MEET AN ARTIST
SHAWN ALLEYNE
Pop Boom Entertainment: What got you interested in art?
Shawn Alleyne:It was a combination of things, but my dad gets the most credit for this cause one of my earliest memories is of me sitting on his lap and watching him show me how to draw Daredevil, who to this day is one of my favorite characters. Then my mom, seeing my interest in art, really helped foster it and bought me all kinds of art supplies growing up. And while I don’t really believe in “destiny”, I've just always loved drawing and feel it was always a part of me.
Have you taken any art classes?
I’ve had one or two brief sporadic
brushes with some classes such as a
few weeks at a summer course
studying animation and roughly a
couple months in a summer program
for comic art in a continuing education
program. That was it though, I’m
primarily self-taught.
What is your preferred medium and why?
I'm straight up old school: a simple pencil and paper with some inks are all I use for now. If I had to be realllly honest I would have to say it’s because technology is a foreign concept to me. I want to get into the digital side of things but it’s too intimidating right now. However, there’s something about the feel of an actual pencil on actual paper that’s very compelling and authentic for me.
Do you have an online portfolio or a blog where we can view your work?
Lots of places: www.shawnah-lean.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/PyroglyphicsStudio
www.pyroglyphics1.deviantart.com
Do you have a favorite artist?
Too many to pick just one. I'm an old head so those early Marvel guys-- particularly John Byrnes, Walt Simonson and Art Adams- did a lot for me inspiration wse.
And I’m still a big comic book guy so a lot of the superstars of today influence me as well- guys like Travis Charest, Bart Sears, Eric Battle and more. The list then extends all the way from people like the late great Frank Frazetta, to Masamune Shirow, to Hyung-tae Kim to graffiti artist Phetus.
What draws you to that person’s work?
I’m gravitated towards any artist that’s unique and makes me want to challenge myself. What's so inspirational about these artists is the fact they have such distinct styles. I want to leave that sort of impression on others. The other thing is with those guys you can really see the passion in their work, and that’s important to me. I feel as though people are too lazy nowadays and don’t put their all into what they create.
"I'm straight up old school: a simple pencil and paper with some inks are all I use for now"
-shawn alleyne
July 2014
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My name is Shawn Alleyne, and I’m a Barbadian born and raised artist who moved to Philadelphia as a teen, where I've lived ever since. I'm currently working as a freelance artist, and operate under PYROGLYPHICS STUDIOS (which roughly translates to "Hot Images"). I've had other people describe my work having a "gritty new age urban anime fusion” and that works for me.