Interviews

It’s been two months since we released the complete edition of Samurai Chef out into the wide world. The response has been great since its debut at Hyper Japan and the book has since been picked up by Orbital Comics, Petit Miracles Hub and the Prince’s Trust Tomorrow Store.

You will also be able to get your hands on our new manga book, plus the Collectors edition at the London Anime and Gaming Con, February 7th-8th.

Before our first event of the year comes along, we want to take a moment to look back and give you an insight into the making of the book by talking with the people responsible for putting it all together.

This week we’re talking to the illustrators on the book starting with the person responsible for bringing the characters and the book to life, Pinali:

Which part of the book did you work on?

I was responsible for the majority of the artwork in the book, which means character design sheets for every speaking character, translating the provided script into a comic layout, sketching, inking, shading and lettering/sound effects for each individual page.

I also did the cover artwork and illustrations for most of the promotional materials, like the Kickstarter rewards!

What was your highlight during the process?

Probably reading the script for the second half for the first time and getting to see how it ends and begin visualising in my head how I’m going to get it across in image form.

What was the biggest challenge for you?

I’m a huge perfectionist, so if a drawing isn’t coming out just right I have the bad habit of redrawing it over and over until it does, which can end up cutting into time I should be spending, say, eating, for example. This happens quite a lot, so I’d say that was the biggest challenge; overcoming those perfectionist moments and realizing that what I think is imperfect probably looks fine to just about everyone who isn’t me.

What do you hope readers will take away from Samurai Chef?

I hope it gives them some laughs, mainly, and that the characters will stick in readers’ minds for a while. I really think the characters are one of the strongest points of the book. I love them all.

Who is your favourite character in the book and why?

Probably Jimi; I love how passionate he is about what he does. Kamu is a close runner-up. He’s just so serious about beating this monkey! It really seems to offend him that the Samurai Chef is a monkey for some reason.

Who has been your most inspiring illustrator?

Bill Watterson; I often find myself using techniques I learned at the age of 8, looking at Calvin & Hobbes strips, and it’s probably my biggest inspiration when it comes to having that life and visceral quality in my drawings.