Marvel Comics artist Marko Djurdjevic, whose portfolio of comic book covers brims with richly detailed, digitally enhanced superheroes, once despised the type of computer-aided imagery that's made him an in-demand artist.
"I was a huge traditionalist and digital hater until about four years ago," Djurdjevic told Wired.com. "Now I think about it completely the other way around. The computer is a medium, just like oils, acrylics or crayons. It's powerful, but without the artistic mind behind it, it doesn't do anything for you."
The Berlin-based artist's painstakingly painted covers of The X-Men, Daredevil, Thor and more are collected in the deluxe landscape art book The Marvel Art of Marko Djurdjevic. Released Wednesday, the handsome $50 book showcases Djurdjevic's skillfully straddling of the line between hand-painted and digitally drawn art.
He begins with a hand-drawn image, which he scans and embellishes digitally before reaching his final copy. Making extensive use of contrasting patterns, he uses conflicting colors and theatrical poses to catch readers' eyes. His hybrid approach is a refreshing antidote to the generic-looking computer-generated art that graces the covers of some modern comics, making old-school fanboys wistful for the pen-and-ink era.
"I think the general dislike towards digital art stems from the fact that it's still a very young medium," Djurdjevic said. "But you cannot judge a medium by the amount of people creating bad art with it."
These days, it's getting almost as easy to spot a Djurdjevic cover as it is one from the mighty Alex Ross or any of comics' other shining art stars. Djurdjevic's come a long way in a short time. Born an ethnic Serb in a small German town at the end of the '70s, Djurdjevic used the internet to quickly become one of the new millennium's finest comics cover artists.
"It amazes me to this day how fast everything came together," said Djurdjevic, who's now a married father with a new studio.
Inspired at an early age by everything from Spider-Man to He-Man, he wasted little time establishing himself as a standout artist and illustrator for concept-art studio Massive Black and online art community ConceptArt.org. That's where Marvel Comics took notice of Djurdjevic's hastily drawn but nevertheless impressive X-Men drawings.
"I was blown away," said Chris Allo, Marvel's editorial talent coordinator, in a press release for Djurdjevic's giant-size book. "Even though his digital painting process was new to many in the industry, he won over anyone on the fence once they saw his X-Men: First Class covers."
Djurdjevic's Marvel art book is a product of his strong work ethic and his mastery of his craft.
"This is a huge body of art that I slaved over in many sleepless nights," the artist said. "So I wouldn't necessarily call it speed; my work has more to do with confidence and a lack of second-guessing. Usually when I sit down to paint something, I have a clear idea of what it's supposed to look like, so I don't lose too much time sketching and doodling. I go straight for the final."
Weened on Marvel Comics, Djurdjevic says he's got no plans to work for the publisher's biggest competitor, DC Comics.
"I am pretty much a Marvel guy, since that was what I grew up with," he said. "I barely ever had contact with DC's characters and I'm not too interested in them today, either. But I also don't care as much about working on any of the excellent Marvel characters. I am as happy painting any no-name hero as I am painting the Marvel flagships. It really comes down to enjoying the process of the work itself. For me, a comic is soulful when the creators are soulful."
See also:
- Strange and Stranger Salutes Spider-Man Artist Steve Ditko
- From Batman to Incognito, Ed Brubaker Loves the Ultraviolence
- Legendary Comics Writer Alan Moore on Superheroes, The League and Making Magic
- Video: Dave Gibbons on the Secrets of Comic Art
- Archaeologizing Watchmen: An Interview With Dave Gibbons
