A trilogy of drawings:
E: You actually created
three different images, all of which I love. How did you choose these images,
and why three?
R: Whenever I watch a
movie, read a book, or do anything that has to do with characters, a lot of the
times my favorite scenes are the ones where the characters are by themselves. I
think that when we get to see how our favorite characters act when no one else
is around is when we sometimes get to know them best. For my drawings of Sacred
I illustrated a couple of scenes that had those moments where we as the readers
got to know Scarlet a little better. The image of the house was more of an establishing shot for me. There was another composition that I was playing
around with that also had the house in view but it didn't work out. So in the
end, I tried to make the illustration of the house match the tone of the ones
about Scarlett. I wanted to create another quiet moment between the viewer and
the image.
The reason I made
three drawings was because I knew I wanted to work in a semi-spontaneous way
that would allow me to create a lot of finished drawings in a shorter amount of
time. After I spent a lot of time thumbnailing my ideas, I had a few that I
really liked. I gathered some reference material together and got to work.
Basically I tried to make every line count and didn't let myself erase on any
of the images. All the drawings were done fairly quickly, but I did redraw them a
few times to get everything in the right place with the right marks on the
paper. Once I had the final drawings I wanted done I just took them into
Photoshop and added the color.
E: Who and what inspire
you?
R: Inspiration for me
is something that is always shifting from one thing to another, or from
favorite artist to NEW favorite artist. In relation to illustration there are
many things that have inspired me since I was a kid. Mostly, comics, animation,
film, children books, architecture, things like that and the many artists that
have worked in those fields. Right now I'm really interested in and inspired by
old travel poster art.
But if I wanted to
mention something more constant within myself that inspires me it would have to
be my desire to accomplish my goals.
E: What is a typical
workday like for you?
R: Usually I'm up by
7:30 am and head to my desk right after breakfast. Most days I just have a
quick cereal with some fresh fruit. No matter what projects I'm working on I
try to warm up for the day with sketching on any of the sketchbooks I have
going. Sometimes I start with a small watercolor piece, or a pen and ink
drawing, or a sketch with pencil and color pencils. I like creating spontaneous
pieces that I can take to completion in one or two short sessions before or
after my main workload. I work from home and I like that I can shift from one
project to another at any time. Depending on what stage of the project I'm in,
I could be sitting in front of my desk all day, or on-line looking for
reference material or researching the subject matter, or I could also be trying
to line up the next project. The good days for me are when I'm in the middle of
the project and I don't need to be anywhere else except at my desk trying to
finish whatever it may be I might be working on. I like to save the last part
of the day for more personal projects or the warm-ups I mentioned. I know that
the image of me at my desk is not the most exciting thing in the world, but
that's where I make my days count. The more time I spend at my desk, the
happier I am. Sometimes I can get away for a bit and I'll go out and
sketch people out in the streets, or landscapes at the park or the beach, and
every once in a while I'll go to the zoo and sketch the animals.
E: What other
projects—both professional and personal—are you involved in?
R: Some of my more
personal works are paintings and collages on panel, but I haven't been able get
back into that side of my work lately. The majority of this year has been spent
on children's book art. My wife and I have been writing a story for a picture
book for over a year now. We've been working on it on and off and we are
getting really close to begin putting a dummy together. I actually submitted the
story idea along with some art from it to a critique panel at the summer SCBWI
conference composed of Cecilia Yung, Laura Godwin, and Rubin Pfeffer, and it
received great feedback. It was one of the highlights for me at this year's
conference. Aside from trying to put together the dummy, I try to always have a
lot of other illustrations going to add to my portfolio, and of course also
keeping up my sketchbook work. I love sketchbooks.
Professionally, I
completed a couple of ebooks recently for FarFaria and I'm currently working on
my first book with a publishing house. The project came about right after the
summer SCBWI conference. An art director from Simon & Schuster who I met
during a breakout session offered me the illustration work for a middle grade
book about a week after the end of the conference. The project is going really
well. I just recently finished all the jacket art and I'm currently working on
the interior illustrations. You can check out a picture of the cover at the
Simon & Schuster page here: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Contagious-Colors-of-Mumpley-Middle-School/Fowler-DeWitt/9781442478299
E: What advice would
you give people who’d like to break into the art world?
R: I would say to work
hard and give it your best shot, and also to not be afraid to reach out to
others about your work. Staying focused, persistent and passionate are all
things that I have in the back of my mind every day. For me, getting to work was
always the easy part between creating the illustration and getting it out into
the world for people to see. But slowly and gradually I have been able to push
myself to get out there and "network." And if you're interested in
children's books I would highly recommend becoming a member of the SCBWI to
benefit from all their great resources and opportunities to connect with the
children's book industry.
E: Do you have a web
presence?
R: My website is at www.rodolfomontalvo.com, my blog is at www.montalvothethirdstudio.blogspot.com, and you can also follow me on my new facebook
page Rodolfo Montalvo Illustration Works.
R: I think it would have
to be Scarlett. It goes back to the drawings I chose to do and the quiet
moments that are part of the scenes that let us get to know her better. I loved
being able to connect with Scarlett and sharing her journey in
"Sacred." I like the dark contrast she creates with all the other
characters. Also, I would like to get to know Catalina Island some day, for me
the island it self was also one of the most interesting characters in the
story.
Thanks so much, Rodolfo, for being part of the Art Show! Here again are Rodolfo's beautiful pictures.
