Taylor Leddin: How did you get into drawing?
Scott Straka: I’ve been drawing for fun my whole life, but it wasn’t until mid
2013 that I went to my first comic con and decided I wanted to do it
something more with it.
TL: At what point did it shift from a hobby to a career?
SS: It took me about 6 months to work up a real inventory with various
new work. In January 2014 I booked my first con, and by late April
after doing a few more cons, I decided to quit my other job and make
it a full time gig.
TL: What is your process when creating a new piece?
SS: No one can tell you how to draw or what process will work for you.
Since I mainly do portrait work now, the most important thing to get
right is the eyes in order to really capture the subject. I start with
that and branch out to the nose and then the circumference of the
face, then work my way around.
TL: What makes you choose the pieces you’ve done?
SS: I choose a lot of things that I like and enjoy drawing, and I try
to never draw the same person twice. I get hired for lots of different
subjects and that’s most of the work I bring to cons or that is listed
on my websites.
TL: What has been the most interesting part of interactions at conventions?
SS: Conventions are amazing. The best part of being a self-employed
freelance artist is that I get to pick the cities I want to visit and
appear in. You get to meet people from all walks of life, and getting
to speak with them and seeing their reaction to your work in person is
priceless.
TL: What has been the most rewarding part of this journey?
SS: The honor of having fans that love your work and that make it
possible for me to do this for a living. They say if you’re doing what
you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. And that couldn’t be
more true. I’m grateful to anyone that has supported me in any way and
hope to meet as many of them as I can in person.
