The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

THE creations of local artist Danny Coleby have evolved over the years to reflect his interest in traditional as well as unconventional art forms. Today, his artwork has taken on a life of its own and he is currently building a portfolio in comic strip art.

Danny has been establishing his name on the local art scene for a while now, having painted a mural at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas and participated in numerous local art shows. Over time his interest in animation art flourished and he has a desire to take this art form to the next level.

“I always preferred animation over traditional art. I can tell a story over several panels or just one stylised image. ‘Ninja Scroll’ and ‘Wicked City’ are just a few of the Japanese anime movies that inspired me to go with this form of art,” he said.

Recently, Danny, who is also a local tattoo artist and owner of After-Hours Tattoos, has been directing more of his time and skill towards creating a full comic with provocative and intriguing themes. And while he has a talent for drawing, he is discovering that developing a comic is time-consuming, made even more so because he is patterning his after Japanese comic books, or manga.

“I have been putting my efforts into this comic/manga that I started as a test to see if I could draw three pages with just a pen and make no mistakes. The idea was solid so I continued with it. I also have a few random works on (the website) deviantART,” he told Tribune Arts and Entertainment.

“My comic is about Death, his son actually. The reaper goes on vacation and leaves his scythe and all responsibilities to his son, Malach. But what inspired it was actually the multitude of personalities I have encountered over the years, and almost every one of them has a story that would be incredibly entertaining as a movie or a comic. I wanted to draw something that would have a point people would care about and characters that were interesting enough for the reader to go on,” he said.

Danny said he enjoys the freedom of working in the comic book and animation style.

“ ‘Family Guy’ is not particularly well drawn, but ‘The Boondocks’ is. Both are funny and both have a huge fan base, so there is no one way animation has to look. I like how I can convey fear, humour, sadness and joy without following traditional rules. I can elongate the jaw to show super size, over emphasize a punch or impact, and all in my own style,” he said.

“I hope to carry my art all the way to anime. For one of my ideas to become a success like ‘Afro Samurai’ or ‘Attack on Titan’, that would be huge for me. This takes hours and hours of work though. My comic/manga has to become popular enough to get picked up by magazines in Japan. Then it has to be good enough to get picked up by an anime studio (in Japan). Then it finally has to get so popular that it crosses international waters and people here can say, ‘I know that guy, he used to draw’.”

While some who have become familiar with Danny’s more traditional art, which he displayed in his first solo show in 2012, may be surprised by his recent change of direction, others know that he enjoys working in all mediums, including airbrush art, pencil, pen, chalk and of course tattoo art.

“I almost liked oil painting, but it was not for me. Airbrush and acrylic work I like relatively well, and I have had some success with human canvases. Animation and tattoo art, I think, are my top two genres,” he said.

Instead of attending business school, Danny, who has a background in accounting and statistics, decided to take a more hands-on approach by opening his own tattoo studio called After-Hours Tattoos. He has gained marketing, managerial and operations experience from this venture, he said, and is happy he took the risk.

For for information about Danny’s upcoming comic, visit the website inkblazers.com/death.