We were lucky to catch up with Colm Griffin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Colm, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

Legacy is an idea that I never really thought much about. Not until I had a couple of kids anyway.

I never really thought of time as anything other than numbers on a clock. Not until I saw little human beings grow and stretch and change, each and everyday. Then time becomes something different altogether. It becomes finite. It becomes about moments and the idea of when you’re gone. What are you leaving behind.

So legacy became real for me once the boys came along. I want to leave something for them to think about and be proud of. It’s cliche but I want them to see the hard work I do and to be inspired to follow their own dreams and know that if they work harder than everyone else. Harder than they thought possible. They will get what they want out of their own journeys.

Of course, as an artist. I have goals that I set and I am working towards those goals each and everyday.

My name is very low key and might not mean much at the moment. But with each project, I am pushing myself so the work will grow and last longer than I do.

I want my work to mean something. To say something about me, my journey, my life and all the things that represent me. I would like my work to feel like me. If you see a piece of art and without even reading my name, you recognize my style or my essence shining through and you know that it’s mine.

Legacy for my own career would be making a film or a book that made an impact on someones life .
It’s quite a selfish thing but I want to be more than just “that guy”. From that “small town”, that worked on “that thing”.

I want to be the very best artist I can be and the drive for that goal is ever-present. Every time I get behind the camera or sit at the drawing board I am going after it like it might all go away tomorrow.

Ha, for someone who never really thought about legacy, I sure had plenty to say about it didn’t I.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Colm. I come from a small town in Ireland called Carlow. Where I live with my beautiful wife Elaine and two bright eyed, mischievous boys Charlie and Max.

I have been working in the Film and Animation industry for over 15 years.
I work with Studio Telegael with my friend Morgan and a fantastic team of artists.

My title would say Design Supervisor but my role can change throughout the different film and tv projects we work on. On any give project you can find me as Director, Animation Director, Project Management and sometimes even Art Director. I like to work across as many departments on a production as I can.

Then about 5 years ago I started to get back into my first dream job which was drawing and telling stories through comic books.

Like many artists, I try to create through as many mediums as I can. But It really all comes back to story telling. Which is really where my passions lay.

To take you all the way back to my youth. From a very early age, as far back as I can remember. I have always had a pencil or pen in my hand and I would doodle on everything. Paper, Cardboard, beer mats and even my bedroom walls. Drawing and telling stories was all I ever wanted to do.

My story is not really any different from anyone who comes from a small town that wants to do something out of the ordinary but can’t find the means or the facilities to foster that desire. So like everyone, I had to leave and go find what I was looking for away from home. I didn’t know how I would do it but I had enough drive in me to go for it and I took that passion for drawing and story telling and over many years, carved out an unusual career in both Film/TV and Comic Books.

My cousin Lorraine taught me how to draw the Ninja Turtles when I was a kid. She would babysit me and sit at the table for hours. Teaching me about art and drawing or painting flowers. She was great but I was never really any good. So I practiced and practiced and practiced. To this day, even after all these years. That drive has never left me. Even now, I feel like I am not the best artist in any room I walk into. There is always someone that knows more or has more tricks than I do. So I am still practicing, practicing and practicing. I work very hard to be the best Artist I can be.

I made a decision years ago when I was in art college, based on the above statement. I was never going to be the best artist. I’m not the best animator. I’m not the best background painter but what I could do, was make myself one of the most useful. I decided to become a general artist in animation production. Meaning I would work in as many departments of animation as possible. That way, I would be more likely to get a new role in different departments at different stages on a Film or TV series. Thus, making my adaptability/versatility one of my strongest assets. I wanted to be necessary to a production which always helped make my contracts longer.

I think I have taken that philosophy with me into comics as well. I have worked on some amazing projects and instead of being just a writer, penciler, inker or colourist. I have learned enough in my journey to be able to do all of the above. That is the approach I took on my own creator comic series Jumpsuit Johnson and the award winning Ocean City. It is also the approach I take into every other comic project as well.

That old saying rings true: A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes is better than a master of one.
That saying probably sums up my career to date.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Becoming an “Artist” in any field of the arts, as a full time job, is always going to be tough. No matter what your desired path is. Turning a hobby or a passion into a career takes enormous amounts resilience, discipline, motivation, honesty and self reflection. And that’s just to name a few.

If I was to tally up the amount of no’s I received/receive from applying for a job in both film and comics versus the number of yes’s I get. A wiser man would have packed it in a long time ago. I have had more losses than wins in this business and that can be incredible soul crushing at times. The reality is, there is always someone better than you. Someone more suited to the job than you. The difference is, you have to make it so that no one wants it more than you. That drive and desire will put your bum at the drawing board and put in the late nights and early mornings. Then it will show in your art. It will make you stand out from the crowd and that is probably when things turned around for you.

I still get a high volume of no’s but these days it gets a little easier because I have gotten to work on some amazing projects with incredible people.

Unfortunately I have many friends that left the film business because it was just too hard to break in or they gave up right before they got their “Big Break”. Thinking about them now and how they could have been one day away from getting their shot always keeps me focused and working hard to stay in the position I am in.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

It’s not easy to pin down just one mission or one goal so I will give a few if that is alright?!

The main one and the one that started it all. The one that drives me. I want to be the best. Or, the best that I can be. I wanted to be an artist as my career and at this point I have achieved more than I ever thought I would in this career. So If I am pushing my luck and am going to keep going. Why not push even further and be the very best in my field. The odds of me being a massive Hollywood Director and an award winning comic book artist are so far fetched that it shouldn’t even be feasible. Yet here I am, directing on smaller productions in Ireland and working on some fantastic comic books too. I might as well keep driving and get as close to the top as I can. Also, I would like to have the respect and recognition of my peers. Earning my seat at the table and knowing that I belong there.

The other goal (equally as important) I want to give my family a good life. It isn’t just me anymore, so being a struggling artist doesn’t or won’t cut it. I am a very simple creature and don’t want for a lot but what I do want is to give my family the best life I can. For them to be comfortable. I also want to give the two chaps opportunities to achieve their own goals. Open different avenues for them to be successful. If they look at me doing what I love or see they’re mother doing what she loves, that will hopefully inspire them to go after what they want. And that will pay off for them in their own future. Or at least until they are 18 and then I’ll boot them out of the house haha.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://colmgriffin.blogspot.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofcolmgriffin/
• Linkedin: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/colmgriffin84
• Twitter: @artofcolmgriffin

Image Credits
All Artwork Created by Colm Griffin