When one thinks of an Exorcist, and if they are at an advanced enough age, it might bring to mind Linda Blair in William Friedkin’s film, The Exorcist. In that film, it was a pair of typical looking priests who took on the demon infesting young Regan MacNeil (Blair). But Exorcists take on many forms. Sometimes, they are warriors against the spawn of evil. Dressed in armored pieces and armed with weapons and the righteousness of the almighty. Although, that isn’t to say they don’t have issues like normal people. Both career and relationship related. At least they do in Mad Cave Studios Exorcists Never Die by renowned comic writer Steve Orlando and artist Sebastián Píriz.
Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with both Steve and Orlando about the new book. In this chat with Sebastián, we talk about his career, his preference for digital art and of course, his collaboration with Steve in Exorcists Never Die. So, lets welcome talented artist Sebastián Píriz to GVN Talking Comics.
GVN: First off, thank you so much for sharing some of your time, Sebastián.
SP: Thanks to you!!
Interest in Art
GVN: As per our normal procedure, when we are fortunate enough to talk to a talented creator for the first time, let’s start with a bit of your background. When did you first take an interest in art and were comics your first love or did you start out drawing more traditional subjects?
SP: Apparently, I started drawing the moment I was able to hold a pencil. The first thing I can remember drawing must be the ninja turtles. Years later I bought some random X-Men comics (because of the Sega genesis game) One of them was a classic X-Men baseball match drawn by Joe Madureira and the different style blew my mind, that’s the moment I realized I wanted to draw comics.
Inspirations in Comics
GVN: When it came to comics, were there specific creators or artists that you were inspired by or perhaps you tried to mimic before you came into your own style?
SP: Well, Madureira is the first one, but there’s some very different artists I love: Jack Kirby (of course) Paul Pope, Ashley Wood, Chris Bachallo, Olivier Coipel, Brian Hitch…. I guess I stopped trying to mimic them years ago, but I’m always trying to understand why great artists do what they do and figure out my version of that.
Learning through Doing
GVN: You have been doing art for over 10 years, mainly on the Indie Comic side. Along the way you have worked for Vault, IDW, and Aftershock among others. With each project, what do you feel you learned that became an advantage to you for your proceeding work?
SP: Besides trying to improve my work, I think with each book I learn a bit more about working with other people. Drawing when I color is very different than when there’s a colorist, designing the pages in a way that lets the letterers do their job, etc. Learning all that stuff will end up making easier the work for everybody and also a better book.
Working in Digital
GVN: Speaking of your work, do you work digitally or traditionally and what do you feel is the benefit of whichever is your preferred method?
SP: I work digitally. I’d love to work traditionally but it requires a patience I don’t have. I’m a mess, and the computer is very forgiving. I do try all the time to get that feel you have when you see traditional work.
Sharing Through Social Media
GVN: I noticed that over the years, you have used social media and sites like Pinterest to display your fantastic art for fans to see. For artists just starting out, what benefit would you tell them that sharing their work in a public forum might provide and has it proven helpful to you?
SP: Social Media is very important for my career, it allows me to have a reach that I couldn’t have any other way. People will connect with a Spider-Man pic and if you’re very patient, there will be a moment when among your followers there will be writers and editors. Of course, you also need to have an actual portfolio they can see, you can’t have a career based on fan art you post on twitter.
‘Exorcists Never Die’
GVN: Your latest work is a collaboration with talented writer Steve Orlando on Mad Cave’s Exorcists Never Die. How did you get connected to this project and how much discussion did you have with Steve in preparation for the book?
SP: I was approached by Mad Cave to work on this book, Steve was already a part of it. We talked through email, designing the characters and details of the world. Once we had that, he wrote the scripts pretty fast. It took me a while to start working on it because I had to finish other books.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Working from Full Script
GVN: Did Steve give you a full script or just a basic outline of what the story was portraying, and do you have a preference?
SP: Full scripts. but there’s a lot of room to have fun. I don’t really have a preference, but I’ve been lucky to work with writers that wanted to see what I can do instead of requiring me to draw exactly what they had in their mind when they wrote their script.
Panel Arrangement
GVN: In examining the first issue, your panel work and the diverse nature of their arrangement is quite intriguing while directing the readers eyes through the action. How do you decide the panel sizes and how do you use this to your advantage?
SP: I try to make layouts that go with what’s happening, so a lot of pages may be traditional grids. But when there’s an action scene, I will break that. I design what comes to my head when reading the script and after that I adjust it to make it work and be readable. I don’t always succeed, but when it works, it feels great!
Battle Scenes
GVN: Just in the first issue alone, you are presented with a major battle scene. Did you perceive this as a challenge, or did you have a firm grasp of what you wanted to do right from the beginning from what Steve laid out for you?
SP: Steve’s scripts are awesome, and that helps a lot. I think this scene was relatively easy for me, but I remember I defined some aspects of it only when I worked on the colors.
Other Projects and Following Sebastián
GVN: I want to thank you again for your time, Sebastián. Before I let you go, I want to give you an opportunity to promote any other projects you might have upcoming and where can our fans follow you on social media and the web?
SP: You can buy the TPB of Vault’s “We Ride Titans’ ‘ and the full series of “Census” is in Comixology (it will be printed soon). I can’t talk about what’s next because it wasn’t announced yet. And my Twitter (while it lasts) is @SebastianPiriz.
Mad Cave Studios Exorcists Never Die, Issue 1 by Steve Orlando, Sebastián Píriz, and Carlos M. Mangual is available on April 12. Be sure to check out our conversation with Sebastián’s writing counterpart Steve Orlando here.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.