Tell us a little about yourself?

I'm Christina Strain and I'm 27, I live in California and I've been coloring for Marvel comics for almost 5 years now. I've been into comics since I was I was in the 7th grade and I grew up in Korea so I grew up with manga/manwha. I still mostly read manga and manwha so most of my current favorite titles include books like Afterschool Nightmare, Nana, and My Heavenly Hockey Club.

I went to Louisiana State University and got a degree in Graphic Design before I started coloring full time. I know a lot of comic artists who didn't go to college or didn't finish college who're proud that they didn't, and while that's fine, I'm proud of the fact that I did. College taught me a lot of things not just as an artist but as a person. I matured while I was there and learned a ton as an artist. I think college really helps round you out and forces you to work in mediums that you might not have otherwise. I also realized my passion for coloring while I was in college and switched from penciling to coloring. And this was great because I was able to work on coloring while in school and do some professionally to get my feet wet and then by the time I graduated, I had a full time job coloring.

What made you decide that comics were what you want to do and what inspires your work?

Actually, my mom is Korean so while I've really dreamt about working in comics since jr. high, I always had this assumption that I was going to work with computers because she pushed the academics on me really hard. So I drew in my spare time to just kinda get away from it all. It was like a pressure release for me. I drew comics in highschool with internet art circles and loved every minute of it. I would work hard and late into the night to just get pieces done and then update my site with pages and pages of art. It was fun and I was passionate about it, but it was just a hobby and crazy dream.

When I got to college my degree was in networking/programming. At the end of my first year I met Amanda Conner and she some of my stuff and was like, "this is way better than I expected, you should switch majors." And I was like, "That would piss off my mom." She looked at me and said, "If you want it badly, you just have to go for it... completely and totally go for it. Switch majors." It was that moment that I realized that I did want it badly enough so I did exactly what she said. I went home, switched all the classes I'd registered for, and worked my butt off to get all the art classes I needed to get into graphic design. Best decision of my life and I ALWAYS think of Amanda when I remember it.

What kind of role do you have as a comic artist?

I'm a colorist! It makes me like the drummer of the band. You might not pay direct attention to me, but I get your foot tappin along with the bass player (inkers!). Comics in the states work like this - Writer (writes the script) - Penciler (draws the pages) - Inker (finishes, touch ups, and inks the pages) - Colorist (color pages)/Letterer (puts in the word bubbles). Colorists, as far as the original art staff goes, are like the last line of defense. We make up for deadline screw ups and we fix last minute art issues ALONG with DOING OUR JOBS!!! It's stressful and frustrating at times, but totally worth it.

Are you self-published/online or do you work for a major comic label? Can you share some of your experiences with us?

I've worked for a few companies, some small, some large. I can say I definitely prefer working with bigger companies. Currently I'm exclusively working with Marvel and it's great. They leave me alone for the most part and I turn in my work and they send me my pages. It can be a little lonely working at home all the time but I have instant messenger and it keeps me company!


What mediums do you prefer to work with and why? What mediums/artists do you admire?

I obviously prefer photoshop because I'm so comfortable with it. But I love doing things manually. I love marker and color pencil and screentoning. I do paint occasionally, mostly when I'm painting something for someone but I don't do it enough.

As far as artists go, I admire too many of them. In coloring I'd say Laura Martin, Justin Ponsor, Kelsey Shannon, Peter Steigerwald, Sonia Oback, Morry Hollowell, Dave McCaig, Dean White, Emily Warren, and a few more I KNOW I'm forgetting to mention, and I also have a new found appreciation and love for John Rauch. And as far as fine art goes, there are some obvious ones like Audrey Kawasaki, Luke Chueh, Deth P. Sun, Kozyndan, Wil Lin, Stella Im Hultberg, and Noferin. Yeah, I like the cuter/Asian stuff.


When working with a writer, what is involved and how does your approach to drawing the comic change as compared to writing and drawing your own ideas?
As a comic artist who else would you need to work with and how closely do you work with these other artists?

Well, I don't work directly with a writer, but I do occasionally get color notes from them. Most of the time I just follow instructions, sometimes I write them to suggest something else to them.

I mostly work with pencilers and editors. I work differently with different pencilers. When I'm working with one I've never worked with, I usually email them to ask them what they're looking for in colors. I tend to taylor my style to fit who I'm working with and the story we're working on. I like to make sure my penciler likes what I'm doing to, because ultimately, I want them to want to work with me again, because if they do, that means I've done my job well. So I usually send in progress shots or pages as I go to make sure my editors and pencilers dig it and then I just do what I do and hope it doesn't suck!

So in the end, pencilers and editors are kind of like my art directors. They normally don't micro manage, but they help me find my direction and let me know what I need to change.

Do you still use reference material such as stock or from life for poses, buildings and other props and item when drawing out comics? How do you come up with the poses? Are you ever unsatisfied with your work or have an artist’s block?

I do. Mostly real live reference. I hate referencing other artists too much because I want to color like me and not someone else. So I ref photos for anatomy issues (I still have a lot of those) and I'll even take pictures of myself with proper lighting just to make sure I'm not messin it up.

Yeah, I get artist block all the time. You just have to kind of work through it I find. I'll hate my work for months and then do something that seems to break that and I feel like I've gotten a fresh breath of air. Those breaths are far and few between, but still, it's worth working for. And it's ok to dislike what you do, it helps you strive to be better. A lot of my artist friends who I respect deeply hate their own work and I love it. So yeah, if they hate it, you shouldn't feel discouraged that you might hate your own stuff, you're not alone!!!