EXCLUSIVE — A Wish Granted: Artist Jonathan Hill Discusses His Part In The Visual Development Of ‘Budding Crisis’

Debuting today on ComiXology Originals is Budding Crisis #1 by writer MK Reed and artist Jonathan Hill. An indie comic first announced at NYCC back in October, we got an exclusive peek behind the scenes, so to speak, with Hill providing Comicon.com with an in-depth look into his art and publishing career to date, as well as his work and art process on this new action-adventure comic book series.

When MK first approached me about being the artist on Budding Crisis, there were two things that got me really excited and made it an easy yes. One was being able to work together on a major project again, the other was the creative control the project allowed. It seemed like a great opportunity to experiment and try something different.

My work is primarily focused in youth publishing and lifestyle illustration, working in a more cartoony style. As you build your career as an artist, you get hired for doing what you do well. It can be hard to find ways or make time to play and experiment. 

My sketchbooks look drastically different from my final comics and illustration work. Even when I am ideating for projects, I draw straight to pen in this looser, more organic style. I love the way the drawings flow and have always thought it would be fun to try to incorporate it into a more final project. The question was always when and where?

I always want the drawing to be informed by the story. When MK sent me some of the documents she had written about Budding Crisis, there was a focus on a post-industrial world. It was more lo-fi and back to basics. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to finally try to fold in the way I draw in my sketchbooks into a bigger project. 

If I had more time and had been more courageous, I would have actually gone full-on analog and draw the pages in my sketchbooks with just my pen. But projects often require ambition to be tempered with reality — this would be a monthly book and I would need to keep a tight schedule, so I would need to find a way to change up my workflow to try to incorporate a different way of thinking that drew from my sketchbook work, while still being able to get those pages drawn every month..

Using a different, more organic and analog feeling digital brush helped me approach the drawing in a looser way similar to my sketchbooks. I also limited my digital tools to try to get my mindset back to drawing analog a bit — I limited myself generally to two layers when working on the final inks — a working layer and a finished layer –- which was much different from how I normally work. I also wouldn’t use any digital drawing tools like digital rulers. You won’t find a perfectly straight line in the entire project! Even though the book is drawn 100% digital, I think these choices help keep the human touch in work.

But habits are hard to break, and there is so much muscle memory in the way I make comics after having drawn hundreds of pages the last two decades! It maybe didn’t end up as loose and experimental as I had in my head when I started, but I’m still incredibly happy with how it turned out. It stands out from my other youth focused comics work, while still maintaining the qualities that make it recognizably ‘me’. Most importantly, it brings MK’s writing to life in a way that serves the story. 

Plus, I got to play again! Which has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. I’m excited to see how I incorporate this sense of play and what I’ve learned while drawing Budding Crisis into my future projects!

Budding Crisis #1 is out now on ComiXology Originals.