Mike Mignola & Richard Starkings Talk - 3/11/16

Going to see Mike Mignola was a really good experience for me as even though I'm not that interested in creating comics it's still beneficial to hear about the creative industry and how he fitted into it. Mike Mignola explained that he was a 'workaholic' and that he was always thinking about stories, drawing or doing something along those lines all the time, which really made me think about what kind of people are successful and how determined they are. He also talked about always being true to himself and that whenever he created something he needed 'to do something that's me'. I think that this is something that is really important as sometimes your own needs and interests can get lost along the way. 

A really good tip I got from this talk was that one of Mignola's techniques was to go 'through books and circle parts that I could use to piece together a plot'. Coming up with a story is something that I sometimes struggle with, so I found this technique to be something I'm going to try in my own storytelling. He went on to say he went through folklore books and took parts he liked and parts he felt would be good to draw and this helped him create HellBoy. He also explained that you need to 'get a beginning and an end, then a good few bits in the middle with markers, then just fill in the blanks'. I really liked this tip and he even explained 'I never planned to be a writer, I became a writer so I could draw'. I found all of his tips to be inspiring and that you don't need to be the best idea person you just need to want it and be determined.

Some of Mike Mignola's inspirations were Frank Frazetta, Barry Windsor-Smith & Ray Bradbury.

I've put a few of their artworks below just to get a feel of the kind of inspirations he likes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this talk and I found it to be really inspiring even though I'm not very interested in the comic book world. I understand that you have to be open to every part of the creative industry and it's good practice for me to research different kinds of practices and how they work and can work together.