Illustration graduate cites hard work as key to success

By Keira Kitchings

Special to The Johnsonian

Mike Sudduth ‘08With an engagement and graduation, 2008 became a year for new beginnings for Winthrop University student Mike Sudduth.

Sudduth graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration and discovered that the fundamentals of art and design he learned at Winthrop were the most important things he would take with him in his career as an illustrator. 

“I was okay at drawing when I went in, but I had no formal training. I didn’t know why certain colors, shapes, forms, etc. communicated with people in such different ways,” said Sudduth, “It forced a lot of critical thinking on my part.”

While job hunting after graduation, Sudduth attended the Heroes Convention, a weekend event in Charlotte where comic book creators and fans go to celebrate the medium, buy, view and sell comics and illustrations, interact with artists and creators and participate in panels. 

While there, he met Steven Prouse, who took interest in Sudduth’s work; they exchanged information.

“I lost it shortly after and never got in touch with him,” said Sudduth, “Not the most professional move of my young career.”

A few months later and still jobless, Sudduth returned to Winthrop and sought the help of Chad Dresbach, chair of the VCOM department. Dresbach referred Sudduth to Jeff Wilson, another Winthrop Alumni, who was working at Image Resource Group in Columbia. 

Wilson saw Sudduth’s portfolio and passed it on to one of IRG’s senior project managers.

“The project manager just happened to be the guy I met at Heroes Con a few months earlier, so I really lucked out having Chad, Jeff and Steven to speak for me,” said Sudduth, now a member of the company’s design team. 

Sudduth could not discuss his work due to a confidentiality agreement, however he mentioned the work he does on the side which includes creating character/poster art for Sage Creative in Aiken, working on his own comics, attending conventions and finishing a backup story for his studio mate Chuck Brown. 

The story is called “Getting Greased” and will be featured in Brown’s book “Trench Coats, Cigarettes and Shotguns.” 

Eventually Sudduth would like to work as a completely freelance artist, creating comic books with both licensed and creator-owned characters. 

At the Small Press Expo in Maryland, an independent comic convention, Sudduth drew a sketch in a woman’s sketchbook only to find it featured on an artist’s blog among some of the best professional sketches from the book.

“She said it was one of her favorites, but I never expected to see it on another blog,” said Sudduth, “It was accidental promotion and it made me feel really good.” 

Despite the skills he has attained and the success he has had, Sudduth felt he had received a very broad education at Winthrop. 

“It was cool to get a taste of everything, but I do wish that we got to pick specialized classes that dealt with only a specific part of the field,such as concept art, sequential art and animation among others.”

Even though he has already graduated, Sudduth was excited to hear Winthrop is now offering such classes to current and future students.

Sudduth advises illustration students to work hard (stressing the importance of having a nice, professional-quality portfolio), keep up with their craft and have confidence in their work.

“Try not to compare yourself to other artists too much. Everyone has different tastes, styles and methods to their work. I still learn new stuff everyday; if I wasn’t I’d be afraid that I wasn’t progressing as an artist.”