Alex Sheikman ... Mr. Robotika

Bags & Boards interviews "Robotika" creator Alex Sheikman as Part 2 of our "Digging into Archaia" spotlight.  We get behind the genesis of his steampunk samurai story and get seriously educated on some of the other great artists who have inspired Alex's work.

Bags & Boards: On your website, you say that you have been working on "Robotika" for a long time. Exactly how long has it taken to get "Robotika" into readers’ hands?

Alex Sheikman: I seriously started working on "Robotika" a little over two years ago. The first year was spent on designing characters and trying to write the script for the first 48 pages. At the time, I was thinking that I was going to self-publish "Robotika" as a 48-page graphic novel, so I spent a lot of time figuring out the printing and distribution aspects of comics. Last April-March I got hooked-up with Archaia Studios Press. Since ASP took upon themselves all the responsibilities for printing, marketing, and distribution, I was able to devote myself to drawing and writing. That has been awesome, and I just want to say how much respect I have developed for independent creators who self-publish their work. There are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done!

BB: What inspired you to create this futuristic world and tell this tale of a new age ronin?

AS: For me, "Robotika" began as a sketch of Niko the "SteamPunk Samurai". I drew a warrior that was a cross between a Mexican bandit and a futuristic samurai. I kept doodling and making up other cross genre mind benders that combined past with future and West with East, like "wasabi western" and "cossack yojimbo". As time went on I realized that I was coming up with something that I would be very much interested in expanding into a real story and drawing.

Given a chance to write my own story, I used that as a mechanism to expand on my thoughts about heroic fantasy and how to portray a hero. As I got more comfortable with writing, the tone of "Robotika" changed. The first issue reads more like a fable than an adventure story, in the second issue I started shifting away from captions and doing most of the action description through dialogue. By the time I was writing issue #3, I was in full swing writing an adventure story in the tradition of books like Three Musketeers and Treasure Island.

BB: "Robotika" seems ready made for telling in an anime or manga format with its techno-organic cityscapes, conniving corporations and genetic manipulations. Yet the Western look is the exact opposite of those mediums. How did you arrive at the aesthetic of your world?

AS: I think that the look of the series is a reflection of where I am in my continuing development as an artist. I am not someone who can switch art styles to suit different assignments. I spent the last few years drawing RPG illustrations and during that time I worked out an approach to visualizing my ideas a certain way. When it came time to start drawing "Robotika," I just continued working the same way.

I think like everybody else. I tend to draw the kind of artwork I like to look at. I have not mastered putting down on paper exactly what I see in my mind's eye, but I hope that as I get more practice that I'll get closer to that.

BB: You have a visual style that feels new yet familiar. Who and/or what have been influences over you illustration style?

AS: That is a tough question. Everything influences me. I tend to absorb many things from movies and books, as well as comics and book illustrations.

Two artists have very much influenced my approach to drawing and specifically my approach to "Robotika." Alphonso Mucha is known as one of the most influential Art Nouveau artists and I just love how organic his line work feels. I have tried to learn how to put down lines like that using a brush.

On the other side of the spectrum is a German graphic artist, Ludwig Hohlwein. His forms are so simple, yet very expressive, powerful, and yet subtle. I love his work and have been looking at it a lot. So I am struggling to achieve a balance somewhere in between the organic Art Nouveau and the graphic Art Deco look.

I am also very excited about the artwork by Tony Salmons, Rodolfo Damaggio, and Leif Jones. Tony Salmons is able to communicate movement and energy in his drawing that is just incredible. Rodolfo Damaggio is a superb storyteller and reading his comics or following his movie storyboards is just a real pleasure. Leif Jones is a friend and a fellow artist whose artistic quest and experimentation has been inspiring me for years. He is just one of these guys who can draw anything and make it look good.

BB: You silhouette and use shadowing generously. Are these deliberate techniques that you use for pacing and storytelling?

AS: "Yes" and "No." I do try to spot my blacks in such a way as to draw the reader's eye across the page and direct the story flow. At the same time, my approach to drawing tends to be very graphic with solid black areas indicating shadows and helping composition. So it is a combination of trying to draw the best that I can, and at the same time trying to keep in mind the overall composition of the page and the flow of images across it.

BB: Have you collaborated with Ryan Sook (cover artist) or Joel Chua (colors) prior to "Robotika?" How did you connect with these guys?

AS: Ryan is an old friend who was very influential in the beginning stages of "Robotika." In fact, when "Robotika" was called "SteamPunk Samurai" and was only a short story, he was actually going to write it. From his script came some of the building blocks around which the first 4 issues are constructed. Ryan has always encouraged me to pursue my artistic endeavors and his work has been an inspiration that kept me going through the rough spots in the creative process. Ryan is a natural storyteller and every time I hit a "bump" I always think of him as someone who can help solve any storytelling problem.

Art wise we only collaborated once. I inked Ryan's pencils for a Wizards of the Coast championship contest. It was a fun assignment and I learned a lot from it.

Joel is a new friend, whom I met when Mark contacted him to color "Robotika." He is a great artist in his own right and I must admit that I did not make "Robotika" easy for him. I always think in very graphic black and white, and I even completed the first issue thinking that the book will be published in black and white. I merged gray tones right on the digital files and Joel had a tough time separating the different layers. He is doing a great job, and I very much hope to work with him in the future.

BB: On your website, you have links to two French artists: Claire Wendling and Benoit Springer. How would you describe the difference between American and European illustrators? Do you feel a greater affinity to the work being done in Europe?

AS: Good comics are good comics, no matter where they are being published.

I worked and lived in Netherlands for a bit, and while there I was exposed to the work of many fine European cartoonists. It was a great experience that helped me broaden my artistic horizons and "discover" some very cool artists like Wendling, Springer, Palacios, and Toppi. Since than, I have noticed that more and more of European artists are starting to get exposure in North America. Sergio Toppi is doing covers for Marvel, Juanjo Guarnido's "Blacksad" is being published by iBooks, and Claire Wendling's Iguana Bay 2.0 got published in an English edition. I think that is awesome because I can't read French and I look forward to the day when all of their work will be available in English.

As far as the differences between American and European illustrators goes, I think it is mainly a difference of "expectation". Here in North America a comic book artist is expected to pencil 10 issues of 22 pages each to stay in the comic book public's eye. In Europe, an artist pencils/inks and colors about 50 pages a year. That is a huge difference of expectation and workload. I think both are fine because they are describing two different markets and I think I am fortunate that I am able to enjoy both versions of creativity.

Join us for the final installment of "Digging into Archaia" as we interview David Petersen, the creator of "Mouse Guard."