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EUROPE'S MOST VISITED SF/F WEB SITE |
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Starring The Man With One Name
PB: First and most obvious, why did you choose to use a professional name rather than your own, and above all where did the name "Fangorn" come from? F: This harks back to when I was a spotty-faced teenage herbert at school. I guess it was an attempt on my part to appear more "windswept and interesting"! So basically I was racking my brain to come up with a distinctive "handle".
I came across the name "Fangorn" in A Guide to Middle Earth. I liked the sound of it and it's kind of stuck to this day. Occasionally art directors have mistakenly used my real name, and I've also been a "Fanghorn" from time to time. Only recently has Chris Baker been officially used — on my first picture book. The publishers preferred it! Ah well . . . PB: I've seen from prowling the art shows at conventions that you've got a tremendous, and loyal, fan following, and I've also noticed that you deliberately put on display, alongside examples of your professional work, some pieces that are more playful and "fannish". To what extent do you identify with fandom? F: To be honest I'm not really part of "fandom" at all — occasionally I'm asked do produce a piece of artwork for a con booklet or something like that, but that's as far as it goes, really. However, in '94 I was asked to be artist GoH at Albacon, where I was royally treated by the Scots up in Glasgow. That was a lot of fun, so if anyone fancies inviting me again . . .
I've been going to conventions, now, for 22 years — to show my work, obviously, but I love the chat, drinking and eating too! PB: Do you have any plans to take your art to conventions overseas, specifically to the United States? F: Yeah, that's something people have been asking me for years and I've not really been that interested — stupid really! However, from next year it's my intention to make time to "sell" myself much more in the USA. Not just at conventions but also in the publishing world. PB: Aside from your covers and illustrations, you're probably best known to the mainstream market for your spectacular art for the graphic novelizations of David Gemmell's Legend books. How pleased are you yourself with that work, and, if the same opportunity came along again, would you jump at it or would you think twice about repeating what must have been an immensely painstaking and time-consuming project? F: Actually from time to time I take a peek at that work — the first book, Legend, I'm not so happy with, but Wolf in Shadow bears up pretty well. I like the style and fluidity of the artwork much more.
The deadline for that artwork was very tight so I was producing a page a day by the end . . . It worked in my favour, in a way: the artwork is not too "anal"! There's also some nice storytelling in there — something that's very important to me. There's a lot of really nice art out there in comics but I sometimes think that area is somewhat suspect. You can get the impression that you are looking at a series of separate illustrations with no real flow to the story. Would I do it again? For a heckuva lot more money and time maybe! It's not high on my agenda of "things to do" at this moment in time. I'd certainly like to produce some shorter strips at some point — I've always wanted to do a take on Batman (who hasn't?). Also I think I'm always improving as an illustrator so it would be interesting to see what I might come up with. PB: Looking at your work, I've often found myself wondering if you've ever considered branching out into animation, or into concept art for the movies. Have you? F: I'm always after branching out into new areas, and films and animation are right up there. In 1993 my career went topsy-turvy with a call from Stanley Kubrick's office regarding his then current project AI. Oddly enough, this came about through Kubrick seeing a copy of the Legend graphic novel which he really liked . . . Obviously he saw SOMETHING in the artwork that he thought could be useful to him! So, to cut a long story short, I eventually spent over two years producing concept design for that movie. Working from home 9-5 I produced literally thousands of sketches and ideas for the movie. In fact, it became more than an illustration job for me — I was heavily engrossed in the look, feel and direction of what this movie might be. As we all know now, Kubrick went on to direct Eyes Wide Shut, which I also spent several months producing concept work for. I guess it was always Stanley's intention to come back to AI once that movie was completed, but unfortunately fate took a hand. I've read a lot of obituaries, seen interviews, etc., from people who worked with Kubrick, and always I've felt that I needed to say something too . . .
As an illustrator I couldn't have asked for more — he was a joy to work with in the sense that he gave me freedom to create and, even when it wasn't something he was really after, he was always inspiring and very complimentary. Also, in a world of mediocrity, sameness and commercialism, Stanley Kubrick was a real breath of fresh air. As far as animation is concerned, I was involved, if only in a small way, with the production of the Redwall animated tv series based on Brian Jacques' children's books. It was a desire on Brian's part to try to get the style of my covers for the book series across in the animated version. Quite difficult to do, really — I spent some time in Toronto working with the production team at NELVANA trying to get the series style. I haven't seen the finished product yet but have heard it looks pretty good. In both these areas — film and animation — I want to go much further: certainly more production design, but also I want eventually to direct. Illustration is just not enough for me so I'll be working hard towards that for sure. PB: What formal training did you have, and how useful do you think it has been to you? In the same vein, are there any other artists, inside or outside the field, who you think have particularly influenced you? F: The only formal training I've had was a year or so at art college, where I did Design. From there I went straight into a design studio, and stayed there for the next 12 years. During that period I continued to produce work on a freelance basis, but certainly design helped me become a better "visualist", so to speak — the way I compose a scene, etc. Also, the variety of styles I was forced to work in and subject matter I had to cover has helped me become quite a diverse artist. The artists I admire are too numerous to mention, really, but I reckon Patrick Woodroffe was the one who most affected me in my earlier years. I think we are all influenced by other artists in subtle ways though . . . although sometimes not always that subtle! For quite a few years now I've studied the work of the past masters — Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Boucher, Fragonard . . . there's quite a list. I'm still learning how to paint, I always say, and I can't think of better teachers. The skill with which artists from the past applied paint — use of colour, glazing, light, etc. — is unsurpassed. If I can grow towards having even only a small percentage of their skill then there's hope for me yet. PB: What is your favourite piece of your own work? And, if there's any particular one of your published pieces you wish you could do all over again, which one is it? F: In answer to the first question, there's a choice of two here. First is a personal piece — it's an angel picture called Willow that I produced during a time when I was doing mostly black-and-white concept work. It came out of frustration, I think. I kind of painted it in my head — visualized it over a period of days. Everything about it was there — when the time came to paint it, it just kind of . . . appeared. Definitely one of my "children" that one. I think it's the most beautiful of my paintings to date. I think in my personal work beauty is the thing I strive for most. The other is called The Cartoonist, a cover for a children's book by Betsy Byars. A boy sits drawing at his desk in an attic, surrounded by sketches, books and comics. It's done in a much more "painterly" fashion than usual and I love it for that, I reckon. Both these paintings hang on my wall at home. To be honest, I can't think of many pieces I'd want to do again! Obviously there are plenty I'm not that happy with and would love to "tweak" — some I'd want to "tweak" more heavily than others! There is one piece that's quite popular — an angel again — that I did back in the '70s that I'm tempted to repaint from scratch because the image is so strong but the execution could be improved on quite considerably.
PB: And, finally, do you have any exciting artistic plans for the future? F: Oh, loads of plans for the future — some big, some small. One in particular I can't really talk about at the moment. I have another picture book due out next spring that is my own concept — I'm hoping for great things with that. Some years ago I really got into etching — that's an area I'm really excited about again. At the other end of the spectrum, I shall hopefully be much more involved in film and tv. It's something I haven't really "attacked" seriously up to now, but recent events — some personal, some business — have really made me think much more positively about this next step. I'm keen to produce more personal projects as well, and to be much more in control of my own destiny artistically. I also think that creatively I've only been working at maybe 25-30% output. sI think if I can keep my health and sanity I hope to be producing some really special work in the next millennium! PB: Fangorn, thank you very much. A version of this article originally appeared in The Snarl, Paper Tiger's reader zine. Many thanks to Snarl's Editor extraordinaire, Paul Barnett (www.papertiger.co.uk), for letting us play with his prose.
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OTHER CONTENT - July 2003
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As
Fangorn, illustrator Chris Baker enjoys an enviable reputation as
a fantasy artist: not only is his art highly respected but he works
in a diversity of styles, so that one's never sure quite where his
puckish muse is going to take him next.
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