YOU
[CYBPH] Tell us a little about yourself.

[Josh] Heh. Can of worms kinda question here eh? Lets see….me? Well…I’m 21 years old. I live way out here in Central Oregon [beautiful place. Come here if you like snowboarding and the great outdoors ] Believe it or not I do have a life outside of coloring [although a lot of times it doesn’t feel like it, hehe]. I love my Jesus. Play the drums in my church [not half badly too, if I may say so xD]. I love life and I just try to make the best of it. I love art. I love music. I love creating. Its all good. Hehe. [man, this has turned into quite the “matchmaker.com” kinda question eh? Lol. Moving on >___>]

[CYBPH] How did you get into Transformers?

[Josh] You can blame that on my Mom. She bought me my first Transformer when I was like 2 years old. She got me Targetmaster Kup for Easters [whom I still have and keep on display with my 200 other Transformers xD]. I dunno. I liked ‘em. She kept buying ‘em. Its all been downhill ever since. I went through a spurt where I kinda forgot about Transformers. [Power Rangers was the hawtness around that time.] and I didn’t get back into it until Beast Wars. I got a couple of the toys [Terrorsaur and Snapper] and I didn’t believe they were real transformers! Haha! I thought they were some knock-off another company was making, trying to cash in on the old TF idea. I stumbled over the show one morning [one with obvious G1 reference] and I got to thinking “ya know…maybe this IS real after all!” and I got re-hooked. Been an avid fan ever since!

[CYBPH] When and how did you get your start working professionally?

[Josh] Persistance and connections. That’s more or less how I got where I am. I started off coloring for fun [not knowing I could do it AND get payed]. I saw some of Don Figueroa’s old artwork colored by others and wondered how they did it. I didn’t necessarily care for it and thought Don’s art deserved better [how arrogant sounding was I? lol] and decided to try to learn! So I did. Generally taught myself but I also got mega tips from my fellow TF fan artists on boards like the Allspark and TFW2005.

It wasn’t until Dreamwave popped up with the TF Comic License and I saw what modern comics were [I really hated the old 80s comics. Looked so cheesy and poorly colored. That’s what turned me off to comics as a kid] and put 2 and 2 together. Got 4. Figured out that my fan coloring could turn into comic coloring! So I persisted. I practiced. I actually stumbled across a member of Dreamwave’s staff on AOL. He and I talked a lot. I showed him my artwork. He saw some potential in my color work and agreed that when I turned 18 he would show my colors to their art director. So until then I practiced my tail off. Sent in some samples and waited a month or so.

After that, I got an email from their art director asking if I’d like to help out color the Armada MTMTE profile books [which was perfect. It was all character art so no backrounds! Woo! I was terrible at coloring backgrounds]. And yeah. Its kind of gone on from there. I worked on the War Within: Age of Wrath comics, then Dreamwave went under. Spent a few months working for Alias Comics and eventually IDW came up with the license and I got to color Beast Wars [all thanks to Don!]

[CYBPH] Is there anything non-Transformers you are currently doing, or would like to be doing?

[Josh] Actually yes! Right now I’m working on a graphic novel adaptation of the book “WHITE”, which was written by author Ted Dekker. Its gonna be put out by Abacus Comics. Should be cool. Definitely check it out when it comes out! As for what I’d LIKE to be doing? Well, along with Transformers I’d definitely love to color books like Batman, Spider-man, Iron Man. I love those characters. I think that’d be most rad to work on those books. But we’ll see.

TRANSFORMERS
[CYBPH] Who are your favorite characters?

[Josh] Oh man. Optimus Prime for sure! I’ve always liked Prowl too. And recently I’ve gained an affinity for Devcon. A bounty hunting Autobot? Heck yes!

[CYBPH] What is the best Transformers story you have ever read?

[Josh] So many hard questions!! Haha. Honestly its really hard to pin that question down. I actually havent been exposed to much. I havent read much of any of the Marvel G1 comics. The only stuff I’ve read is what Dreamwave and IDW have put out. I’d have to say that out of the two I really like what Simons doing in the “ongoing.” A nice, realistic, structured from the beginning, twists and turns, “ZOMG whats gonna happen next!?!?!” story. And its only getting better. I’d have to say that that would be the best so far. Like I said, its hard to say.

[CYBPH] Why do you think Transformers has been such an enduring franchise?

[Josh] Well. Its got cool fast cars and its got giant warring robots. Those two things [which are freakin awesome in themselves] melded together makes a timeless, unstoppable force that no-one can stop. Haha. Really it just appeals to all the things us guys like. Cars. Robots. And then the cars ARE the robots?!?! Man. You’d be insane NOT to like it. Its just a formula that will never get old and it hasn’t yet in 20 years. Its just awesome.

[CYBPH] For you, what is the most underrated Transformers-related thing [character, series, toy, anything]?

[Josh] Comics fa sho! It almost seems like 90% of the TF-fans don’t even know TF comics exist! I mean, come on! This is some high quality fiction and high quality artwork of your favorite characters. I honestly don’t know why more people don’t read these. I dunno. They just have their priorities elsewhere. I know that some people are interested but they’d much rather spend the money on the actual toys or [heaven forbid] their family and bills

[CYBPH] Any thoughts on the 2007 movie? Aesthetic, impact, ease or difficulty of drawing, etc.?

[Josh] My thoughts are I LOVE IT. I was a bit hesitant when I first saw a couple designs. Took me a little to get used to. But once you I got passed that “fanboi” mentality it really is taking the Transformers in a new and exciting direction. A lot of people really didn’t like the robot aesthetic but honestly, people reacted the same exact way to Beast Wars. And now its one of the most beloved chapters in Transformers history. I’ve actually seen people post threads and replies from the mid-90s about fans and Beast Wars and compared it with now. Same exact stuff. It’s fresh. It’s new. It’s interesting. It’s not a slavish re-creation of something 20+ years old. And I really like that. I think we need that.

I think even now a lot of the fan base are starting to warm up to the designs and decisions Hollywood has made for the silver screen incarnations [especially after the recent trailers and sneak peeks. WOW!] I will say that these movie designs are QUITE difficult to draw. At least for me. I’m not the best penciller in the world [im sure you all already could tell anyway ] and I have a tough time. But I do try to have fun with them. I’ve heard a lot of people say that the new aesthetic really fits my drawing style so that’s fun. Makes them fun to draw. Although they are quite difficult. These bots are super complex and a task for anybody to draw, I would think.

[CYBPH] Your job notwithstanding, which part of Transformers do you appreciate more: Toys or Fiction? Why?

[Josh] Ya know. Its hard to say. I would admit that without the fiction I might not like the toys as much as I do. I do love the fiction, because it expands on these toys. Gives them actual character. Heck I’ve even bought toys I never normally would have JUST because the fiction portrays the characters so well. So yeah. Its hard to say which I appreciate more because I appreciate both. Fiction is awesome. Imagination is awesome. Its just fun to lose yourself in their world. And the toys? Well. They’re just a blast to mess with. Its one thing to just SEE the characters but its another to actually FEEL the characters. Transforming the toys is the best part about Transformers in my opinion.

TRANSFORMERS/ARTWORK
[CYBPH] You’ve shown that you can do more than just digi-color Transformers, you can sketch a mean ‘bot or two as well. How did you get into drawing?

[Josh] Well. I’ve always been into art. I’ve always drawn stuff. I don’t really remember but my mom says I used to always draw little comics and tack the pages all over my room. Its just something I’ve always done. Always enjoyed doing. But uh, yeah. I never really took it seriously until a few years ago. Its one thing to do it and it be okay but its infinitely more satisfying when you can actually do it good! Hehe. I definitely don’t draw as much as I’d like though. I’m just so busy coloring! Grah! Hehehe.

[CYBPH] When did you discover your talent for drawing Transformers?

[Josh] Well. Like I said, always a doodler I guess it was only natural for the two to intermix. I wasn’t the best at drawing Transformers at first [well, I’m still not but you know what I mean ] Its definitely taken a lot of practice to get where I am now and its definitely gonna take more practice to get where I wanna be. But I guess getting there is half the fun right? Hehe.

[CYBPH] Which characters are easiest for you to draw? What about the most challenging?

[Josh] Ah, most easiest has to be G1 Optimus Prime. I think I could draw that guy with my eyes closed. Most challenging? Lol. Movie Megatron. Nuff said. Lol

[CYBPH] Is drawing easier for you, or is coloring? Which is more fulfilling?

[Josh] I would have to say that right now, coloring is a bit easier. But, I think, only because I do it so much more than drawing. You do one thing long enough you’re gonna get good at it. Which is more fulfilling? Hehe. Well as much as I like coloring I do like drawing a little more. Its one thing to color something and complete something someone else has started but its another to be the one who started it! But I don’t think I would like drawing as much if I couldn’t color, hehe. I don’t consider many of my pieces finished until I’ve colored them [that way I color up as many of the screw ups as I can! Haha!]

[CYBPH] Describe your creative process. How do you get down to work?

[Josh] Well. Usually I roll out of bed sometime in the late morning, flip on my computer. Let it start up. Go eat me some breakfast. Either turn on the TV or crank the tunes and I get to workin! Gotta have the background noise goin’ on. Time just seems to go by faster that way, hehe. I’ll leave the specifics to the next question

[CYBPH] Describe the digital inking/coloring process, step-by-step if you can. Any tips for making it easier to pick up for relative newbies?

[Josh] Step-by-step eh? Well. Generally it goes like this. I get the scanned line art off of the IDW FTP. I take it into Photoshop [I use Photoshop CS by the way] and I prep the line art for coloring. What I do is I start by resizing the page to fit the print dimensions. Make sure it’s the right resolution so it prints all sexy like. When I get the line art a lot of times its not just straight black and white lines, so I have to adjust the B&W levels of the picture. That’s where I make the inks as black as I can get and I make the page as white as I can get. Just cleaning the line art up, getting it ready to look good!
After this I move on to what’s called “flatting.” And what that is is just laying down the base colors for all of the elements on the page. Definitely THE most boring step of coloring, lol. There are people out there who flat for us colorists but I try not to use them unless I really have to meet a tight deadline or I just have too many projects going on at once to handle the full thing.
Once flatting is done you can go a lot of different ways with coloring depending on how you’re gonna color. Currently I do a lot more “painted” kind of stuff so what i do for that is I duplicate my flats layer. Just make a copy above it. Then I use what’s called the “magic wand” and I select the first color I’m going to render. Once I choose my color I go through my color picker and choose the shadow and highlight colors I’m going to use to start “rendering” the page. This is essentially the part that takes the most skill. Just about anybody can flat. I mean, how hard is slappin just straight colors on a page. But to “render” the page takes the artistic skill.

You have to know how things work. Like lighting. Where is your light source? How does it fall on the objects depicted on your page? Say Optimus is standing under a spotlight, you need to know which parts would be in shadow, and which parts would be in the light. You really have to have an understanding of light and depth. Without that, well. Best of luck to ya I don’t really know what else to say, hehe. [oh. Generally I “render” things starting with the backgrounds and moving onto the characters. That way I know how the lighting is set up. You can do it either way. That’s just how I work]
So after rendering is done I move onto special effects. Things like glows and all that kind of stuff. And I guess right here you could call the page done. But I like to [save of course] flatten the image and this here is the most crucial step [well.. maybe not THE most crucial but its crucial for getting things to look JUST right] I mess with what’s called the “color balance.” Its kind of hard to explain I guess but this is where the pictures go from looking okay to “wow”. Just really makes everything pop. I dunno. I’ll provide a picture that shows before and after I mess with the color balance. You’ll see what I mean. I just use it mainly to give the art more “atmosphere.”

[CYBPH] Who are your art influences?

[Josh] Hehe. I have many. As far as drawing goes I would have to say that my biggest influences are Geoff Senior, Don Figueroa, Nick Roche, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, and Skottie Young. Style and detail. That’s what I strive to be like. As far as colors go? Guys like Espen Grundetjurn, Clayton Craine, “Ukitakumuki”, Alan Wang are pretty big influences on me. They just really now how to make pictures shine with color. Of course there’s many more I could list but I’ve already rattled on in too many other questions. Hopefully people are still reading this! Haha!

[CYBPH] How has your work evolved over the years since you started out?

[Josh] Oh, I would have to admit that its evolved a TON. When I started out I guess I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted out of my artwork. I had very little understanding of things like depth and perspective. Detail and style. It wasn’t really until I discovered Skottie Young’s art when I decided “that’s what I wanna do. I wanna do that with Transformers.” His stuff just has so much flair. So much character. Its always so dynamic. I had never really seen that kind of thing applied to transformers so I wanted to take that and bring it here. At the time everyone was really intent on becoming Pat Lee and Don Fig clones [not that theres anything wrong with that mind you] but I just wanted it to be different. To be kinda fun! To be dark. To be able to get everything across that a normal detail ridden, uberly stiff and mechanical drawing could never get across. I want things to be dynamic. To be fun to look at. To be easy to follow and to relate to. Not that I’m at that point. Most definitely not. But that’s what I strive to be. And hopefully the evolution of my artwork shows that.

[CYBPH] What is the biggest change in yourself [as opposed to your work] you’ve noticed since you started drawing professionally?

[Josh] Well. I havent done much of any “professional drawing” [just the Topp’s Sketch cards so far. Woo!] But I do know that you gotta do what you gotta do. I was commissioned to do 306 sketch cards in a very short amount of time. I knew it would be excruciatingly difficult [ESPECIALLY with the subject of said cards being the Transformers Movie designs] but I wanted to make my “break” a good one. So I decided to start big. I started with a huge project and a tight deadline and I made it. I really didn’t feel like drawing them many a’ days but I did anyways. Some of the sketches may have suffered but there is a difference, most definitely, between just drawing for fun and drawing for production. You gotta be on top of things because it sucks hardcore to fail and miss your deadline. Not only do you let yourself down but you let the people who were planning on paying you down! Not a good feeling. It takes you humbling yourself to that authority and just doing your job. I would have to say that’s one of the main things ive learned. And not just from the sketch cards either, but just comic art in general [coloring and all].

[CYBPH] What is the most common misconception or incorrect idea people have about your work, or about being a TF fan artist in general?

[Josh] Well I used to be quite annoying. I was quite arrogant at first. I thought my stuff was the best and I hated people to tell me otherwise. Over time I really learned the lesson of humility and respect. I’ve tried to apologize to as many people I remember possibly offending from then but I do hope nobody still thinks of me the same. I’ve changed a lot since then. I’ve grown up. I’ve stuck it out in a very hard industry and I’ve definitely learned my fair share of lessons the hard way but I AM better for it.

[CYBPH] What are your favorite TF art pieces you’ve drawn?

[Josh] Heh, another one of them hard questions! Guess I’ll just have to show ya [pictures attached]

[CYBPH] What are your favorite TF art pieces [from any artist] that you’ve colored?

[Josh] I would have to say that the Beast Wars triple-gatefold I colored for Beast Wars: The Gathering, the 4 interconnecting covers of Stormbringer, and the upcoming Optimus Prime Spotlight. I would have to say that those are some of my favorite/my best colors I’ve done yet. I also really like how well the Lions, Tigers, & Bears promo picture turned out that I colored.

[CYBPH] What are your favorite TF art pieces from other artists, in general?

[Josh] More toughies! Hehe. One pic that sticks out in my mind [at the moment] is the Trypticon VS Metroplex image Don did for Dreamwave. The scale is so evident and immense it just gets awe-inspiring. I love it. In general I appreciate any art with style, and that really puts the awe and wonder back in transformers. I mean, these are huge LIVING robots that can ALSO TRANSFORM from one thing to another. I mean. wow. Imagine seeing that in real life Anything that can capture that is my favorite xD

[CYBPH] Which TF artists/writers have you worked with? What makes each collaboration unique from the others?

[Josh] Well, outside of Simon Furman I guess I’ve only really worked with Chris Ryall [on the prequel stuff]. Honestly I cant say I can tell all too much of a difference as both Chris and Simon were tag-teaming so its hard to say xD Artist wise ive worked with guys like Guido Guidi, Nick Roche, and Andy Wildman. Its definitely a blast working with all those guys as they each have their own unique style of drawing. Its definitely fun being able to switch things around and work with a new artist.

[CYBPH] Who have you never worked with before [writer, inker, colorist?] that you would like to work with on a project, Transformers or otherwise?

[Josh] Well Geoff Senior of course. I’ve long been an admirer of his Target 2006 and G2 work. That man is just amazing. Everything I wish my drawing skills were I’d definitely love the opportunity to work with him on a project. My friend Makoto Ono too. Even though he colors his own art most of the time [better than I could do even ] I still love the opportunity to work with him. The guy is a legend in TF art. As far as non-TF stuff goes, well Skottie Young of course. Like I said, he was a huge stylistic influence on my own artwork. Itd be awesome to work with that guy. Steve McNiven too. He’s a marvel artist but I just love the way he draws people. Just awesome. Mark Brooks as well. That man is freakin amazing. Not only does he draw people well but he draws our favorite Robots in Disguise VERY well as well. I would absolutely love to work with that guy. Love his stuff. James Raiz would be another. I love the way he draws. Uh…Sean “Cheeks” Galloway too. That would be a blast.

[CYBPH] What is coming up for you in 2007? What’s next? [Care to spoil us a bit? ]

[Josh] Well, I’ll be honest and say that I’m not quite sure! Usually I don’t know what I’m working on until I’m working on it so its hard to say, hehe. At the moment, though, I’m working on another movie related comic. Should be pretty sweet. I’m also working on that “WHITE” graphic novel. After that who knows. There’s a good chance I’ll be working on the next Beast Wars [since I seem to go wherever Don goes] but I really don’t know other than that

[CYBPH] On a related note, is there any chance we could see a Josh Burcham-drawn comic soon?

[Josh] I would certainly hope so, hehe. I know both IDW and I have expressed an interest in seeing it happen, its just a matter of timing. Gotta do it when I’m not so busy coloring! X__o

[CYBPH] What’s your dream Transformers project for you to work on?

[Josh] Ah geez. I would say something that ties into the upcoming movie but I’m already doing that! I guess what would make it better if it was a Geoff Senior project. Yeah. That would have to be my dream project at the moment. Or something movie related with Mark Brooks. Hehe. I’d love to see him tackle the new movie designs

[CYBPH] What’s your dream non-Transformers project?

[Josh] Hehe. Didn’t I kinda answer this already? Well. Anything Batman, Iron Man, or Spiderman. Something with Mark Brooks or Steve McNiven xD

[CYBPH] Which writers/artists [that have already done Transformers work] would you put together for a dream project? what would the project be?

[Josh] Mmm….I would have to say Mark Brooks doing covers, Geoff Senior doing Lines, and me on colors. That would rule the most. What project? Heck I’ll take anything just as long as I’m workin with these two fellas!

[CYBPH] Now, which writers/artists [that have NOT already done Transformers work] would you put together for a dream project? what would the project be?

[Josh] Hmm…ya know this is kinda tough because I don’t really follow too much outside of Transformers, hehe. I would most certainly love to see a guy like Ukitakumuki or Clayton Craine or Marko Djurdjevic. Those guys are simply amazing. They can tackle all the art chores just by themselves, hehe. I would definitely love to see one of them on some kind of TF project. Considering their insane talent it would have to be something utilizing the movie designs. I just cant get enough of ‘em!

[CYBPH] WORD ASSOCIATION
Optimus Prime – A legendary hero. Someone everybody should look up to [and I don’t mean that just literally ]
Bumblebee – Needs to get back into espionage!!! >:O
Autobus – za-bwah?
Jazz – one cool cat
Hot Rod – An all-american! He was one of my favorites next to prime. Such a cool alt mode.
Megatron – yesssssss…..
Beast Wars – uh…yessssss……. xD
Starscream – “whinebag” xP
Barricade – he cut you up so bad you no wish he cut you up so bad!
Michael Bay – Not as bad as people make him out to be IMO. I like his movies and Transformers is gonna rawk my face clean off!
Action Masters – nooooo!!!!!
IDW – Best TF comics to date I reckon!
Megan Fox – Gorgeous!
Nick Roche – Gorgeous! [his art! His art his gorgeous! O___X. although im sure he’s a decent lookin’ hunk-a-human too ]
Energon – num nums
Simon Furman – Sir writes a’lot
Grimlock – him badass
Don Figueroa – awesome artist and a good friend!
Decepticon – “To punish and enslave!”
Guido Guidi – another great artist and great friend. Thanks for the hook-ups!
Minions – pika-wha?
Chris Ryall – best “boss” I ever had [and not a shabby writer either!]
EJ Su – makes Transformers look like real cars! ZOMG! O__O
Cybertron – Would love to visit someday
Philippines – maybe not so much xD lol. I kid, I kid! Haha.

TO WRAP UP
[CYBPH] What advice do you have for beginning colorists/artists?

[Josh] Practice, practice, practice! Comics is definitely one of the most hardest industries to break into. Come into it with a good head on your shoulders, some good talent, make some good connections and persist! And never give up! Those type of people never make it that far in life

[CYBPH] Any message for your Filipino fanbase?

[Josh] Well thanks for puttin up with me! My apologies for writing huge paragraphs to your questions, hahaha

[CYBPH] Not at all, Josh, thanks for your time!

Josh’s Artwork:

1 Comment to “2nd Exclusive! Interview with Josh Burcham!”

1. Mike Moran — June 28, 2007 @ 4:12 am
   

   Josh is awesome. I really want to see him do a spotlight.

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