I do a fair number of posts promoting Kickstarters that catch my eye. Usually it’s about looking for value and quality among the many offerings. I can easily say the artwork for Grinidon caught my eye. It turned my head. It was magnificent. Get the picture?
I had no idea if it was digital or hand-done, and frankly for the first time in forever I did not care, it was…magnificent. And, I was lucky because the Kickstarter was a value too. I bought two copies.
I reached out to artist Erwin J. Arroza for an interview, and thankfully he was most gracious in accepting the invitation. Erwin shared a great amount of his work on various projects, with permission from the various owners. You can click on any image to view a larger version.
I cannot thank Mr. Arroza enough for this interview. The honor, sir, is entirely my own.
Moby’s! – You’ve been working on this book for a while, how does it feel to have finished the artwork for it?
Erwin – Finishing Grinidon is somewhat a bitter sweet experience. I just wrapped up all the artwork last week and I’m already missing the late nights and the early morning work. Grinidon has been such a positive experience for me as an artist who has been striving to break through the industry. Jeremy has been an inspiration and a huge blessing. It has been a privilege being part of such a wonderful vision.
The artwork for Grinidon is stunning. Is this your usual style and how did you develop it?
I’m still new at this. I still think that I’m in the process of finding that right kind of ‘style’. However, there is something organic about rough pencils and grey tints that goes together with the sepia look. Grinidon is raw and I personally believe it’s one of its strong points….I thought the look should complement it.
The look certainly does go well with the genre. Will you continue to develop this style on more projects in the future?
I guess it just depends on the project or genre.
How challenging is creating the look for the book you are working on?
I think one of the best and most challenging parts of production, developing the whole look for the book. At this point I’m still very much flexible in terms of style. I have only started doing comic book illustrations fulltime recently. Most of the other projects are either been shelved or have not been released yet.
If you do ‘break through’, where would you like your art to take you?
I’ve always been fascinated by the superhero genre. I think most comic book artists are aspiring to get their hands on established characters and put their own stamp on it. There’s something about getting the chance to do it your own way, so yeah, I would love to work on superhero book. However, I do also recognize the fact that this is a fulltime job for me so at this point, I cannot be picky. At this point, I work at home. I share the same room where my young son River does his homeschool, so as long as the project is something that is not too dark or not too risqué with good story I’m on board.
What would you consider to be your ultimate dream project?
I am a Christian by faith and that being so, I know everything I do I owe to God. So if I get to the chance to do something at my own choosing…I would love to work on something that would speak about my faith…whether it’s straight biblical or something that speaks out positive inspiration to the readers. I think that would be a great project.
I’d like to thank Mr Arroza again for giving this interview.
His latest work is available via
Grinidon is available right now as a digital pdf file, with physical copies shipping very soon.
The following page contains a brief exhibit of Erwin J. Arroza’s portfolio. You can click on any picture in this article for a larger image.
Erwin is available for projects, or by commission.
From Last Sentry’s “The Stalker” And “The Standing Seven”
I think kickstarter was an amazing venture. What is more amazing to me is the “random” support people find! It is awesome! 🙂
Fantastic art!
Indeed!