Neil Slorance, Glasgow's comics extraordinaire.
We've been fans of Neil's work since the beginning of SGC (maybe because he was one of our biggest fans, thanks Neil <3) so it seemed fitting to feature him as our first artist for our monthly spotlight. Neil's work has an unmistakable charm, even when dealing with more complex issues and that's one of the reasons we wanted him to make our first limited edition product.
So what's he made?
It seemed fitting to get Neil to make a comic for us, his series Dungeon Fun has become a really popular comic series and his smaller comics resonate so much with us, we liked the idea of him creating his own Sad Ghost Club comic. And we were not disappointed...
Isn't it beautiful? It's so perfect for sad ghost club, we absolutely love Neil's own little ghost (especially his little arms!!) and we're over the moon about it.
You can purchase this a4 print here.
Questions, Questions and more questions
1) What's your favourite fictitious Ghost from popular media?
I don’t know if I’m showing my age here but I really liked a kids puppet show called ‘spooks of bottle bay’ about ghosts that haunted a town inside one of those bottle ship things. It also had a killer opening song.
2) What's the best item in your pencil case?
That’s a toughie! I’ve got a really nice big brush pen I love using. There’s something about making big black swooshy strokes that’s really satisfying.
3) Paint? Pencil? or Tablet?
All of the above. It just depends on what I want the picture or comic to look like. My Sad Ghost Club strip for example was drawn with ink (my big swooshy pen) on bristol board and then the colours were done in photoshop through a tablet. Although sometimes I’ll do things all in paint or all digital.
4) What's your go-to motivational album?
It’s a bit nerdy but I’ve got an album of orchestral Zelda music I really love that gets me pumped up for making stuff, i’ve used it on many an all nighter.
5) How would you describe your work? Are there any common themes?
eeerm kinda cute I guess? In my own comics I’d like to think there’s a human element running through them. Like little bits that are slice-of-life, maybe melancholic in parts but relate-able and honest.
6) What’s your proudest piece that you've worked on?
I’d say the Dungeon Fun series. Although the art is a bit sketchy in parts, especially in the first issue, I’m really proud of the thing as a whole. I think more so because it’s had such a great reception from younger readers ( some even cosplayed! ) and for some kids it got them into comics and reading which I can’t help but feel proud of.
7) Do you have any/many artist rituals?
Not anything hard and fast, I usually have a coffee near me and a podcast or music on while I’m working.
8) What motivates you?
I think once you’ve been making stuff for so long it just kind of feels like a normal daily thing you do. Although I do get really pumped up when I see other peoples work, or get really into a video game or animation.
9) What do you do, that you think no one else does whilst working?
I do a political strip every week so every now and again i’ll have BBC parliament on in the background just to keep up with stuff, and between you and me sometimes I put on ASMR too.
10) Who are you inspired by?
I still am pretty hugely inspired by Chris Ware, his stories are all really honest and human and his art style is impeccable, every page looks like it took him weeks to finish. Also I’ve always been a big fan of Jeffrey Brown and Oliver Jeffers.
11) What's your favourite way to practice self care? (Especially after a busy week!)
lying in my jammies playing video games is my big one. Although depending how I feel I might go out to a cafe, read a book or go for a swim.
Thanks Neil for making such beautiful artwork for us, and letting us ask you many questions! If you're a fan of Neil's work you can check out his website here - www.neilslorance.com and make sure you follow him on all of the social medias, links are on his site!