Tim Probert
I came across Tim’s work through The Ballad of Bea and Cad, a 5-minute cartoon pilot that he created with Nickelodeon. It’s fantastic. (I thought the needlefish darts were quite clever.) Unfortunately, it didn’t get made into a series. Then a few years later, I saw that Tim was making a graphic novel from that idea called Lightfall.
I bought it when it came out and loved it. The artwork is gorgeous and the characters, story, and world-building are wonderful. A second book followed a few years later continuing the story with things taking a turn for the worse for our heroes. The third book comes out in two weeks and I can not wait!
Tim has illustrated several other books and is also an art director at Nathan Love Animation Studio.
Why comics? (What compels you to create in this medium?)
Comics have an immediacy and connection that I really love. If you can imagine it, you can put it on the page, not only in words but also in pictures. And all of that imagination and story and characters gets squished down into a book that you can hold in your hand, toss in your bag, put on your shelf. There are no limits on what you can create and the stories you can tell. It’s as close as you can get to drawing something on a piece of paper and handing it to someone for them to experience. I also work in animation, which I love. There are things in animation that you can’t quite do in comics, and vice versa. But, with animation you do have so many levels and steps and teams and budgets and approvals that a project goes through before ending up on the screen. There’s some of that in comics, but the journey from the creator’s brain to the final book is very direct and I find that really exciting.
What is your favorite part/step of the process?
This may be a lame answer, but I do really enjoy every step of the process. For my Lightfall books, I do just about everything from the script to the pencils, inks, colors and lettering. Writing the script, everything is so open. And it’s just words, so it feels very easy to throw stuff out and try new things. But then drawing the pages, everything I’ve been thinking about starts coming to life. And when coloring, things really go to a next level, and I finally get to paint lighting I’ve been thinking about for months. But also, there’s a point in every step where I kinda wish I was doing a different one. Work on the script for too long and I am itching to start drawing. Deep in drawing, I miss the days of writing when I could just type words. It’s all a balance and each step helps and informs the others.
What was the book or comic that you fell in love with when you were a kid/teen?
When I was a kid, I read a book called Dinotopia by James Gurney and it blew my mind. It’s a large format book that is filled with these beautiful paintings that look like golden age illustrations, but of dinosaurs. The story is about a father and son shipwrecked on a secret island where dinosaurs didn’t go extinct. The book is actually supposed to be the father’s journal and it feels like you are exploring this world with him. There are so many wonderful details like maps and a dinosaur alphabet, and little nooks and crannies to discover. I pored over that book until the spine fell apart. That was the kind of book I always wanted to make and the feeling I hope to capture in my work.
You can find Tim online at:
https://timprobert.com/
And check out that pilot. Effectively the best book trailer ever made.
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