START YOUR ENGINES! This feature shines a deserved light down a dark hole. Dave Devries takes the unfettered creativity of children and puts the untainted images in their minds into skillful paintings. Showing off that which life takes away from kids allows the rest of the art world to think back on inspiration and what it means to take a clean image into new levels. “Like a bolt of lightning” is how Devries describes the idea to turn a kid’s drawing into color, transforming doubts and fears into tangible and combatable art.
One of the first things I loved upon opening my copy of The Monster Engine included the subtitle: “An Experiment with Children’s Art,” and the brightly shining sticker announcing this book as an honorable mention among independent publishers. Inside the over-sized cover, I found a personally signed note from the author acknowledging that my interest in a review validates 14 years of effort put into this project.
Devries explains the origin of the project:
“It began at the Jersey Shore in 1998, where my niece Jessica filled my sketchbook with doodles. While I stared at them, I wondered if color, texture and shading could be applied for a 3D effect. As a painter, I made cartoons look three dimensional every day for the likes of Marvel and DC comics, so why couldn’t I apply those same techniques to a kid’s drawing? That was it… no research, no years of toil, just the curiosity of seeing Jessica’s drawings come to life.”
How did this project evolve?
“After my niece had inspired me with her drawing in my sketchpad, I thought that it would be cool to explore this idea, but I just kind of forgot about it. A few months later, I was teaching at a comic book art school. The problem I faced there was that the students didn’t appreciate abstract expressionism. I explained that abstract art is needed especially in comic book work to visualize unseen worlds–places and creatures that can’t be referenced with a photograph. They didn’t care and said they still hated abstract expressionism. That’s when it hit me. If I could render a kid’s drawing–really detail it–then maybe they would see that abstract painting is useful. After all, when I do a Monster Engine painting, I am rendering it with abstract thinking and planning. It worked—some of them got the lesson. After that, I wanted to see how a series would work so I did a few Monster Engine paintings of superheroes as Christmas gifts for my nieces and nephews. The series looked great and then the book idea hatched. I chose monsters because I love them and so do kids. That was in 1998, and it took six more years to paint all the art, do the interviews, photograph the kids, and design the book. I self-published a beautiful 48-page hardcover with a dust jacket in 2005, and it became an internet hit. During the first month of his web site’s launch, the site got 17 million hits and was linked to over 12,000 blogs. A month later I was flown to Japan and appeared on Nippon TV, where I showed his work to an astonished audience. The website is internationally known with book buyers from all over the world and has received over 60,000,000 hits (1,000,000 unique visitors) since it opened in 2005. The Monster Engine has also been featured in many magazines and newspapers including Rue Morgue magazine alongside Lemony Snicket and Clive Barker. In 2006, The Monster Engine was given an honorable mention for “Outstanding Book of the Year” at the Independent Publishers Book Awards in the category of “Most Original Concept.” I’ve been approached numerous times for TV show possibilities, but nothing has gone the distance yet.”
The inside cover shows a full spread with the game “Can you find all the monsters hidden in the machine?” I swear, some days my life feels like I am trying to uncover the “monsters” in the machine of promoting creative arts, but here kids can entertain themselves in a delightful way. I love the idea, and the well-executed contents of this project not only because of the pride one feels in promoting the power of the young but also in the pure independent nature of it.
Dave Devries doesn’t actually consider himself much of a “fine artist,” but rather an illustrator. Those in the music or writing business may not realize the distinction, but Devries says, “Though I do gallery shows I am at heart an illustrator. I once did a show and my work didn’t fit the space so I offered to redo it smaller. The shocked gallery owners said they would never ask me to alter my art— but that is what illustrators do. What’s the job? What are the parameters? When do you need it by? In terms of personal philosophy I bend the rules when I can, break them when necessary—it is why I love kids—they are all outlaws at heart. As an illustrator, I work closely with art directors to produce images for their respective companies. In some way, The Monster Engine is like that—I am working with kids to produce new images that I would not create if left to my own needs. I do have much more freedom in terms of what or how I paint, but in the end I am working with others. Just like being a dad or husband.”
When asked about his own start as an artist and whether or not he still has any of his childhood art he says, “Yes, I still have about 10-20 pieces of art I think—most of which beckon me every time I open the flat file but for some reason I’m conservative in using them—maybe because they are finite and I’m afraid to use them up. I did use two drawings of Superman and Batman in a 2009 painting. They were added to another child’s drawing via Photoshop so it was even more of a collaboration. It is, as yet, unpublished—even on my site. I will eventually release it as a print, but I’ll need to remove those copyrighted characters for obvious legal reasons. When it is posted on my site, though, it will have the heroes in it because, in that case, it’s simply a portfolio piece. I remember doing numerous Abe Lincoln and George Washington drawings and I would love to paint them to see how twisted our former leaders can get. I also did about 20 little storybooks–really notes folded in half with ridiculously simple stories in them. That might make a nice series. If my parents could have known then what those annoying little stories might become….”
The benefits of being truly independent include the blessing/curse of working from home. While the office may always be right down the hall, the office is always right down the hall….
Devries describes his normal day:
“I work from home and avoid traffic and get to see my kid more often. Also, I get to draw and paint for a living. Even when I hate the subject matter I’m still drawing and that is awesome. When I get to paint The Monster Engine I am so happy I lose track of time. So either way it is always a great job. I wake up at 8am, get my kid to school, get breakfast, answer emails, draw, draw, and draw. As of last August I was the art director and illustrator on a web-comic called Blueshift for Seed Studio, a video game company in Taiwan. Now, I am working freelance for Activision on concept art along with some advertising work as well. That is the nature of my life—The Monster Engine is a wild and fun project with loads of potential but I still need to make a living.”
It may shock some readers to think that an illustrator with such an AMAZING idea for transforming children’s art would still need a day job, but then again many of us will relate! Advice Devries offers for students and other young creators (our own kids perhaps) who want to succeed in painting or illustrating is to, “Take classes in both traditional and digital mediums. The commercial world is moving in the digital direction and you don’t want to be left behind. Even if you don’t paint anything digitally you should learn web design and video editing so you can take control of promoting your work—you’ll always promote yourself better than someone you hire because you care more about the client—namely you.”
When asked about the importance of a formal education for illustrators or would-be work-from-home professional artists he says, “Whether they come by it via intensive self-study or through an art school, artists need to have that traditional art foundation as a basis to really understand light and shadows, composition and texture so they can make dynamic art and become paid professionals. Furthermore, traditional skills, not computer skills, come first. I use both digital and traditional mediums but I learned traditional first. If it was the other way around I would have a tougher time in the illustration field. It is a subtle difference that even the rapid expansion of digital technology can’t replace.”
For those in the business of creating and promoting a creative business, we asked Devries:
How do you make effective use of social media and how much marketing help do you ask someone else to do? When should an artist decide to do less personally and hire a professional?
“Making effective use of social media is still a near-mercurial, emerging concept, but any system that allows you to communicate with a mass audience at a low cost or no cost is a wonderful thing for artists. Ultimately, it comes down to your time being your currency. My wife, my son, and my art all need my time and attention. I wouldn’t consider holding court as a social media community manager the best use of my time. I’m an artist and if I can’t do that well due to too many distractions, I’m not being a good steward of my talent.
I just recently hired my first publicist, Denise Dorman of WriteBrain Media, because the media requests and opportunities are coming in a little too quickly for me to manage them all. I want everyone getting what they need, when they need it. I think for other artists, the tipping point varies, but for me, when I start feeling anxiety that I’m missing opportunities because I cannot physically manage it all, that’s when it’s time to call in help. Denise is unique in that she’s married to a high profile comic book artist and has done years of publishing and entertainment PR, so we can speak in shorthand, plus she is well versed in social media and marketing.”
On the themes of his work with kids he says, “Lots of variety in terms of design with monsters. They can be any shape, any size, any color–however, in my opinion, all the claws, teeth and distortions are only a fear of birth defects or a deep–seated remembrance of when we were lower on the food chain. To me, a monster is only a monster on the inside. In fact, these kinds of monsters don’t know they are monstrous—they see their actions as acceptable or something they cannot change. Again, all the horrific visuals are just the exterior—what makes a monster is something more internal—something more lasting and sinister.”
Of the idea that monsters are by nature something that can engender fear, Devries assures all that “Parents ironically fear them more—or at least think their kids will fear them. No kid, however, in my experience ever recoiled in fear. I paint dark themed images but will explore lighter versions in the future. My initial pull is toward the dark. Parents don’t give their kids more credit in terms of fear. If you show you’re not afraid then the child won’t be as fearful. We have this decapitated head in a jar in my 3-year-old’s room—a Halloween decoration by the way—and he loves it. This is because we never projected a sense that he should be afraid of it. If kids see monsters—and I am talking the scary kind—as normal them maybe when the kid encounters a disfigured person they will be more accepting.”
Even the pure psychology of the book inspires because parents can potentially use this book to work through fears and vanquish nightmares. Each illustration shows the original drawing, Devries’ take, and an interview allows onlookers to step inside the mind of the child artist. “The interviews within the book are the key. Parents can read the interviews with their kids and show them that the kids in the book weren’t afraid of their monster. In fact, there are photographs of the actual kids in the book embedded in the interviews. Often times, they used humor to diffuse the fear. So, if a kid’s afraid of a particular monster then the parents can ask him/her to draw that monster. Then, using the book as a guide, the parents conduct their own Monster Engine styled interview session. For example, a parent could ask if the monster likes to wear smelly underwear as a hat–whatever works to diffuse their kid’s fear. Essentially, drawing, questions, and humor help a child identify with a monster.”
When asked if Devries had an imaginary friend/monster as a kid he said, “No – having three older and very active brothers made it hard to invest time in an imaginary friend. No, it was just me in my skull. However, I do believe that imaginary characters could possibly be more than imaginary. Recently, I did two (as yet unpublished pieces) showing one little boy’s two best invisible buddies. It’s all just conjecture but my gut tells me imaginary friends may be something that we don’t understand yet.”
The next goals for Devries are to “Get a TV show going with a connected massive multiplayer online game—a place where kids can share their creativity. One goal that is close to my heart is to illustrate a free online graphic novel which could pull people into the internal stories that float about my head. I like the idea of sharing that. Perhaps, one day a movie could come out of that—we’ll see. Those are the ambitious goals.”
Those may be ambitious goals, but I can guarantee that every artist, every parent, every soul who struggles with a passion to promote something creative will relate to this book and draw inspiration from it. Buy it for your kids, buy it for yourself, buy it because it truly is a one-of-a-kind gift that would look great on a coffee table of a loved one.
http://www.themonsterengine.com/
