Graphic artist Tadam Gyadu from Arunachal Pradesh sketches for Marvel comics

Tadam Gyadu, from Diyun village in Arunachal Pradesh, started sketching on the walls of his mud house. He now works for Marvel, adding Indian elements to scenes

Young Tadam Gyadu is a graphic artist from a village called Diyun, an hour’s drive from the tourist destination, Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh.

Tadam’s first memory of his sketch work is of figures etched on the clay and mud walls of his house. When those figures were wiped out, he shifted to sketching on the floor at home. Now, he sketches for Marvel comics.

Tadam, who’s favourite Marvel character is Spiderman says, on the sidelines of the Comic Con at Hyderabad, “More than accomplishment, it is a dream come true. I still have a long way to go but I feel accomplished because I can sketch Marvel characters.” 

For Tadam, going to school was a luxury. He says, “So, there was no question of having an art school or stationary to practise art. School books were the only studying material children at Diyun got. Things began changing as we grew up and by the time I was in middle school, I was introduced to Raj comics and stationary for art. It was very basic, but yes something different from school study materials.”

The artist says that as he began to explore the world of art, he found himself doing more portraits than landscapes. Landscape art never excited him. “I might sound boastful, but when my art was compared with that of friends, mine stood out, because I did 3D art while they stuck to landscapes. I found myself doing a lot of Buddha figurine art. As a Buddhist family, we have a lot of Buddha statues, his bhikshus etc; I grew up drawing them a lot, from different angles and backdrops. Raj comics have been my biggest inspiration and I didn’t stop buying them even after growing up,” he adds. By the time he became an adult, his most prized possessions were his comics. 

During his higher secondary in Digboi (Assam), Tadam saw more comics. He says “Superheroes entered into my reading material late, as did Tinkle. Because of the inconsistent supply to the region, instead of volumes, I would buy the digest whenever I found them and I had the money. Raj comics improved my Hindi.” 

Tadam was also under pressure to pursue a professional course: engineering, medicine or law or get a Government job, but he honestly told his parents that he wished to pursue art in Delhi.

“I wanted to do art at Lalit Kala Academy, but I missed the time. In order not to waste any more time, I enrolled in Amity University. After that, I worked in the graphic design industry and simultaneously tried a lot of ways to get into the graphic comic industry but it was tough. Then I met a art talent scout from Marvel in 2022 and he decided to look at my art. Finally, after a month or so when I heard from him, I was thrilled,” recollected Tadam. 

How much time does he take to complete sketching for one comic? “Around a month to 40 days,” he shares. Tadam is enjoying his work sketching Marvel characters like Iron Man, Wolverine, Avengers, Captain America and, of course, Spiderman.

To recognise Tadam’s sketches in Marvel comics, look for Indian elements in the background. He explains that he adds elements such as ”an auto rickshaw, a Hindi poster, Indian graffiti and so on.” 

What does Tadam’s comic collection comprise? Tadam says, “It is pretty big; my room is filled with comic books, close to 3000 books. It is a huge task to take care of them, each comic of mine is in plastic jackets to save them from pests. Thankfully, now that I am away from home, my family takes care of them with periodic dusting and cleaning.”

Will he ever want to do a Spiderman in India comic? Tadam chuckles and says “In India, there are too many cables everywhere, it will be difficult for him to swing around. He should stay put in New York in my opinion.”  

Published - November 19, 2024 03:42 pm IST