We’ve visited Luke Healy’s studio, author of the graphic novel How to Survive in the North.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am currently working on two new books. The first, Permanent Press, is a satire about the working in the comics industry. I just finished up the last few pages this week, so now I’m just fixing any mistakes. It feels great to be almost finished. Permanent Press is being published by Avery Hill in English in April this year.
The second book I’m working on has not yet been announced, but it is a memoir about walking across the USA from the Mexican to the Canadian borders, which I did in 2016. I’m just editing the first draft at the moment, so I haven’t even begun to draw the artwork, but I’m very happy with how it’s coming together, and I can’t wait to share it with people in 2019.
Which instruments/tools do you use to draw?
For How to Survive in the North, I used a rotring rapidograph pen on light bristol board. But since then I’ve become very interested in using only cheap, basic materials to draw my comics, so on every project since then I’ve used only basic printer paper and a mechanical pencil. I find this lets me work much faster, since I am less precious about creating beautiful original art pages, and am happy to work quickly and correct any errors digitally once the work is scanned in.
For colouring and other digital work, I use photoshop with a Wacom Cintiq drawing tablet that I’ve been using for almost 10 years. I always fear the day that my operating system updates and I can’t run the 2009 version of photoshop with all the plugins I need anymore!
Do you have any peculiar habits or routines before starting to draw?
Nothing too peculiar, but since I work from home, I tend to cook a lot during the day. Often when I’m drawing, I all also be proofing bread, or reducing stock… things that take a lot of time, but not a lot of attention.
I also drink a lot of tea while I work, but I think that’s a pretty common habit for cartoonists.
Do you have books or comic books you keep close by when you draw?
I recently moved from Dublin to London, and I left most of my comics behind. I don’t tend to reference other comics while I work. Sometimes, at the beginning of a project, I will make a reading list of comics to reference, and try to absorb what I like about them, before I begin drawing. For How to Survive in the North, I certainly referenced a lot of classic adventure comics like Tintin and Little Orphan Annie.
The books beside my desk right now are Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life by Ulli Lust, You & a Bike & a Road by Eleanor Davis, and Ulysses by James Joyce, all of which I’m currently rereading.
Are there certain objects in your studio which you’re particularly attached to?
As I mentioned above, I just moved to London, and I didn’t bring a lot of stuff with me. I am a bit of a minimalist anyway, and even when I had a dedicated studio to work in Dublin, I didn’t keep a lot of stuff in there aside from my tools, and a shelf of books.
I do keep a scented candle on my desk, because my flatmates smoke, and I think cigarettes are horrible.