Published Jul 23 2022
So, I had finally finished the script to Terminus Veil issue #1 and I needed to find an artist who I had thought could bring the characters and story to life. I reached out to Jordan with the belief he probably wouldn’t respond but I figured I’d shoot my shot. Within a day or so he had replied to my email and said he was interested in joining the project. I was ecstatic! I’ll never forget that feeling of hope and joy I felt that day. Since then Jordan has showed over and over how magnificent of a penciler he is. Here he shares his experience as an illustrator working on Terminus Veil as well as other books.
I’m an independent artist living in Wisconsin. I have been drawing comics professionally since 2008, first getting started with smaller publishers and eventually finding a long term publishing home with Aspen Comics. There I worked on many of their main titles, including Fathom and Soulfire, as well as publishing my first creator owned comic Dissension: War Eternal.
I became interested in comic books as a result of 90’s animated cartoon shows. I loved watching X-Men, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Spider-Man, so the transition to comics was an easy one to make. Once I began to read them, my imagination kicked in and the drive to create my own comics was born.
Image comics were a huge influence on me. Stories like WildC.A.T.s by Jim Lee and Cyber Force Marc Silvestri really shaped my initial art. When I discovered Michael Turner and Aspen Comics it was the same sort of thing and I began to emulate them as much as possible until I found my own style along the way.
Mainly my tools of use are just different sizes of pencils and a couple of erasers when I am working on comics. I usually draw on Eon Comic Art boards, their HD Plate paper is what works best for me, so I have kept using it. I vary between a 0.3 and 0.5 mechanical pencil as well as lead holders for sketching or filling in large black areas.
I would say sci-fi, fantasy and post-apocalyptic are some of my favorites, but I tend to gravitate towards the artists I really like and pick up the books they are on.
I really love video game art and 3D art in general. While I was in school for my Multimedia Design degree, I was taking a lot of 3D modeling classes and really had a passion for creating art in that way.
Comics have been my main job since 2010. I have had other art related jobs, such as a graphic designer and 3D modeler. I feel all my past art jobs and art degree in general have made me a more well rounded artist and I rely a lot on the skills gained through them as a full time comic book artist.
In the past, it used to be difficult to catch the eye of an editor or get a face-to-face meeting, because this mainly happened at comic book conventions. Having the ability to travel and attend many different shows in a given year was a challenge in and of itself, but the best way to get your shot at breaking in.
I have a home office that I have worked from since moving into our house in 2016. I try to have inspirational art from friends and colleagues from the industry.
Overall a very positive one. Jack was very easy to work with as a writer, allowing me lots of creative freedoms while working from the script. He also knew what he wanted to see or envision with his characters and locations which allowed me to find a lot of great reference material to work from.
Bird was definitely my favorite character. She is a strong female badass, so what’s not to like?
Terminus Veil #1 was my first sequential art comic in over a year, since my previous project was canceled due to the pandemic and comic book stores closing.
Some of the more challenging pages were in the beginning of the book when most of the story is taking place inside an armored personnel carrier. I like to try and vary my angles and try different low angle and high angle shots, which is a little difficult when all the characters are in a confined space.
My best advice for someone would be to not get discouraged. It may seem daunting after receiving a critique on your art and hearing what you aren’t doing correctly. Just know that it all can’t change overnight and the steps to becoming a good artist are building a foundation of the things you do well and slowly working on improving the things you struggle with.
I would like to extend a big thank you to Jack Harris for giving me the opportunity to illustrate the first issue! For those who are curious about seeing more of the art that I create can visit both The Art of Jordan Gunderson Facebook page or Jordan Gunderson Illustration on Instagram.
