Many players are just happy with role-playing for a couple of hours. Some others go a little bit further, and enjoy meeting new friends while they play, creating gaming groups to have even more fun. Patrick, the artist we feature in our Spotlight, goes even further as, after enjoying unforgettable moments with his friends, he has gotten many laughs from his readers with the craziest and most politically incorrect characters: the Fuzztoons!
Hi Patrick, could you introduce yourself?
Well, my name is Patrick and I was born in Austria, although I currently live in Zaragoza, Spain. I have played role-play games since the age of 16 and I have tried almost every game. I like games in which you can interact with other people, and I actually buy only multiplayer games. Í have started to work as a professional artist recently, and I go to every comic event, to present my work and sign some issues for my readers. I like to define myself as a "graphical terrorist."
How did you know about World of Warcraft? How many characters do you play?
I have been a huge fan of Blizzard since the release of Diablo I. It has always been my favorite game company, but at the beginning I didn´t feel like paying the monthly subscription, hahaha… But then I realized that the subscription was actually cheaper than having a couple of drinks in a bar, so I just decided to buy the game. I had to try an online role-play game, as I was having more and more problems finding people to play pen and paper role-play games -- something quite common once your friends start working, getting married and all that. I have been playing World of Warcraft for more than two years, and I have eight Horde characters, all of them on an English realm. Me, my friends and girlfriend are in the same guild, of which I am the Guild Master: the Pompetukens!
What type of comics do you draw?
FanArt Contests
Patrick is well known for his great entries in many of our FanArt contests.
"I feel really honored. It´s curious… I took part in my first Blizzard contest because my girlfriend encouraged me to do it (that was the first contest in which I had one of the first prizes). Well, I wanted to draw something for her as present, so I started working on a picture of our in-game characters. I never expected to win, really, so it was a big surprise for me. After this one, I have taken part in many other Blizzard contests. "
I started drawing all kinds of comics, but all of them shared a common feature: humor. This is the easiest way of not becoming bored while I draw. My best-known characters are the Fuzztoons, a group of friends whose adventures in the different role-play games have been appearing in my comic books. In each one of those comic books I have made a parody of our favorite and more absorbing games, such as Lord of the Rings, Mordheim, Diablo I and II, Warhammer, Dungeon Keeper, etc.
My most recent project is "World of Fuzztoons," where my friends visit the lands of World of Warcraft. For the first time, one comic book hasn´t been enough to tell all of our in-game adventures, so I had split them across several comic books. In "The Curse of Dexterming," the Fuzztoons go from the "Earth in the Middle" to “Azkeroth”, and in the second book, "Party in Zul Farrak," the Fuzztoons visit one my favorite dungeons, carrying out a remarkable task of chaos and destruction. I have always liked the gore made with a good sense of humor. I´m now working in “The Vengeance of the Chachipirulis,” an Alliance guild which will have to face my friends.
How did you start drawing? Were you influenced by other authors?
Well, the beginning of my career was a little strange… let´s say that I didn´t know what to do with my life when I was 19. My only real expertise was role-playing games, as I really mastered all those games I had. In those days I used to buy many “rockabilly” and “garage” records and I discovered some violent and bizarre comics in the store where I normally purchased the albums. At this moment, I discovered that there were many other styles for comics, apart from humor comics and superheroes. In this respect, the artist who influenced me most was Ladrón. From that point onward, I started drawing my all stories, without taking any drawing courses or similar . Later, I discovered yet another author who really influenced me: Akira Toriyama (especially in the editions of "Dr. Slump”). Then I started publishing a “fanzine” called "El Hombre Mosca" ("The Fly Man"), of which we managed to release 22 issues. We dealt with all kind of topics in that "fanzine" without any kind of restrictions. For good or for bad, freedom of speech has always been a key factor in my work. Finally, another important influence in my work comes from role-play games, as the stories I created for my role games have been incorporated in my comics.
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What techniques do you use? What steps do you follow in your creative process?
Before I start drawing, I always try to find a good idea on which I can base my work… this is quite important to me. I want my comics and illustrations to have story, some "depth." Once all the ideas are clear, the rest is pretty easy. I use the traditional technique of drawing with a pencil and ink the silhouettes afterwards; and I finish the rest of the details using the computer. I normally work in small formats, normally in A4 (so I don´t have to do strange things with my scanner, hahaha…). As I have started drawing quite late, I just decided to learn “on the run” and I´m not used to making lots of drafts (and the few I prepare can only be understood by me...)
Do you know any other artist whose works are related to World of Warcraft?
Not in Spain, but I have read lots of very good and creative comics on the net. Many of them should be published on paper too.
Regarding illustration, what is your opinion about the current panorama? Do you have any favorite author?
I´m not really aware of what´s going on outside Spain, although I know that in France comics are published with care and dedication, and, when I asked in a store there, I discovered that in Austria most of the comics’ production is imported from Germany. In Spain things are going well, with more than ten important events about comics every year, apart from those devoted to Manga and role-playing. World of Warcraft has made itself a place in those events, and in lots of them you can see people with WoW costumes. The most impressive one was a guy dressed as… “Scarlet Crusade”
What advice would you give to those who want to start drawing?
Well, I would tell them that every dream can become true. It is just a matter of persevering. Your family will probably not understand it, but they must realize that there are many ways of living, not related at all with being a lawyer or a doctor.
Do you have any plans for the future?
I have always said that I want to be a “young offender” when I grow old, haha… Jokes aside, I would like to keep on drawing my Fuzztoon characters, because I really have fun drawing my friends and I want to introduce them to the general public. This is the best present I can offer them. I would like to finish a miniseries of 4-5 issues of “World of Fuzztoons," before making them travel to Outland. When I made a parody of Diablo, one issue was enough to tell everything, but the best thing about World of Warcraft is that there are too many things to tell, it is an endless source of adventures.
Finally, would you like to send a message to the World of Warcraft Community?
Let´s level up, guys!!!
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