Interviews with Thomas von Kummant

The illustration is a triangular composition and is intended to reflect the term GUNG HO - GUNG HO in the sense of youthful recklessness and high spirits. The inspiration comes from my own holiday memories of holidays in southern Europe.

I wanted to depict the imminent danger, but also the youthful cockiness and the outburst of pure adrenaline.

Since the image is digitally created, I will probably offer it one day as an original NFT.

It took me 3-4 days from the sketch to the finished illustration.

At the end of the second book, the two teenagers escape from the protective settlement on their motorbike and are attacked by the dangerous rippers, a new species of animal, a freak of nature.

This scene is symbolic for the second book of our comic series GUNG HO.

I had the motif in mind from the beginning.

The Cover Illustration was made especially for the French GUNG HO DELUXE issue 2.2 and used in several countries for the special issue.

I had already painted the motif as the essence of the story for the presentation to the publisher. But at that time it looked quite different, the characters and the dangerous rippers were not yet designed and the location was not yet clear. Three years later, the cover illustration was finally created in this form.

During the development of our story I have always worked very closely with Benjamin von Eckartsberg and we have always influenced each other constructively.

The story is aimed at readers from 14+

Most post-apocalyptic stories take place in desolate areas and are shown in desaturated colors. However, we show this crisis situation from the point of view of teenagers, who, with their hormone-driven emotions, look at the world with completely different eyes. The world of GUNG HO has something of a summer camp in southern Europe.

GUNG HO is an Americanism derived from Chinese and means motivated, committed and working together in harmony. Over time, however, the term acquired various meanings, e.g. it was used as a battle cry by the Marines in the Pacific during World War 2. In our history, GUNG HO is a slang term for hotheaded and overzealous, regardless.

The image was created with the help of SketchUp in Photoshop.

The unique ones are arguably the rippers, an aggressive freak of evolution that has displaced humanity from the top of the food chain.

The main task in composing a picture with so much detail is to guide the eye of the viewer.

I was invited by the A'Design award and my wife really wanted to go to the gala evening at Lake Como.

After graduating from "Design School Munich" in Munich, I started my professional career as a freelance illustrator in 1998 in the community studio "Die Artillerie" together with 8 other freelance illustrators and graphic designers. I started working for advertising agencies, publishers and film productions and found my love for visual storytelling. In 2012, together with Benjamin von Eckartsberg, I started to develop our own story GUNG HO as a comic series for the Swiss publisher Edition Paquet for the French market. The A'Design Award winning image shows a cover illustration of our series.

I love the synergy of narrative and aesthetics. This passion took me rather late, but with great force.

So I decided to become a visual storyteller and create the Design for the stories on my own.

I´m working on designs for stories told in movies, animation movies, magazines, books, or comic books.

As a young designer, you have to accept that frustrations are the most precious moments, as they are a sign of your progress.

A good designer can create great design. A great designer creates great design with ease.

As a visual storyteller, I would say a good design becomes a really good design when it not only supports a story, but gives it a very unique meaning.

Good design supports the tone of the story and can add many layers to it visually. If a story has a good design, you only need to see any image out of it and you know immediately that it can only be an image from that very story.

It's not a question of time, but whether a story fascinates me, the framework and the environment fit.

How should I know?

I am constantly trying to evolve and reinvent myself so that I always find fresh approaches in my designs.

Carter Goodrich, Peter de Seve, Eyvind Earle, Alberto Mielgo, Kazuo Oga, Hans Bacher, Bastien Vives, Mike Mignola, David Prudhomme.... amazing Designers for storytelling, just to name a few.

I think the design for our story GUNG HO is my most successful so far. It supports the story visually on many levels and when you see a picture from it, you know it must be from GUNG HO. Allerdings arbeite ich gerade an einer neuen Geschichte und denke das Design wird besser.

They must feel a deep love for design, constantly move and reinvent, but still stop and listen, be open to technology, do their homework on research and never stop learning.

I would also enjoy being a cameraman or director.

For me, design is an art form that gives a story its own visual meaning.

As far as storytelling in comics is concerned, there are early role models like Regis Loisel, Miguelanxo Prado, David Prudhomme, Mike Mignola, to name a few. Interacting with colleagues in my community studio or directors on film projects was an invaluable pool of inspiration and creative-constructive feedback. But my biggest supporters, besides my wife, were my colleague Benjamin von Eckartsberg and my publisher Pierre Paquet.

I welcomed frustrations as a sign of my evolution. As I continue to experience these frustrations, this process is still ongoing.

There is no general tip for this, every designer has to find that out for themselves.

There are several projects coming up. I'm currently working on an international project together with the French author Fabien Vehlmann, which will be very exciting. Benjamin von Eckartsberg and I will definitely design something new. I have also been asked to direct an animated film. If that works out it will be a big new step for me.

Stories are a way to tap into the human condition. Stories can inform, explain, teach, manipulate, or entertain, triggering feelings and reactions. Making a story visual can help convey it. My main goal is to add an additional layer to it.

The inclined comic reader probably expects a new story from me drawn in the same style as GUNG HO. But since I want to give each story its own style, it will be different.

We are currently in contract negotiations for a film adaptation of GUNG HO. I am very excited to be a part of the filming process.

I worked on GUNG HO for 10 years and created 420 comic pages, 15 cover illustrations and countless advertising layouts.

The story is always the beginning for me. and the tone of the story. After that, I go looking for inspiration and start researching until a concept is worked out. Then the design process begins.

Body and soul must be in harmony.

I work with Photoshop and sometimes with Blender or SketchUp.

I would like to meet my younger self and give myself some thoughts, however I am not sure I would listen to myself.

After graduating from "Design School Munich" in Munich, I started my professional career as a freelance illustrator in 1998 in the community studio "Die Artillerie" together with 8 other freelance illustrators and graphic designers. I started working for advertising agencies, publishers and film productions and found my love for visual storytelling. In 2012, together with Benjamin von Eckartsberg, I started to develop our own story GUNG HO as a comic series for the Swiss publisher Edition Paquet for the French market. The A'Design Award winning image shows a cover illustration of our series.

I currently work in the collaborative studio REAKTOR, which I co-founded in 2019, together with Peter Popken, Luis Guggenberger - both concept artists - and Prof. Michael Coldewey - producer, director and professor for VFX and animation at the HFF Filmhochschule München.

For me, as a visual storyteller, design underscores a story. The synergy of narrative and aesthetics can create a piece of art in the process.

My favorite things to work on are well-told stories with excitingly unique characters and extraordinary locations. The story doesn't necessarily have to be fictional.

One of my first designs were two animated characters guiding through the Junior Programme of the BMW Welt in Munich.

All technology which helps telling a story. I still prefer to draw with pencil and brush for rough ideas. Later I mostly work on Photoshop, or use Sketchup.

For me it is always important that body and mind are in harmony and that my family and my environment are well.

I am most creative when I have a well-told story and the research work brings the greatest possible input.

In the beginning I focus on the general form and colors. Later details become important and in the end everything needs to Coe together.

While working on a Design for a great story I feel excitement, anticipation and inner peace.

At best, satisfaction.

But this usually does not last long.

For me, as a visual storyteller, design must always match and support the tone of the story.

The synergy of narrative storytelling and design aesthetics can elevate a project to a work of art.

The design of a story is successful when you see an image from the work and immediately recognise that it can only be from that story.

The charisma of the design and the tone of the story have to fit together.

It often happens that a design doesn't appeal to me at first, but I think it's brilliant when I've finished reading or watching the story.

A designer on a story has to create a feeling and convey content, make it easy for the viewer to immerse himself in a world.

I think artificial intelligence will play a role, life will happen more and more on the net.

Virtual reality will replace the old football pitch.

That's why I like more and more to just look at the world with pencil and brush and capture designs on paper.

2021, "Gung Ho - Sehnsuchtsort Postapokalypse", Comicfest - Alte Messe, München

2022, "Gung Ho - Sehnsuchtsort Postapokalypse", Comic Haus, Köln

2022, "Gung Ho - Sehnsuchtsort Postapokalypse", Comic Salon, Erlangen

2022, "nAcKT - Form durch Farbe und Fläche", kleine Altstadt Gallerie Dachau

2022, "NACKT - Form durch Fläche 2" Kleine Altstadt Galerie, Dachau

Like probably most designers, my inspiration is observation, reflection and the desire to create something new.

The Norwegian saying "Only those who wander find a new path" describes it quite well. I always try to find a new design that fits the tone of a story.

I´m living in Dachau, close to munich.

In our town we have the concentration camp from WW2.

Of course that had a deep impact as a young adult - I like melancholy.

Also Munichs artist community "Der blaue Reiter" was somehow an influence - I like colors and abstraction.

But I think that doesn´t effect my Designs.

On a daily or weekly rate basis payment wise.

Communication works mostly over Skype, Zoom or some similar communication system.

There are different steps.

In the beginning, I always try to approach the design very roughly and like to reflect on it and try to get feedback.

Then it's a matter of working out the spontaneous lines in detail without losing the feeling of the sketch.

desk lamp from Artemide Tolomeo

electric pencil sharpener from Dahle

speaker from Sonos

desk chair from James Eames

BMW R 100

Fortunately, I don't have a set daily routine and can adjust my days.

Observe and reflect life every day, even on weekends and on holidays, don't stop processing your skills, don't eat in front of the computer and take good care of your body and soul.

Understanding of form and function, perspective, anatomy, the core of a story and its characters and a sense of creating something unique with these elements.

My tools mostly are Pencil, Brush, Aquarell, Acrylic, Oil and Photoshop, sometimes blender and sketchup.

I have a huge library in my house and my studio with novels, biographies, art books, books on photography and architecture, comics etc. Internet is also a big source, same goes for nature.

There is no strict plan, every day is different.

How can you do this and how do you generate your ideas?

Developing and working 10 years on one comic book series.

Pixar animation studios, Laika studios, Blur Studio, Atomic Cartoon, Maybe Movies,

BMW

Stern, Focus

Designing (animated) movies and creating own Comic books.

Directing a movie.

Both, it depends on the project. Working alone gives you a big freedom, but working in a team brings out the best of you and the exchange with like-minded people is a valuable resource.

https://www.thomy.org/contact/