We were lucky to catch up with Calvin Lin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Calvin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I have been drawing since I was a kid and would often draw as I watched my favorite cartoons on TV. From elementary school to high school, I would constantly draw Pokemon and anime characters on my homework and in sketchbooks. However, I wasn’t really serious about drawing until college when I got a tablet and a laptop and started to try out digital art. With the onset of social media and the ability to post my art online, it really pushed me to improve my digital art skills so I could share my art online. And aside from two semesters of elective art classes in college, I am entirely self-taught when it comes the digital art medium.
With what I know now, I definitely could have done a lot to speed up my learning process. My biggest issue was that I was very focused on trying to get “good” quickly using shortcuts. I would often bypass learning fundamentals by just trying to draw the desired product without learning about how drawing works. I would say the most essential skill is to take the time to learn the basics instead of trying to get to the end product first. I could have saved a lot of time when trying to learn how to draw people, by putting time and effort into learning drawing anatomy first. Which I eventually did!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a self-taught Taiwanese/Thai American digital artist originally from Nashville, but currently residing in Atlanta. I’ve been into visual art since I watched my first cartoon as a child and haven’t stopped drawing since. Heavily stylized art in cartoons, like Bruce Timm’s Batman series and various animes, were styles of visual art that I was really drawn too. I feel that through stylized art, you can much more clearly see the artists’ thumbprint and their creative vision. That was something I really wanted to capture in my own art, to have something that was distinctly me and pleasing to audiences.
After years of putting my work online on various social media platforms, I started to get inquiries about commission and contract work. This is when I first started to delve into my freelance illustration role. I mainly draw character designs and fantasy illustrations, which are sought after for people who are fans of comic books or tabletop roleplaying games. It’s a joy for me to work with clients about their vision for their Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder character and bring a character they embody when they play the game to life. I was initially worried that a cartoony stylized look wouldn’t be desired for fantasy RPG genre, but I have been pleasantly surprised how many people want the style I work in.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Back in 2015, I really liked drawing fanart of Marvel Comics characters on my blog. However, it was always a little frustrating to see that superheroes of color didn’t get as much fanart when compared to their white counterparts. So I decided to launch a separate blog where I would reimagine the Marvel Comics but put more of a spotlight on existing superheroes of color in the Marvel Universe.
Unfortunately, this led to my first experience with hate mail as, after the blog gained an audience, my inbox was filled with derogatory comments and racist language. In addition, my blog was featured in an article on a comic book website, which only led to more hateful comments. This was less than ideal experience for me, but has only made me more resolved in fighting for proper representation in media.
From then on, I have tried to illustrate and draw and feature characters that often do not get the type of representation they deserve.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
When I was learning digital art, I was convinced this was a task I had to accomplish alone. However, as I grew older, I realized there are a wealth of resources out there that can really help artists grow. For one, YouTube offers a library of tutorials and speed draw videos that are incredibly helpful to me now. Whether it’s trying a video on navigating drawing software, or a tutorial on a certain effect I desire in an illustration I am working on, I wish I had utilized this sooner!
Another resource is other artists. Meeting and talking to other artists has been key to my growth in the digital medium. Having a community where you can exchange tips and advice as well as provide honest constructive feedback helps put my own art in perspective. Sometimes having a fresh pair of eyes on a piece you’ve worked hours on is what’s needed to see what stands out and what needs to change.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvinloveinternet/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/calloveinternet