A couple of weekends ago, I attended Motor City Comic-Con, a local convention in Michigan, where I had the opportunity to interview some artists and get their advice on making a career as an artist. As an aspiring artist myself, I was so honored to get the chance to talk to artists like Kyle “Rise” Irving, Brian Remillard, Matthew Starling, and Erik Whalen, to hear all about their artistic journeys!
Starting with the key part of the artistic process, Inspiration. Finding a consistent form of inspiration can often be a driving force in determining whether or not to pursue an artistic path professionally. When speaking to four local artists, there seemed to be a very common thread through each person- a shared love for other artists’ creations.
“ I guess, just being a kid in the nineties and you know, and just literally everything from Nickelodeon to Cartoon Network”, said Matthew Starling “I just draw what I like and then I hope that other people like it too”.
Starling continued to talk about his love and appreciation for the art of cartoons throughout his interview and his passion was clear in his work too. Like Starling, Kyle “Rise” Irving grew up in a space of constant inspiration from some of the street art in the metro Detroit area. And even now, 15 years into his professional career, he’s still taking in new inspiration everywhere. Anyone who has seen Rise’s work throughout the many local comic shops he sells at (Comix Corner or MiPops! to name a few) knows he has a distinct style inspired by graffiti and street art. Because of the prominence of graffiti art in the metro Detroit area, its likely that inspiration came to “Rise” in many different ways.
“I live near the train tracks, and when you see these trains just driving by, I will take photos, be like awesome color palette”, Rise commented.
In discussing how he takes color palettes from other graffiti artists and his surroundings, it was clear the importance of incorporating your environment and artistic surroundings and not feeling ashamed by it.
“I feel like we need a world where art is like that….do what you love and just be weird. Experiment If you drip paint on a canvas, don’t say it’s horrible, see what you can do with it”, Rise continued.
Think this is definitely one of the most important takeaways as an aspiring artist. Both of these artists had unique and powerful ways of conveying characters and seeing them in ways others couldn’t, and that’s a testimony to the power of inspiration. Most artists struggle with finding their artistic identity, so it was really refreshing to know that it is ok to draw inspiration from others, to take what you like and what you identify with, and make it your own. Art is such a great way to help us shape our identities as humans and bring in other aspects of people and the art community, whether its characters that make you happy or just a color palette that’s appealing to you, it’s important to note that even if its something that’s been done before everyone has something new they can contribute to it.
After talking to Rise for some time longer, he discussed one of his latest and greatest creations, Hooligan. Hooligan is Rise’s brand new character, on which he based his very first self-published comic. After talking about how he incorporated inspiration and things he liked from other’s work into a style and work of his own, the question had to be asked- how did he apply this to his own characters? Was he pulling from other characters he loved? Or himself? Or possibly a combination of both.
“So the hooligan…That is basically me, but with a skull for a face”, Rise said ,“The reason he doesn’t have a lower jaw is I was actually speech-delayed until I was five, so I didn’t have a voice. My daughter’s autistic. She’s very limited verbal, so I love presenting a character that people just look at him and say how does he talk? How does he do this?”
Hearing the passion in Rise’s voice when describing this character was something unforgettable, and as an artist, it was something to strive for in the creative process. Bringing in something so deeply personal to him and finding a way to present it for the world to see and connect with as well, is what being an artist is all about. Rise has found a way to do it in a way that is truly unique to him. And if that’s not enough, he has a really cool message he hopes to convey as well.
“The fact that [Hooligan] is so bright and colorful and outgoing, yeah, that is what I’m presenting to the world…. you don’t need to be normal to be accepted, and awesome.”
In the Hooligan comic, Rise heavily promotes being yourself and presenting that to the world proudly. By being passionate and skilled with his art, Rise takes inspiration from others but also his own life and the things that are really important to him as a person. Rise has been able to rise up (pun intended) against the obstacles in front of him and pour his heart into a project for the world to see.
In speaking to these artists, after learning about their inspirations, the next big question was how they went about marketing themselves. Growing up in a world that has been surrounded by the increasing importance of social media, was there a pressure around building a following and distinguishing themselves from other artists on the space?
When asked about this, Brian Remillard said, “Social media is not absolutely necessary.” this was definitely surprising, as especially recently on Tik Tok and Instagram artists seem to be thriving. Because of the growing importance of social media in everyday life, there definitely seems to be an expectation that artists will put a majority of their efforts into building a successful page. But perhaps its not as important as you would initially think..
“Don’t be discouraged seeing somebody else who has two hundred thousand followers, twenty thousand followers it’s. That’s not what it is. It’s about engaging with people”, Remillard continued.
This sentiment about real-life engagement being more important than likes or followers was not a one-off answer to this question.
“I think, being face to face with people…It’s a drastic difference, and I think it’s because people also buy me as a person” Said Starling, ” I feel like a lot of people will come to my table with no intentions of buying anything, but then we have like a good conversation and they’re like oh well lemme grab some patches and stickers”
After hearing what both of these artists had to say it kind of clicked. If these artists are taking themselves and the styles that represent their personalities so fully, they’re already putting so much of themselves on display. So being able to be in person and make that human connection is really important. Art is so deeply personal to people and, in a way, as Starling put it, it is about selling yourself and putting yourself out there for others to connect with. Online you can build a following, but you just don’t have that in-person connection, those extra anecdotes, or hear the passion behind each artist’s voice.
The only remaining question for these artists was whether or not art college is a crucial step on the road to becoming a professional artist. Since this was a local show, a lot of the artists present attended CCS, an art college in the heart of Detroit, so getting input on art college was not only helpful but directly applicable as a local art student.
“I will say it’s not for everybody. It’s not absolutely necessary if you want to be an artist to go to art school.” Said Remillard,”For me, I thought it was beneficial. You get to meet many like-minded people. Most of the teachers are working professionals so they can give you their first-hand experience of what it’s like to live as an artist. You get to make some good connections with people once they graduate.”
This comment backs up most of what the artists had shared in their other answers, the importance of connections in this business. And what’s a better place to make connections with artists, than a school full of them? But if you’re a self taught artist and have made it through most of your artistic journey on your own, going to an art college might be a little redundant and unnecessarily costly. Remillard seemed to agree with this thought process. Sure art school is helpful, but its not for everyone. If you can learn by yourself without having to pay extra, why do it? In talking to the other artists about their artistic educations, another CCS alumni spoke his own thoughts on college.
“They teach you foundational stuff that you need to know, that you might not have known….There was a lot of important classes I took, you yourself have to….go so far above and beyond that and actually make this work. They’ll give you the tools, but you have to be the one to apply them.”
And after chatting with Whalen a little bit longer, his point was starting to resonate more. You could teach yourself how to draw superheroes and comic book characters all you want in your free time, but being able to really branch out in my skill set has to come from that communal environment. Art school, while not necessary for your success as an artist, seemingly gives you the resources and the guidance to push you out of your comfort zone and give you the baseline artistic tools for you to use to your advantage. It allows you to learn all the rules of art, because as Rise said, “if you want to break the rules, you need to learn why you’re doing it”.
In the end, this was a great experience for me as both an aspiring journalist and an artist. I learned about the importance of making connections and conveying yourself through your art. Being an artist isn’t just about making a pretty picture, it’s about creating something that is human and uniquely your own and through that connecting with others. When it comes down to it, whether you have a degree or one million followers on social media, what matters is if you’re making something that makes you and others happy. Art is about emotion and expression. Whether it’s a personal story you’re trying to tell with your art or just your love for your favorite superhero, art is what connects us all and allows us to show who we really are.
Huge thanks again to Kyle “Rise” Irving, Matthew Starling, Brian Remillard, and Erik Whalen for their words of wisdom on the art business and their kindness in letting me sit down and interview them! Also huge thanks to Expand Marketing for the press pass and access to the show! I can’t wait for MC3 2025!!! You can find Kyle “Rise” Irving at “kyleriseirving” on Instagram; Matthew Starling at “protonfactories” on Instagram; Brian Remillard at “brianbrainstudio” on Instagram; and Erik Whalen at “erik_whalen” on Instagram. Please be sure to give them all a follow and check out their art!
