Broken Frontier

When your first project is updating one of America’s favorite fairy tales it can be easy to bite off more than you can chew.  But with their inventive artistic style and quality storytelling, Illusive Arts have started to leave their mark.  They stopped by BF to talk about Dorothy and how it all comes together.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Talk a little about the beginnings of Illusive Arts.  How did everyone become involved?  Did the idea of Dorothy come first or was that chosen after the studio was formed?

ANNA WARREN BOERSIG: Mark Masterson and Greg Mannino met years ago at the San Diego Comic Con. As Mark is a writer and Greg is an artist, they had the natural yin-yang mix needed to make a comic book. Dorothy was the project that finally came together.

At the same time, I happened to contact Mark, my old college friend, to see what he was up to. I (formerly an Art Major) had finished my MBA in e-business and wanted to start my own business.

Within a few months the four of us—Mark, Greg, myself, and my husband Ray Boersig (a CG artist) formed Illusive Arts Entertainment, LLC, as a multi-media dream factory.

We all have different strengths as far as the company is concerned: I am the Manager of Illusive; Mark Masterson is the Company Psychologist; Ray Boersig is the Glorious CG Animator and Greg Mannino is the Graphic Artist On High.

After publishing Dorothy for two years, we are expanding with a new comic called Tony Loco. Ray and Mark are also working on a short sci-fi movie.

MARK MASTERSON: Dorothy came first. Well, Greg asking me to join his Dorothy crew came first. Then came Dorothy. Then came Illusive Productions. Then came Illusive Arts Entertainment. Then came the chicken.

RAY BOERSIG: My first work on Dorothy was the doll on chapter 3. Being a CG artist, my wife Anna, who had loaned Mark and Greg money to finance the second book, had expressed to me I should join the company.  I was reluctant for a variety of reasons.  However eventually I came on board to work.

BF: Why The Wizard of Oz?  Was this something in gestation for a long time?

MARK: The Wizard of Oz is a purely American fairy tale. It's our epic, our Ring Cycle, our King Arthur. It's a cultural touchstone. For us, there's a natural desire to explore and expand that myth for a modern audience.

I'd read Baum's books as a child, rediscovered them in college, and developed a science-fiction version for my idea box. Greg had seen the movie many times and a flash of inspiration drove him to create a modern version. So it was in gestation for a long time, and also, for the twinkling of an eye.

ANNA: Greg came up with the original Dorothy concept. He wanted to do a Lord of the Rings style epic version with a bad-ass girl. After a few conversations with Mark, Greg storyboarded and shot the whole first chapter on his own. Marvel-style, Mark went in and did the dialogue and narrations after.

BF: As I pointed out in my review of the Dorothy trade, I pointed out that the most people are more familiar with the Judy Garland musical than the L. Frank Baum book.  However, with the comic you lessen (if not do away with completely) most of the additions of the movie.  Was there any worry about going away from what most people know?  How did you decide on the particular origins for each character?

MARK: Part of the change from the movie is practical - the books are in the public domain and free to use; the movie is not.  Elements that are specific to the movie are under copyright, and we wouldn't want to infringe on that.

The other thing is that we find the books to be much more rich and interesting.  The famous MGM musical is great, but the Baum's book has so many more characters and themes that need to be brought out and played with.

The third element is that the whole creative team wants input - to truly make this a 21st Century Oz, and not just a retelling. Often Greg and the others will come up with a fantastic SF visual idea that I then use words to wrestle into an Oz concept - like the snake in Chapter 3. He's a blend of Oz characters (and the reason why may be explained later in the story), but he started as Greg envisions a snake! The origins of the characters are Baum's themes, our imaginations, and Let's surprise people.

RAY: For me that was a concern.  I came on of course after the fact. I have grown to love the concept and what we are doing with it.  I hope that people can see past there preconceived notions of what Oz is or isn't and enjoy the book.

BF: You've gone with a very interesting artistic style for this.  Where did the inspiration come for this approach?

ANNA: Greg actually wanted to create Dorothy as a movie, but the cost to create a movie is far more than a comic book, so comic book it became. He wanted Dorothy to be dynamic and unique visually.

MARK: It's a movie on paper. Greg put all his skills and passion into it. We'll tell stories any way we can.

BF: Take me through the design of an issue if you can.  Do you have a large bible of images that you use for reference?  If you can do it without getting too technical, what are the steps taken to transform the images to the final product?

RAY: There is a bible that we reference.  Of course the book itself is like Jazz.  We have melody and we improvise notes around that melody. 

The process starts with the bible which is the original outline.  There is a story meeting for each issue.  After that there storyboards are drawn as well as new concept sketches for scenery and characters. The photo shoots are done of the actors as are photo shoots of the practical models and scenery.  CG models are created and later rendered with lighting to match the scenes.  All of which are created and combined in Photoshop. Mark revises the script as changes are made.  Finally the book is lettered.

ANNA: The process to create each issue is basically the same, whoever the lead artist is. Greg was the lead director/artist on issues 1-4. Ray took the helm on 5 through 7, but the team works to create a consistent visual style.

However, as we get our hands on more (or less) time and technology, the physical process of each issue alters.

Story meetings come first, by phone and e-mail. Then Greg or Ray draws storyboards. Photo shoots of Catie Fisher and any other humans involved in that chapter follow. Photos of the practical models (e.g. Scarecrow or To-2) are taken as needed.

The computer-generated 3D models are now made with a program called Lightwave. Ray builds the structures, creatures and characters of Oz while the rest of the process continues.

In the end, everything is composited and blended with Photoshop. After the majority of the art is done, Mark writes the words that go on top of the art. Then it’s all sent to a letterer and finally the printer.

MARK: 1) Story meeting. After story meeting, I write up a treatment for that chapter. 2) Story Boards. Story boards are drawn, ignoring the story meeting. 3) Photo Shoot. Photos are taken, ignoring the story boards. 4) Compositing. Comic pages are created. CGI models mean we can ignore the photo shoot. 5) Scripting. Words are generated for the panels, ignoring the intent of the artists. 6) Profit.
He said, jokingly.

BF: You've used real people as characters in the book.  Is there a casting call for each issue?  How did Catie Fisher become involved and become Dorothy?

MARK: Catie is the ultimate Girl Next Door.  Greg's known her forever.  He needed a Dorothy. She agreed.  She wasn't interested in being a model.  She wasn't interested in stardom. She's perfect.

RAY: For the most part the people are friends or acquaintances that look like what we are picturing for the part.

ANNA: Greg has known Dorothy model Catie Fisher since she was a child. Catie has the perfect look that Greg envisioned for Dorothy.

For other characters, we haven’t needed a casting call, yet. We’ve mostly used friends and family—Catie’s mother plays Aunt Em. My nephew modeled for the Munchkins. Greg’s sister and brother-in-law played the Scientist and his wife in Issue 6. A friend of Ray's became Commander Stern in Issue #5. Greg himself played the Scarecrow, before the transformation in issue 4. If people want to star for free and they live near Tucson or San Jose, they can go ahead and send us some headshots.

BF: How much time is needed to create an issue?  I only ask because I am curious what else Illusive Arts may have in store.

MARK: Too much time.  We're all so busting at the seams to tell Dot's story that even doing it weekly would seem like forever.  Luckily, fans are more patient. Ha!  Ha!

No, really.  The hyper-fantastic art style for Dorothy always takes longer than we expect. It's hard to get it right, and when we screw up, we can't just throw money at it to make it better. It takes time. It takes skill.

Dorothy is our flagship title. We'll never let her down. The rest of the fleet, well... that's just behind the curtain.

ANNA: On average the art and writing for an issue is created in 5 months. But we always strive to get the book to readers as soon as possible.

Our latest publishing endeavor is Tony Loco, a story of madness and redemption, with violence and stuffed elephants. Created by Mark Teague and Derek McCaw, the first issue hit in December. This comic book is traditionally penciled, but photos and digital coloring help create the final product. We love that this venture has the multi-media element, carrying forward the tradition set by Dorothy.

While we are looking for other projects to publish we are being very cautious about growth. We have learned from other publishing companies, slow and steady lasts much longer. We want to publish comics that are unique and striking.

Furthermore, because of the intense art-style of Dorothy, we can see how Dorothy could become a movie or TV series. We get a lot of interest and are looking forward to seeing where that goes.

Head to www.illusivearts.com for more information on Illusive Arts, Inc.