UP-DATE
Well,considering that Emma’s interview is in the top ten hitters on CBO every week how could I not ask for an up-date? So,you thrusting hordes of Vieceli fans….
Over to you,Emma!
Emma:Oooh - I’m honoured to be asked to update my CBO interview. Thank you! Though now I feel a pressure to be interesting. Oh no!
*sips tea*
Well, I’ve been pretty busy since we last spoke - which is a nice relief to someone who was petrified about going freelance! Sadly, as is so often the case, I need to stay a bit quiet about a lot of what I’m busy on, sorreeeee.;_;
Some of my recent exciting news is that it seems Hamlet is going to be released in Italian next spring. SelfMadeHero have worked their magic again! This is exciting for me on two levels: first, I get to see my work translated - surreal to say the least - and second, I finally get to share some of what I’ve done with my family over there. That means a lot to me ^_^
*more tea*
So, what I’m doing now…I can thankfully say now that that I am signed up to do at least one book through Spacedog in the US, which will keep me busy for the next eight months or so. It’s a graphic novel that will be published by Tokyopop. That is of course good news indeed, but - again - it’ll be a wait before any of the work comes to light; the joys of graphic novels! I’ve been doing some other little bits for Spacedog here and there as well; they’re all awesome.^_^
*sip*
Other than that: I’m doing another little thing for Tokyopop, I have a meeting to discuss a possible something fun with a British publisher, am planning a time when I can do the next proposed title for selfmadehero, and have a particular short story that I’m very excited about…how vague can I be? Sorry! ‘^_^ In short, yup - busy!
Oh, Dragon Heir #6 got released recently through Sweatdrop - it’s my independent comic baby, so I’m happy to have been able to get a new issue of it out there amongst everything else! I really don’t want to lose touch with the Sweatdrop side of things as it’s where my heart lies. ^_^
*sip*
I’m loving what I’m doing at the moment, much as it’s all a bit overwhelming at times, and am just adoring the comics scene in general. I was at the Birmingham comics event recently with my friend and fellow Sweatdrop member Sonia Leong, and we had such an amazing time. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. Online and in real life, there are so many people in the comics scene as a whole who I respect, admire and generally think of as friends. ( I won’t go into names and embarrass people - they know who they are! ^_~)
That community buzz and acceptance is probably one of the things that has really helped me feel happy in my decision to go pro - so I have a lot to thank people for.
*sip…*
Damn, I’m out of tea. 
There -happy? Then read,enjoy the added extra artwork and BUY!
The Interview!
Intelligent,attractive,humorous and a comic artist to boot! But that’s enough about me. You want to learn more about one of the UKs rising female stars of Manga,Emma Vieceli –intelligent,attractive,humorous and a comic artist to boot! Hmm,sure I’ve read that somewhere else. But here you are –the facts and nothing but the facts [badgers excluded].
TH:Okay,being a gent I won’t ask the year but where were you born?
Emma:I’m a genuine Essex girl, I’m afraid.Basildon, no less! That said, now I know that Warren Ellis is a Southend lad, I feel a lot better about that.
TH:Were you aware of comics when you were a child -fond memories of any?
Emma:Oh, yes! I was obsessed in particular with an Italian comic series called Dylan Dog. I had about seventy of those books and was so excited when I heard that Dark Horse were translating a selection. Shame it all went wrong really….someone out there - please! I demand Dylan Dog in English. *begs*Otherwise, I had the usual comic fandoms for a child: Beano, Garfield, B.C, Peanuts…and later on I started to discover the Marvel, DC and 2000AD worlds. Fell in love with Remy LeBeau in a major way!
When I was eleven, someone let me borrow their copy of Ranma 1/2, the boxtree edition. It was my first true manga experience and it stayed with me.
I’m happy to say that I love all comics, no matter where they hail from. I wish we could lose categorisation really and just divide comics by genre instead…one day maybe.
TH:I always like asking artists this question because the answers tend to be very similar and falling into two categories. Did you start drawing as a child and did you get a lot of encouragement from your parents?
The tag-on question;do you still have any of those early drawings?
Emma:I drew from a very young age and much of it was very embarrassing! And yes, I still have piles and piles of old sketch books…why I keep them, I’m not entirely sure. I’m a sentimental old fool. I got plenty of encouragement to draw as a hobby, though not perhaps as a career choice (understandably).
It was only really when my parents came to the Manga Shakespeare Launch in
TH: That’s sweet. I don’t think many parents do understand their offsprings’ comic work. And drawing continued when you started school? I know a few artists found they were getting a lot of negativity when they showed comic strip work to teachers -any such problems?
Emma:Hahaha…I never got the opportunity to show work to a teacher, to be honest. I didn’t take art at all, not even at GCSE level. I just didn’t see it as a possibility in any way, shape or form. Hell, sometimes I still feel that way!
Looking back, I wish I had…so many of my current pitfalls could have been avoided. On the other hand, this way, I haven’t had the chance to be soured against what I love doing.
TH:Now,I know very little about your educational background -did any of it involve illustration or graphic design? 
Emma: Again, no - scarily. I always drew..I mean, I’d find a way of covering my workbooks and anything I could find with character art, but no, no education in it. My experience has come largely from being a fan and then from joining Sweatdrop and learning as I went, with lots of support and encouragement from other members.
TH:At what point did you decide that you wanted to draw comics -was there a definite inspiration such as a comic –and was it Manga?
Emma:It wasn’t really the comics that inspired me to want to make my own. I’d been reading for years, but kept my drawing hobby-based and mostly pinup. Again, I totally didn’t think there was a possibility in any way to create my own comic. haha. It was Sweatdrop that in fact inspired me the most. I was contacted about a story I’d been concepting called Dragon Heir and asked whether I’d like to print it with Sweatdrop. Well, I thought - why not? And lo, my foray into self publishing began! Alas, Dragon Heir still isn’t finished. One day gadget!
This said, if I had to name one comic that made me feel I wanted to try - it would have been one of Keiko Nishi’s short mangas. She’s a genius storyteller and her art is so simple and spacious. Lovely work.
TH:What was your first Manga strip? I know you are a Winner of Tokyopop’s first
Emma:First ever printed comic was a short called ‘Love Senseless’ printed in the Sweatdrop anthology ‘Love, Sweat & Tears’. Funnily enough, it’s due to be reprinted any time now, as we’re compiling two of our ‘classic’ anthologies into one new book. It was a pretty depressing story for my first attempt, haha! Quite an experience. I was such a noob, I managed to mess up practically every step of the way - including providing the whole thing in 72dpi at first! GAH. It’s going to be odd seeing it printed again. *hide*
First professionally printed comic would indeed have been Rising Stars - that was in 2005 (I think…), though I had started on Hamlet before finding out I was a winner of RSOM.
TH:You also won the Neo Magazine five page Manga competition -what was the strip and how did you get the inspiration to draw a winning 5 pager?
Emma:haha - my Neo entry was a crazy little joke I had and I just wanted to expand it into a five pager. It was so stupid really…so I was amazed when it won! The concept was taken from the all-too-common visual of a generic pretty boy with leaves or petals blowing around his face, and hair akimbo; I just imagined that typical shot, but then panning out and the boy being stuck up a tree….*grin* Very silly and a little childish, but it made me giggle.
TH:You then began getting pro work for magazines such as Neo and Artist & Illustrator and then even table-top card game illustration such as Hero Card:Cyberspace -so did winning those competitions help or do you think you would have “gotten there” eventually?
Emma:Well, competitions are awesome experience, whether they be the deciding factor in your career or not. I had already picked up the Hamlet contract prior to the RSOM winner announcements, so the competition didn’t directly get me that job, but the experience of making the entry was invaluable. All recognition is good and so I’d recommend the competitions to anyone wanting to get a foot in! Actually, things come around, as the contract I’m just starting now has certainly benefited from RSOM in the long run.
TH:You have gone on to contribute to several tutorial and resource books including Digital Manga Techniques and Draw Manga and I know that you and Sonia [Leong] have been involved in workshops and so on -do you find this to be hard work or more fun?
Emma:Workshops are a great way of meeting new and upcoming artists and spreading the manga lurve. Sonia [Leong] and I have great fun when we present and always have a laugh. It can feel like harder work sometimes, yes - but I remind myself that what we’re doing in the how to’s and workshops is building foundations for future industry growth - it’s pretty exciting.
TH:When you talk at these workshops do you see some people who you feel have a great deal of future potential? I’m wondering,since you do the tutorials,whether you get the feeling that some of those attending fall into categories of “doing this for fun” and “I want to draw Manga professionally”?
Emma:You see some utter stars - seriously. Such young and talented people - you want to kill them all….
I’m happy to still see a lot of attendees who are mainly drawing for fun though. I think it would be sad if everyone drew purely to get into the industry - comics should be fun, first and foremost. Sometimes you see very young people (even 12 year olds) who are just starting out drawing and already talking about pitching here and there, and you just want to say ‘enjoy yourself, draw for fun. Think about careers later….’
TH:No worries about training future competition?
Emma:Not at all There’s room in this country for plenty more artists. I know that years down the line we’re going to see so much more talent pouring into the UK manga industry and I welcome it. If we were worried, we wouldn’t be spending so much of our spare time helping those up and coming artists. hehe. We’re building the foundations for a larger industry hopefully.
TH:okay,the one thing I have not asked is about the type of tools you use. I know you mentioned at the Bristol Comic Expo that you work on computer so I’ll come back to that in a moment. I’m assuming here that you originally drew using the traditional drawing pad and wondered what type of brushes or pens you used -or whether you had another preferred implement –and did you produce colour work before the computer?
Emma:Yep - I always used to work manually. I used to be a little too excited by the sight of a shiny new sketchbook and a sharp pencil. *shivers*.
I loved pencils, and still do. I also used to ink manually, using fineliners and occasionally tombos for blacks. I also play with dip pens sometimes, maru nibs mainly, just because they’re so fun!
TH:Being one of those old farts that loves the smell of India Ink,cartridge paper and smudgey-inked fingers,I have tried but never been successful at using the computer for my art,except for colouring. So,I’m very interested in how you discovered the drawing tablet and if you used traditional implements before,how working in both compares?
Emma:I saw my first graphics tablet on tomorrow’s worlds YEARS ago….and in a wayne’s world type revelation, I knew that one day I’d own one. Couldn’t have predicted going to
I used to still ink manually and used comicworks/photoshop for toning. Now though, I use manga studio for pretty much everything. Its pen options are wonderful, I love the inking. I never have to scan and clean up lines….it’s just wonderful. You can even pick your nib: G-pen, maru - just like in manual inking. So long as you have a good tablet, it’s well worth a try! 
TH: So,you have your script,do you do breakdowns or thumbnails on tablet or paper–and how detailed are these?
Emma:Depends on where I am these days. If I’m at home, I thumbnail in manga studio, if I’m out, I use a sketchpad. My roughs are somewhere between thumbnails and pencils, as I then go straight to inks, skipping out the neat pencils stage. It’s a fairly new method I picked up during Hamlet - as a way of trying to beat the clock primarily!
TH:Once you have done those thumbnails do you find that you start making changes as you go along [”No. No. It’ll look better if I swap the angle round here” type thing]?
Emma:Well, it depends on whether I’m working alone or for publishers. hahah….These days, I wait for feedback from my art editor before inking, but sometimes I might spot something myself and write to him going ‘aaaaah - that looks shit! Sorry!’. haha.
Generally, if I’m working free and easy, I’ll make changes as I go through the inking stage. Good old ctrl+Z.
TH:Having jumped ahead a bit there I ought to ask how long it will take to digitally ink a page –this is,as you’ll gather,a mystery to me! I pencil then ink pages so,at the risk of being asked “do you still have a gramophone,grandad” –how does it work?!
Emma:Hahaha - do you though?
TH:Er,I’d sooner not answer that but needles really are hard to get these days!
Emma:Digital inking is a lie in many ways. Some people think ‘ah, digital inking - that’ll be much faster’…NONONONO! Not true I’m afraid…I spend longer inking now than I ever did when I used fineliners. It’s too easy when working digitally to just say ‘oh, I’ll do that line again….and that one…and that page’. haha…
Still, if I’m working on a sparce-ish page, an ink job would take around 2 hours out of a 4 hour page process. It’s always hard though as it totally depends on the page….I’ve had times where i’ll spend four hours on one panel, other where I’ll knock out a five page in four hours.
I guess that’s the same for everyone
TH:When you work from your own script is it easier to draw the comic,because you wrote and can visualise it?
Emma:Hmm…good question. In some way yes, in others, no….Easier to visualise, yes - but my expectations are always higher as well, and I have no one to blame but myself if I’ve written something stupid. haha.
My fiancé, Andrew Ruddick, actually used to take my Dragon Heir text and turn it into script form for me, because I was too close to the story in many ways. Also because he’s awesome.
TH:The reason I asked that question is because I’m so old I needed to find a question to tie-in with this one! Seriously,though:you have just had a 200 page adaption of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” published by Metro Media. Now,some people are going to say “William Shakespeare…….MANGA??!!” but your story is based on the play and set in the future -can you tell me a bit more about it and how it varies from The Bard’s work?
Emma:Sure. In actual fact, it doesn’t vary a lot, in terms of language and story at least. Both my Hamlet and Sonia Leong’s Romeo & Juliet were edited by Richard Appignanesi - who’s fab. He had the ever so fun job of taking the four hour text of Hamlet and cutting it down to fit into a 200 page GN. However, all language stayed true to the original. We were keen to use the books as a platform into the full texts for readers, so we wanted to stay true to Bill’s vision.
I worked hard on trying to not disagree with, nor over-promote the vast amount of subtexts and theories behind Hamlet. After all, it’s a story that has been prodded over and over. It’s a human story through and through, and half of the battle for me was getting that across. Double meanings and unspoken thoughts - it was tricky!
Plus, my experience was marred slightly by firstly making the book in around 5 months alongside a full-time job, and secondly by contracting a viral illness which lasted almost for the duration. That was really fun! Paramedics at the house and hospital visits….and all the time drawing one of the most depressing and dark tales ever written. haha! Despite this though, I still maintain that I adore the characters of Hamlet, himself especially.
TH:Shakespeare will do that to you every time [sorry Will!] How long does it take for you to come up with a concept for a story and do you ever have to change the story so the page count matches the necessary page count?
Emma:Dragon Heir is my biggest and most complete story concept, and that took seven years! haha.
Otherwise a lot of my short stories are written to spec - ie, draw a 20 page comic. So I’ve not hit that issue.
So far, my contracted work has always been drawing someone else’s story - though I’m getting some input in my current project, which is really nice - so it’s not something I’ve had to worry about. I certainly wouldn’t ever change a story to accommodate page counts, just the way it’s told I suppose. It’s hard to say until I’ve been there I imagine.
TH:Will we be seeing more Vieceli work from Metro Media?
Emma:Oh, I imagine so. *winks*
TH:Darn publisher secrecy! One thing I learned from the Comic Expo panel is that the fact neither you nor Sonia being non-Japanese has altered the way Japanese Manga fans treat you. You draw Manga and that is it,yet I know “purists” who insist that “unless it’s drawn by a Japanese artist it isn’t Manga” and they get worked up about it! But there are a great many artists working in Manga who are not Japanese. Does this purist reaction ever baffle you?
Emma:Hahaha - great question! For years, all global manga artists have had to deal with the ‘but you’re not Japanese and so your work is not manga’ line. Kind of humorous in my case especially as I never intended to be a ‘manga artist’ as it were…my style was labelled that way and I can deal with that, but to then be told, ‘but you’re not Japanese’ is quite funny given that I wasn’t the one who called myself a manga artist.
Aaaanyways, as you say, the crazy thing is that the reaction you mentioned only ever seems to come from a small group of purist fans here at home, not from the Japanese themselves. A few fans still like to think of manga as meaning ‘Japanese comics’ as opposed to simply being the japanese word for comics. It’s all new still, so I guess the reaction is fair enough. We are finally starting to make people consider though - just because an impressionist painting is not painted by a French artist, that doesn’t mean it’s not really impressionist. Hopefully as awareness rises, so will tolerance. Honestly, these days we don’t see much negativity at all in terms of race, which is great.
Categorisation doesn’t help matters of course - and that’s the next conquest I think!
TH:When you go to
Emma:I’ll be able to answer this better in a month’s time. hehe. We’re actually off to Japan for a ten day tour in July, relating to Manga Shakespeare. It’s gone down so well there (still the english language version!), with coverage being offered from TV Tokyo and all sorts. We’re just over the moon; it’s very exciting and scary. I think that to many Japanese fans, a British artist drawing in a manga style is a huge compliment; like a Japanese band emulating brit-pop. I have no idea what reaction to expect over there, but the response from industry has been very encouraging.
For now, I think global manga must mostly be seen as quite a kooky and unusual thing for them…haha. We have a way to go, but it’s fun knowing that we’ve made a positive start.
TH:You are noted as being a key member of the UK Manga group Sweatdrop Studios -can you tell us about the group and it’s aims and your role in it?
Emma: Check out www.sweatdrop.com it’s a virtual studio that is in actual fact a group of twenty or so artists, based all over the UK, who self-publish comics. Still open to new applications; we’ve been around for five years now and have in that time progressed from simple folded/stapled comics right up to ISBNd, square bound volumes. It’s a passion thing. Sweatdrop isn’t about money (as we don’t make any! haha), it’s about the love of comics and expanding awareness of manga styled comics in the UK.
I’m one of the admin members (responsible mainly for large events and PR) and one of the longest serving members too…I’ve learned so much in the group! We all benefit from knowing we’re a team, but still each work on individual titles for the most part, so don’t lose our identity. It’s a hobby gone nuts! Sometimes I think we’re all crazy. haha.
TH:Badgers -why so funny??
Emma:BUAHAHAHA - they just are! The word is!
You know those road signs you get?: BADGERS!
They crack me up. I blame my friends at uni, as there were four of us who became obsessed with the word, even creating a joke radio program called ‘When badgers attack’.We wrote a drunken song about a scary badger…maybe one day I’ll share it with the world….hehhe
TH:Ooookay. There you have it,folks and I never even mentioned use of the ol’ badger hair brush for shaving! [Pre-electric razor days,kids].I’m guessing that you must be busy working on projects or there are Emma Vieceli projects about to be published? Be kind -what can you tell us?
Emma:Nothing about to be published I’m afraid (aside from the old material being recompiled in that Sweatdrop anthology I mentioned).
I was one of the artists for Ilex’s recent 500 manga characters source book, by sweatdrop - does that count?
I have a long slog before most of what I’m doing comes to light. I’ve just started on a new graphic novel contract; something very fun featuring hot latino sisters who have some quite unusual powers, and I have another book lined up when I finish that one. So it’s all go, but won’t be seen for a while! Workshops all over the place and the Japan tour are going to keep me busy in between pages. Oh, and I’m balancing out my comicking time at the moment with a spot of presenting for the new Anime Network slot on Propellar Sky 195. That’s very surreal! I’m having fun, but find myself waking sometimes and thinking ‘how the hell did I get here - what am I doing?’
TH:Ahh,but,Emma,Psychic Tel predicts a busy future! But I wonder if there is one special project somewhere in your mind that you have always wanted to do but haven’t either had the chance or time to get around to -or do you just take each idea as it comes?
Emma:You’ll laugh at me, but my little comics dream is to one day draw a Gambit story. heheh…it’s one of those crazy it’ll-never-happen dreams, but I think Remy is a wonderful, yet underused character who deserves more page time. He’s a classic shoujo bish - hahahah - so yeah, I’d love to draw him ^_~ I also want to get Dragon Heir done, I really do. I have several original stories batting around, but no time to pitch right now. Still, I’m making the most of the time and experience. It’s all good!
TH:And do you think that UK Manga publishing has a future either for original [translated] Japanese or home grown British Manga?
Emma:Oh totally! look around –there is a thriving market here already, and I don’t think it’s going to vanish. *waves a UK manga flag*
TH:Can British drawn Manga compete in the Japanese market?
Emma:I don’t think we’d want to. I love Japanese manga, I don’t want to see it diminish because of global manga…I want to see global manga alongside it, in the way that Korean manwha is now.
Can we do that? Yes..I think we can.
TH:And Korean Manhwa has some superb artists and there are a number of great airbrush artists among them!So,Emma,if someone said to you “I really want to draw Manga but can I make a living out of it?” how would you respond?
Emma:I’d say, don’t go into it with a view to make a living. Draw comics because you love them, because you can’t not draw them. Draw because you have a story to tell and you want to see it come to life….prepare yourself to do that for a good number of years for free…if a career comes out of that - you’re a lucky person, but I think that if you head into creative endeavours expressly to make money, you’re going to be disappointed. Of course, there are far more opportunities now than there ever were before, so never say never. But no matter how big the market, you need the passion first, I think.
I’d also recommend they enter competitions and get themselves to large events and forums so that their work gets seen and known.
Come say hi at Sweatdrop for starters!
TH:A good example might be Yishan Li [whom I interviewed for SBC]. It can take time or your art style could just “click” with a publisher. But drawing for fun and to gain more skills and experience is good! Now,this is the traditional “any final comments or words for fans or the curious reading this” question……
Emma:Waaaiii - I’m doing an interview for SBC; how did that happen? What happens when a fangirl goes pro? It’s scary! What to add here?…erm. I guess I should say that, to date, my crowning achievement in comics has been winning the small press superstar award in the Golden Champaigne Glass awards at Bristol. Thank you, thank you….hahah - Tony and Dan are superstars.As for words for the fans? oooh - At risk of sounding all serious for a bit, I guess that I do want to thank sincerely each and every person who has bought or commented on my work. I still feel like a fish out of water sometimes, and knowing that people out there are actually reading and enjoying what I do means more than I can say. Shoutout to my fellow sweatdroppers and my fellow engineers *waves* And of course to my ever-patient fiance…love yoooooo!I think that’s it…I wish I had something more important or ground-breaking to say…*ahem*
TH:Emma,my thanks and here’s hoping Hamlet is a hit -and that after this year’s awful weather and panel out-numbering the audience at the Expo you’ll come back to Bristol for 2008…please?
Emma:haha - that was fun, wasn’t it? And yeah - of course I’ll be back… I’m a raving fangirl after all!…badgers..*chortle**emma skips away with a flask of tea*
TH:My sincere thanks to Emma who I hope might be attending the November Bristol Manga convention? But check out the art and blog by Emma at:-
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ComicBitsOnline Interviews Emma Vieceli…
From ComicBitsOnline.com (via MangaBlog) comes an interview with Sweatdrop Studios member Emma Vieceli, a winner of Tokyopop’s first UK and Ireland Rising Stars of Manga competition….
[…] ComicBits‘ Terry Hooper interviews Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet creator Emma Vieceli. (Above: detail from a panel from Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet, ©2007 Self-Made Hero, I think. Link via Brigid Alverson.) […]
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