Although art and beauty are appreciated by almost everyone to some extent, it is an unfortunate fact that there are many talented artists in the world who are little appreciated despite their incredible talent. Noting the lack of outlets for up-and-coming, underground, or outside artists to showcase their work, I decided to create an “Artist Spotlight” series where I will interview various artists in order to gain a deeper insight into what inspires their creativity and what they plan to do with their careers. One such artist is an illustrator named Bobby Timony.
Bobby Timony attended William Paterson University of New Jersey and has since worked for numerous consumer products and comics brands including Disney, DC Comics and Random House. As an illustrator who works with his twin brother, Peter, Bobby has formed his own company called Twin Comics. Through Twin Comics, and the collaboration of Bobby and Peter, the concept of “Monster Girl Pin Ups” was born. A series of illustrations that blur the line between animation, horror media, and classic sexy pin-up-girl poses, “Monster Girl Pin Ups” is one of the most ambitious projects that Bobby has ever worked on and he even started a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to support it (see the slide show for examples of artwork connected to “Monster Pin Up Girls”).
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to Bobby Timony about his experiences working as a professional illustrator and his hopes for the future:
Q: How did you get interested in becoming an illustrator?
Math Class. Seriously, though, my twin brother and I have been drawing comics since we knew what comics were. We had school desks in our room and an old hollowed out speaker filled with magic markers.
Q: Content wise, what inspires your style of artwork?
I like a lively illustration with personality and bounce. I tend to favor clean lines and an animated feel. As for my influences, I’d include EC Segar (Popeye), Carl Barks (Donald Duck), Windsor McKay (Little Nemo in Slumberland), and CC Beck (Captain Marvel).
Q: What have been the most interesting and/or rewarding parts of working as a professional illustrator?
It’s always very gratifying to meet a fan of my work. Ever since we were kids, we’d show off our homemade comics to anyone who’d read them. That was the point, really. To share this thing I made. If I were stuck on a deserted island, I’d still be drawing on the cave walls with charcoal, but even then, it’d be with the hope that someone might see them and enjoy them one day. So when I meet someone who’s seen and appreciated my work, it’s an incredible feeling. It’s rewarding and validating and it keeps me going.
Q: How did you come up with the concept for “Monster Pin Up Girls”?
Peter and I were on one of our frequent “Creative Retreats” where we sequester ourselves in a small house up in the Pocono Mountains for a weekend and work on our various creative endeavors. We draw comics, we write screenplays, we plan our next adventures. And we take breaks to play rummy. Peter has a collection of card decks, and he’ll always bring a couple of new decks to try out. It occurred to us that we could make our own illustrated deck of cards, and how cool would that be? My first thought was for a deck of monsters, since monsters are always fun to draw. Peter liked the idea of a deck of pin up girls. We combined the ideas into Monster Pin Up Girls.
Q: What are your ultimate goals for the “Monster Pin Up Girls” series?
Good character design can suggest personality traits. As I draw these Monster
Girls, my mind wanders around what sort of story possibilities they might have. I’m tempted to include a few comics’ pages in the art book that fleshes out their characters… After that, who knows? Maybe we’ll write a TV pilot. That’s in the future, though. For now, I’d just be happy getting this funded and made and into people’s hands!
Q: Career wise, what are your goals over the next ten years?
I’d like to do more Illustration work, as opposed to just being known as a comic’s guy, and Monster Pin Up Girls is a step in that direction. Not that I want to give up on comics, though! On the contrary, I plan on working on my own creator-owned comic projects, while hopefully mixing in some high profile licensed work along the way, so I can raise my profile as a comics creator. With enough clout, I think I can finally get the license and a publisher for that Laurel & Hardy graphic novel I’ve been wanting to draw! Eventually, I’d love it if Peter and I could work on our own cartoon show somewhere down the line. These are the long term goals.
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To find out more about Bobby Timony’s artwork, visit the official Twins Comics website:
www.twincomics.com
Bobby can also be followed on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/BTimony
The “Monster Pin Up Girls” Kickstarter campaign can be viewed here:
http://monsterpinupgirls.com/
