Mindy Indy
Independent Cartoonist
Currents News, a local NYC Catholic news station, interviewed me about my work on illustrating the God’s Superheroes book series! Watch on YouTube.
Canvas Rebel interviewed me about making a living as a freelance artist in NYC! Read the full article HERE!
One of my very first fans interviewed me! Comics writer Don Smith and I discuss how I decided on my Kickstarter goal amount and my early comic upbringings. Listen here!
The following is a Czech article on KinoBox!
See the full article with pictures here. English translation below.
“From Deadpool to Own Comic – A View Into a Life of an Illustrator”
(The opening paragraph says that I live in Brooklyn like the author, Nora K, does. We are both in the artistic community and since she liked my art she decided to ask me a few questions about my life and my art.)
Have you always been drawing since you remember or was it something you picked up during a certain phase of your life?
Yes, I've been drawing since I could hold a crayon!
What's your process like? Do you always know what's going to be on the canvas/paper/picture when you start drawing or is it a more free flowing process?
The current process of creating AER HEAD is very planned out! The story's roots were more "flowing," but now I'm super organized about creating a script, storyboards, layouts, and now drawings for each issue. For a comic series, it works best this way because it's way easier to change things in script and storyboard mode before moving to drawings.
How much time do you spend working on your art in an average day or a week?
Ideally I aim for 2 hours a day, but during crunch time for Kickstarter I'm lucky if I can squeeze in a half hour per day at the very end! Sometimes on very busy weeks due to freelancing I may only get a few hours in, but it's important to just keep up the momentum.
What's your dream/goal in this industry?
To make a living just from creating my own artwork instead of relying on client-based freelance work.
Do you still draw “outside your work” in your free time?
So AER HEAD is my main project outside client freelance work, but outside of all that, yes: sometimes I can squeeze in a daily sketch based on songs, called "doodletunes," which I post on Instagram. This series of drawings has helped keep me loose and not worry about perfectionism. If I miss a few days (or during Kickstarter time, weeks!) it's no big deal, but I keep returning to that theme.
If you couldn't draw what would change in your life? What would you do?
That's an interesting question... Drawing and art have been a main focus of my life so a lot would change. If an accident were to suddenly happen, I'd probably have to do a lot of praying and self-reflection to determine the next direction for my life. Well, my other interests include having an eclectic music taste, science - especially astronomy, being a social butterfly, and more. If there's a job where I can somehow combine all of those I'd probably do that!
What do you like to draw most?
People! Specifically curly hair is the most fun feature to draw, as you may tell by my main character!
What would you call your style?
It's a mix of American-style figure drawing inspired by Japanese anime and manga. I also want my comic to look more like an animation, with the solid color characters and watercolor backgrounds.
Do you hang out or cooperate with other illustrators or animators or are you more solitary in your line of work?
Definitely more solitary, which is hard sometimes because I'm a very social person. I work from home but get antsy sometimes and have to make time to go and do other activities. But I would like to hire other people to help with letters and flats for AER HEAD (flats are solid colors not rendering). I did work with a writer for a sci-fi collection of short stories called "OTHER REALMS."
Do you first think of a back story for a character or draw something/ someone and then think of their backstory?
Usually the backstory comes later. Sometimes WAY later. Three of the main characters of AER HEAD (Aer, Vee, and Andy) started out as designs first, then I added their powers, then other character qualities, then a backstory. Actually I think that sequence applies to all the characters in my story!
What or who inspired/inspires you?
As a kid and teen, I watched a lot of anime and read a lot of manga. Even though I'm not into those as much anymore, the influence remains. Rumiko Takahashi is my main humor/story influence, especially Ranma 1/2! The Daft Punk animation, Interstella 5555, is a big style influence! Daft Punk teamed up with Leiji Matsumoto to create it. Ah, techno music and anime together! Actually a lot of ideas come to me when dancing or jogging :) Outer space documentaries and sci-fi stories rub off on me. I think that initially the first season of LOST was a big influence on the story that eventually became AER HEAD.
Anything else you would like the readers to know?
If you want to catch the wave of AER HEAD, please support my KICKSTARTER, which is live now, to get a digital or physical copy of the book, custom art, and/or original pages (it's hand drawn!). The campaign ends October 10th, and the more money I can raise, the better the finished comic will be. Even if you're not into surfing I think anyone can enjoy the endearing characters, quirky humor, and compelling sci-fi themes of AER HEAD! As an indie creator I'm trying to get the word out as much as possible, so please share my Kickstarter link with someone you think may enjoy the story. Thank you so much!
This was released on Comic M!x the day of my Kickstarter launch for AER HEAD #1!
My coaching session with Tyler James of the ComixLaunch Podcast happened just a few days after my Kickstarter launch. Golden nuggets of knowledge in there that include:
The challenges of living the freelancer life and how to get paid what you’re actually worth.
Strategies for getting known as an expert and getting responses from your ideal clients.
Ways to keep the funding coming in after a strong launch day.