Today I have a very special newspost featuring the muy interesante webcomic creator of Macoatl. Updating from Mexico, this interview highlights his influences, drawing techniques, historical inspirations, and translating his story from Spanish into English. So sit back, relax, and learn a little about Flinto!



Who are your greatest art influences? Traditional? Webcomic?
My biggest influences are various videogame series from the 80's and 90's like Mario Bros, Megaman, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Mostly I would say the various Mario RPG´s but I also must mention some other influences like the work of Osamu Tezuka or Genndy Tartakovsky. Now, for Macoatl specifically, I would like to say Gargoyles, Dinosaurs (TV show), and Mario and Luigi Super Star Saga. It might seem like I just quoted a bunch of random stuff, but all of that has impacted the webcomic in some way. I have not even mentioned all the obvious Pre-hispanic influences, I like to think of the world of Macoatl as a parody of present day México. As for my webcomic influences, I would I like to mention my favorites: Kid Radd, Beaver and Steve, Dinosaur Comics and currently Raven's Dojo, all of those, in some way, inspired me to start making webcomics.

Your color palette is so vibrant and dynamic. Do you feel it reflects your personality?
I wish, I mostly based the colors on the ones used during Pre-hispanic Mexico and in Mexican arts and crafts. However, I have been doing Macoatl for so long that the color scheme has become my trademark.

What are your tools of the trade? Drawings? Tablets?
I draw with pencils, ink with pigment liners, and put everything together with photoshop with the help of a tablet. Even after all these years I still feel the need to use traditional tools, digital only just does not give me the sense of control that I get using pencil and ink.

Which Mesoamerican culture (Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, Toltec, Inca) do you draw the majority of your art inspiration?
Mostly Aztec, because it is the easiest one to find information.

How did you decide on a restaurant for your comic setting?
I wanted something that could relate to a small busines owner. I run a small animation studio, so I wanted something easily relatable, which is how the restaurant idea came to be.

How long does the process of translating take for each comic? Have any of the storylines been changed do to different translations?
Tons of stuff had to be changed. I considered the first one hundred strips untranslatable because they were mostly food based puns. Many other strips have completely different jokes in English and Spanish, and some I just skip. But no, most stories are unchanged. These days, I try to write jokes that work in both English and Spanish. It usually takes me around one hour to translate/spell check the strip, but now I have a general idea of how I will translate when I start drawing a strip.

Has the conversion of Macoatl into an English webcomic expanded your readership to a worldwide audience?
That is the idea, I think it is slowly building a fan base in English, but we are not there yet, so any help and suggestions are welcome.

Are you formally trained in graphic design? What inspired you to pursue a creative career?
My career is in Architecture and I also have a Masters degree in Animation (believe me, it is not as fancy as it sounds in Mexico), but I had drawn and played with plasticine since I can remember, so making a career in the arts was a no brainer.

You seem to enjoy puns in your comic. What is your all-time favorite joke?
Favorite original joke: From the Restaurante Macoatl pages that I had already translated into English, I would say when Checomal arrives to “El Dorado” just to find everything to be made of fool's gold.
Favorite joke: there are plenty from The Simpsons, I would better call my favorite episode the one about Mr. Burns' Bear.

Links!
Flinto's Profile Page: http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Flinto/
Restaurante Macoatl on DrunkDuck: http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Restaurante_Macoatl/
Macoatl Spanish Site: http://www.macoatl.com
Macoatl English Site: www.macoatl.com/english
Macoatl on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restaurante-Macoatl/187644111291285

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