Siku

Siku is a graphic artist, responsible for the dramatic artwork in books such as the Manga Bible. We asked graphic designer, illustrator and author Ben Mears to find out more.

Who are your inspirers? Who has influenced your creativity and the way your artistry has developed?

I have had the same crop of visual art influencers for all of my professional life, right from the days of art college till now. They tend to serve specific dimensions of visual art for me: Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, although I am really a Michelangelo-acolyte rather than a ‘Da vinci-ite’. I go for Michelangelo for power; he is a muscular painter and sculptor.

Secondly, Moebius (Jean Giraud); conversely, Moebius is not a power but finesse artist. [He’s] the consummate designer with a rare awareness of his artistic sensibility which stretches beyond visual storytelling into what I would describe as ‘total story telling’ (in the sense of ‘total football’).

Thirdly, Simon Bisley. He was a f...