Tim Townsend
Past Committee Member 2008
WHO I AM
I was born in Peoria, Illinois in January of 1970. I was adopted at birth and immediately moved to Cape Coral, Florida. I’ve been in Florida for most of my life since, currently Orlando.
My very first exposure to comics thus, comic art, was when I was 4. My dad took me by a 7-11 and I noticed a comic book rack filled with those plastic bagged 3-packs. I took my chances and ended up with an old Charlton E-MAN comic by Joe Staton. I thought it was pretty cool but what really lit my candle was the 7 page ROG 2000 back-up story by John Byrne. This was one of John's earliest gigs'. I honestly don’t know what it was but I was literally hooked on John's art from the moment my young eyes beheld it. Even at that early stage of his career his work had something special in it that just grabbed me. It might as well have been heroin. I was hooked. From that moment on I decided I wanted to draw. Not only that but I wanted to draw comic books like John Byrne! I began collecting comics to find more and more inspiration. Some other early memories are of P.Craig Russel's KILLRAVEN work, Jack Kirby's classic MARVEL stuff via pocket comics and trade paperbacks, Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, Frazetta and, VERY importantly, John Buscema's HOW TO DRAW COMIC THE MARVEL way. Once I eventually got my hands on that treasure I was off to the races. I still have my original 1st printing hard-back. All the pages are embossed from years of me sitting there with a pencil and tracing paper, going over each and every detail of each and every page. Yeah, I started out tracing.....how ironic.
MY INFLUENCES
I won’t say John Byrne, I won’t say John Byrne. Ok....other influences are Michael Golden, Walt Simonson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Joe Madureira, Chris Bachalo, Ashley Wood, George Bridgman, Jeffrey Jones, Barry Windsor Smith, Mike Mignola, Windsor McKay, Bruce Timm, Arthur Adams, Terry Austin, Scott Williams........I could go on for hours. In the early part of my career I’d have to say that my biggest influences were Dan Panosian and Art Thibert. Dan is the guy who got me my assistant gig and the one who really trained me. Arty was there as well showing me the ropes. The three of us shared an office for a while and I would just sit there in the corner at my table and TRY to do as I was told. Two better teachers a fledgling inker couldn't hope for.
At this point in the game, I think my biggest inspirations are Scott Williams (the one and true king!), Klaus Janson (still beyond my abilities), John Dell (pure butta'), Joe Weems (pure fun), and Al Williamson (pure freedom). I pride myself at this point on not being tied down to one style. I rarely ink two different artists exactly the same way. I like to be as versatile as possible but there are still some things I can’t do as well as others. I’m influenced by a wide array of people. Some of this inspiration finds its way in to my work while the other feeds my hunger.
MY ADVICE
Go to college, get an education, and learn how to draw. Don't put all your eggs in this basket because, chances are, you wont make it. That's the cold, hard fact of the matter. Have an education to fall back on, a Plan B if-you-will. If you're insane enough to pursue it further, be prepared for a lot of criticism and LISTEN TO IT! Keep your ego in check and realize that no one cares who you are, only what you can do. This market has a surplus of talent and a shortage of projects. You're going to be competing with seasoned pros', some who have been doing this for decades, for the same jobs. You must be better or at least more marketable.
Inkers especially need to be on their toes. Learn what the heck inking is. Learn how to draw. Anyone who thinks inking is a job for failed pencillers or an easier route to go hasn't got a clue and probably won't have a prayer.
It's a tough business to be in. I suppose if you have what it takes; you're insane to begin with and will probably do your own thing no matter what I say. Go with that.
