antho ny francisco

“The general term for it is seaman”

Anthony reveals his US Navy role

You need to be a skilled designer, but know how to explain your decisions

Anthony Francisco is trying to find the words to answer this question: beyond top-notch art skills, what does it take to work as a vis-dev artist at Marvel Studios? “Kindness?” the Filipino says. “Kindness is too simple a word… Professionalism? No… respect – a respectful manner? That’s not it.” Anthony’s worked at Marvel for six years. He designed Okoye, Nakia and the Dora Milaje for Black Panther, Loki for Thor: Ragnarok, and Baby Groot for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Being a good at art is important, but not as important as you might imagine. You need to have ideas, but know how to see an idea through. You need to be a skilled designer, but know how to efficiently explain your design decisions. One word neatly sums up this side of the job: “Craftsmanship.”

Craftsmanship alone isn’t enough. A good craftsman will be replaced if they don’t have this other thing, this certain trait, this specific quality: “Personality,” Anthony says, but he’s not happy with that either. “The way you interact? Are you easy to work with? So, people skills, maybe…”

Fully formed worlds

As a kid in Quezon City, Anthony would avoid certain streets on the walk home from school because they were known as places where you might find dead bodies. Filipino dictator, Marcos, executed people without trial and dumped corpses where they would be seen. Art became Anthony’s escape.

He couldn’t play outside. He didn’t have toys. So he’d stay indoors and draw superheroes, cut them out, and use them as action figures. Five, six years old, a friend introduced him to Marvel comics. Hulk was a favourite, and X-Men, especially Wolverine. The big revelation was realising these characters lived in fully formed

mordo “This was one of my favourite versions of his costume. I was trying to show a sense of ancient wisdom, using the weaving to try to reflect that he’s a multi-layered and complicated character.”

Gladiator Hulk “Hulk was one of my favourite characters growing up. I had a lot of fun with this one, making the shoulder piece sing with a lot of Jack Kirby inspiration.”

Battle on the Ra inbow Bridge “This action scene was a complicated one. Producers needed to see how Thor would use lightning to battle Hela’s minions.”