BitB Proudly Presents, Michael Borkowski!
Between an engagement at the Strong National Museum of Play and an encounter with a fried hard drive, Michael Borkowski-- this month's featured artist, in case you hadn't caught on to that yet-- took a little time out of his weekend to let us here at Bored in the Basement bug him with some ridiculous questions.. An allowance for which we are eternally grateful, we might add. While we did throw in some questions that we're sure he's heard some version of before, mostly regarding his work on a little tv show called The Venture Brothers (you may have heard of it) as well as his work with other popular animated icons, we also made sure to ask about the important stuff. Such as what his last meal would be if he were to find out that he only had 24 hours left to live with functional taste buds. The answer is pizza, just in case anyone else was wondering. Mike is one of those people for whom talent just seems to come naturally. After developing a love of drawing at a young age, he went on to take some college-level courses through the art program at his high school. Other than that, he says, he has no other "formal" training. He tells us that he was lucky enough to form a relationship with some professional comic artists while still a teenager in high school and that their guidance along with on-the-job training he got while working with them were, for all intents and purposes, his schooling. This is a lucky break for anyone but especially for him, because it seems that his main career aspiration prior to that was to become a 3rd baseman for the New York Mets. He made no mention of whether or not he has an actual talent for the game of baseball, but does say that at some point he realized that being an amazing artist was likely a more realistic goal to work towards. Not bad, really, especially since he says that from his childhood, he had also wanted to find a way to turn his art into something he could get paid for. When we asked about what other types of art Mr. Borkowski enjoyed creating, he told us that he really doesn't have much time for anything outside of the art he creates as his job. (Well, besides showing his loyalty to the Syracuse University sports program through his art.) Since he was gracious enough to take some time to create a few designs for Bored in the Basement, we figured we'd try to keep things as short and sweet as possible so that he could get back to entertaining the masses.. As opposed to humoring our ridiculous inquiries. We tried to get all of the important stuff out of the way first, so if Mike got tired of answering questions at least we'd have all the pertinent information. And since he knows more about himself than anyone else does, we're giving you all of his important answers uncut and unabridged, straight from the horse's mouth. BitB: What changes, if any, do you have to make in your drawing style when switching from still art like Iron Man to animated stuff like the Venture Brothers?MB: Basically everything I work on professionally isn't my personal style at all, whether it's animated or not. I need to make sure everything I draw for animation or the Iron Man books is "on model". It has to look like the reference material I'm given since I'm not the only person who works on these projects. Of course, some of my personal style does come through a bit. That's almost unavoidable.
BitB: With well-established and highly recognizable characters like Scooby Doo and the Gang, Iron Man, and Wolverine and the X-Men, when you first started did you feel like you were under a lot of pressure to live up to previous artists? Like maybe some nerd somewhere was going to cause a ruckus because Wolverine didn't look quite right when you drew him? MB: Well, I have to draw them specifically how they're supposed to look. And in animation no one is really going to see my exact drawings. But I do feel pressure to make an action sequence as cool as it possibly can be. Or pressure to make a gag as funny as it needs to be (or funnier). Or something scary or intense, etc. BitB: Do you still feel any of that pressure now?
MB: Of course.BitB: You did your first work on a major motion picture last year, for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. What were some of the big differences, if any, between animating for a movie and animating for a television show? Was it a fairly easy transition for you? MB: It was a major difference and, no, it was not an easy transition for me. Thankfully I was surrounded by ridiculously talented, helpful and supportive people at Blue Sky Studios. The main difference was the scope of the project. In television you basically stick to the script and board what's there. On Ice Age there's a little more freedom and time to explore each scene. There's also a lot of technical things that are done differently that I had to learn on the fly. BitB: How did your partnership with Cartoon Network come about? Any plans to do art for other shows sometime in the future? MB: I don't really have a partnership with Cartoon Network. I was hired by World Leaders (then Noodlesoup) to work on The Venture Bros. and by Warner Bros. to work on Scooby Doo. Cartoon Network airs those shows but I've never actually worked for them. BitB: We don't want you to give away any secrets or potential future plans, but if you had the opportunity to do your very own TV series.. you know, complete and total creative control, what would it be like? MB: I struggle with that. Sometimes I'd like to do a straightforward super hero show. Other times I'd love to do a whacked out comedy. Maybe a combination of the two?BitB: What heroes/idols of yours have you gotten to meet over the years? MB: A few. I was a big fan of Bart Sears when I was younger and he's actually one of the guys who took me under his wing. I try not to look at people as heroes or idols anymore, though. I've realized that we're all just people trying to do some stuff. Of course I still admire people for who they are and what they do. I just don't hold anyone up to such a standard as maybe I once did. BitB: What is your favorite work environment, or the one in which you feel you're most productive? Do you have a home office set up? Do you listen to music to get the creativity going, or do you prefer complete silence? If you do listen to music while drawing, what's your favorite genre/band to listen to? MB: I do have a home office. Usually I listen to music. I love Ben Folds, The Rolling Stones, Jenny Lewis and stuff like that. BitB: Do you ever participate in any charity work, such as auctions? MB: I did some sketch cards a few years ago for the March of Dimes. BitB: What was your first paying job? MB: My first paying job was helping out on a Namor toy design. Basically I just tightened up the drawing done by my bosses. BitB: You're a big sports fan. Favorite teams? Are any of them more of a loyalty thing as opposed to how good the team actually is? (No offense meant!) MB: I am a massive Syracuse University sports and New York Mets fan. I am a fan no matter how good or bad they are. In my mind, your team is your team through good and bad. If you can't be a fan through the bad times, you shouldn't be allowed to be a fan in the good times. Now.. While all of this information is certainly compelling, we all know that there other things to life besides paying jobs and charity. For instance, erotic art. Who doesn't enjoy that? When asked if he'd ever been requested to create any art of this fashion, Mike tells us that although he has been commissioned to do some pieces that "got a little nutty" (his words), nothing that could ever really be considered erotic, like.. Oh, say, Wolverine in a g-string (our words.) Imagine our disappointment at this news. He did, however, make us feel a little better when he mentioned that he sometimes gives actual pen (or pencil) and paper sketches away on Twitter! If you would like to be privy to the next time he starts feeling generous, you can follow him at twitter.com/MBorkowski. He also does sketches like that at conventions sometimes, so if you keep up with his schedule on www.michaelborkowski.com and you're in the neighborhood of his next one, you should most definitely stop by and tell him that you'd like a sketch of Wolverine in a g-string. We have saved for last a word for word transcription of Mike's response to our most important question, one that you readers should also ask yourselves sometime. The importance of preparedness in situations such as the one presented in this question cannot be stressed enough. BitB: Your entire family has been massacred by the mob. Through careful surveillance and recon, you've managed to discern the location of their secret mob hide out. What song plays as you're busting through the door, ready to take bloody revenge on those who have wronged you?
MB: For some reason I keep thinking of "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones. After you've broken your brain trying to come up with the perfect answer, go take a look at the sweet designs Mr. Borkowski came up with for us as October's Featured Artist. Stay classy, internet.
-- RR
