EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW !

INTERVIEW WITH EMILY WARREN
RAGING CHEETAH PROUDLY PRESENTS AN INTERVIEW
WITH HOT, RISING ARTIST EMILY WARREN

April.12.2008
By Andrea Randall
Staff Writer

RC: I understand you attended the Illinois Institute of Art. Please tell us a little about your background. How did you get started in art?
Warren: Yes, I got my BFA there with an emphasis on Media Arts and Animation. Halfway through school I realized I wanted to be an illustrator instead of an animator but it seemed a little useless to switch schools at that point, so i just finished out my degree. I've been drawing for as long as I've been able to, really. I remember art always being a big part of my life even when I was young. I just really liked doing it. I started out using markers and colored pencils but by the end of high school I started using Photoshop, and all through college I did that as well.

After I graduated I was kind of lost. I'd always admired comics and Japanese manga but I never thought I'd be able to make a living doing it. By chance that summer I attended Wizard World Chicago. I got really lucky and met a few people in the business who'd seen my stuff online (Christina Strain, Chris and Justin Copeland). They were really sweet and took me around to meet some editors. I still feel very blessed that I was able to meet them.

RC: If you could do a jam piece with four of your favorite artists in the world, past and present, who would they be?
Warren: Alphonse Mucha, Chiho Saito, Hyung Tae Kim and CLAMP. I'm a big art nouveau/girly comics fan.

RC: Your "Cinderella" cover, featured on the Wizard World Los Angeles (WWLA) edition of Grimm Fairy Tales #2, produced by JAY COMPANY COMICS, is absolutely breathtaking. Can you share some insight on how it came about? How long did it take? What inspired the image?
Warren: Well thank you! Of course JAY COMPANY needed a really sexy but beautiful girl. I wanted to do something interesting with her design so that she was hopefully a little more than just a pin-up. The image took about a week from start to finish, from the pencilling to coloring and producing two versions, the original and the alternate. For this one I think I pulled a lot from the movie Ever After in the interesting designs for Cinderella's outfits. It pushed me to try something a little different from the traditional Cinderella.

RC: Our senior editor knows from personal experience that it is TOUGH to grab a spot on your commission list! What's the best way that someone can make sure he gets on the list in the future?
Warren: Haha, whoops, sorry about that!! The best way to get on my list is to show up on Friday or early Saturday at a convention, usually my list fills up pretty quickly and I end up having to take a few pieces home. I don't do commissions outside of conventions anymore though, I just don't have the time anymore unfortunately.

RC: Where can we look for your work in the future?
Warren: I'm working on more covers for JAY COMPANY right now, a cover for Witchblade, and I've also just started as a colorist for MARVEL.

RC:Thank you!
Warren: No, thank you!

[EDITOR'S NOTE: You can find Emily's original "Cinderella" piece listed on Comic Art Fans here, courtesy of AKA Rick.]