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Ovi
Nedelcu was born in Romania, in 1979. he was (1), when his dad escaped communism
and ran for the border. After reaching America, his father flew his family to
New York, then to Chicago, then to Arizona, then to LA, then finally to
Sacramento; where nothing really happens. With nothing to do Ovi found happiness
and his talent in drawing and later attended school at the academy of art in SF.
After two years he left school and moved back to LA to work for WB animation
doing Visual-Development, Character Design, Storyboarding, shooting rubber-bands
across cubicles and what not. After studio hopping for 5 years he decided to
move to Portland (OR) with his wife and daughter. Ovi currently writes and draws
his own comic book
PIGTALE, while still doing freelance animation work. Ovi states "I enjoy
both. I realize life is short and then you die, so I try and make the best of
what GOD has given me. I'm thankful for ALL the LORD'S blessings." |
Mr. A:
First off I
would like to thank you for chatting with me and taking your time to
answer questions at The Comic Avalanche for your now and future fans
alike. Now to the interview!
1. Your book
Pigtale will be
released from
Image Comics
this January and has caught a bit of news already but for those not
aware can you tell us a bit about the project?
ON: PIGTALE is a contemporary story that takes place in present-day
PORTLAND, OR. It tells the exciting adventure of BOSTON BOOTH, an
amateur PRIVATE EYE whose life is in financial and professional turmoil,
when suddenly he runs into Clyde, an intelligent talking pig desperate
to get away from his violent wolf stepbrother Taxx. Together, Boston &
Clyde venture off into the face of danger to help one another overcome
their fears, rescue loved ones, and save the city from Taxx; who’s bent
on destroying Clyde, getting his revenge, and using the SUPER-PLASMA
device to conquer the city and reign supreme!
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“One of my first
books was
“How to [Draw] Comics the
MARVEL Way”, and later
“Comics and Sequential
Art”
by Will Eisner."
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"Batman has
always been
one of my favorite characters
of ALL time." |
1. Your book Pigtale will be
released from
Image Comics
this January and has caught a bit of news already but for those not
aware can you tell us a bit about the project?
ON: PIGTALE is a contemporary story that takes place in present-day
PORTLAND, OR. It tells the exciting adventure of BOSTON BOOTH, an
amateur PRIVATE EYE whose life is in financial and professional turmoil,
when suddenly he runs into Clyde, an intelligent talking pig desperate
to get away from his violent wolf stepbrother Taxx. Together, Boston &
Clyde venture off into the face of danger to help one another overcome
their fears, rescue loved ones, and save the city from Taxx; who’s bent
on destroying Clyde, getting his revenge, and using the SUPER-PLASMA
device to conquer the city and reign supreme!
2. Is it striking to hear folks the likes of Mike Wieringo comment on
your books with phrases like "Ovi Nedelcu has my jaw dropping with his
work on PIGTALE." ?
ON: Yeah. Very much so, because I look up to these guys. And while going
to art school I studied their work. So yeah it’s a little weird hearing
their praise. But its nice to know that what you’re doing is being
noticed and better yet, appreciated.
3. Can you give us a roundup of the characters who will bring Pigtale to
life?
ON: Sure. Boston Booth (our young hero), Clyde (the talking pig), Taxx (clydes
evil step brother), Carmen (Boston’s dream girl) and Grandma.
4. You have worked/learned from the likes of
many including Syd Mead who is considered one of the best illustrators today. Who
are some other talented people you have learned greatly from?
ON: Right now some of my influences are Brad Bird, Mike Mignola, Ronald
Searle, Tim Burton, Chuck Jones, and many others. Each have their own
style and method of madness. I can't say that I learned from them
personally, with the exception of Brad Bird whom has given me some words
of wisdom a while back and has greatly helped my career.
5. Who/what would you contribute your love
for illustration to?
ON: Um, well that’s a loaded question. There are a lot of things and
people who have steered me in the direction I'm now in but for the sake
of dropping some names. I would have to say J.C. Leyendecker, Dean
Cornwell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Baron Story, SYD MEAD, and too many others
to list.
6. What first lead you into the comics medium itself (not illustration
in a whole but comics independently)?
ON: Well, I've always loved comics. Its what I
first wanted to do when I was a kid. One of my first books was “How to
[Draw] Comics the MARVEL Way”, and later “Comics and Sequential Art” by Will
Eisner. Those two books and the rise of IMAGE back in the early 90s’ was
what lead me to want to be a comicbook artist.
7. What was the first comic book you remember
reading?
ON: Ummmm, probably “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.
8. What character/characters would you most/least like to draw from any
comic character out there?
ON: Id love to do a Batman story. Batman has always been one of my
favorite characters of ALL time.
9. What nugget of advice that you learned would you most like to pass on
to fledgling illustrators out there?
ON: Make a LOT of friends in the business you would like to work in.
10. What's next for Ovi? Any other books on the horizon?
ON: Right now I'm working on a screenplay that I want to do as an
animated feature film. I'm going to pitch it sometime soon to all the
major studios. I'm also still doing animation work aside from PIGTALE.
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Hey all please take a moment to check out Ovi's site at
www.ovinedelcu.com/ and let him know
how much you are looking forward to all things Ovi! Don't forget about
Image either to get even more
information regarding not only Pigtale but the publisher itself.
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Thanks, Mr. Avalanche
