26/06/2017

Juan Pablo López : 

a powerfull all-terrain artist,

a trully art servant .



© Juan Pablo López

It is the combination of words that came to mind to define him. Motivated for developping any of the pictorial techniques that he faces: comic, concept art, video games, animation, designs,...all reinforced by a solid base of his Degree in Art History.

At the same time, he works as an instructor of future graphic talent at a high-performance university center, the U-tad University in Madrid. He's really complete.

And such is the delight that brings him creating art, that as we proposed him to participate in this tribute to Moebius, he did the impossible to make time for doing an impressive collaboration and answering a fantastic interview that shows us many things that define him as a professional:


- The Blueberry Encyclopaedia (TBE): What has your biggest artistic influence been and how has your way of drawing evolved?

Juan Pablo López: My first influence is especially Lucky Luke; Both the cartoons that I watched on TV when I was a child and comics, which I discovered later, and both the old and the modern ones that draws Achdé, which I love too. It can be said that is my biggest influence, since then I fell in love with the cartoon, especially the Dalton brothers, so much so that even my nickname on the internet is Juampadalton for this reason.

Guitar Player por  Juan Pablo López

- TBE: Do you have any "thorn in the flesh", like working with a specific artist, or working for any new editorial, or in any professional field that you haven't explored yet?

Juan Pablo López: Truth is...no. I am quite happy with how things are going, because I enjoy what I do; I am a simple person, easy to please and I do not mind doing comics, cocept art, character design, animation, video games - which I have done a lot - and even within video games: interfaces, something that developpers don't usually like doing. What interests me the most are the characters, everything visual, everything graphic, I really like thinking in graphic terms.


Juan Pablo López

- TBE: What is your favorite technique for drawing and coloring?

Juan Pablo López: For drawing and coloring I do not have a favorite technique, I like to experiment and I usually get tired of techniques and brushes, I like to try new things, it keeps you fresh and wanting to do different things.

I am inclined towards the 2D animation and comic and as paradigmatic example of artistic work I'd say the 101 Dalmatians of Milt Kahl, is the cap. I really like Cory Loftis and the 3D stuff that Disney is doing now like Zootopia or things like that. Inside the comic I like Cyril Pedrosa or the Equinoxes, within the comic, a lot of things...and Jean Giraud...what can I say, in my drawing tribute you can appreciate the affection that I have to him.




Juan Pablo López


- TBE: At what point in your career did you feel more comfortable working and with more creative freedom?

Juan Pablo López: Iam fortunate because I've always felt comfortable working. I have been lucky that they have left me enough freedom when it comes to doing things and developing content, I didn't have to justify or follow a Artistic direction too closed... In video games, where I have been working for twelve years, it has been quite pleasant because I could do a more or less what I wanted; This has its bad side in that sometimes you do not leave your own comfort zone.

It's been interesting because I have not felt great limits in all this time and I wasn't just an executioner hand, I've felt heard by my companions and I've been able to contribute with my creativity not only in drawing but in other areas like thinking, taking part in meetings, expressing opinions on ideas...bringing value in other ways.

- TBE: What can you tell us about your current job, and/or any clues to your upcoming projects?

Juan Pablo López: Right now I'm mostly doing animation stuff and I'm still doing things for video games; I really like video games and animation and I'm comfortable doing both. I have some offers for comics; comic in this country requires you to be in full-time and focus on it all your efforts, I admire a lot  the great authors who can do it because they risk a lot, and comics are something that I would love to do at some point in my professional career. I alternate animation with teaching, I am a professor at U-tad University, my professional life goes a little bit in those two sides and I always have some personal project also in progress.

- TBE: What memory / relationship / influence do you have with Jean Giraud and his work?

Juan Pablo López: The memories I have and the relationship and influence with Moebius are huge and total. I was fortunate to have contact with The Incal from an early age, and also with Blueberry because a neighbor of mine who was a cartoonist showed me his comics and I was amazed. I would say that I have been more aware of the influence over the years, at first I was not conscious and I did not know how to appreciate it in all its splendor, I liked it, they seemed to me great drawings, but little more; years passed and I felt a greater closeness to his work, it happens to me a little bit like Bernet...when I was a child his drawings seemed sloppy, then you see the difficulty of doing it and how great it is to work that way; respect is enormous, is one of the great masters, no doubt, of entertainment, including comics, video games, animation...Jean Giraud is a reference at all levels, for its history, content, his works with Jodorowski, its versatility ... it has so many different styles ... it's like five or six different artists in just one, it's superhuman, it's like Miguel Angel, Bonarotti or Leonardo, even Picasso, anything you put next to his works is not good enough. With Jean Giraud it happens the same, it is one of the touched by the hands of the gods...

TBE:From our blog we want to thank you for your collaboration and we wish you the best of luck in your projects, it has been an honor and a real pleasure to count on you in this tribute to Moebius.