Comic Con-versation with Nathan Seabolt

I've been a fan of comics since I was big enough to hold one, and not just for the pretty colors.  Spider-Man taught me about responsibility, Captain America taught me about honor, and funnily enough the Hulk taught me how to read! The first thing I ever read on my own was a speech balloon in an Incredible Hulk coloring book. Although my fandom waxed and waned throughout the years (most of the 90's I was definitely out), once I got into art school and learned about printmaking and some of the techniques behind my old favorite comics' art, I knew I needed to use my training to produce my own comics. Then it was just a few short years fumbling with technique before I finally got my first mini comic done. As these things do, this led to more and larger projects, including taking part in two different comics anthologies this year. I'm finally feeling more comfortable with my visual storytelling, now I just need to figure out a way around the inordinate amount of effort that graphic storytelling takes...

Tell us about your mini comics  and daily drawing blog?
So far, I haven't finished any long-form projects, but rather focused on sorter stories in a smaller format. While a standard comic book might be something close to A4 and around 24 pages, minis are usually A5 or smaller and average around 8 pages. I've made a mini that ballooned up to 12 pages, but generally I stick to 8 or so-that seems to be enough room to tell a simple story. I do tend to use a lot more panels per page than the average mini, so perhaps I just enjoy squeezing more story into each page :) I try to make a couple of books per year for the convention season, and I post them on my blog and on gumroad.com , usually for free download.
The daily drawing blog is one of my favorite things, I love sharing my process with people. Occasionally I can get some attention for the newest thing, or more importantly sometimes I can help aspiring artists and comic makers to give it a shot. I also record video occasionally for my YouTube channel for the same purpose.

What are your tools of the trade? Do you work in traditional media as well as digital?
A lot of the comic book work is done digitally, just for the sake of time. Comics require a ton of revision and adjustment, and digital makes that much easier. If the project is in color, digital is very important, since my final output is to print. Being able to give a printer a color correction quickly can save a project. For my comics I rely heavily on software called Clip Studio Paint (formerly known as Manga Studio). It's an all-in-one solution built from the ground up for comics (well, manga specifically but that's splitting hairs). I can go all the way from idea to color print ready book with that program.
I also do a lot of Illustration and personal art, and I do like going back to traditional media for that. It's a nice change.

Do you have any advice for aspiring comic artists that you wish someone had told you?
The most important piece of advice I could offer to anyone interested in making comics because they love the art form or have something to say is: don't give up. This is hard, and it can seem very daunting, but if you start small (like mini comics), you'll find that the rush of finishing something completely can carry you right into the next thing. Like a lot of things, it's an iterative process, and practice makes you better, so keep making stuff.

What's next for Nathan Seabolt?
It's a busy time at the moment, but exciting. In addition to Comics ConVersation 2016 and Comic Art: Beyond 2D, I'm taking part in a group art show with the Sydney Comics Guild at the Artshine gallery in Chippendale, tabling at several shows including Sydney Supanova and I have the honor of being part of two comics anthologies this year: MONSTERS! (with Author Karen Beilharz ) and "Silence" (with the Sydney Comics Guild). It's been hectic in a great way. As for the future, I hope to explore some new art series ideas I have brewing and possibly arrange a one-man show for next year. And sleep..at some point I really should sleep.