ARTIST SPOTLIGHT | An Interview with Erika Schnatz, Issue #7 Cover Artist
Erika Schnatz is a doodler and designer who lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and the cutest (and least well-behaved) dog in the world. By day, she works at Image Comics as a production artist. In her free time she creates comics and illustrations. Every March, she runs a tournament of cuteness called Cute K.O.: 16 characters go head-to-head until a champion is crowned at the end of the month. It's fun. The Cute K.O. universe expands each year as new characters are added to the competition.
Erika’s work is created with a mix of traditional and digital tools; she tends to do most drawing and linework with pencils and pens before scanning a piece to be colored in Photoshop. Recently, she has experimented with Risograph printing and paint markers. She likes making things that are colorful, humorous, and a little weird.
Erika's work can be found at erikaschnatz.com and @erikaschnatz on Instagram and Twitter.
PLANET SCUMM INTERVIEWS ERIKA SCHNATZ
Planet Scumm: What current or recent projects are you excited about?
Erika Schnatz: I've started collecting a list of "Dream Dog" suggestions from people I know, and I'm planning on doodling some of the suggestions throughout August (and maybe longer than that if I feel especially motivated). They are wonderful to imagine, like a pocket-sized dog or a bioluminescent dog (great to take on camping trips!). I also plan on drawing a Dogbus, for people who think the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro could be improved if the animal was switched out. ;)
PS: In one sentence, describe your favorite artist without using their name.
ES: Multi-talented Disney concept artist who had an incredible eye for color and was a goddess with gouache.*
PS: If you could design the movie poster for any movie, what would it be?
ES: I am huge fan of anything The Lonely Island puts out, (Popstar is criminally underrated and everyone should go watch it) so my dream would be to work with The Lonely Island gentlemen on a movie poster for a live action/animation hybrid film. Maybe based on my Cute K.O. character, Grandpa Breadstick (Pictured below). My husband and I have built up a detailed and very bizarre backstory for Grandpa Breadstick, so it would be amazing to bring that character to life on screen with the help of my favorite comedy rap trio. Maybe it would be a photo-realistic depiction of Grandpa Breadstick with almost no explanatory text. It would be like nothing you've ever seen before, most definitely.
PS: In the inevitable war between robots and humans, what side will you take and why?
ES: I'm siding with the robots. Humans have done a great job of causing irrevocable damage to the environment, so I think it's time for someone (or something else) to take over and right this ship. And hey, in a robot-led society, I bet public transit would always run on time.
* Artist Revealed: Mary Blair
