Four Questions with David Lloyd

I am David Lloyd. I am a sequential artist. At least I like to call myself a sequential artist because the word 'comics' has a lot of baggage behind it. Although in regular parlance I am a comic artist as people identify with that more easily. I write and draw comic strips, sequential arts of various kinds. I have been doing it for very long now, since 1977. I am based out of the UK and I am mainly known through my major success, which is V for Vendetta, that was also made into a film, which many people know about.

2. In the nearly four decades since you have been working, how has technology in the comic book industry business changed?

In terms of my craft, it has changed in radical ways. When I started out, artwork had to be done on board and paper. It was then printed and couriered to the publisher. Or you took it yourself to the publishers. Colouring, also, was very basic and it was very frustrating for artists who wanted better colours for their work but were limited by the choices that they had.

But now things are so different. You can scan and send the entire pages to the publishers directly, email it, there are no courier costs. The time to complete an entire book hasn't changed much though. Because it is still manual work, and an artist still has to sit in front of a computer or a drawing board to create the whole artwork. Maybe some artists have become adept at using digital technology so it is different for them, but not by much.

By and large the time taken hasn't decreased but it has become more efficient and easy. I have used digital techniques to make it a little faster but at the end of the day it still boils down to the artist and his or her speed at creating the works.

3. What is the technology setup that you use now, and how much have the tools impacted your work and helped improve it?

I use a Blackberry Curve 9300, since the last four years. I mainly use it for my emails, because I don't talk much on the phone so emails and Internet Messenger are the main reasons for using it. I use a basic desktop computer, an assembled Hewlett Packard, and the MacBook Pro 15", which is almost five years old. It is one of those huge old monsters, but it works very well.

I am currently heavily involved in my website www.acesweekly.co.uk, which is an exclusive digital art magazine, with serial stories and short stories. That is mainly my connection with using a computer now. As far as softwares I just use basic Photoshop CS 6. I don't use it for much more than lettering on the art. I use it to adapt colour when I am colouring. I use it in a minimalist way.

4. What would be your next upgrade, and on a similar note what is your dream setup?

Oh that is interesting. I would like to live in a warm country, and I have a nice house by the beach. And in the house I'd have a fantastic setup. Right from the latest MacBooks, the new iMac to the new mobile phones, maybe the new iPhone. Software-wise it would be something that is the latest ones be it Photoshop or anything else. When the time came up for me to upgrade I would look around at what is the latest and go about mixing and matching the ideal versions for me.

Four Questions is a NDTV Gadgets feature that takes a look at technology and it's impact on professionals from all walks of life.