Morse's Plethora of Pictures, and Surfeit of Stories
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on January 23, 2007 Sign up now!
by Sasha Watson, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 1/23/2007
 First two illustrations from The Ancient Book of Myth. The next three are from Scrap Mettle. |
At the moment, he's working on three graphic novels and a collection of art by himself and colleagues at Pixar (on top of everything else, Morse has a day job at Pixar?) The Ancient Book of Myth and War, which is coming out in April, to be followed by The Ancient Book of Sex and Science in September. A collection of his own watercolors, Scrap Mettle, is set for July release, and Notes Over Yonder, a collection of shorts from Project Romantic and Afterworks 2, for September.
Kind of takes your breath away, right?
But the real value of Morse's work—as with any artist's—is in quality, not quantity, and a glance through any of his beautifully painted graphic novels, or a read through one of his stories—by turns funny, moving and startling—shows an overabundance of quality. PWCW spoke with him about his work and about how he keeps all those balls in the air.
PWCW: I know that you routinely self-publish books under your Red Window imprint, and that you're doing so now with Scrap Mettle and The Ancient Book of Myth and War. Can you talk about why you choose to put some books out on your own instead of handing them over to a publisher?
Scott Morse: I love being a control freak, and I love being in charge of my own destiny. I take each project one at a time, and based on the story, on the intent of the project, I try to produce the book in an environment best suited for the material. Books like Scrap Mettle, Noble Boy and the forthcoming Ancient Book of Myth and War are more personal, vanity projects, and it makes more sense to produce and publish these myself. It helps retain the unique character of the works on a personal level, as I can dictate every aspect of production.
PWCW: What makes these projects more personal than others?
SM: Noble Boy was about my mentor, Maurice Noble, and Scrap Mettle is a collection of more personal drawings from my sketchbook and thoughts on why I do them. The Ancient Book of Myth and War is a coffee-table book of sorts, an art book collecting themed paintings by other designer friends from Pixar—Ricky Nierva, Don Shank, Lou Romano, Nate Wragg and myself.
PWCW: Tell me a little about Magic Pickle. I know it first came out from Oni Press, that now it's being reprinted by Scholastic and that you're also writing two new Magic Pickle chapter books. How do the chapter books relate to the original?
SM: The chapter books are all new material, though they'll tie in to the graphic novel on a character level. The graphic novel will act as a sort of "origin story," with the chapter books expanding the world of Magic Pickle. There will be new villains, new friends for our main human character, Jo Jo, and of course original adventures with each volume. And plenty of food puns... the series wouldn't work without them.
PWCW: How does the process of writing a chapter book compare to that of writing a graphic novel? How different is it to illustrate a written story than it is to write the story in pictures?
SM: The process itself is very similar in the early stages. I tend to develop story lines in my head for months before writing a single word, or drawing a single drawing. In the case of the chapter books, I write an outline and work the kinks out with my editor, the brilliant Sheila Keenan at Scholastic, and from there I move on to writing drafts of a manuscript, chapter by chapter. I try to hold off on producing too much artwork until the story is close to locked, so the drawings all keep the same flavor. With graphic novels, once I have an outline, I move into a thumbnail phase, working out the visuals with the dialogue in a straight-ahead style. The final art is produced almost immediately after I've finished a thumbnail pass. There's much less editing as far as tone, because the drawings establish so much of the flavor, and I'm really the only person that can define that.
PWCW: You work in a wide variety of artistic styles. How do you decide which style goes with which story?
SM: I always do my best to make the visuals a subliminal commentary that will support the story. Soulwind was a huge experiment in that regard. It helped me not only round myself out as an artist but to play with pairing aesthetics to story. With Noble Boy I attempted to support the playful nature of Maurice Noble's life with a playful style that calls back to Maurice's own work. It all depends on the story. It's actually how I was trained by Maurice, to always let the story and characters dictate the setting, the shot or the color and emotion of the visuals.
PWCW: You work very independently—writing and painting your own stories—but also in collaboration, as in your work at Pixar. What are the pros and cons of each way of working?
SM: I enjoy both, for very different reasons. Working with another writer or artist gives a certain new perspective and helps me stay a student. I get to see how other people work and learn tricks I might not develop on my own. In animation, especially at a house like Pixar, I'm surrounded by so many talented storytellers that I can't help growing as an artist. Everyone around me is a fountain of amazing work, and I try to learn from them at every opportunity.
PWCW: And what do you get out of working on your own, besides just exercising your aforementioned "control-freak" tendencies?
SM: Working by myself allows me a freedom and a sense of accomplishment that I can't get anywhere else. It's all me, to stand or fall on my own, and it's exhilarating. It's my venue to put every skill in my tool belt to work, to put a real piece of myself out there for an audience. It's a creative outlet I need more than any other, to communicate and attempt to say things that no one else can, in a way that no one else can. Working independently is my proving ground, and it's the most challenging aspect of storytelling. There's no net. You learn more, and when it works, it's a much bigger creative thrill, because the stakes are higher.
PWCW: How many projects do you generally work on at the same time?
SM: I find that I've always got at least five different things going at different stages. I think it keeps me on my toes and helps me to resist stagnating, with both the writing and the art chores. If I'm losing my mind on one project, stuck on a story point or what have you, I can always jump onto something else for a bit, to help me stay fresh.
PWCW: What are the logistics of working on so many things simultaneously? How do you pull it off?
SM: I work on them in spurts, but sometimes two or three at a time, meaning in one day I may work on three different things. But I may also work solid on just one project for a week or two at a time, especially under deadline. It's hard, because I always try to put my family time first, and with Pixar, it makes these publishing projects even harder to find time to work on. I do work fast, though, and sometimes I'll get a few nights or a weekend day to myself to pump out a lot of artwork or script that I've been mentally planning and editing, and then I feel like I got something done. But when I go for days or weeks with no time for my private projects, I get extremely antsy. I need that outlet, and I'm glad it's always there waiting for me when I'm ready.
