Aldin Viray Answers 6 Questions
Continuum Universe Artist
2024 has been the year of Continuum Universe The New Age right here on Substack. It has been a project spanning almost 20 years! When I began writing again, I had a ton of characters, storylines, and settings. I needed an artist who could handle all of what was previously there and help me bring new worlds to life to finish what had been started. I was very lucky to find Aldin Viray.
His test page captured the characters based on nothing more than a one-page script. I knew immediately I wanted to work with him. We began to talk, and his investment in the project and world, both previous and new, came through from page 1. There are 5 chapters available now, and we have so much more planned together. Here are 6 questions to get to know my collaborator better.
Let’s start at the beginning of your journey to becoming a comic book artist. What are your earliest memories of comics, and when did you know that this was a profession you wanted to pursue?
At 14, I bought X-Force number 1. Then I saw Rob Liefeld's Levi’s commercial. That was it - I knew I wanted to be a comic book artist. I started collecting X-Men, which were drawn by Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio, a Filipino. That added more fuel to my passion.
The sort of talent you have is innate, I am sure, but did you do anything throughout your life to hone what you were born with?
I was 2 years younger than my classmates in high school, so before going to college, I decided to train myself for 2 years. During that time, I drew non-stop. I would wake up, start drawing, sometimes skip lunch to draw more, all the way before going to sleep. I was fixated on drawing so much back then.
What was your first artistic opportunity, and how did you get it? Not just comics but something that paid you for art.
My uncle was an Art Director for a local publishing company. Way back in high school, he started to train me. I did inking work for him on a few textbooks - I was 15 back then, and I got payment for each illustration I made at the end of the month.
Process! It has changed so much since I first started publishing. I am assuming you started with traditional pencils. What does this look like for you today?
I still do traditional art, although recent demands in the industry dictate that I do ink and even colors sometimes, leading me to take a more digital approach. But I am a penciler at heart. If I had my way, I would always prefer to do pencils rather than doing both.
Continuum Universe The New Age isn’t the only project you have been working on. What has been keeping you busy lately?
Right now, I have a few issues done for Ela’s Legacy, which is under contract to be released by Scout Comics - although I have no idea when that will be. I am also a co-art director for a mobile game that is coming out for Android and IOS called “Foxy’s Football Island.” There are a few other things, but I have NDAs for those so I can’t talk about them yet.
If you had a dream project—lol—which, of course, you do…what would it be?!
Continuum is a dream project for me. I just feel so immersed when I draw the characters. Then there’s the submission for Marvel Comics, which was halted during the pandemic. I've been itching to get back to that when the time allows me to. X-Men has always been the dream for me.
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