His comic figures adorn the Street Parade posters
8.8.2019
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Thomas Kunz
In 2001, graphic artist Demian Vogler published a webcomic about an Egyptian king. 18 years later, this figure adorns the posters of the world's biggest techno parade.
A king whose loincloth is eaten by a camel and then embarks on an odyssey in search of his clothes. At the age of 19, Demian Vogler already had individual elements of "When I am King" in his head. A naked king as the protagonist was one of the ideas - and it stuck. "After that, a long development process began. The story took shape in my head and on the computer until I published my webcomic for the first time in 2001," he explains.
Demian is a freelance graphic designer. His work immediately catches the eye in his studio near Zurich's Langstrasse. Framed on the walls, displayed in the shop window or as flyers on the table - his illustrations can be seen everywhere. His comic is also on display. "Last year, I published the webcomic in book form." To do this, he reworked the virtual version and added various scenes. This process took eight years. "A little longer than I had planned, but the book was created entirely in my free time," says Demian.
The comic is going places
The time invested has paid off. Last year, he exhibited 18 illustrations and his bound comic as part of the graphic arts programme. The organiser of the Street Parade also saw it and was impressed. "We got talking and he asked me if I was interested in designing the event poster." He was. After another meeting, it was clear: Demian's comic protagonists and other characters would be adorning posters and merchandise for this year's street parade. Demian presented the first designs in January. Ten characters reflecting the complexity and diversity of the festival, telling a short story in ten pictures. The idea for the picture story came from the organiser, the rest from Demian. This idea was worked on together for months. "The motto - Colours of Unity - only became clear after the first drafts. I then made the figures more colourful and only then came up with a definitive story."
For both his book and the poster, he used an old style of illustration. "The comic first came out 18 years ago and a lot has changed since then. The technical possibilities today allow for much more complex realisations." However, Demian did not see this return to his roots as a limitation, on the contrary. "I enjoyed sketching the figures by hand on the iPad and familiarising myself with this style." In general, he likes to experiment with different styles and simply try things out.
Speechlessly happy
He also tried something new with "When I am King": The comic manages entirely without words. "That's a fine art for me, as the images have to be so clear that they speak for themselves." This is a great advantage, especially as a web comic. "Anyone can read the story, as there is no language barrier at all," explains Demian. For the title, however, he had to resort to written language. "When I am King" is a reference to the Radiohead song "Paranoid Android", which in turn refers to the robot Marvin from the film "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".
The guitar as a balance
He already has ideas for a new comic in mind. Then probably with lyrics. And perhaps neither for the web nor as a book, but in the newspaper. "I've already done that for the Tagblatt. Any reader could write to the protagonist Blumhund and I then used the emails to create further comics." This year, however, there are other things to do first. For example, the website needs to be revamped. And his actual work as a freelance graphic designer also needs to be added. That's quite a workload. He needs to clear his head in between. To do this, he likes to play the guitar for a few minutes. "In creative professions, the biggest difficulty is staying focussed without tensing up. Otherwise nothing works," says Demian.
Perhaps a look at his art, which is now hanging all over Zurich and will be on display at the event itself on 10 August in the form of animations and merchandise, will also help. "I'll certainly go round and see how everything has been realised." Because he only had limited influence on everything else apart from the poster. He handed over his figures and thus his entire trust to the organiser as an InDesign file. "I haven't regretted this courageous step for an artist so far."
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
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