I caught up with my frequent collaborator Hassan Godwin, co-host of the Secrets of the Sire and Rogue Wav podcasts. Aside from being an outstanding talking head, Hassan is also a super talented digital artist – which you knew if you looked at the gorgeous cover of issue #5!
1) What was the inspiration for the Samurai Sire/Phazer cover?
It was time travel and an eastern motif, so we went with Samurai. I really love the snapshot of Kenada (of Akira) in the opening shot of the motion picture. It’s been my social media avatar for YEARS now. It’s really wonderfully cinematic and subtly mysterious. Introducing a character from over their shoulder ALWAYS works for me; you just have to be cautious you don’t do it too often… 😒
2) What is your process like when creating Digital Art?
I use a million (not that many) elements in producing a piece, it’s like tossing it all on the table and slowly eliminating a color from the pallet one at a time until i’m satisfied with the outcome. Which means sometimes it takes a while. 😉
3) Because of AI art, many actual digital artists have been accused of using AI art. Is that a concern for you these days?
The whole subject is a concern, the rhetoric behind it, in front of it, all around it, has been less than pleasant. I get it’s an innovative tool, but you must blame the bad discourse surrounding it on the roll-out. It came screaming out of the gate in this really dodgy “ethics be damned” manner, and whenever you do that, there’s a powerful backlash. Who knows where it’ll end?
4) Who are your favorite superheroes/superhero books?
First and foremost, I enjoyed Spider-Man, both Peter and Miles. Then, I enjoyed X-Men. I really enjoyed Claremont and Alan Davis’ Excalibur back in the day.
5) What are you working on these days (that you’re allowed to share 🙂 )
I’m working on a new indy project with Dan Gotlieb, too hush-hush to talk about for the moment. And then there’s quite a few other things that will be revealed later this year! 😉
►The SIRE Continues Past Lost in Time
Right now you can PRE-ORDER the next two issues in The SIRE Saga in PREVIEWS: The Sire #6 (MAR241531) features art by yours truly and a cover by Tony Donley and The Sire #7 (APR241437) features a cover by Victor Dandridge Jr. with art by Soussherpa and colors by Daniele Caramanico.
You can order a digital download of the issue here. Or check out our store for any back issue you may have missed below:
