Dear Twilighters,
Twilight was adapted into a movie and it’s now back to bookshelves under the form of a comic book (or graphic novel, if you like); and @ TwilightNews we are really excited.

The cover looks amazing, showing Bella in the meadow bringing back memories of the first time we read Twilight… To me, this graphic-novel seems much closer to Stephenie’s book than the movie. The drawings are amazing, even if it’s just black and white.  Kim really did a fantastic job with it, adapting Stephenie’s novel and I’ve got to admit that I am loving it. Stephenie  herself was involved in the project, so you know it’s got to be faithful! We give our thumb up!

And as a treat, here’s a Q&A with Young Kim, enjoy!

Stephanie x

PS: we are giving away 3 copies of Twilight the graphic novel: part 1! Enter the competition!

Q&A with Young Kim:

Can you tell us about your art background?

I studied painting at Seoul National University. I was about thirteen when I decided to major in art. It was because even back then, I liked drawing comics. After graduating college, my goal wasn’t to become a painter. I worked as a character/background designer at animation and online gaming companies and also did a lot of illustration work for various publications.

Were you a fan of the Twilight Saga before you were approached to do the art?

To be honest, Twilight wasn’t as well known in Korea before the movie. I got to read the novels for the first time after I was approached about the project, but not long after that, the movie opened and the Twilight Saga became huge here.

How did you go about developing each character?  Did you stick to the descriptions given in the book?

My goal was to be as true as possible to the descriptions in the book. My editor also sent me a summary of the primary features of the characters in the books. We had approvals on all of the designs from Stephenie before I jumped into the actual pages. Of course, every reader probably has different images of the characters in mind as they read the books, so I suppose that initially I was drawing them as I saw them in my head.  For example, Jacob was a character that I pictured differently initially, but that image didn’t match the book’s intended image of him, so with Stephenie’s guidance the design was adjusted.

How did you map out each scene?  Did you select the text first before you started your sketches?

Yes, I did start by selecting scenes from the book. Just like adapting a novel into a movie, adapting the work as a graphic novel meant that certain abbreviations would be necessary. Since the primary focus is on Bella and Edward’s relationship, their emotional development became the foundation I was using. After I finished the thumbnails, some of the scenes were cut after conversations with my editor, and some were later brought back per requests from Stephenie. Most of the dialog came directly from the book as well, but of course some tweaks were necessary due to the change in flow or deleted scenes.

What medium do you work in?

Through the thumbnails, I work with a pencil and a sketchbook. That allows me to work anywhere I like. From the sketches to the final stage, everything is digitalized, and I work on my desktop. Rather than employing a lot of different instruments, I just use the computer, a tablet, and the tablet pen in my hand. Like a lot of others working in this field, I do most of my drawing and coloring in Corel Painter, and the toning and final touches are done in Adobe Photoshop.

What was is like to work with Stephenie Meyer?

She really gave me confidence that everything would work out. To be honest, I was a bit nervous before I started working on the project. I wasn’t sure if she would have time to devote to the graphic novel since I can only imagine how busy she is, and also I wondered if she might be skeptical of someone else visualizing the world she created. When I started working with her, though, it became clear that I was worried about nothing. She put so much effort into reviewing each page of the sketches and gave great feedback. She gave me so much encouragement. It isn’t easy to create a world or to love and understand it perfectly. I think that watching and managing your creation as it is translated into another medium will rise or fall based on the love and understanding that goes into the process. For me, working with her has been an experience that made me appreciate just how profound that process can be.

Twilight has become such a worldwide phenomenon.  Did you feel any pressure with pleasing the rabid fanbase while interpreting the novel?

I think it would be impossible not to feel any pressure!! But to me, there was a higher mountain to climb before the fans – Stephenie herself. Whenever I got an okay on a page, I could take another step forward, trusting in myself.

What was the most challenging part in adapting Twilight into a graphic novel?

I think this goes back to that question about pleasing the fans. Would my Edward fit the millions of Edwards in fans’ imaginations? Would they like my version? Would they be satisfied with Bella’s expressions, the way the two of them interact, or even just the backgrounds? I think everyone who works on visualizing text has the same worries because if something that previously only lived in someone’s imagination is actualized in a fixed visual medium, it has to create its own beauty that didn’t exist in the imagination to have meaning.

Who is your favorite character to draw and why?

If you ask “to draw,” I would have to say Edward. To be honest, Edward is not an easy character to draw. He presents several challenges. First, he has to be absolutely beautiful, and his eye color changes according to his mood. When I draw the vampires, I use a different brush than the one I use for the humans, something more delicate and meticulous. Edward’s hair also requires significantly more touches with the pen. At the end of the day as an artist, though, it’s fun to draw such an esthetically beautiful character.

What is your favorite scene in Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 and why?

It might be because it wasn’t in the movie, but the scene right before we meet Billy in front of Bella’s house when Edward and Bella are having a conversation set against the twilit sky is my favorite scene. When I read the novel, Edward’s words made me feel very sentimental and melancholy. I could feel his loneliness and isolation he felt during the long years of his existence. So I tried to visualize that with a large color panel of Edward against the open sky.

Is there a particular scene in the second volume that you are looking forward to drawing?

It’s the scene where Bella visits the Cullens’ house and hears their history from Carlisle and Edward. Legends are always very interesting. The folktales of the Quileutes in volume one was historical, but that image was from Bella’s imagination. Carlisle’s history is related by someone who actually lived during that time. It’s not that many pages in the prose, but I look forward to drawing it.