Every Wednesday, I hang-out at the local coffee shop with the rest of Cloudscape, a collective of BC comic book creators. These regular meetings are to announce particular Cloudscape events, as well as to work on artwork and chat with other artists. Unlike most of the other members, I’m mainly a writer, and so I don’t spend my time sketching and generally have a hard time focusing on my writing during group meeting. Because of that, I spend most of my time circulating, talking to various members and taking a look at their work.

It’s fascinating to watch art be produced by a variety of artists, to see each one ponder their creations, choose an image, cross that image out, find a new one, move on to part 2 they’re satisfied with part 1. Each artist has his or her own particular style: there’s the Canadian manga artists, the more realistic ones, the graduates of animation school with their simple vibrant designs, the underground artist, the guy who’s style was influenced by Mayan art…. So many styles, so many creations.

I’ve worked with many of them myself, collaborating on various projects. There’s a joy in seeing one’s ideas given form and body thanks to the work of another. Something magical happens, a transmutation, an alchemical marriage, where the combined result is better than the some of its parts.