HiFi Coloring Challenge #22 with Max Riffner!

If you’re anything like me you start your day by checking several web comics.  I love them. They are a HUGE source of entertainment and inspiration for me.  I encourage everyone (especially if you’re a fan of comics and/or art in general) to spend a little time searching through some web comics and find a few that you like.  It can literally change the way you see comics (at least…it did for me).  One of the best strips around these days is Drunk Elephant Comics by Max Riffner.  Max is a web designer and illustrator from the midwest. He won an Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics for his web/mini-comic called Quick Step in 2007 and is a member of Shocktrauma Studios. On a personal note I was lucky enough to sit in our local comic shop with Max and a few other guys for a whole day (and night…and a morning) a couple years back for the 24 Hour Comic event where Max whipped out Go Easy Bro!. Max has been producing Drunk Elephant Comics since 2008 with new strips being posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Max’s clean style and witty humor tells the tale of Hank, the little pink elephant with a big drinking problem.  HueDoo.com and the Pixel Shrine are thrilled and incredibly fortunate to welcome Max Riffner and his Drunk Elephant Comics to our 22nd Coloring Challenge!!!

The challenge this time around is a little different. Typically I post the challenge then kick back and wait for the colored pages to roll in.  This time we’re switching it up a bit.  Scheduling is key to web comics. Miss your dates, loose your readers so to give us a chance to practice a little on a comics schedule I’ll be posting the 4 Drunk Elephant strips. Our challenge is to color the strips and get them reposted within a couple days so that you can be ready for the next part of the challenge

• Day 1 is posted today (April 19th)
• Day 2 will be posted on Wednesday (April 21)
• Day 3 will be a week from today (April 26th)
• Day 4 will be posted Wednesday of next week (April 28)

Max took a moment to sit down with us in preparation for the coloring challenge.

Tribal Council: As always we’ll start with: what is your favorite color and why?

Max Riffner: Blue has always been my favorite color. It can be both soothing and dynamic at the same time.

TC: For those readers who aren’t familiar with you or your work tell us about yourself.

MR: I created a webcomic called Drunk Elephant Comics, which I update three times a week. I’ve also done work for Kevin Church’s LYDIA spin-off and I’ve won an Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics for Quick Step.

TC: How did you get your start in comics and sequential art?

MR: I’ve always loved comics; I learned how to read as a kid from them. So I guess I was always making comics from when I was a young boy.

TC: How much of your work is done digitally and how much is don’e with pencil and paper?

MR: I am 100% digital, working exclusively in Adobe Illustrator. If I’m having a particular problem with a layout, I may go grab my sketchbook because nothing is better than the tactile feeling of paper sometimes. Otherwise, I do everything digital.

TC: As a follow up, do you prefer one over the other? And why?

MR: I can go faster going digital. For example, penciling and inking a page by hand can take me around 8-12 hours, whereas if I do it digitally, I can shave that down to 3-5. On the other hand though, I can’t sell my pages after I’m done with them. So it’s a trade-off.

TC: How does color affect your work?

MR: I actually don’t use color much right now, preferring to focus on the minimalism of black and white. It forces me to really pay attention to my lines and edit with a critical eye. However, I do find myself thinking how my work, especially Drunk Elephant, would look in color. My first graphic novel (Golden Boy) was about a boxer, and I used old school poster colors, taking samples from Hatch Show Print, so that the whole book would resemble a boxing poster. But even that was minimal. I stuck to a primary color palette.

Sometime in the future, I’d like to do something where color would really play a strong part in it, especially on the web or a mobile device like the iPad.

TC: What has your experience been like as a web comic artist?

MR: Being on the web is great. I’ve developed many relationships online due to my work being out there, professional and personal. It’s been really rewarding. Plus, the instant feedback is phenomenal.

TC: What was it like to win your Isotope Award?

MR: Incredible. Absolutely incredible. It will probably be my only true “rock star” moment in comics, because when they present the award to you, you’re in the loft of the Isotope looking down into a crowd of screaming fans. If you ever, ever have the chance, go visit the shop; James Sime has done an incredible job in creating a one of the best stores worldwide. I saw this year’s winner, Will Dinski, sat down on the loft, and I wished I would have thought of that because I was so nervous.

TC: Who’s cooler?  Hank or Dr. Zoidberg?

MR: Man that is not even fair. I mean, I have to go with Hank because I created him, but who doesn’t love ZOIDBERG?

Special huge thank to Max for not only the artwork but for taking a few minutes to speak with us.  Be sure to check outwww.drunkelephantcomics.com and let Max know we sent you.

And pop over to HueDoo.com and check out the coloring challenge.  New post tonight, wednesday and then again Monday/Wednesday of next week for all 4 strips.

www.huedoo.com

www.maxriffner.com

EDIT:

I just posted the Day 2 thread in the Pixel Shrine on HueDoo.com’s forums!

Please check it out today! Click here to pop over.