PN Featured Artist: Andrew Sheppard

This weeks Pure Nintendo Featured Artist is the very talented Andrew Sheppard! He uses oil pastels to create awesome Nintendo character portraits like Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and many more. If you enjoy Andrew’s colorful creations you can checkout his online store or ask him about commissions, which I highly recommend. All of his contact information will be at the bottom of the interview, enjoy!

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KD: Have you always been into illustrating or is it something you starting doing recently?

AS: I have been drawing since I was a little kid. In fact, I was sort of known as the artist of my grade. However, I have only been working in oil pastels since high school where I fell in love with the medium.

KD: What inspires you the most when creating artwork?

AS: A lot of my inspiration comes from my love of the pop culture icons that I draw. For the larger pieces, I draw inspiration from some of my favorite impressionist artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet.

KD: Are oil pastels your main choice when drawing or do you dabble in other forms of art?

AS: Since I discovered oil pastels I have loved them so much. I found that not many people work in the medium because it can be a bit messy and it’s very difficult to get fine lines with a point that deteriorates almost immediately. I think the fact that so few people use oil pastels has further inspired me to keep working with them. However, I do intend to branch out to watercolor and oil paints, but currently I am focusing on oil pastels. Most likely I will combine oil pastels and watercolors in the near future because those two mediums work well together.

KD: What’s your favorite Nintendo game or series, why?

AS: My favorite Nintendo franchise would have to be The Legend of Zelda. I fell in love with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo 64 when I was a kid and to this day I still consider it one of the best games ever produced across all systems and generations. I intend to draw the LoZ series soon. I especially love the cel-shaded style of Wind Waker.

KD: Have your been involved in any collaborations or new projects recently?

AS: I have not been involved in any collaborations per se, however, I do cut wood for a local artist here in Columbia, SC. He does woodcuts of some of his characters and I cut them out with a jigsaw and then he paints them. His company is called Jellykoe (definitely worth checking out). J. Spencer Shull is the artist and he has definitely inspired me to take my art from a hobby to a career.

KD: Do you take commissions or sell your artwork online? If so, how can our readers go about buying some?

AS:  I do take commissions and requests can be sent to chromacomaart@gmail.com. I have also just opened my online store and the website is chromacoma.storenvy.com

KD: Thanks for the interview Andrew, I really enjoy your art style. Where can our readers check out more of your artwork or contact you if they have questions?

AS:  If you are interested in seeing more of my work, my Instagram is very active: instagram.com/chroma_coma, @chroma_coma
Thank you so much again! I look forward to seeing the article. Let me know if you need any other information.

 

Any artist interested in having their artwork on PureNintendo.com or in PNM can contact me at Kaelyn@purenintendo.com. Submit fan art, sculptures, baked goods, comics, etc. If the theme is ‘Nintendo’ we want to see it! You could be the next Pure Nintendo featured artist! Also to see artwork from artists featured in our magazine, PNM, please head to PureNintendo.com/magazine to subscribe! Thanks for reading.