We collectively asked 2021 to bring us something better than 2020. Without getting into the details of why last year was universally despised, we should instead look for the bright spots. In 2020, one of the most prolific and driven artists I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing took time out to teach kids (and adults) how to draw (and how to enjoy the process of making art) over Facebook Live. Monster Art School with Steve Ellis started early in 2020 when people were looking for things for their kids to do with their sudden abundance of free time. Adults got into the mix because, hey, learning to draw for free is better than day drinking. At one point, he was doing it five days a week for four months. His talented hand gave lots of people inspiration, and he did it for free.
I say prolific because the above cache of creative output is only the tip of the iceberg for Steve Ellis. He started in the early ’90s drawing in comics. He recently shared a letter he’d written to DC Comics when he was a teenager, and it was clear he’d be working for them whether they knew it or not. Like most artists, he’s shrouded in self doubt that’s more indicative of perfectionism than a lack of ability. He’s a fully-trained Jedi amongst his contemporaries, and is rightfully respected by peers and fans alike. He reached his goal of working for DC Comics early in his career. Over the first couple of decades, he’s done work for all the publishers you know and some you don’t know. With DC, Marvel, IDW, Darkhorse, and Image under his belt, his wings were not yet fully unfurled. The restrictions of pencil and ink would have to give way to paint where Ellis’ light and shadow mix to create moods to match his style.
Between the mid ’90s and the first decade of the century, publishers looked for ways to tell stories online. Steve Ellis worked with writer David Gallaher to create High Moon, werewolves set in a western, published by the now defunct Zuda, a DC Comics’ webcomic imprint. High Noon ran for four seasons, and had a readership of three million by 2010. The partnership between Ellis and Gallaher was a perfect match. The duo went on to create The Only Living Boy for Papercutz. It was Nominated for three Harvey Awards. The natural follow up, The Only Living Girl, has been critically acclaimed, and so well received by readers I wouldn’t be surprised to find it streaming as a series in the near future. The concepts of these titles are clearly story driven, but as a story teller Steve Ellis’ art is your guide, narrator, and protagonist. He understands sequential art like the best of comic artists, but even when he’s not painting you’ll see paint in his ink and color. His cinematic imagery is compelling enough to act as CliffsNotes to fill in the narrative between lines of the written word.
Film runs 24 frames per second, original digital video runs 30 frames per second. Ellis runs in full HD with 60 frames per second, easily. While he continues to output clear, quality pictures, his mind races with new ideas. It seems the only thing that can quiet his continuous processing of new inspiration is to purge it through working constantly. Everything comes out in the form of incredibly dynamic character driven art. His use of light and shadow only give more weight to his fantastic imagery, making everything feel like it’s moving. There was a time Ellis found himself in a rut. “Comics were not the right place for me,” at one time. He’d found himself painting in the gaming industry. Spider-Woman, Iron Man, and Lobo would take a back seat to World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, and Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. He started doing work for White Wolf Publishing for their games with Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Before long, he had his hands in Rage Games and even painted a few rare images for Magic: The Gathering. Game art was a perfect place to match, and ultimately hone his style. He manages to keep the subject the main focus without neglecting background or foreground. Still, you’ll find yourself lost in his details, and mystified by their simplicity and how much information is conveyed through his brush.
In the third decade of his career, he’s set out to bring some organization to some of the characters that keep him company in his thoughts. Thornclaw Manor is a look inside Steve Ellis’ head. The open book that is Steve’s practiced and earned ability is a mansion full of unusual and refined monsters and freaks. The collection of work is ever-growing, and has been featured in two decks of cards and an art book. The storyline is still being delivered by his mass of muses, and he holds some of it close to his chest; but look for a future novelization and tabletop game to come from it. The Dowager of Thornclaw Manor has an inheritance to divvy, and I suspect Steve Ellis, as the executor, will make an empire of her home.
Some bonus Q&A with Steve Ellis:
• Creative influences: Everyone. But mostly those that inspire me would be some weird combo of Brom, Brian Froud, Sam Raimi and Jack Kirby with some Jack Davis thrown in.
• Favorite work YOU’VE made: This is hard, I keep jumping around, but right now it would be the Thornclaw decks I created.
• Favorite Horror or Monster Movie: Alien, The Thing, Aliens, Delicatessen, Pans Labyrinth.
• Favorite Geek Movie: see the last question!
• Favorite Monster of all time: Giger’s Alien.
Find Steve’s work at Steveellisart.bigcartel.com.
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