yes I suppose it does, but in reality it’s just an ordinary collar with the sides turned up.

The problem with having a telly for a head is that you tend to generate a lot of static…

It’s got to the point that he’s given up.

So, yes.

Mystery solved.

\o/

Well, I’ll actually go at this one backwards- because trying to increase your skill level is much harder than being inspired… but of course, being inspired makes it much easier to increase your skill level, so… I’ll shut up and just answer the questions.

Looking at things and drawing them is one of the best ways to get better- but looking at something and figuring out how it works is a much better way to get better. When you know why something looks the way it does; when you really know how something works, not just looks, but works, you’ll be able to draw it from the inside out. That makes an enormous difference, and then afterwards, when you imagine it, and when you imagine new, crazy, impossible things, you can take those things you know about real things and make your impossible things much more real.

Draw the things that you find hard to draw- I used to find drawing hands and feet really annoying, because I wanted to draw them well, but I couldn’t. I can’t say that I draw them well now, but I enjoy drawing them because I understand them- I basically spent a solid two weeks of summer just drawing hands and feet, from the inside out, bones and muscles and gloves and socks and shoes, and eventually I’ve got to the stage where I can do it and enjoy it. I’m not great at it yet, maybe not even good- but that’s the fun thing about learning, you never stop, and you can always improve. Some people seem to find that discouraging but I find that terribly exciting :D

As for what inspired my style, I still don’t know that I have one, and if I do I have a few different styles, but some of my biggest artistic influences are Hergé, Eiichiro Oda, Dali, Hogarth, Steve Bell, Robert Valley, Albert Uderzo, David Sutherland, Brad Bird, Tove Jansson, Spike Milligan, Milt Kahl, Dave McKean, Al Hirschfeld, Carl Barks and about a million more who I will kick myself for not being able to think of immediately later.

Basically the best advice I can give you is to keep trying, keep learning, and keep asking questions. Never think that you know something; that’s a very dangerous trap to fall into because then you’ll stop trying to learn, and that’s just about the worst thing you can do to yourself, as an artist and as a human being.

Half Indian half English. Her mother was from Kolkata and her father was from Wilmslow. They met when Hero’s mother moved to Manchester to fill out a position in a local newspaper firm.

RGB is basically an evasive bugger and bad at admitting things, so it’s mostly that he just doesn’t want to, although a lot of the time he does that is because it would be ‘tactically inadvisable’ to tell the truth from his standpoint.

Sure thing- he’s from Norfolk, studied fine art in Edinburgh for three years and has a tendency to forget his umbrella.

Hero lived a very happy, normal life in Manchester with her mother and father. Her mother is an editorial writer and her father is a janitor. She had two pet guinea-pigs called Bubble and Squeak.

In their respective films, naturally. Arthur is an odd job man, the reason being that his work so often seems to end in a disastrous fashion (goodness knows why). Mesi is the first mate of an intergalactic exploration ship, and works alongside the famous Captain Horatio Drake, who isn’t very famed for his diplomacy or tact but has a very strong arm and nice hair.

RGB loves puns, but only if he’s the one making them.

I have… no idea. I never started TPoH with the intention of profiting from it. Maybe some day, but I would also have to discuss the matter with Nate because I don’t want to profit from Madras because she’s his baby :C It would be kind of neat to have a few copies to throw at potential job places though, so who knows?

Well well, someone has sharp eyes.

It was indeed. You’ll see a lot of references to different films and stories throughout TPoH (the yellow road motif has already been flogged to death for you ahaha). Of course, it’s more the selection of lines that I was having fun with.