129 Quotes by Adrian Tomine

  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    Just in terms of being able to be a professional artist, but also it's nice to not have to dread introductions. "What you do for a living?" It used to be easier just to tell people that I was a magazine illustrator than try to explain that I did comics, but not the kind of comics that they were used to, and no, it's not pornography, etc. And now people even of our parents' generation are familiar with the term "graphic novel," which is kind of amazing.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    I guess there's just a part of me that's not very enthusiastic about finding myself ten years from now halfway through a story that may or may not be any good.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    I think in terms of getting new artists who are not in that sort of stereotypical teenage boy demographic; there's been a lot of progress recently. And I shouldn't make a definitive statement about this, but my impression is that the main impediment to progress in that regard is the number of people who are choosing to make a go of it.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    I think it’s nice if someone respects whatever their endeavor is, whether it’s dance or art or stand-up comedy, to not assume that they’re gonna be an overnight sensation, that it’s this great craft that takes a lot of hard work to get good at.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    I get the impression from some people that unless they get direct access to characters’ thoughts and realizations, either through thought balloons or narrations or some sort of showy action, then those thoughts and realizations never existed. Some of the story hinges on believing in the reality of it, that if someone is sitting silently in a chair, they’re not just sitting there completely brain-dead, that there is stuff happening internally that we as the observer don’t have access to.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    Ninety percent of the time when I'm working, there's this very palpable sensation that I'm doing everything wrong and should just give up.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    To me, one of the big fears of doing a big huge graphic novel is locking yourself into one style and getting halfway through it and going, 'Oh I made the wrong choice,' which is a recurring nightmare I have.

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  • Author Adrian Tomine
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    A lot of my fears come out in my work rather than life.

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