Lantern Legacy with Andie Tong
I had the chance to connect with the amazing Andie Tong, artist behind Green Lantern: Legacy, for a special written interview diving deep into his creative world. Known for his kinetic style and expressive storytelling, Andie breaks down how he creates energy through illustration, what it takes to bring a character like Tai Pham to life, and the mindset he taps into with every panel.
Dive into Andie’s words and get a glimpse into the mind behind the art.
Read his responses Below!
Q: Capturing essence in style - Your art has a unique blend of dynamic movement paired with expressive detail. How do you capture the essence of each character, especially Green Lanterns, while staying true to your own style?
"For me, firstly it’s understanding each Character’s personalities then pushing the dynamism and artistic flow through this. For example, to me, John Stewart is the stoic, military type fella and making sure his movements are shown in his poses. His movements I feel would be more grounded with some power stance showing through in his fight sequences.
Ba is wise and a little more graceful than her counterpart, John. So there are some Ballerina movements through the poses that are shown in her sequences. For the young kids who are not Green Lanterns, they have young excitable energy, so I tried to make them talk and express themselves through hand gestures."
Q: Key Visual Elements – Green Lanterns are visually distinct with their energy constructs and glowing rings. What elements do you focus on to make them feel powerful and unique? What has stuck out to you?
"I am inspired a lot by the Kirby Krackle by Jack Kirby when showing power and energy. It starts from there then I start to develop different energy visuals through this base. When I was drawing, I’ll be honest, with deadlines looming in the back of my head, I didn’t go out to intentionally find different ways to present different energy.
I went with the flow and try to give each piece within a layout the vibe I was looking for. If you feel I’ve given visual characteristic for each energy source, that’s truly fantastic but please put it down as simply a happy accident."
Q: Drawing Tai Pham – What’s your favorite thing about drawing for Green Lantern Legacy, and how did you set this book apart visually from your other work in the past?
"As mentioned before, I try to give each character in the story personalities and how they would act out a certain way in the way they walk, talk, gest, react or simply rest. Before I embark on each reactional pose, I would act them out than try to bring that to life on paper.
I try to balance out the character acting so it does not look too comical but enough expression to make sure its popping with personalities yet grounded. It’s almost like I’m an actor playing out different characters and personalities. Pseudo- Hollywood acting, if we can call it that. Lol."
