We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Seth Young. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Seth below.
Alright, Seth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve ever worked on is probably the current comic I doing with writer William Clemons. It started out in 2019 at sci-fi Valley Con. William approached me looking for an artist to work on his story he’d had kicking around for years. At the time I had just gotten out of a couple of failed comic projects with little to no pay. I sheepishly asked him if he’d be ok with my page rate and he agreed, which at that point was a huge weight off my shoulders. Nothing discourages an artist quite like being involved in years long projects only to find out that almost all of their work will not be compensated.
Williams idea was also right up my alley. He was heavily into fantasy which was exactly the kind of project I had been wanting to work on for years. Not only that but William is a great collaborator to work with. He’s completely willing to listen and work closely with the artist. He like me also had to work a full time job not related to comics to pay the bills.
About a year into the project we actually ended up completely starting the first issue over from scratch. We’d come to the hard realization that it didn’t flow well and felt overall amateurish. We went back to the beginning and starting doing a much improved second draft. It worked wonders and we instantly know how much better and professional this version was.
It’s been about 4 years of us working off and on with the project in our spare time. It’s been a tremendous labor of love and passion, not to mention how much we learned. I can honestly say that this book is probably some of my best comic work hands down.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Seth Young and I am an Illustrator and comic artist. I first became interested in art at the age of 4 and then shortly after that I started drawing my own comics. I’ve pretty much wanted to do comics and painting since I could draw.
I do art commissions and comic work for hire with the hope to break into the industry full time. I pretty much paint just about anything.
I’m most proud of a painting of storm from X-Men I did 2 years back and the comic I’m working on with William Clemons. Another work I’m incredibly proud of is a comic for the Mad Cave Talent Hunt 2023. Fingers crossed that it gets accepted.
What Id like people to take away from my work is the level of quality and just sheer joy of the art. I want people to get the childlike wonder I still have when I paint.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wished I had studied anatomy and perspective a lot earlier. I feel I would have been so much father ahead had I really worked on those at an early age. As it stands now I love doing them but for some reason when I was younger I didn’t focus on them enough.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Honestly the joy of making something. It also comes down to faith with me as well. I’m a Christian so God is really important to my work. It feels extremely rewarding when you’re having a tough time with a piece and take a break to just pray and relax. Then when you come back all of a sudden it clicks. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without God in my life. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sethjyoungart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sethjamesyoung/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seth.j.young
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SethJYoung
Image Credits
All Paintings done by Seth Young. Photo of Seth Young Taken by Chuck Fong