Creators: Yanick Paquette

Creators

A growing list of inspirational artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, and creatives.

Yanick Paquette

It's been too long since I have done a post like this, but that ended today when I picked up Swamp Thing #18 and knew I had to praise the hand behind it:  The hand of artist Yanick Paquette.

I have had his work in mind since I started doing posts like this, but today, after reading the latest issue of Swamp Thing, I just had to make his post today.  Yanick is the kind of artist I envy and wish to emulate because his work feels like it comes naturally for him to do, and yet I'm certain there is a long and involved process needed to do it.

I'll start with a cover image he did, though I'm well aware that many artists can make gorgeous covers but at the same time have mediocre interiors.  This is not the case here.  I this cover, you can see a great example of Paquette's style: Strong attention to detail and texture, drawing from life and live reference.  Its both realistic feeling yet stylized enough to look somehow better than real.  One thing's for sure, I think this is how Swamp Thing would look in real life.

Just a glance at his Interiors and you can see his strength as an artist goes beyond the cover.  the same care, texture and detail comes out on every page.  For me, one of my favorite tricks of his are his panels, more specifically how he divides them.  These exotic and colorful breaks seem to come out of the titular character himself.  And of course I won't fail to mention the monsters this guy draws.

Yikes!  Those things are fantastically nasty!

But he doesn't just draw great monsters, but also great people. He also knows how to create drama in a panel despite simplicity.  I would call his style more akin to Surrealism rather than a Bryan Hitch-like photo reference realism.  Paquette comes far enough away from his references to allow them to feel right next to his other drawn lines.

I'm a big fan of his double page spreads, he really uses them to show as much as writer Scott Snyder tells.  and that is an excellent balance to strike in a comic.

While Swamp Thing isn't the only thing he has done, it is the work I am most familiar with.  Now that his run on swamp thing is apparently over, I'm very curious about where his career will go.  Personally, I'd like to see him continue drawing monsters.

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite images.

See you soon.