Tales From The Cave – Creator Q&A (Nottingham)

Q: What does your creative process look like, and where do you draw inspiration from?

Shane: Inspiration comes from all around me. Movies, music, comics (of course). I have a stack of books beside my drawing table with some of my favourite artist’s work. From Bill Sienkiewiewicz to Jason Shawn Alexander. I look to them not only for inspiration, but to see how they solve problems, how they work out compositions, panel layouts, etc. From there I just let the story and the pen guide me. Art is a process of reduction, a process of letting go. I am in a constant state of trying to do less and communicate more (though that may not always be easy to see in my art haha).

Q: As a winner of Mad Cave Studios’ annual Talent Search, do you have any advice to aspiring creatives?

Shane: My best advice is to just get going. Get your ideas and your work out there. People can’t get to know you if they can’t see what you do. No matter how much practice you get in, there is no substitute for the learning curve of creating something for other people to see. For aspiring comic artists – it is SO important to learn to draw story. Write your own stories, or find comic scripts to draw, then get to work! Mad Cave’s talent search is a one of a kind opportunity to do just that. Don’t wait. Just enter. If you don’t win this year, get better and enter again next year. Never let fear hold you back. Ever.

Q: Any projects or events on the horizon that we should be looking out for?

Shane: Right now, I’m giving everything I’ve got to Nottingham Vol. 3. It’s the end of mine and David’s run on Nottingham and trust me – we’re going out with a bang! I have some other VERY exciting comic news that will get announced soon, and also new music coming this fall! It’s all systems go, and all art ALL THE TIME!