Interview | Zoe Lacchei - Italian cover artist with work on Something is Killing the Children, Vampirella and Department of Truth

Divulgação | Zoe Lacchei

• Por Alisson Santos

Italian artist Zoe Lacchei is one of the most prolific cover artists working in comics today. Using different materials and techniques, Zoe Lacchei creates arts that mix reality and nightmare, generating images that are sometimes surreal, sometimes terror, sprinkled with sensuality and eroticism. Zoe Lacchei has worked on several titles that I admire in the industry: Something is Killing the Children, The Department of Truth, Vampirella, Ice Cream Man and many others. He took time out of his busy schedule to talk with us and we're so excited to share some of the questions he answered about his creative process, so read on!

1 - What is a typical workday like for you and what is your creative process like ?

I wake up very early in the morning and I go to my studio around 7:30 AM and I spend there 12 hours daily, 7 days on 7. When I was young I used to work during the night but then I've forced myself to stay as much healty as I can. I want to be honest : my whole creative process is around the "performance" and the stress is the fuel. Each time I work I think about the fans of the series I'm working on and I try to do my best to give them the best work I can.

Divulgação | Zoe Lacchei

2 - What do you think are the key qualities needed to be a great comic book artist ?

As a cover artist the main thing is reading the comic before making the cover. It's of main importance as a artist to respect the work of the other artists involved into the creative process: if you don't even know what that comic book is about the final result won't reflect the concept of the serie. The other thisng is to stay humble, always, especially when you have to submit sketches to the publisher and it could happen that yuor favourite sketch won't be the chosen one. In that case you can try to explain your point of view (and somethimes it works) but you must keep in your mind that you are working on a commission and you must keep yourself professional stanrting from macking sketches until respect the deadlines. It could sounds boring but a thing is making a cover for a publisher and a thing is making art for yourself: only in the second case you are really free to do what you want.

Divulgação | Zoe Lacchei

3 - What are some of the biggest challenges or frustrations you've had to deal with in creating art ?

This is a big question. There is a big difference between to work making art for yourself and to work under commission. When you make art for yourself you are free but it's not said that your work will sell and will make you earn money, because when you make art you show yourself, your artistical influences, your deep interests, your "soul" but it's not said that people will like it. I guess it the bigger struggle that all artists face in their life because it could be painful to try to share your real self into an artwork and don't be understood or appreciated. "You should make art for yourself only" sounds good but doesn't works in the real life.

Divulgação | Zoe Lacchei

4 - I love your work Something is Killing the Children, Vampirella and Department of Truth. So far, what is the most challenging and memorable job of your life ? 

I work as a cover artist since March 2020 but everything is related to Something is Killing the children has been very challenging. I became a fan of the serie when I began working on my first cover because I've read the comics before making the cover, as always, and there I've discovered the amazing work of Werther Dell'Edera (I adore him) and it's impossible to make covers better than his. When I made the Variant covers for SIKTC from issue 26 to 30, called the "Dark Serie", I felt the pressure of creating something on a comic book that was already so iconic in a very short period of time. My performance anxiety was at the high level possible but thanks to the SIKTC's fans and to the people who support my work everything went fine, in the end.

Divulgação | Zoe Lacchei

5 - Italy has long been one of the biggest producing countries for comic artists in the world and this is still the case today. Which comic book artists do you most admire in your country ?

If you are Italian is impossible do not think to Milo Manara but honestly I prefer other artists like Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Tanino Liberatore and legendary Adriano De Vincentiis who is an amazing artist, a spiritual master and a professional cat lover. During these days all my love and my respect go to a great artist who has been my teacher when I was in my 20, Saverio Tenuta who left this world suddenly just a few days ago. He taught me that making art is about passion, sacrifice and infinite humbleness.

Divulgação | Zoe Lacchei

6 - What are your opinions on the digital vs traditional art debate ?

I don't think that there is a debate about digital vs traditional art because both of them are ways to create something unique but using 2 different medias. The elephant in the room is the AI generated art that is not art at all and it should be forbidden for making everyhting expession that can be called "art". Am I against the tecnology? Absolutely no, I'm against THAT kind of technology!

Even if an artist create using an elettronic tablet there is human behind the artwork so when you'll see that piece of art you are going to look at the sould of a person and his unique way to be (human).

Real Art is sacrifice, this is what people don't undestand. If you are good doing something it's not enough because you need to put your efforts, your dreams, your sacrifice into everything you do to have that "creative spark". Writing a detailed description of what you want to see on a screen and waiting that an AI will realse it is a way to refuse to learn everything that is important to arrive there : the process of learning is more important than the final result.