David Guivant Website: Featured Artist on this site! Field: Graphic Designer Email: busterhawk@hotmail.com Location: Queensland, Australia

The Battlestar Galactica Fan Club Co-President Shawn O'Donnell "BGR" (bgresurrection_1999@yahoo.com)recently spoke with Graphic Designer David Guivant (busterhawk@hotmail.com) from Queensland, Australia. His work is also featured on this site in the Featured Artists Section.

BGR: To start with...what got you involved in doing artwork?

DG: I have been drawing since I was a kid. So that would be 24 years now. I was the type of kid who liked to stay at home, watch TV, read and draw. Art is not very popular back home so people suggested that I find something else to do professionally and keep drawing as a hobby. My primary focus was to have a safe future, and have financial stability and as well please my parents. So I went on to study Engineering, but I was very bad at it.

I failed my engineering studies. I noticed that some people used to respect me more when I was doing math and physics. When you tell them that you draw or like Sci-Fi, they don't really respect you anymore. So I decided that I would not let people decide for my future, have a bit of self esteem and do what I do best as a real job regardless of what people have to say.

I did not see my future in New Caledonia anyway. I looked for tertiary institutes that would train people so that they would be eligible to work in the comic and trading cards industry in America. I wanted to have an English education so that I would be able to work in the United States. I found the Joe Kuberts School of cartoon and graphic arts interesting but that was way beyond my parents' expenses.

I went to study in Singapore for a year and now here I am studying Graphic Design in Brisbane Australia.. at Griffith University, Queensland College of Arts, struggling to break into the movies, trading cards, RPG and comics industry and at the same time updating my portfolio constantly in order to meet the demands of companies.

BGR: Tell us about some of the artwork that you've done...in other words, how would you describe them?

DG: When I was young I used to draw what I liked. As a matter of fact I still do. I went through different phases, I used to like dinosaurs, cats, horses, battleships, airplanes and space ships…I could draw Spitfires, Tomcats , F4 Phantoms and Aircraft carriers. I also noticed that people always asked if I would copy or do it with my imagination? There is always a misunderstanding in that matter. My work isn't about that, I don't consider artists as geniuses or gifted people. I do not draw to show that I can draw without a picture or "cook to show that I can do it without a recipe." I draw in order to show what I like and to express who I am as a person or as a human being, it reflects my skills and ability to solve problems and communicate a message visually in an interesting and original way...That's the primary basis of art and design and that's how I would describe my work.

BGR: Sci-Fi seems to be the basis of you're work...why is that?

DG:I have always liked Sci-Fi. When I was a kid Sci-Fi was about space, Lasers and spaceships. But when I grew up, I discovered that it was more about people and who they were. Behind all that smokescreen and fireworks there is always a great story and a great message and I do like things that are out of the ordinary. As I mentioned previously, my work reflects who I am and what I like. I'm into Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, X-Files. That's why the basis of my work is Sci-Fi.

BGR: Do you think that there is more room to explore artistically doing Sci-Fi?

DG: That's an interesting question. Yes there is always room to explore artistically in Sci-Fi. I have a project for a comic book called Legendary Wings and Outzone. I'd like someone to pencil, ink and help me write some of the stories. I am more comfortable doing plots, covers or individual artwork or designs for trading cards then separate panels. I am sure that there are things in there that will be familiar to people who read novels but I have ideas and plans that that haven't been seen before in comic books.

BGR: Have you had your work published professionally yet?

DG: Yes I have but none of my Sci-Fi work, except for a Spider-man poster that I did for the letter art competition in Wizard.

BGR: What are your hopes regarding your work?

DG: I hope to break into the:

I am constantly upgrading my portfolio and re-evaluating myself as well. It is good to read interviews and find out about the people that are already working in the industry because they are the ones that set up the standards. The internet is a useful tool for that matter. Like Richard Hatch mentioned at a convention, talented people with a common interest and goal can team up together and produce something really great.

BGR: You've done some terrific renderings based on Battlestar Galactica, what can you tell us about those in particular?

DG: I used to watch it as a kid but I didn't really have much memory of the show. So my work reflects what I am discovering about Galactica. The first one is called "Memories of Galactica". My first memory was that I came back home early from school one afternoon and decided to watch TV. I was saying: "Hey, that's the guy from the A-Team!" That was Starbuck (Dirk Benedict), he was in jail and a prisoner was asking for his name? He was wondering what Starbucking means? I remember that Apollo and Boomer came to rescue him. I really liked the blue flames that came out of the Vipers as well as the beautiful ladies on the show. The second one (Image) is called Adventures of the Colonial Warriors. Mr. Chris Rixon, who is Brisbane's biggest Galactica Fan, invited me to his house to watch an episode of Galactica where Captain Apollo crashed on a planet. (The Lost Warrior), There was a Cylon on a horse and a cowboy town. I learned a few things about Colonial Warriors, and how their patrol missions were extremely dangerous. Apollo can die anytime if he's not careful. I borrowed Armageddon from him and really enjoyed the story. I also look forward to do some posters based on the novels.

BGR: You're "Return of Starbuck" was excellent...what led you to the creation of that?

DG: In Brisbane 1999 I went to my first convention. Yes, it's my first time. I really like to do movie posters. When we saw The 2nd Coming, it was exciting, fantastic, it was so good. Richard Hatch screened it 3 times. At the end of it we all stood up and cheered the guy Of course people had lots of questions for Richard to answer. One question was "Where were all the other members of the cast?". Richard told us that he shot the trailer whenever he could. Dirk was in Montana shooting another movie. And of course the trailer was promotional and it was to show Universal the potential of Battlestar Galactica. Another was "Will Muffit return?", as some of the fans noticed that there was no humor in the trailer. Richard mentioned that the tone of the movie was very dark and Muffit isn't in there, and that there would be different colors of uniforms for each squadron but for budget reasons there are only a few colors. There are new spaceships like the Scarlet Viper but they are not in there. The also asked "What About the plot?", I remembered Baltar saying: "Your friend is dead!!" Apollo replied: "No! Starbuck is alive and I know it!!!" Richard explained that Starbuck has been kidnapped, probably by the Cylons? The Viper pilots would then rescue him and smash the Cylons in a huge space battle at the end of the movie. But the humans will not find Earth at the end of the film. And the Cylons will not be entirely destroyed. Richard outlined his plans to do a TV show for 5 seasons and do a movie each year. We also asked him about the new pilots in the trailer. Richard Hatch did not want to spoil the fun by revealing everything but he also told us about the new generation of starfighters that involves Troy and Dalton, Starbuck's Daughter. The old generation would do push ups with the new generation. The new starfighters are not yet prepared for a battle against the Cylons because there has been a period of peace for 18 years. There would be a civil war among the humans who are tired of running away and want to settle down. Then the session was over and we started lining up for Autographs.

I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Richard Hatch and Sophie LaPorte. Richard was very patient and wonderful and gave each fan equal time and opportunity for questions and discussions. I asked him if he was looking for a Graphic Designer, he said that indeed he was always looking for talented people to work on his projects. He and Sophie were very patient and understanding. As I am from New Caledonia I was able to chat with Sophie in French for a while. As I mentioned in my first sentence, I really like Move Posters. During the promotion the only souvenir or memorabilia were pictures from the old show. There was nothing that I could show my friends (who didn't turn up and now regret it) about Richard's trailer. So I decided to synthesize all those things that he mentioned above and do a movie poster based on The 2nd Coming so that people who missed the convention and didn't have access to the net, could have an idea of what The Second Coming looks like. The more substance I get, the better the poster will look like.

People (From Brisbane) who went to battlestargalactica.com and looked at the pictures, found the site okay, but the poster had more positive effects on them and can be used as a teaser as well. I think the first thing that you collect when you like a movie is the movie poster itself. Everytime you look at it, it brings back good memories, flashbacks… I wanted to emphasize on the huge space battle by putting in lots of Vipers but I decided that the lack of space on top would restrict me of that idea so I employed the old Graphic Designer trick by putting the Squadron logo behind. A logo is like a symbol, a flag which is a very powerful device that speaks for itself. And the reason Starbuck is at the front is because Richard mentioned that the plot was about rescuing him. So it would make sense to have Starbuck at the front since the poster itself is called: The Return of Starbuck. I also learned in my experience that it is not always where you work that is important but who you work with and how nice people are. You obviously respect people who are nice and makes you want to produce better quality work as well.

BGR: How long would you say you've been a fan of Battlestar Galactica?

DG: I am a new fan actually, I watched it when I was a kid and enjoyed it but I've got more memory from Buck Rogers and Buck Rogers went for more than one season.. There were not many products that were on the market here in Australia except for the comic book by Rob Liefield.

I think that a TV show needs lots and lots of merchandise to generate interest. There was a rumor that Glen A. Larson was doing a remake and Richard had a cameo in there. I did not like the idea of a Larson remake and Thank God Richard has better plans for Galactica and helped clarify things about the new movie at the convention. When I saw the trailer of The 2nd Coming, I told myself that this was great and I'd like to be part of this.

So the next day I went to look for everything I could find on Galactica. I managed to find The first and second movie on video and realized that the effects were very good and they still are, compared to some recent TV shows. It is a shame that it got cancelled. I can say that Richard Hatch has convinced us about the potential of the show and has a new supporter.

BGR: What would you like to see for Battlestar Galactica in the future?

DG: Richard told us about his plans about Galactica and I'm sure he spoke for all of us. I am sure that he will bring the same contribution and passion to Galactica the same way screen legends like Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and Jonathan Frakes did for Star Trek. I hope Universal Studio will understand that and make it a reality.

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