Artist Ant Interviews People Summer Series #6 Avtar Durah 7/11/19

Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr 

Interviewee: Avtar Durah

Hey, Hey, Hey! Welcome to the latest entry of the Artist Ant interview People Summer Series. Today I've got a good friend and fellow artist as my guest today. Folks, please welcome Avtar Durah! *Crowd clapping as the rest of the viewers on the internet look at the screen in dismay as I make an attempt to do a live television talk show joke that just falls flat on its face.

On the real, Avtar is a fantastic illustrator that I've come to know over the past few years at Laguardia COmmunity College during out time as Fine Arts students. Since then we've remained in contact always checking on our progression in our respective crafts. I figured he was a great individual to interview for this entry. So, lets not keep you guys waiting. Here, we, GO!

Q0. Who are your inspirations?

AD:   This may seem like a simple question but on the flip side, I have soooo many! So to make it easy let me change the question: If I was left on a deserted island and could only choose 10 comics or mangas or art pieces, they would have to be from Jim Lee (at his prime: drawing X-men and Batman), Frank Frazetta (I think he has to be on people's top 10 list), Greg Capullo (his Batman comics just won me over to his style), Riccardo Federici (his Aquaman stuff was dope), Kentaro Miura (Berserk is life), Deng Zhihui (he is the artist behind the beautiful: Journey To The West manga; a must read), Boichi (the artist behind Sun-ken-Rock and Doctor Stone; two great mangas), Yusuke Murata (for his One Punch Man art, just amazing), and Hiro Mashima (I particularly don't like his characters, mainly because he rips off One Piece and the characters are shallow, but his sense and use of balck and white is amazing in Fairy Tail manga).

  

      Last but not least is the first king of comics Jack Kirby! in the beginning I didn't really like his art style, but as I learned more about art and the rate at which he produced artwork, I was just blown away, every aspiring artist should check out his work and read about his life story or just watch the youtube documentary as they are working on their art pieces. As an honorary mention,  I don't like this person's art style but his work is quite inspiring, that is the creator of Hunter X Hunter: Yoshihiro Togashi. I forgot one person and he is one of the most recent influencers, that is Yasuhisa Hara, the creator of the manga Kingdom, this is a mind blowing manga and a must read.

Q1. How did you get into art?

AD: I was always fond of doodling on my notebooks, whenever I was in class or at home, but never really developed or worked on my drawing abilities until I was in middle school. At that point I was obsessed with Anime, though I didn’t read any manga at that time. I lost count of how much anime I watched, from a variety of genres, non-stop everyday; before and after school. At that point I wanted to be an anime artist (not a manga artist), I wanted to draw anime and animate it so I began to practice drawing everyday after school as “I watched more anime”. After 3 years, I noticed no real improvement, my drawings were flat and I thought that was okay since anime is not a very detailed or realistic type of animation.

As I entered high school I was still doing the same thing, terrible flat and misshapen anime characters and some background drawings; with weapons here and there. Overall it was awful and at that same time I ran out of anime to watch and new seasons of those animes were taking too much time to come out. So  I did something that I hated and thought I would never do; I picked up a manga book and started to read. I loved anime because of the power it had with its animation (which the westeren animations lacked), but I thought reading from pages would take away from that experience, so at first I read a little and stopped for a while. I checked back with the anime updates and they were still months away, so I picked up the manga book again and began to read. This time however, I absolutely enjoyed it, it was amazing. With some careful inspections, I noticed that mangas were better than some of their anime counterparts; they had more power in each scene when compared. 

      After that I read about the same amount of mangas as I had watched anime at that point. When I graduated High School, I didn't know what I wanted to do, I had great grades and could apply for any good college but I really didn’t know what I wanted from life. So choose to go to LaGuardia Community College to save some money and find my path. Find my path I did, one night after college, I was surfing the web and I found a youtube, it was the song “Metropolis” by Owl City and I was blown away, I particularly didn't like the song as much as I loved the visuals. They were amazing (a villain and superhero fighting each other) and at that point I started to search for more of the similar artworks and found my path to comics. I loved black and white manga pages but color was just breathtaking from  these comics. So began to draw comics and noticed that my drawings were stiff and flat, when compared to comics, I needed to learn to draw from scratch and at that point I began to study Fine Arts and that's how I began my art journey. 

Art by Avtar Durah

Q2. When did you take art seriously?

AD: Truth be told I never took art seriously, until quite recently when I noticed that it was my 23rd birthday and I still didn’t apply for any comic companies or create my dream comics. I still wasn't a comic book penciler and at that point I swore to myself that this year I will become a comic book penciler or quit. I don’t want to have any regrets when I’m older but If I don’t push myself and work harder than others than those dreams will haunt me to my grave. I know it's not reasonable, and I won’t recommend it to others, but I have other passions and I work as a illustratrator and designer, so I won’t quit art but the dream of becoming a full time comic book penciler will be put to rest for some years. 

Q3. What drives you in your daily life?

AD: Hmmmm to one day, sit down, in my old age when I can no longer work, and see my dreams and imagination on thousands of published comic book pages.

Q4. What made you the person that you are today?

AD: Even for the short 23 years, it was a long journey, most of it I wasted (no way around that), but this time I learned and witnessed  so much, thanks to my parents. If you have nothing in this life but the love and support of your parents, I think that's enough. I may not have done anything of note up until this point, but because of them, I have great health, they always put me on the right path, guided me through my teenage years so well that; even today I don't drink, do duges, smoke, and  do night parties. I use my time wisely and strike to achieve my dreams. 

Q5.  If you could speak to any living creator or inspiration, who

would it be, why, and what would talk to them about?

AD: If I could talk to any animal, it would have to be either a Gorilla or Monkey. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to know how intelligent they are, without human interference. By talking to them I want to teach them how to read and write, do maths and science, and help them take over the world (planet of the apes), down with the humans. Humans are so overrated (lol), but it would be interesting if a new race of intelligent beings could be created by just talking to them and helping them understand, to break that nutshell they live in and grow; as our ancestors did thousands of years ago.

Q6. If there were any deceased creators , actors, singers, writers,

etc that you would want to speak to, who would it be, and why?

A6: It would have to be Robert Ervin Howard, I am really interested in Conan the Barbarian’s mythos. I want to know what came into his mind when he created this character and the world he lives in. It is different from the movies and many comic book interpretations, and seems more exotic, mysterious and filled with a sense of wonder. I sometimes think about the world Conan lives in and how it functions, not the bulshit version we have today, but his version, the original, and more info about its residents. 

Q7. If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

AD: Hmm, I would say Egypt, I just want to explore the pyramids and the ancient world. See the old human settlements, temples covered in hieroglyphs, meet people, learn some old costumes, and enjoy the experience of walking in the footsteps of the ancients. Also at night, pick up my shovel and go grave robbing in the valley of the kings Pharaohs, you never know what you may find. Then discover a mummy with all of its stuff and gold intact, slowly transport it out and put it in safekeeping for future generations or my retirement; if my funds run out early.

Q8. What is one thing that you fear?

AD: Absolutely everything and nothing at the same time. I fear (love) the creator and since the creator (our god has no gender, so I have to type “creator” instead of he or she; hmm it’s annoying) created everything, I fear (love) everything. But the  creator is love and so there is nothing to fear. On a different note, I look at negatives but that doesn't mean I ignore the positives. Fear as someone once said “is your limit, what you need to overcome”. 

Q 10.  If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

AD: Oh that's easy, I would wish for the ability to make people immortal, not just in body, but in mind and soul. That way they would not lose their way or mind a thousand years later. I would use this ability on my family and friends (after asking them), the hardest thing in life for me is to lose someone I love. So this power would be perfect for me. 

Q11. What catches your attention when you meet people?

AD: When I meet someone new, I don't judge the person, but I do observe small things, the way they talk, walk, and use intake other people's info. In this life, I do get mad but I don’t hate anyone, because I can see the world from their eyes using these methods. So what catches my attention the most is their “desire”, what they want from life, their passion for any craft or etc. That burns a fire in me and I want to know more, of how they got to that point and why they chose that path. I am curious by nature and this really intrigues me, I always want to know more about a passionate person, because he/she has caught a scent in the wind and now are chasing it blindly no matter the danger or result. 

. Q12. What is one word of advice that you would impart to your younger self?

AD: Three words: don’t waste time. It's the most precious commodity in the world and once you are past 18 or 20 years of age your body doesn’t have the same capabilities, and it's harder to work on your dreams; both physically and mentally.  

Q13. What are three books that you always remember or return to, and

why? How did they shape you?

AD: Instead of three books, it's actually 5 animes, Hunter X Hunter (2011 version), One Piece, Naruto, Hitman Reborn, and Fairy Tail. These five animes formed what I would call my base of imagination. I had just gotten back from studying in Indian in 2006 and that's when I began to get back into American society and culture, so picked up on rock’n roll, heavy metal, and anime. From all of those, these are the ones that gave me a set of tools to create my imagination and character and world building skills. All of my thoughts when it comes to creating stories, worlds, and style comes from these animes; a mixture of all of these became my style of creation. 

Q14. If you could continue or remake a movie, or franchise, what would

be your film of choice ?

AD: Star Wars. It would have to be Star Wars, rather there is no other choice. It has so much potential and is just being ruined by people who don’t understand the comics, books, the Star Wars Universe,  and its characters. I’m not shitting on the current creators of the movie but it lacks so much and in so many areas. They are doing a worse job than the prequels. Though out of the current Star Wars movies, my favorite was the Revenge Of The Sith (though the acting was terrible), this movie had great potential story wise and the best fight scenes. This movie would be the first one I would remake to showcase my point.

Q15.  If you were to make a film, novel, or comic book based on an

album, what album or artist would you pick?

AD: The album would have to be Walk Through Fire by The Everlove. In this album, there is one particular song that I really like and would love to make a film or comic book based on. That song is ‘I’m Dangerous”, and I see a lot of potential for this song, it has an open ended response; by that I mean that anything can be done with this song in a variety of ways. I just love the energy and motivation I feel when I listen to this song. Whether I am drawing, doing chores, or working out. It just pumps me us. Of course there are many others and this is by no means my favorite track but it just has a lot of potential. Another would be “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down; that song is just amazing. 

Q16. Who In this life, has motivated you to stay true to what makes you who are?

AD: I could say my parents, but they have helped me in a different way, so I can only say myself. I am my biggest critic but also my biggest fan. To me if you can not be true to yourself, than how can you be true to others. So in that regard I always try to stay true to myself, many times I fail, but the golden rule in life is to get back up and try again. Sorry is not an answer but just placeholder until you find the answer, with that in mind, I try my best to be who I want to be even if I may end up failing. 

Q17. Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?

AD: I see myself working on comic books at one of the two major companies,  or doing independent comics at Image but thats my dream, the reality is that I see myself pursuing design and Illustration as a career path. For what's required for me to work at Marvel or DC in 5 years is not being met and I need to work harder if I want to make that dream a reality. 

Q18. What are three albums or songs currently, that you listen to on

repeat? And why?

AD: The three songs I have listened to recently and on repeat are I’M dangerous, Impossible (abridged version), and Remember The Name. I am listening to all of these songs to get pumped, sometimes I need external energy to get moving on a project. It’s not hard to find creativity but the motivation needed to pursue it. We are sometimes scared of beginning a new project or  trying to finish one (which is very important and you should always do regardless of the outcome), you need a push because fear can eat at your motivation, so these songs help me get energised and high on my ego. This is like a mental steroid, but it wears off quick so you need a long term solution, which is a small creation book; where you can write down and draw your ideas. 

Art by Avtar Durah

Q19. What color speaks to you the most and why?

AD: The color that speaks to me the most is purple. Though my unconscious favorite color is navy blue. I just love purple because of its unique blend of dark and light. To me each color represents a sign, to me purple is darkness and when I think of characters (not evil) but shrouded in darkness mentally or physically, this is the first color I think of. It is also quite beautiful, it's the perfect blend of light and dark, the harmony between the two, like a yin and yang of colors.

Q20.What's one thing that you're proud of?

AD: I am very proud of my resilience, I have faced failure after failure but I never give up. This sometimes even surprises me. So I would have to say, even if you lose everything, never lose the will to stand back up, because that is what will keep you in the fight and assure your victory in the end. Life is not a race, so there isn’t just one winner, it's like a marathon, you have to cross the line to win, in this case patience and resilience is what helps us win.  

Q21. What is a mantra that you tell yourself?

AD: I really don’t have one, I don’t know if I need one. I just tell myself to work hard to achieve my dreams and if I don't succeed now there will still come a time when I can. But what’s important is to try, I even fail at trying sometimes but that's life and try to move forward instead of thinking about the failures only,I also  look at the positives; every failure is a lesson learned.