YILDIRAY ÇINAR

Esra: Do you wanna sit inside or outside?
Yıldıray: Inside.
Esra: Ok then, I'll be waiting at the terrace  

Are you experiencing the success you had dreamed of?
Yeah! When they first offered me to draw Superman, I was drawing my first illustration. I dropped the pencil suddenly and stopped. "Today is the day!" I said. This is the moment that I was dreaming of since my childhood! There was Superman on the paper! I was really touched. I stood, I couldn't even draw. I started to think "How will I draw!"... (Shouts of laughter)
 
Is there any pressure on you about the psychology of this job?
Actually this happened in Superman. I wasn't pleased with that work. Because I tested myself too much. You have to be self confident to draw original and qualified comics, you mustn't do any comparisons in your whole life. You have to trust your heartfelt source. Then everything goes well.
 
You are drawing for the biggest companies in the world right now...
Yes, DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
 
How did you feel yourself when they offered this?
I moved up one step more and achieved I said to myself... It was the turning point of my life. It's something like a breakpoint to draw for these two big companies. I'm in such a position that from now on I have to put consistent things on my work.
 
DC Comics and Marvel are competitors, right?
There has been a nice competition between them. One of them is Warner Bross and the other one is Walt Disney. Actually marketing strategies of both of them are parallel to each other. Let me tell you the story: I had a particular contract with DC Comics for four years. In this period of time I didn't work with anybody. When the contract finished, Marvel offered me a job so that I started. At the same time I have been making covers for DC. In short, I am a freelance illustrator.
 
How do you consider the offers? For example; a big company wants to work with you. What if you don't like the story? Will you still be working?
Luckily, this never happened (Shouts of laughter). If it doesn't suit you, it is the best to refuse but this is not that easy. Capitalism is so cruel. Specially, if a big company shows a door to you, at once they find someone else. So in the beginning I didn't prefer to do something like that. I mean I still don't do right now either because I'm still in the beginning. But after reaching a point, you may have the chance to refuse. There were some works that I refused in the last year.
 
What about the "Iron Man"?
The publisher told me that I was capable for drawing Iron Man; this job suits me because the story was familiar. They said that I was good at the technological images and fictions. So the Iron Man offer came!
 
Do you think this success is all about with your talent or you landed on your feet?
I draw a lot and a lot... I can easily say that I did purely by my own ability and work. When I went to United States to meet with Image Comics; I have already drawn for a few monthly magazines there so that they've known me. When it came to real everything became concrete. After meeting face to face, they offered me the job.

Illustrating a story sounds naive. When you think about the industry with its belongings it's such a paradox...
This market looks big but actually it's not that big. So the creating team and the publishing team is always in touch and they're like friends. Except the management; everyone wants the same thing. I'm not sure if we can use the word naive. Cartoon strip stories are a kind of storytelling. It has a few branches of art on its own. It's so related with film making and illustration. You can tell a story by contiguous arts or by picture. It's kind of a hybrid art. So it's hard to understand the position of this job for the people who are not doing it. Taking the good side of it, it's a beautiful work because it's esthetic.  On the other hand, you have to carry on this traditionally. You can underline the stories related with life much colorful. There are examples to this, I mean period works. Even more they're like historical documents.

Let's come to producing part...
First the script comes, then I draw the whole story in sketch. It goes to the editors as an outline. They work on it. After they say "ok", for the final part I start to draw again. In normal circumstances, the issue must be finished before two months.
 
How does it feel to spend the time like this?
Interesting! It goes faster a little bit... Because drawing is like a meditation; I don't understand how time goes...
 
You must stay alone to finish your work; right?
Ordinarily you must be a team to make comics. After I finish drawing, it goes to color separation and then to calligraphy. The editor confirms again. You need three days for just one page. But the hardest part of it is the creating moment really. The moment that you look at the empty page on you after the script comes. I choose to be alone at that point.
 
How do you criticize yourself? How can you understand that it is "done"?
First of all, I search for an answer to this question: "If I were them shall I read? Shall I buy these drawings?" Self-confirmation is so important for me. Besides, in the beginning there are some narrative rules. As it's like in film making; cuts, compositions everything must be in anatomical ordered. It's not only about screen. There are important details like light and shadow. But at the sketching time, if you understand what's going on without looking at the character's speech balloon, then you're done. Then comes the esthetic part. I am already a big critic to myself. I can't look at the jobs that I've made afterwards. When the issue comes to me, I just take a look and then remove to cupboard.
 
Is the mood important when drawing?
If you are in rush, sometimes you have to push yourself.
 
Are there days that you don't feel like drawing?
Yes sometimes... But I don't prefer.
 
Does it affect your drawing?
You can understand it actually. When I look at other illustrators’ drawings today, I can feel their mood. Sometimes in bad mood, sometimes careless maybe...  I can realize the psychology of the illustrator. I'm sure that you can also understand these feelings from my drawings.
 
You wanted to become an illustrator since your childhood times. What pushed you to this feeling?
It has an amazing magic. I was dreaming myself as I was the person who draw in the comics I read in my childhood. The first comics I read was Conan. This was a new feeling for me. I don't know where did it come from... I just looked at that magazine again and again for months. Contiguous pictures, fantastic and breathless stories... They were also out of reality. When you are in it, you forget about the rest of the world, you are in another reality. Maybe a kind of escape. Especially if a story catches you from more than one point; you can never get rid out of it. It is like addiction.
 
I have to ask something disappointing. You couldn't use your right hand after you had a train accident...
It was horrible. Suddenly my right hand which is everything to me in this life, was gone. Because it feeds me emotionally; makes a getaway point and satisfaction for me. I couldn't use it for two months. And at that moment I felt like I didn't spend the time as I want. Maybe I was lazy. At that period of my life I criticized my life and works. Afterwards when my hand healed, I started to work two times more than before.
 
What if everything went bad...
I already started to draw with my left hand. I couldn't give up, I would carry on. A few days ago I found the sketching book that I've drawn with my left hand, it was stunning.                                                                                                
 
Would it gone like that?   
I was determined yes it would be fine...     
                                                     
What a passion!                                                                       
I adore...
 
What comes after ability for a comic book artist?
Diligence. Discipline. Loyalty. If you don't create all the time, you can't move forward. I mean it's impossible. After drawing a single page you can't stop for a year!
 
What do you do when you're depressed?
At that moment I know that I can't create. I go outside quickly. It’s crystal clear!  Going to a movie may be a good choice sometimes. Besides the music also feels myself good.
 
Music also takes part in your life; right?
Yes in an amateur way. I try some new things on my own. Recently I've made some recordings at home. I play guitar. We had a band in Ankara for a long time, I was a drummer in the band. Actually I listen hard music but in the recordings I tried something post-rock, soft and atmospheric.
 
So, what is the major thing that brings this success?
I must tell that it's the passion. I love my job. I love the feeling of progress. It's not something like social status that I want. I want to progress my work in an esthetic way. I am happy when I feel like I moved up one step more. But at the same time I can feel sorry.
 
Why? Does it makes you lonely?
When you progress esthetically, you aware lots of ugly things surrounds you. I claim that no one can stand against it. There are lots of people around me making different kinds of art and every one of them is sad about this (Shouts of laughter). Actually this also feeds me... This energy that I live, makes me create much more by a paper.
 
When you take a look at the future...
I see albums full of the characters which I created. I mean I want to see more works that are separated from mainstream. I wanna see special works. We’ll see if I am capable of this...
 
Do you use all of your potential?
No, no...
 
How much of it?
Maybe in monthly magazines, I use 60 percent of it. I'll never be able to use 100 percent of my potential I think. Some of my works will satisfy me more, that’s it.
 
Or maybe the drawings that you do for yourself...
Besides the work, yes I have some drawings which feeds me. Free and mind blowing drawings. My editor wants those for all the time from me. But it's not something like that... When it is crossed with another story, I can't catch the same feeling. I have a piece of Superman and Batman work, an eight pages story. The story that brings Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne together. Both of them are children and it fades in a farm... I made that work by desire. There is a part of me in it. So it has a special place for me.
 
Do you feel uncomfortable when the things inside of you can't go outside?
Of course... I really get angry. I look at it and I tell myself that "What is it! You can do much better, you know that!" and I erase whole page, I start from the beginning (Shouts of laughter). I am not sure if the people feel the same things like me but I came to world for this job. I must appreciate this. This is my way…
 
Enjoy your trip...