Category: Young Man

Before I say anything, I would like to express my gratitude to all who have viewed the gallery installation or joined Marcus and me at Kinokuniya for today’s event (17/5/25).
I would like to extend an even bigger thank you to those who have purchased a copy of Young Man. As my own and the studio’s first published and exhibited project, it’s been amazing to learn all about the process of illustration, publishing, marketing and communicating which I will be sure to write more about when I have more time.

This small post covers the artist talk/discussion by Marcus Khoudair and myself (Ethan Scotney) in the gallery, which Paul Pinga Matereke very generously moderated. I was amazed by the turnout of people, both known and soon-to-be-known. It exceeded my expectations, considering the delay in advertising the event—a lesson learned.

Marcus covered topics such as the very ideas and conversations that sprouted the ideas for Young Man. I learned it sprouted from a conversation with a friend of Marcus’ who as a child would have these recurring nightmares and the emotions surrounding that.
Other topics discussed were the points at which major graphical decisions were made and whether Young Man was always envisioned to be the way it is.
My answer to that… no. It started quite traditionally, then one day, while testing graphic methods, I stopped and decided, after much mental agony and pondering, that we must push the envelope in terms of visual storytelling, take a risk, and do something brand new and vastly different. However, the restriction of text in the story was always key, as it enforced universality. From there, meetings were held between Marcus and I. There were some minor disagreements here and there over details, but all went quite smoothly as we work very well together. Further tests with parts of the script, and after that, I dove headfirst into the illustration process, of which took over a year.

However, I feel slightly influenced by the talk occurring in the space. Gallery goers were more active in the space, stopping by to check out bits of the talk and, even more exciting, picking up copies as the talk was going on. It fills me with such joy to see my illustrations of Marcus’ script viewed, enjoyed, and hopefully learned from and pondered.

Again, thank you to all who attended.
Until next time!

Ethan Scotney.


Below are some photos from the event. I hope you enjoy!

You never truly appreciate the craft, unless you get in there and have a go…
Through the simple and sometimes complex task of “having a go,” you, not only ‘imprint’ your work onto a medium. But you’re imprinting yourself onto your work to be read and felt by the viewer.

On a side note, I don’t think I ever explained the Magni Studio logo itself. If not, it stemmed from my interests in experience, senses, and the overlooked. In the logo, my hand symbolises touching and reaching out, while the eye is seeing. The invisible senses, such as hearing, are symbolised in the logo through the hand seemingly covering an eye.

Throughout the development of ‘Young Man’, I loved every second of the making process. As the hook of this little post states, I have a far greater appreciation for illustrators, comic artists, and small publishers than I did before.

As Spoken about before perhaps, I love the experience of physical objects, from the architecture I work with in my day job to the comic drawing I did after it. It’s exciting to experience the sounds of pens, brushes and the smells of fresh paper and cardboard. I find how things go together and the process of making so interesting.

This simple packaging printing was just that for me, having a go.
However, I didn’t quite have the tools or time to build up the immense skill required to hand carve a wood block or lino sheet as skillfully as the Japanese carvers of the Edo, Meiji, Shin-hagia or contemporary prints I have hanging up on my wall.
I turned to the trusty and very accurate, although not as exciting CNC cutter, figuring out how to lay out a file and how it all works I found very interesting. However, learning proper wood block printing is definitely a goal of mine.

I had initially thought to use the same Zig comic ink I used on the comic; however, during testing. The both fun and, at times, frustrating aspects of creative work. The wood block levels paired with the ink’s thin nature, meant I couldn’t get a consistent or legible print.
You also needed to be very quick as the ink would dry or soak into the wood.

So, I started sanding to level the wood block and used a thicker medium, such as acrylic paint. Which I theorised might better bridge any gaps still in the wood and require more testing. I had a good result, with the unexpected bonus of the texture of the paint creating tactile bumps in the print that caught the light quite nicely.

I look forward to those of you who buy a copy at launch (Thank you, so much) being able to experience, and I hope you feel, the care and thoughtfulness imprinted both in the packaging and the book itself.

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Saturday, the 7th of December. The day of the shoot. Once delayed however today rain hail or shine we push through. I wake up early at 6:30AM or so to make the drive down for coffee with friends at 9AM in the Carriage works. While picking my outfit for the day I check the weather forecast, “30% Precipitation chance, I fancy my chances.” Thankfully for me I’m not a gambling man, because today I would have lost it all. Sydney was pouring down. I felt I had put it all on red, and it fell on green.

We move on. Walking along the water to Darling Harbour.
In the rain I spy a playground, a light bulb sparks and it feels so right. I may have been a bit lucky today, because thanks to the rain, every child and adult has cleared out of the park. It’s all ours. Three fully grown adults, kings of the playground! And it’s here we break free, swinging, hanging and most importantly, getting it all on film. The rain brings a frantic feeling to the shoot and fills the photos with a child-like carelessness.

I want to say thank you to Paul, ( @p.p.matereke on instagram ) for coming out with good energy and such beautiful film cameras for this shoot. It was a fantastic experience.

Although there is a way to go before this project is finished. I want to also say thank you to the writer and collaborator of this amazing project, Marcus Khoudair. Without his well written story this project I don’t think would have ever come about.