Tim Sale - Photo taken in the Paris Hotel, Les Jardin de Luxembourg 18/10/2008

 

 

Tim Sale, how did you come to work with Dave Stewart ?

 Dave is my number one choice as a colorist since Mark Chiarello is not doing freelance work.

 

Your style seems very much inspired by comics.

American comics were my biggest inspiration until I discovered French comics, and also American advertising work from the 1930's-1960's.

You draw Spiderman Comics with Jeph Loeb. How did you meet Jeph, and how did you worked with him? Are you still working with him? 

I met Jeph when an editor at DC put us together to work on the CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN in the late 1980's.  We have been friends ever since, and I think we do our best work together.

 

What do you think about Spiderman 3? Would you have liked to be part of it?

 I haven't seen it.  I have no real desire to work in movies.

 

Some say that Jeph's work is better when he works with you? What do you think you bring him?

What is the role of Jeph in Heroes? Do you work together? How's that?

 Jeph is a writer and executive producer on Heroes.  I have very little interaction with him, actually.  I work mostly with the props department, providing the pictures for them to use.  I have no input on the storylines or anything.

 

Please, may you email us photos of your favorite pictures/drawings of yours in Heros and tell us why you like them, what the represent to you? What they represent in the film?

 I enclose a few drawings from the first season.  I am happy with them as drawings but they do not 'mean' anything to me emotionally.  I enjoy working with the talented people on the show, and that means a lot to me.

 

Can you tell me about the famous "Eclipse" picture? 

That was just something Tim Kring asked me to draw for the pilot, something to symbolize that there is a greater power to the universe that we do not understand.  It is a very powerful thing to see the sun 'eaten' by a shadow, and the day growing dark.

 

How did you find you had artistic skills?

As all children do, I played with art when I was younger, and as most children are, I was encouraged by my parents.  I somehow just never stopped.  That is a great secret, that talent needs practice and concentration to achieve its potential, and many talented people find football, or the opposite sex, or partying to be more interesting than practice and concentration.

  

You're said to be colorblind. Can you tell me about the professional consequences and, maybe, advantages of that? Do you think you would work differently if you had seen colors? 

I suppose I would paint or color with the computer if I was not colorblind, but in comics and on Heroes, it has not held me back.  Having Dave Stewart solves many problems!

 

Did you develop other senses like peoples who have such differences? 

 Perhaps my design sense was heightened, and certainly my attraction for hi-contrast art was.

 

How did you come to work for T.V.? Was it for Heroes first? What were you asked for this series?

 Jeph Loeb called me and told me that Tim Kring was looking for an artist for a new show he was writing, so I owe it all to those gentlemen.  I had had no ambition to work in TV before hand, but I am very grateful for what it has offered my career.

 

Who did you work with (crew), with who, and how? 

As I have said, I work with the prop department.  I have met a few of the directors and writers, but I do not really work with them. 

I follow my instructions, and that is the way I prefer it.

 

Did you work from stories/script/ or just a description of the scene? 

A desciption.  I do not read the scripts, and do not want to; I like watching the show as it airs.

 

What kind of freedom do you have in your work on Heroes?

 In my style, I have much freedom, in what the image is, I have very little.  I am fulfilling a very specific description that needs to be accurate to the filmed part of the show.  But I am encouraged to bring a personal flair to it, as long as that first part is fulfilled.

 

How many drawings did you have to do for the series? 

I am not sure.  Somewhere around 100-120.

 

When was the pictures asked to you? One after the other, or all at once? 

Every week I get a new assignment.  The most I have ever had to do at one time was 12.

 

How many were effectively used in the series? What about  the others? 

All of the art has been used on screen, some just gets more air time than others.

 

How does it take you to make a drawing? 

It depends. A few hours to a full day, somewhere in there.

 

How would you explain the role of the paintings with the story?

 They are a way of advancing the plot.

 

Your favourite drawing?

  I do not have one.  Perhaps the drawing of Hiro vs the Dinosaur?

 

You favourite comics? Comic book artist? Why? 

Right now, my favorite comic book artist is Juanjo Guarnido, and my favorite comic is Blacksad.  But I have had many favorites through the years, from Jim Steranko and Alex Toth, to Jack Kirby and Rene Gruau.

Comics would be Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Batman, Two-Fisted Tales and Lt. Blueberry.

 

In what way does it influence you?

 That is for others to decide.  For me, great art fills me with the desire to draw and learn.

 

How do you work? What do you use ? Pencil and paper? What kind of pencil, paper? Do you need computer?

 I work with paper, brush, ink, pencil and charcoal.  The paper is 2-ply Strathmore, the pencil is a #6 graphite stick, the brush is a Winsor & Newton series 7, #4.  I use a computer, but do not draw with one.

 Do you fell connected in anyway with Isaac Mendez?

 No.

 Will  the role of the paintings evolve within the series?

 I do not know.

 

What will the pictures used in the series become after the shooting? Will they be sold? Will there be an artbook of the series?

 NBC owns the artwork for the show.  I hope there will be an artbook of the show, but I do not know of any plans.

 

Do you have more fans since Heroes? Did the series make you meet another kind of audience?

 I have MANY more fans since Heroes, and I will always be grateful to Tim and Jeph for asking me to become involved.  There is some crossover between comics and the TV show, but I do not know how much.

Do you have other projects? 

I am working on CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE with Jeph Loeb for Marvel comics right now.  I have a personal project called THE KILLING FLOOR, that I will be starting in a few years, a crime series, done in a film noir style.

 

If you could choose you next contract, what would that be? With whom would you like to work and on what kind of project?

 That would be THE KILLING FLOOR.

 

Are you a hero? Which one would you like to be?

I am certainly not a hero, although I would like to be one for my girlfriend.  I am not interested in having superpowers, though!