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Germán Torres

Illustrator / Barcelona Spain
插畫家 / 西班牙巴塞隆納


My name is Germán Torres, and I’m from Barcelona. I am a comic book artist and freelance illustrator —these days rather the latter than the former, though I keep pivoting between these two specialities. I am currently working on a couple of comics. One is for the US market, aimed at children and teenagers. I really enjoy working for a younger audience when the script is good. The other is for the Spanish market. It’s a very thorough, educative comic book about blockchain technology. Also, in my spare time (such as it is), I’m writing my personal project, a science-fiction graphic novel: the space adventures of a group that fights against suffering in the cosmos. Fortunately, I’m pretty busy these months.

我是GermánTorres,來自巴塞隆納的漫畫畫家和自由插畫家,雖然我常在漫畫和插畫這兩種專業間游走,但如今所做的工作為前者;我目前正在製作幾本漫畫,針對為美國和西班牙市場的兒童和青少年讀者,當我有一個很好的劇本時,我真的很喜歡這種好像我是為了年輕讀者工作的感覺, 這是一本具有教育性、關於區塊鏈技術的漫畫書。除此之外,在其餘時間(例如:現在),我也正在進行我的個人項目,寫一本科幻小說:一個團體在宇宙中與痛苦爭鬥的太空冒險故事, 多虧這幾本漫畫,這幾個月我很忙錄。


Hey Germán! How are you? First time in Taiwan?

Hi! I’m all right. Very happy to talk to you. And, yes! It’s my first time in Taiwan. I’m having a wonderful time.

Hey Germán! 你好嗎?是第一次來台灣?

Hi!我很好,非常高興能跟你有此次的談話,沒錯!這是我第一次來台灣,在這裡有一段很美好的時光。




How do you find the country? Anything you didn't expect to discover in here?

My partner and I had set aside some months to get out of Europe and travel in Asia. We chose Taiwan. We had read some things about it and we were dying to know the country. To our enormous surprise it was almost love at first sight. Impressive locations. Amazing people. And such a good food! We got here during a very delicate situation, and still the country has really grown on us. In normal circumstances it must be a paradise!

One of the things I love about Taipei is its contrasts. It is a big city, but strolling through the neighborhoods and see the way people neatly arrange their plants, sit by the streets, put their clothes to dry… in a phrase, how they live their daily lives, all this gives the city an extraordinary warmth. We are now in Kaohsiung. We’ve been here for a short time, but we are charmed by the place. It’s a very welcoming city!


你是怎麼知道台灣的?這裡有沒有什麼是超乎你意料的?

我和我的夥伴想要離開歐洲去亞洲旅行,然後我們選擇了台灣,之前我們有讀到過關於台灣的東西,讓我們非常想去了解這個國家,令我們驚訝的是我們對這裡幾乎一見鍾情,去過的地方、遇到的人、吃到的食物都很令人印象深刻,雖然我們來這邊的時間剛好是非常時期(疫情期間),但我們還是感受到了很多美好,不難想正常情況下,這裡應該是一個像天堂的地方!

我喜歡台北的其中一點是它的對比,這是一個大城市,但漫步在街訪小巷時,可以看到人們整齊地的排列種植物、坐在街道旁、晾衣服等等,總之就是一些很日常的生活,而這些日常生活反而為這個城市增添一點生氣。 現在我們人正在高雄,雖然待的時間還不長,但我們也被這個地方吸引了,是一個非常熱情的城市!




How long have you been working as a comic illustrator?

Well, I’ve been in this job for 15 years already, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I started making some comics for small European publishers and then the opportunity arose to work for the US market. I worked there as a penciller and colorist for IDW Publishing and I even got to work as an inker for Marvel. After that, for a time I did character design for different projects. Lately I’ve been doing illustration work, which I enjoy a lot, since it takes less time than working on a comic book and allows me to experience other workflows.


作為漫畫家有多久的時間了?

嗯...我從事這個工作已經有15年了,對此我不勝感激。我一開始是為歐洲的小型出版商製作一些漫畫,然後有機會為美國市場工作,我在那當過IDW Publishing的penciler和上色師,甚至還當過Marvel的墨線師。 之後有一段時間我為不同的漫畫進行角色設計, 而最近我一直在進行插畫工作,這很有趣,因為比編寫漫畫所需的時間更少,並且可以讓我體驗工作中其他的流程。




Are you specialized in a single type of illustration or comic?

The truth is that I never quite know how to answer that. I’m not good at categorizing what I do in specific styles. I’ve done illustrations for magazines, for packaging, for events… and I’m always keen on trying new things with respect to my style. I’d say that when I’m illustrating I have two very well defined variants. There’s a more personal one in which I use all the skills learned during these years. And then there’s a more simplified one which stems directly from one of my inspirations —1930s cartoons. With these two styles I can encompass different kinds of illustration.

Regarding comics, I could say the same. I have a more personal style with very clear references (Jamie Hewlett, Albert Monteys…), but I also slightly adapt my style when I am commissioned a comic which requires it.


請問你擅長插圖或是漫畫中的哪一種類型呢?

事實是我從來都不知道該如何回答這樣的問題,我不是很擅長將自己的工作按特定的形式做分類,我曾為雜誌、包裝或活動做插畫工作,而且我也一直熱衷嘗試與自己風格有關的新事物,我想說的是當我在做插畫時,我有兩種方式:ㄧ是運用了這些年來學到的所有技能,這是一種較個人的方法, 然後還有一個更簡單的是源於我的靈感之一-1930年代的漫畫, 通過這兩種方式,我可以駕馭不同類型的插圖。

關於漫畫,我可以這麼說我的個人風格較為明確(Jamie Hewlett,Albert Monteys…),但是當我畫他人的漫畫時,有一些要求在,我也會略微調整自己的風格。



What do you think about the comic scene in Asia?

Unfortunately, I am not very well acquainted with the comic scene in Asia. But I’ve been working to remedy that for some years now! Manga are becoming an almost continuous source of inspiration. I am always surprised whenever I read them. Not only by the kinds of stories told, but also by the way of telling them. Stories are told without seemingly any kind of pretentiousness and I think that allows for the creation of true masterpieces.

I’d love to get to know the Taiwan comic scene. I just discovered an amazing artist, Tonn Hsu, and some incredible illustrators, like Fibo Lin or Croter, but I haven’t been lucky enough to discover more Taiwanese comic book artists.


你怎麼看漫畫在亞洲這一塊?

不幸的是我不太了解亞洲的漫畫界,但這些年來,我一直有努力嘗試去了解,漫畫逐漸成為靈感的來源,每當我看漫畫時,不僅是故事類型還有故事的表達方式,總是會讓我驚訝, 而故事表達出的感覺似乎沒有任何虛假,我認為這可以創造出真正傑出的作品。

我很想了解台灣漫畫,但我還不知道台灣有哪些漫畫家,不過我剛剛倒是發現了一些了不起的藝術家許彤(Ton Hsu),以及魚丸(Fibo Lin)以及洪添賢(Croter)等一些令人很驚艷的插畫家。



Any advice for people starting with illustration for comics ?

I don’t feel like I’im in a position to give good advice to anybody, hahaha. But if I had to say anything, it would be: when you are drawing comics think of storytelling. That’s the only thing that matters. Drawing is storytelling. Inking is storytelling. Even coloring is storytelling. We want the audience to read our comics, not just to glance over them.


對於想從事漫畫或插畫的人們你有什麼建議嗎?
我覺得我無法給任何人好的建議,哈哈哈! 但是,如果我不得不說什麼,那就是:“當你在畫漫畫時,會想到講故事”, 那是最重要的事情, 繪畫就是在講故事、 上墨就是在講故事, 甚至著色也是在講故事, 我們希望讀者在閱讀我們的漫畫時,不是只是瞥一眼而已。






www.behance.net/wildillustrator
www.instagram.com/sr.squirrel

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All the pictures and words in this article belongs to River and Germán Torres and have copyright
If you would like to use it please contact us first, We like to share.

本文中的所有圖片和文字版權由River和Germán Torres所有。
我們樂於分享,但若您想截取使用,請先聯繫我們。


28 April 2020

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