We were lucky to catch up with Mike Crowder recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mike, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I can’t remember a time when I DIDN’T want to be a professional artist. I know I wanted to be a comic-book artist from the age of 12, when I was first exposed to the work of Gil Kane, and Neal Adams. I even went so far as to submit a comic story to DC Comics, who apparently did not care for it. Too bad. I thought it was cool!
I later went to SCAD to pursue my dream, although my former roommate, Bob Pendarvis, didn’t begin the Sequential Art major until after my graduation in ’87. I worked on a couple of independently produced B&W comics with Bob in college.
BUT I was involved in a near-fatal car accident in December of ’90, and the resulting TBI quashed my dreams of pursuing a career as an artist until 2017, when my wife proved to be enough of a muse to get me drawing again.
Mike, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Although already the darling of smart folks everywhere, it wasn’t until his actual birth in 1963, that Mr. Crowder began to meet with any popular acclaim.
He was raised in scenic Rat Town…
In a barn…
By wolves…
Or apes…
Mr. Crowder’s advances in the science of rocket surgery cannot be ignored. He is older’n your dad, has an itchy spleen, and a disposition that can only be described as “bad.”
He and his fabulous wife, Gwen, currently live somewhere in the Southeast, with his dogs, Bo & Luke.
In Rat-Town…
Or somewhere else.
As I stated previously, I didn’t start out as a writer, I always wanted to be an artist. However, whilst DRAWING an alphabet project for Gwen, I became interested in WRITING it as well. From this arose my first book, “Wild about the Alphabet! (and Other Tales)” a book about animals, cleverly disguised as a book about the alphabet.
I primarily work with colored pencils, which I then scan into PhotoShop, where I beat the living heck out of it. Not having really drawn in 27 years, my first illustrations relied heavily on PhotoShop: airbrush and other effects smooth the illustrations. It wasn’t until earlier this year, that I recreated most of the illustrations, using PhotoShop, primarily for intensifying the colors.
I’m also in the process of doing the same with my second book, “Hammy Hammerhead’s (almost) Big Adventure!” a storybook about sharks, cleverly disguised as a storybook about sharks.
My sarcastic and bitter sense of humor infects my work, making it enjoyable on a multitude of levels. Gwen has described both books as “Warner Brothers cartoons in book form,” and she’s right.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
33 years ago, I was nearly killed in an automobile accident, suffered a massive head injury, and ended up in a coma for 11 days. I went from drawing nearly every day of my life, to having no desire to do so. That all changed in November of 2017; blame it on my wife, or my new meds. Either way, I now I write children’s books.
How’s THAT for a journey?
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Two things: One, I had a woman approach me at a market to tell me her son was copying the illustrations from MY book! How cool is that?
Two, I’ve been asked to give a talk at SCAD, my alma mater. SCAD!
Contact Info:
- Website: GraySheepGraphics.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormikecrowder/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMikeCrowder
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/author-mike-crowder-13b20612/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/mikecrowder