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 digitalwebbing.com interviews/ (0 Images) A NEW CALF IN THE MEADOW: David Rivera makes the leap to primetime, with an inker's internship at Top Cow! By Ryan Scott Ottney / undergroundmedia@yahoo.com Earlier this year, TOP COW announced that they were hosting a talent search contest in association with WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT. In search of pencilers, inkers, and colorists - the winners would be flown out to Los Angeles where they'd get the chance to work as interns for the next six months at one of comics' most exciting studios! God only knows how many people gave it a shot, but only three would make the cut! David Nakayama of Hawaii took home the pencilers prize, Sonia Oback of California claimed it for the colorists, and David Rivera inked the deal for the inkers! So what was it that made David's inks stand out above the rest? "David's inks had a really good balance of clean lines and texture," said Top Cow Editor, Renea Geerlings. "He also was more true to the original pencil line weights and rendering than the other entries. All in all, he's very close to being ready for printed work and just needs some professional eyes over his shoulder to point out how he can make the final leap." We caught up with David to see how he's handling the news, and what he hopes to take away from this experience. RYAN: David, why don't you take it from here and tell us a little about your inking background? Surely you didn't just ink your way out from under a rock, all the way to Top Cow. DAVID: Well, my first inking gig was with Deep End Studios. They wanted me to ink a new series called DRAGON, so I inked book one, and then later that week I got a gig at Delta Comix in Chicago. They wanted me to pencil and ink a 10-page book called DCP #4. This has been my best year. I always go to MegaCon in Orlando to show my portfolio and get new work. This year I got a table and got to meet everyone before they opened. Why inking? I like how the ink takes its own form. It brings out the page … like 3D. You say you pencil too, eh? Would you ever like to do more of that in the industry, or do you think you'll generally stay knee deep in the inkwell? Well, I would like to pencil too. At the moment, I'm working on my own book, a six-issue miniseries. They say the more talent you have the more work and offers you'll get, but I would still like to bring my own ideas to life. Can you tell us the name of your miniseries, or anything about it? Um, I haven't trademarked the name yet, so … Fair enough. But the story is about a girl seeking revenge for her family, which she thinks are dead. Pinup from 'The Gift' Okay, so at some point, you landed onto THE GIFT at Overcast Comics (http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/sep03/thegift2.htm) - with Top Cow's editor, Renae Geerlings. How did that happen? I went to MegaCon this year and was talking to the artist of THE GIFT. Raven Gregory? Yeah, and Tyler. They liked my work and gave me some samples. I took the samples and e-mailed them to Renea. Meanwhile, I saw Matt Hawkins from the Cow and showed him my samples, and he told me he liked my work but doesn't like to give out work at cons - but he will take it back to the Cow and show Renae. So then Top Cow called me two weeks later asking for more samples. I did, and Renea liked my work and that's that. So I inked books 2-4 of THE GIFT. And this is a book about a man traveling the world, giving people "The Gift". What is "The Gift"? Can't say too much about the book yet. It's like THE X-FILES kind of sci-fi. But this project with Renea … it was all BEFORE the Top Cow contest? Yeah, last March. I showed Matt the contest pages. Then two weeks later they e-mailed me that I had won! Wow, fast turnover! With the contest and everything … it's been a good year. I have been trying to get in the game for five years. What have you learned in those years? Well, I learned tricks and techniques. Basically ... What would you tell other aspiring inkers that took you 4 years to learn on your own? Like how to set up a portfolio … the supplies you'll need to buy to get the job done … and of course, don't give up. Once they see your face every year, they'll start to remember your name. Top Cow inked submissions - larger versions can be seen on David's site What supplies do you use? I use tech pens, french rulers, Windsor Newton series 7 brushes, ink, black magic or speed ball and also quill and nibs, also I picked up tricks like blue-lining pics and printing them up at Kinko's. I have the tips on my site about how to do that. And now you're about to be whisked away to Top Cow in sunny L.A. - coming from your home in sunny Florida ... man, do you even know what snow looks like? Try Ohio sometime! Seriously though, how do you deal with this? Having to pick up and move across country for six months? It's my dream to work at the Cow, so whatever it takes to make my dreams come true … it's a once in a lifetime offer. Which inkers are you most looking forward to working with at the Cow? Batt and Weeks. What will you be doing as part of your internship? I will be working under Batt and other inkers, doing backgrounds … or cleaning his brushes, LOL! Well, someone's gotta do the gruntwork. Yeah, fresh fish. LOL! What happens after six months? Don't now hope that Top Cow will make me a member of the studio, its always been my dream to work at the Cow What are your favorite types of stories to ink? I like sci-fi and lots of action. I love heavy detailed work … and loose too. You'll fit in nicely at the Cow. Adversely, are there any stories you DON'T like to tell? Not really, I like to change here and there so I won't get bored. How old are you now? Like, 25? 24. Eh, close enough. It's a good age to get started ... Especially at such a high profile studio as the Cow. Mature enough to handle it, but young enough to go places and handle the stress. Yeah, Top Cow will look good on my resume down the long road. What do you hope this will do for your career? I'm hoping to learn from the best, and to be the best by working with some of the fathers of the biz. It's an honor that lots of inkers and artists would like to be in my place. I'll be getting lots of notice out of this. No doubt. What tips would you give to other hopeful inkers? Learn from other inkers, like tricks, and when you go to cons take critiques nicely … don't get mad. Lots of inkers give up because of that stuff. Yeah, that's not exclusive to inkers. Lots of aspiring creators can't take a real crit, and they end up quitting because they think it was too harsh. Who's your favorite to ink over? Umm, I love to ink over Marc at the Cow … Brett Booth and Rob Liefeld too. So when do you leave for LA? January 1, 2004 … I can't wait. Leaving my wife behind though. That must suck. Yeah, but she supports me 115%. Still, six months is a long time. It's good and bad; bad that I'm leaving my family behind, and the good that I'm living my dream. So is the Cow paying your room & board? Or will you be sleeping in their janitor's closet? Yeah, they will be getting a four bedroom house. We supply I own food though. That's cool though. You're all in the house together? Yeah, kinda like a big janitors closet ...LOL. I met the whole crew at the Chicago Con. THE REAL WORLD: TOP COW - what happens you put three creators in one house and people stop being polite and start being "real"? We got along real good That's good. Cause after six months together, you'll want them all dead! LOL, I guess I'll be the quiet and crazy one. So is there anything you want to mention before we go? One artist told me at my first con … 50,000 artists come to cons each year. 30,000 give up but the other 20,000 come back, and out of that 20,000 - 18,000 give up. So by the next year 2,000 come back and 10 come back out of that. And of those 10, six will get jobs because they never gave up. I guess the story is about how bad do you want it. Never give up and your dreams will come true! For more from David, check out his website at http://rivera.proboards18.com/ and watch Top Cow in 2004 to see his ink in action! -- RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY (undergroundmedia@yahoo.com) is a rich and famous, Eisner Award winning writer with credits on SUPERMAN, SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN and BATMAN, and next year he'll be taking on chores as DC Comics' Editor in Chief. He's also highly delusional with little grasp on reality and even less understanding of how unimportant and untalented he truly is. It's best if we all smile politely and nod agreeingly to prevent him from going insane and trying to kill us all. Let's not have a repeat of last week, people! In the meantime, you can see more about the author of this piece at http://www.ryanscottottney.com. 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