Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Sean Anderson

 by Mike Rhode

A friend at the Baltimore Comic Con tipped me to Sean Anderson's art, noting that he'd been in the Blacksad yearbook, as well as a variant cover for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin from IDW. I reached out to ask him our usual questions

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

 

I do variant covers for comic books along with prints and commissions of super heroes, pop culture, etc.  I sell foil accented art prints at Comic Cons across the country from Emerald City in Seattle, San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con,  Awesome Con DC, and more.  

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

 

I consider myself a digital graphic artist, so I mostly use Photoshop and Illustrator.  I also draw with markers and pens and paint spray paint, watercolor, and acrylic. My art prints either have a layer of holographic refraction foil on it (which causes rainbow effects in the light) - or gold, silver, rose gold, red, or green foil accented on it. To the left is a picture of a Deadpool piece with the silver foil accents.  A lot of times, I will design my art around the foil accents.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

 

I was born in Washington DC in 1980.  

Why are you around Washington now?  What neighborhood or area do you live in?

 

I currently live in Germantown, MD (30 minutes outside of DC).  The DMV area is the best place in America to live in, as it is right in the center of the East Coast.  It's not too far from cities like New York, Raleigh, Baltimore, Philadelphia and DC.  DC is an highly underrated city aside from the monuments - as it has a varied social scene, it's so diverse, and has plenty of restaurants.  Also, we get all 4 seasons and near beaches, mountains, forests, and cities.  This area has everything!

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

 

I attended University of Maryland, College Park in the early 2000's and graduated with a bachelors in Studio Art.  

Who are your influences?

 

My biggest influence is the Japanese digital artist, Aya Kato.  Her work is limited - but it's what I look at before I start any art project.  At the moment, I'm also big on James Jean, the graphic artist, Mike Orunda, and the comic artist Mike Del Mundo.  Those guys are the tips of the iceberg as I look at a plethora of art at all times.  

If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

 

I wish I started the comic con circuit and the super hero art 10 years earlier than when I started in 2010, but I've come to realize that everything builds you up to where you are today.   

What work are you best-known for?

 

The variant covers I recently made for the comic, 'Something is Killing the Children' is giving a new recognition I haven't received before. If there are variant covers still available, you can find my TMNT: The Last Ronin cover at Toywiz.com and my 'Something is Killing The Children' covers can be found at https://stateofcomics.com/ - I will have a few more covers coming in the future, but I'm not at liberty to talk about it at the moment.  

Variant covers are comic book covers that are commissioned through a comic shop and authorized by the parent company to accompany the main book as an alternative comic cover to that particular issue.  Usually I'm either contacted by my agent or the comic book company themselves.  The covers tend to be more expensive than the regular issue, because the print run is smaller and relegated to one particular shop. This makes them more of a collector's item as they are rarer than a typical comic book.

What work are you most proud of?

 

The art collection I made for EyesOnWall is some of the craziest art I ever made since I had to make art that was NOT superhero related.  

What would you like to do  or work on in the future?

 

I would love to have a collection of variant covers for Marvel and DC. 

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

 

When I'm in a rut - I go back to the basics and make something easy and build the next piece from that piece.  I have to do something 'art-related' every day, to avoid getting into those ruts.  

What do you think will be the future of your field?

 

I honestly have no clue.  20 years ago I saw digital art printed on a canvas at the Canadian embassy and thought to myself, 'what can painting do now'?  Digital art creates the ability to make ANYTHING.  So how do you top that?  I was scared for a while that the environmentally-unfriendly NFTs would be digital art's future, but thank god that's looking to be more of a fad.  

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?

 

I will be attending Awesome Con DC in August.  As of now, I'm not sure about Baltimore.  If the Fairfax shows, Tidewater, or Ocean City come during a non-busy period, I usually attend those.  It depends on the year.  

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Do you have a  local store?

 

My favorite comic book series is Umbrella Academy.  I attribute it to the reason I started making comic books at the beginning of my art career.  I'm also currently reading the X-Men Grand design books.  

What's your favorite thing about DC?

 

The National Gallery and Hirschhorn are some of the best art museums in the world - AND IT'S FREE TO GO!  DC is such a cool city and doesn't get as much lip service as it deserves.  

Least favorite?

 

The random state streets that break the grid up.  I also wasn't too thrilled about the insurrectionists that attacked the capital eatlier this year.  

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

 

Take a visitor to the National Mall between The Washington Monument, Capitol, and Smithsonian.  First Fridays at the Dupont Circle galleries used to be cool to go to, too!

How about a favorite local restaurant?

I used to like the Chi Cha Loung in U Street back in the day. 

Do you have a website or blog?

 

You can find me at https://www.facebook.com/Skyscraper48 and skyscraper48.storenvy.com if you would like to purchase prints.  

How has the COVID-19 outbreak affected you, personally and professionally?

 

Professionally, COVID was devastating.  Cons shut down and as a result, I lost half of my income.  Luckily I had my day job to fall back on. My day job is as an art director and production manager at a promotional products advertising firm based out of Rockville. It's a fantastic job I've worked at for almost 20 years that gives me flexibility in my comic dream pursuits.  The job has also taught me a lot of the business side of art and helped me reign in my wilder artistic impulses to something suitable to a generalized audience.  Advertising is the perfect mix of art and business.

 

I also miscalculated how much people were willing to spend on commissions at the beginning of the pandemic, so I held a sale that kept me busy last summer, on the cheap.  Shows are opening back up and I'm hoping they will be as strong as they were in 2019.  Personally, I got to be with my kids a lot more than I ever imagined.  That's a blessing.