Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500204
SUMMER 2023 9 A R T & C R A F T ARTIST: Max Graenitz TITLE: Winslow & Hastings MEDIUM: Pen and Ink, Photoshop, and Risograph SIZE: 11" x 17" A few years back, Max Graenitz was feeling artistic burnout. Originally from the Bavarian Alps and now living in L.A., he'd been working in traditional 2D animation for studios like DreamWorks, Disney, and Warner Bros. for years. "Drawing all day long as a job made me lose the fun of drawing for myself," he says. He needed to find his way back to the original spark that made him want to do art in the first place. The result is Winslow & Hastings, one of a series of prints about a pair of specialized repair/servicemen working mundane jobs and facing various predicaments in a futuristic world. Each print has a story, and in this one, Graenitz describes a desert wind blowing at night, the kind that will "curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. Anything can happen." While Graenitz is working on weaving each story into a bigger project, he draws without a specific plan. The line art is done with an ink pen, and he plays around in Photoshop to experiment with color. Then he has to mix the paint, testing combinations to get the many varying shades in a two-color print. Finally, for the Risograph printer, each color needs to be translated into a black and white image. Graenitz describes the printer as essentially a copy machine where a different drum is used to print each color. "I love working with it since it has a limited color range and isn't very exact, which demands a lot of experimentation," he says. "Rather than just reproducing a digital image, there is still a creative process as you print." You can find more of Graenitz's work at maxgraenitz.com. CREATIVE SPARKS SUMMER 2023 9