AnneCarlini.com Home
 
  Giveaways!
  Insider Gossip
  Monthly Hot Picks
  Book Reviews
  CD Reviews
  Concert Reviews
  DVD Reviews
  Game Reviews
  Movie Reviews
  Check Out The NEW Anne Carlini Productions!
  [NEW] Belouis Some (2024)
  [NEW] Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel (2024)
  [NEW] Mark Ruffalo (‘Poor Things’)
  [NEW] Paul Giamatti (‘The Holdovers’)
  [NEW] Crystal Gayle
  [NEW] Ellen Foley
  Gotham Knights [David Russo - Composer]
  The Home of WAXEN WARES Candles!
  Michigan Siding Company for ALL Your Outdoor Needs
  MTU Hypnosis for ALL your Day-To-Day Needs!
  COMMENTS FROM EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE READERS!


©2024 annecarlini.com
Ghost Canyon

NEW! Mindy Indy  (Cartoonist) NEW! Mindy Indy (Cartoonist)

Recently, at the Motor City Comic Con 2015, we discovered a real stand out cartoonist known as Mindy Indy. Indeed, as you walked by her booth, no matter what she is doing, she always puts her head up from her sketch book, smiles and says "Hello." Always drawing, always sketching, always working at her booth, Mindy is the epitome of how hard work can flourish into success; especially in her cut throat business!

Mindy Indy is an energetic independent cartoonist, currently living in Brooklyn, New York, who every few months creates a new short story. Some of her past endeavors have been entitled "The Misfortune Cookie," "The Lucky Penny," and "Dog VS. Balloon Dog." She sells these mini comics and also does custom sketches at comic conventions and art shows all over the East Coast, including New York Comic Con, Boston Comic Con, MoCCA Fest, and many more. Indeed, she is now working on her graphic novel, "AER HEAD."

Mindy Indy also makes Custom Comics that are great for special gifts! To bring your cherished memories to life in comic form all you need is a few reference pictures and a brief story and she'll work her comic magic! She also does live portrait sketching at events like business parties, weddings, birthdays, and much more!

Mindy has also recently finished printing her newest comic: "APARTMENT HUNT!!" She made the comic to warn people of all the crazy stuff you may encounter while apartment hunting in NYC. Based on a true story, you will definitely find it helpful if you will be on the hunt yourselves, trust me!

Exclusive Magazine caught up with Mindy Indy during her very own apartment hunt in New York, and my first question was: At what age were you when you knew that you were artistic when it came to drawing? "I've always loved to draw as far back as I can remember. So maybe like 5 or 6. I remember kids in all my classes marveling at stuff I doodled in class on book covers and worksheets."

What was the very first drawing you did that people started to take notice of - and do you still have it? "It's hard to say. There was one I did in 3rd grade, I think, of a clown with big shoes in profile view, holding colorful balloons, and I wrote "Very Clownish" on it. My mom has saved a lot of my drawings and probably has it somewhere in the basement," she laughs. "Lord knows where, among all the boxes of stuff!"

Do you have another "paying job," so to speak, or is drawing your full time profession, perhaps? "I've been freelancing as an artist full time for a year and a half, and proud of it! Every so often my sister will send a graphic design job posting to me, and if it's really good I'll apply, but to be honest it's extremely hard to get a job just online, and not from the "inside." Probably 97% of the projects I've gotten were from people I've met in person."

What are you best at drawing for customers? "Dogs! They're the easiest and fastest! I love drawing hair, and dogs are mostly hair. I'm also a dog person so that helps. Cats are more complicated ... they're hairy, but have complicated patterns on their fur like stripes. Dogs don't have stripes."

In truth, what are you bad at drawing - and why do you think that is? "Anything like buildings, cars, or bicycles where they're man-made, because you have to draw them perfectly, or everyone notices it's a bit off, because you're so used to seeing how those things exist in the real world. I can do it, but it takes a lot more time and isn't as fun trying to get perfect perspective with rulers, oval templates, and such."

"In my mini comics, I take a "short cut" and fudge the perspective and draw it all by hand. It kind of matches how the characters look that way too. Organic forms like humans and animals are much more fun to draw."

To this day, what has been the best thing you have drawn and who was it for? "Ahhh such a hard question! That's always evolving. I want to say recent works are the best, but one that's more personal and I've spent a lot of time on is an illustration for a comic/graphic novel series I'm working on called "AER HEAD." I drew it in 2010, when I first moved to NYC and had much more time to devote to personal projects. It was "for" myself, but eventually lots of others will see it though."

"I spent a lot of time looking at surfing references, making sure it looked right, and the watercolors! It was really fun to do the watercolors. I especially love the color scheme. This illustration was all done by hand, but moving further with the series, I'm going to do about half by hand and half digital to speed things up. I've been feeling it's better to take a short cut and get it done, than to never finish the series at all."

Is there something in this world that you would love to draw, but because it maybe isn't in the States, you haven't gotten there to do it yet? "Well, I can always look up photo references online. However, if I need reference for something specific, taking my own photo references are best because I can get the angles just right. Some of my comics are based in NYC and I can go out and take pics if needed. I'd really like to go on another field sketching trip though! I did that in college and went to Yellowstone - it was amazing! It would be great to do some field sketching in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan."

Do you just draw people, or have you undertaken landscapes and fruit bowls, and such before? "Fruit bowls," she laughs, "that's stuff teachers made me do in high school and college! Kind of boring. I remember drawing landscapes on my own when I was little - like of sunny beaches. When I was in middle school I did one for my mom of a lighthouse on the water and rocks leading up to it. She's always loved lighthouses. And I did a lot of landscapes in my field sketching trip and in travel sketchbooks. I like to draw all kinds of things, as my sign at conventions says "I'll Draw Anything!""

What's the most you have ever been paid to draw something for someone? "A custom comic for a wedding. Custom comics are a great way to tell the story of how a couple met! The comic with Karyn and Wes was $431.60 and is drawn and inked by hand, but colored digitally. I exhibited at a bridal expo 2 years ago and met Karyn there. In this case, Karyn wanted it specifically for the reception, and it's the only custom comic I've done so far to have a panel where they're talking TO the audience in the present."

"A runner-up in this category would be a double custom comic called "The Forever People," all drawn, inked, and watercolored by hand. I gave Gaby and Jon a big discount because they've gotten lots of illustrations from me in the past, and have grown to be friends, so it was also partially my wedding gift to them. Their custom comic is the first one I've done where SHE proposed to HIM! Girl power!"

Finally, what is the most interesting thing about you that you yourself don't ever get to really mention in interviews? "I am the most organized cartoonist I know! Seriously. Planning convention tours on a budget takes lots of effort. Coordinating friends to stay with, finding the cheapest tickets, packing merchandise strategically for all the luggage rules. Lining up multiple conventions and events, and making my own events - like a book signing - is a lot of pounding the pavement."

"Juggling multiple projects at once takes a lot of skill - I'm always adding and editing my project list and TO DO list in my calendar on my phone. I have to be flexible and do projects for clients when I'm traveling too - a good and bad part of freelancing . The business side of comics isn't as glamorous, but it's something I've learned by trial and error, and I'm getting pretty good at it! Making invoices, saving receipts, doing taxes, etc is very important to learn to do. I could talk all day about this stuff!"

Interviewed by: Russell A. Trunk

www.MindyIndy.com

Back To Archives