By Grant Terwilliger
A childhood love for the legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, King Arthur and mythology inspired Senior BFA Artist Noah Honsinger to create a world of his own.
“At first, it wasn’t Zelda and D&D and all that stuff, it was drawing the characters from Dragon Ball Z,”Honsinger said. “Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds came out in like 2013 or so, and I played that, and then that got me really into Zelda. Then I started playing all the older games.”
Honsingers artistic process starts with brainstorming and finding inspiration to draw from.
“I just sit in silence and, that’s funny — and I draw it” “I take either inspiration from a game I’m playing, a show I’m watching or just stuff from my head.” Honsinger said.
After Honsinger discovers inspiration for his artwork, he begins his lengthy creative process by sketching out his artwork and arranging it over time.
“I do a lot of thumbnails first, like 10 to 20 really, really quick rough sketches of just the general composition. Then I’ll do a more refined sketch, and I’ll just pick away at that until it looks how I want it too,” Honsinger said.
Honsinger then uses a light table to transfer the images onto the final piece of paper and makes refinements here and there. Next, Honsinger traditionally inks the art piece.
“I feel like it’s my favorite medium, for sure. There’s something about doing it traditionally too that’s better for me, because it forces you to take your time,” Honsinger said. “Having to dip the pen and draw for like 45 seconds, it forces me to slow down and actually think about each of my pen strokes.”
Sometimes, Honsinger will digitally color his pieces. In the past he used watercolor to color his work. Honsinger throughout high school wanted to be a teacher and going into college thought of being a physics major or a history major, but decided that he would be an art teacher because he enjoyed both art and teaching.
“So, I want to be an art teacher. After this, I’m going to go to Adelphi University. They have a fully online art education program and I’m going to take that and then be an art teacher, but I’m taking the fall semester off to save money — doing commissions and stuff so I can afford that,” Honsinger said.
Honsinger’s artistic influence isn’t only from comics, shows and games, but from other illustrators. He is inspired by Hasui Kawase and his night scenes, Bernie Wrightson for his intricate illustrations in commercial material for Frankenstein, french comic illustrator Tim McBurney — who is heavily inspired by Japanese prints and Arthur Rackham’s heavy and accurate line work. Honsinger becomes immersed in the creation of his art.
“When I get into a drawing. I will not do anything but that drawing,” Honsinger said.
