We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christian Wolf a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christian , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Growing up in a blue-collar town one finds oneself planning the trajectory of life through a large scope. The community is always in need of tradespeople, firefighters, mechanics, small business owners, and the list goes on. Both my mother and father were part of that community and their parents before them were too. Choosing to pursue an art career left me with a much narrower scope and the trajectory is difficult to plan.
When you’re young and passionate it is easy to deposit energy into your studies and growth as an artist, and I certainly never let the risk factors deter me from my path, but those risks are ubiquitous. Continuing one’s pursuit has its moments of glory and defeat, which I always assumed was the same for any career path, but art is particularly tough and after many warnings to stop, I pursued it anyway. After all, what is life without challenges?
After 15 years of plugging away, I can’t say I am any closer to a full-time career in art, but having the ability to illustrate my ideas is fulfilling. I have opportunities that wouldn’t be if I gave up and despite the hardships of pursuit, I will continue.
Christian , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
After college, where I studied Classical Animation, I found work as a storyboard artist, concept artist, and caricature artist. The studies in Classical Animation strengthened my understanding of Character Design, Storyboarding, and layout/background design. I didn’t know it then, but these skills would culminate when I was asked to work on an Indie Comic book with a co-worker at my day job. Although the writer and I never self-published the work we created, I had completed 66 pages and learned much about developing a comic book.
Years later, I worked a day job in an office, and I was constantly scolded for drawing during work. I was reading comics regularly and had major influences guiding the style of work I was producing. The works of Jean (Moebius Giraud, Alex Toth, Mort Drucker, Will Eisner, and Frank Frazetta were so impactful. I was attending Comic Book conventions too, learning how to comprise a professional portfolio and talk to industry professionals. So, In 2014 I had been making some headway through my circle of friends and met with two aspiring writers. The three of us came up with a concept for an ongoing anthology series entitled “EPOCHS”. We completed the first issue and released it to the public using Kickstarter and it was a success. We surpassed our funding goals and shipped our product to all our backers.
( https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/epochs/epochs-issue-1 )
Earlier that year I had purchased a Wacom Cintiq, as it was becoming a popular tool for industry professionals, and I used it to pencil and ink “Epochs” issue #1. I was able to work much faster and cleaner than I had using any traditional mediums, and the Cintiq is a tool I still use today. The Cintiq also opened the possibilities for coloring my work, which strengthened my understanding of color theory.
After “Epochs” issue #1, the writers and I were unable to continue, So I branched out on my own. I began writing my own scripts and continued to perfect my Comic Book portfolio. I continued attending conventions too. Around, 2018, streaming on platforms like YouTube and Twitch became very popular, So I took to streaming live, showcasing my work process in Adobe Photoshop using my Cintiq. This garnered some fans and donation support as well as networking with other budding artists. One fellow, in particular, named Chris Moses, took a shine to me during my streams. He was an aspiring indie Comic Book Writer with his publishing company, “Red Sea Comics”. Moses had a Noir script he’d been sitting on about an anthropomorphized bacteria microbe named “Denton Dials”, Titled, “Soma City”. He gave me the script and I fell in love with the story and characters. We began work on the book in early 2021. I chose to do this comic in a traditional medium, using 11×17 bristol, 2h pencils, Hunt 102 crow quill nibs, brush pens, and speedball ink. I produced 24 pages and 2 covers for our first issue and Moses and I launched a Kickstarter for the book in 2023. The Kickstarter campaign was a small success, but a success no less, surpassing our funding goals and shipping our product to all our backers. I am currently working on issue #2 of the ongoing series and we are looking to launch a Kickstarter campaign later this summer. ( https://www.redseacomics.com ) ( https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1967380671/soma-city-1 )
Through the past 10 years, I have worked on many projects besides Comic Books, although my focus and goals were to work in a Comic Book style. I’ve worked with Musical Artists, creating album covers and art for apparel, creating storyboards for commercials, and I’ve worked on many other projects for followers of my social media outlets. I created an Instagram account in 2018 under the name “Christianwolfart”, and have been growing slowly over the years, although balancing a day job and committing to indie comics has made it hard to consistently post content. ( https://www.instagram.com/christianwolfart/ )
At this juncture, I have 2 comics with “Red Sea Comics” that I have done lineart for, “Soma City” Issue #1 and “TSE: HELENA”. Both of these can be purchased at ( Redseacomics.com ). I did Lineart for another writer, Named, Ari Gross, on his 10-page short, “Je Te Plumeri”, for a horror anthology with other Indie artists and writers. I continue to work on my scripts as I would love to write and draw my own projects in the future.
Through my experiences, I have developed a classical, gritty, and dark comic book style. My favorite genres are noir, western, and sci-fi. The years of dedication have been beneficial as I have the strongest portfolio I’ve ever produced, with over 100 pages of finished Lineart, showcasing my ability to tell a story in many genres. I love the medium and I am blessed to have the “Red Sea Comics” community to garner feedback and critique for improvements. “Red Sea Comics” now has a multitude of artists, editors, colorists, and letterers working on many different projects, all spearheaded by Chris Moses. I would advise any artists looking to get into the comic book industry to form their own indie publishing label, and just start creating. Indie comics have grown in popularity and today one can be quite successful with crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. This could also lead to professional work with a major publisher. The idea is that you don’t quit and perseverance must always be present. It is not an easy task breaking into “Comics”, but what I know for sure, after all these years, is that if you quit, you will never get there. Always be experimenting. Always be open to feedback. Always keep an eye on what is popular. Always be drawing. No matter what life throws in your way, you must always persevere.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
As mentioned, I grew up in a blue-collar town. When you are one of the 0.01% of that community who seeks to gain success in an industry that doesn’t exist there, you will most likely be faced with criticism. One who seeks to form a career and family with security can be off-put by the Artist’s journey. I was always liked by my community too, so most people’s criticism of my choices came from a good place. People just want to see you do well in life. It seems as Artists, we have a hidden skill amidst our obvious one, which is looking past the scrutiny of others and stubbornly pursuing an art career, no matter the sacrifice. I do not have a wife, nor do I have children, nor do I have much security in the way of retirement or health care. And, although I have struggled to find consistent work as a Comic Artist, I have always maintained a day job to support myself. I have never relied on others to foot the bill for my dream. So, the criticism from my family and community has never been negative. It can be difficult to explain to non-creatives all that is involved in the Artist’s Journey. If the non-creative doesn’t see the dollar signs at the end of your explanation, to them, it seems like a waste of time. They might be right. Cash is king in this world and you can’t do anything without it. I sleep well at night knowing I have never had to depend on them for financial support and this keeps their opposing views mild. After all, it’s my life.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Due to the onset of social media, an Artist has many outlets to showcase, promote, and sell their works. As an Indie Comic Book Artist, I have to keep an eye on what is popular and demanded from particular demographics. It is those demographics that will inevitably lead me to success. They are the ones who love the medium as a form of entertainment. They are the ones who will buy the products I work so hard on. So, my Indie publisher and I make them our main focus. I don’t expect the rest of society to find utility in collecting books I produce for the sake of my financial well-being.
As the world shifts and morphs, as AI becomes more accessible and usable by other creators, the world of man-made comic books will still exist. At the end of the day, It’s a niche, no different than record players and vinyl records. If one wishes to succeed as a Comic Book Artist, one must first persevere and secondly gear their efforts to provide a product for Comic Book lovers. As far as I am concerned, the market for Indie Comic Books is growing and will always be popular amongst a certain demographic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.redseacomics.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianwolfart/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJzydiPnqsI9zb3lSHOnWQ
Image Credits
Color’s in Werewolf 2 page spread by Ilaria Fella (Indie Comic Book Colorist) Concept art w/ three soldiers is Fanart for the Marathon franchise by Bungie Entertainment. (The logo in the bottom Left corner can be removed as the designs are originals, not used or influenced by Bungie.