Being a lifelong artist, I’ve always been influenced by what was going on in the world of cartoons and comics. I started drawing Snoopy and Charlie Brown from the Sunday paper, and I was always into cartoons related to superheroes and robots. My brother had a small comic collection and got me into Spiderman and the X Men. Since then I’ve never really lost a passion for that stuff. When I got out of college, there was not a lot of opportunity as a full time illustrator - so in order to adapt to the way the art community was moving, I used my artistic skills to go into the graphic design field as a Photoshop professional. And, that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing since – first with a few different companies, and now as a freelance artist.
However, my passion for illustration and the art that I grew up with has been overtaking my love for digital art. I can do a lot of cool designs on a PC, but illustration is where my heart is. So late in 2016, after getting back into collecting comics as a hobby for the last couple years, I saw that comic companies were selling comics with a sketch paper cover, and no art but the text/title. They’re called sketch variants, so that artists can do their own cover renditions using a variety of mediums. As soon as I saw these, I start practicing my comic style and illustrative mediums again. My first couple attempts were average, as I had to get used to the substrate and rendering these pieces with little room for error. But then I started to get the hang of it.
One day while browsing a comic book investment community on G+, I noticed they have quarterly comic cover charity contests for the artists of the community – the winner getting to decide which charity the funds would be given to. The first one I saw was a Halloween themed cover, and since horror is one of my favorite movie genres, I decided to take a crack at it.
I was up against over 30 other entries from the community, and some professionals also donated covers, so it was a little intimidating. But once I posted my entries to the community, and read the feedback, I actually thought I had a chance! By the end of the bidding on EBay, I was shocked to see that I had taken first place. I did a hybrid of Marvel characters Spider-Gwen, and Carnage using a theme from a movie poster related to exorcism. Creepy factor achieved! I also did a quick, partial sketch entry of a hybrid of Wolverine and Carnage. I didn’t beat out all of the professional entries, but I took 1st in the community donated art – which is loaded with talent. I chose a charity for the homeless for the donations, as they struggle the most.
Since then, I’ve been doing my Original Art Variant covers regularly. I’ve been doing a lot of commissions, I got my some of my originals, all of my prints, and some sketch cards in a large local comic shop, and I begin my journey into the world of Comic Con starting next month! So, my journey started with my passion for drawing characters in the world of comics and fantasy, and it looks like it may be coming full circle as I try to establish myself in the comic community.
Stay tuned for more blogs about my journey as an Original Art Variant artist! Hope you like my work!
