Efi Theodoropoulou on “Utility”

As a comic artist and an illustrator, I am used to collaborating with writers and other comic artists often. The collaboration with Ivan was something different because it was the first time I did something based on a script by a foreign writer (by ‘foreign’ I mean that I didn’t know him in person and had met him almost a year later). It was very interesting and we managed to cooperate easily, chatting via email and Messenger. Ivan gave me the option to choose among some scripts, and so I did.

I chose “Utility” because at that time it was one of my forthcoming plans to make an illustration which had something to do with a story taking part in the woods. It was a challenge for me to see what drawing style I would use to design the scenery of a thick forest and the characters of an explorative teen girl and her loyal dog. In my mind I had set it up as more of a children’s book illustration, giving color and some kind of child-friendly style to the scenes and characters. I also appreciate it when the people I collaborate with give me the freedom to improvise and bring their work closer to my style and taste. Ivan asked me only for a few changes that would look better to the eye of a reader.

It was very interesting to finally meet Ivan a year later, after our first digital acquaintance, getting to know the person behind the script I worked on and talk about it and all the creative process behind it, but do it in person this time. I think that this collaboration was fun for both of us, for him to get to see his script and characters coming to life and for me to experiment with different drawing styles and techniques.