Artist in Residence: Terry Dodson

Light room The US comic book artist and penciller takes us around his rural studio, which he shares with his wife Rachel Dodson, who often colours his art

This is my full-time studio that I share with my wife and co-worker Rachel Dodson. I’ve worked in this rural location for well over a decade, although I also have a studio in the city of Florence, Oregon, that I use for the occasional human contact and tech advice. It’s always helpful to have an answer to a tech problem…

The studio is in my home, which is convenient for commuting and for the cats. It’s over 300 square feet in size, has a high ceiling, and has north- and east-facing windows, which enables me to watch birds nesting in the springtime. The space itself is open and roomy with lots of natural light. It’s a space I enjoy being in.

The studio is on the top floor of my house. I like it being upstairs

The north- and eastfacing windows means I can watch birds nesting

because I get extra exercise every time I want to take a break: I need to go down a minimum of two flights of stairs to go anywhere! I have a second studio in the basement, which I use for painting and storage.

I’ve been working for myself for over 25 years now and so my working day is structured and organised. I paint pretty religiously between the hours of 9am and 12pm. I’ll take an hour for lunch and try to get some fresh air if the weather is decent. It’s back to work from 1pm to 4pm, then I’ll exercise outside if possible and at the gym if not. Then we prepare dinner. I’m back in the studio from 7pm to 9pm Monday through Friday, and 9am to 12pm most Saturdays.

I generally begin the day by responding to emails and social media until 9am, and then illustrate for the remainder of the time, only tackling emails and social media as necessary. I try to limit my next session on social media until after lunch and then before I work in the evening.

I mute my phone and computer so I can’t hear messages and emails coming through. However, I generally have some kind of sound in the background – mostly music, but it can

I get extra exercise every time I want to take a break: I go down a minimum of two flights of stairs to go anywhere!

be the radio, a podcast, a sporting event that I’m interested in, a film or TV show. I also like having commentaries from films or other media playing in the background.

Up on the walls are some original artworks from my favourite artists, which is inspiring to look at when I need a mental break. I have a number of books, comic books, toys, statues dotted around the room, files for storing art and a leather chair to sit and relax at. I draw at a seated table and I do all my digital work (scanning, colouring and design), emailing and web surfing at my standing desk.

Terry is known for his work on Harley Quinn, Spider-man, Star Wars, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and X-men. His wife Rachel inks his artwork. Terry’s creating his own graphic novel series Red One with writer Xavier Dorison and the upcoming Adventureman! with writer Matt Fraction. See his art at www.terrydodsonart.com.

Our studio is located in a rainforest region of Oregon, so we have plenty of natural scenery – right out of our windows! I had initially used my Wacom Cintiq like my Wacom Intuos tablet for 13 years – looking at the computer monitor as I worked. But one day the monitor failed and I had to quickly learn how to colour directly on the Cintiq. I also had to learn how to work at a standing desk, which I had set up just after the holidays and then had an assignment due.

Art Adams’ Mojoverse stories and Jim Lee’s X-men run were two of my favourite works growing up, so it was a treat to draw them together for a series.

The scarf came from a football match in London; the green Australian Secret Service hat was a gift. Iron Man’s helmet is an actual cast of the film version that I received as a gift from someone working on the film’s production. Prelims from Dean Cornwall for a mural, Black Cauldron character designs by Mike Ploog and a Maleficent line drawing from Sleeping Beauty. A trolley holding works in progress, my outdoor sketchbooks, a watercolour travel kit, and recent issues of Love and Rockets. I used this Sideshow Rogue statue to help with the Mr. and Mrs. X covers I did for Marvel. This is Chubs reclining in the leather chair. Cats are a big part of our life – they are such beautiful animals to study and draw. This is a pillow my brother picked up for me in Croatia, because it reminded him of Pinky, my recently deceased cat.

I learned to draw standing at an easel, so I’m most comfortable doing my professional work that way. However, with the precision you need for comic work you need to work sitting down. Early in my career, I found this desk that enables me to work at an almost 90 degrees. And I can change the desk’s angle to be between 60 and 90 degrees to suit the task in hand. Having a real object to look at helps me solve problems while drawing comics, which are produced out of my head. See the dichotomy? I also get hired to design toys and statues, which is great – and a little weird – because my reference is based on my own drawings. I love Bernie Fuchs’s work, especially his landscapes. There’s a lot of stuff in his work that I recognise in how I was taught to paint – the burnt umber underpainting, the impressionistic use of colour – so it’s a real pleasure to be able to study from an original work.

Initially, I used this small mirror for looking at myself for expressions and reference. Then came the digital camera and now the phone. But I still use it for reference that’s facing the wrong direction: a left-facing face when I’m drawing a right-facing face, say. I still use a light box – specifically this light and bright Huion LB3 LED Light Pad. I don’t use it to trace, but rather to look at my work backwards and correct it. I learned this from the comic artist Chris Sprouse at the beginning of my career and have done this ever since. I do this all the time in Photoshop as well. Buckaroo Girl by Olivier Vatine. Olivier is an amazing and influential artist and his footprint in bandes dessinées is still felt today. We worked together in the 90s on a Star Wars project for Dark Horse and I learned so much by looking at his work. Oooh, the thing in the basement. I knew this cover was all about the light of the flame – and it works for the most part – but I’m still not happy with the shadows.

Here, I had to figure out Wonder Woman’s costume and really work to make it a piece of art that I was happy with. These are the same basic drawing instruments I’ve used my entire career, give or take the odd update from the manufacturer. I developed some repetitive stress problems early in my career and one of the best ways to avoid it is by taking regular breaks. A timer reminds me when to go for a walk. Take a break – your body will thank you!

I chose this space in my house to work for its light and openness. Indeed, I have to close those blinds if I’m doing computer work during the first half of the day, so I really try to colour early and late. This turned out exactly how I saw it in my head which is always a treat. I drew the first story of Captain Marvel so I always enjoy getting another chance to illustrate the character. I love books. I grew up with them all over in my house. I started working before everything was available online and so I had to buy books that featured the reference I needed or the artist who I was into.