So, Mike, how’d you learn about drawing? Formal education self taught? Tips for aspiring artists?
I’ve been drawing since I was very young. I would say for the most part I am self taught, although I took art classes throughout school and during college. Art classes and schools are great platforms. They immerse you in a space where you are encouraged and given the tools to create, but I believe the bulk of the learning is on the student. My one and only tip for aspiring artists is to just draw. That’s the only way to improve. Draw anything and everything. Draw things you want to draw and draw things you don’t want to draw. Look for other artists that inspire you and draw what they draw. Don’t worry that you’re copying them line for line, because you’re learning.
Mike Anderson’s Workstation
Tell us more about your workstation. Do you keep any paper around to sketch out ideas? We’d like to see a picture of where you create your art!
Unfortunately, over the past few years, I’ve become completely digital in my art process. I say unfortunately because I believe nothing will ever replace the look and feel of drawing on paper. No matter how good programs and apps get at replicating the look of ink on paper, you can’t hold it and craft it in your hand. That being said, I try to keep a small sketch pad or two at my desk at all times. Something I can quickly sketch thoughts or ideas into. Other than that I have my digital means of drawing at my workstation; however, I’ve recently discovered the value of a mobile workstation. I cannot sit in one place for too long, or I go crazy. So, I bought an iPad Pro and it’s perfect for being able to complete digital art on a mobile platform. I also have lots of toys and prints around my desk that inspire my work.
Are comics your full time gig? What else keeps you busy?
They are not, YET! I would love to do comics full time one day. For now, they are a side venture and for fun. During the day I work as an animator for a large production company in Oklahoma City.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seem to be a recurring theme for you. What keeps drawing you back to them?
The turtles are part of what inspired me to first start drawing. All the old Saturday morning cartoons like Thundercats, TMNT, and Street Sharks were creative fuel every week. The reason I love TMNT so much is because they ooze (pun intended) creativity! The characters are so original and fun. And, the world is so colorful you can’t help but be inspired by it.
You draw characters from a pretty broad range of IPs, but your style is so consistent. How do you put your own unique mark on your creations?
I’ve always been a big fan of all forms of animation. So I think my illustration style really reflects that. I always think it’d be fun to see what some characters from live action movies would look like if they were drawn in an Anime style.
We had a chance to look at one of your process videos. What tools are you using in this video? How do you pick colors?
I predominately use Adobe Photoshop for all my digital art. From sketch to final product, I can work completely in Photoshop. Coloring is actually my Achilles Heel. I’ve learned enough to make my coloring work for my style, but when it comes to picking colors I often don’t know what I want until I stumble across it by accident.
We hear music in all your process videos. How do you choose these tunes?
Sometimes I try to find music that fits with the illustration I’m drawing.
Other times I just put a song in that I like at the moment.
How’d you get the nickname Mikuloctopus?
Well I have a very generic real name. If you look up Mike Anderson Artwork on Google you get a million different choices, so I knew I needed a name that was unique. I’d also heard this great quote that I really identified with. “Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” I always want to be the best octopus I can be. The Mikuloctopus.
Tell us a quick story from your favorite convention.
I haven’t been to a convention yet, but I hope to start going next year.
Awesome job on Ol’ Ironside! What’d you learn from collaborating with other artists?
I’ve learned that you have to be able to compromise and take criticisms well. I worked with my friends on Ol’ Ironside so I couldn’t have had a better team to work with.
A photo posted by Mike Anderson (@mikuloctopus) on
Saw you used the Procreate app for your recent drawing of Spider-Man. Like it? Use any other iPad apps for your work?
ProCreate is definitely the best iPad Pro app I’m using for digital art. However there are a couple others I’m starting to work around in. One is MediBang Pro. It is an app specifically made for making comics on your iPad. The other is AstroPad. I love this app because it mirrors my laptop to my iPad, so I can work seamlessly in photoshop right from my iPad. It has some drawbacks right now, but I’m hoping they get perfected in the future because I see it being a game changer unless photoshop releases a full iPad Pro version of itself.
What a cool tapestry for your son’s room! How did you decide which characters were going to be featured in this piece?
That was mostly my wife’s brainchild. She saw an existing illustration of My Neighbor Totoro characters and wanted me to do a version of the illustration with characters more personal to us. Since our son is too young to have any favorite characters of his own, we chose characters that have special value to us and hope to pass them along to our kids.
What’s on the horizon for you? Solo illustrations? Collaborations?
Hopefully, more comic work. Having a new baby has made it a little difficult to draw in my free time, but when I get the opportunity, I hit it full force. I’m hoping to have another personal comic out sometime next year and start hitting up some conventions. But, until then, I’ll keep drawing as much as I can.
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This post first appeared on The Seismic Art Blog: Tutorials, Interviews, Culture Fandom Artists, please read the originial post: here
