Self-taught illustrator Chris Sassman talks to us about comic books, visual storytelling and how his passion feeds his soul.

When I embarked on this journey into the realm of art in order to expand VERVE’s horizons, one conversation I never expected myself to have was with Chris Sassman. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that we have a comic book illustrator in our own backyard. 

But time and again, this passion project that we’re building is awakening new passions in ourselves, and personally showing me the depths of my creativity that I never paid attention to.

Being of the early 90’s millennial generation that I am, I obviously grew up with Spider-Man and Dragon Ball Z and the rest. I got into anime in High School, I was around for the golden era of Marvel movies (before everything became homework to do for the next movie). Eventually after following many blue links on Wikipedia I found myself exploring the vast worlds of Marvel and DC and Vertigo, even delving into Indie comics like Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

When Chris was brought to our attention as someone who would be keen to chat to us, how could I not sit down with an established comic book artist to learn more about his work?

What I didn't expect was to learn so much more about a hobby that I hadn’t really paid attention to, and to learn so much more about the medium. It made me realise how the things that I like are more than just things that I like, they inform my passion and my art as well. 

Tell us about yourself, who is Chris Sassman?

“My name is Christopher Sassman, and I am a horse breeder (chuckles). No but really, I am a comic book illustrator, primarily. But what that really means is ‘illustrator in general’.”

“I think when it comes to drawing comics and being able to visually communicate things you need  a mastery of a lot of fundamental principles, and once you have those you become somewhat of a ubiquitous artist. Someone that can take what you do – whether it be within your style or not - and apply it almost anywhere,”

“Whether it be editorial illustration, marketing illustration, or concept art, all of that is possible through a narrative illustrators unique approach to storytelling. My core passion lies in comic books though.”

So would you say that you’re a storyteller first and foremost?

"Most definitely. I think there’s so much subtle detail to life and how we live it, how those details form the context that impacts our mood and reactions – these details mostly go unnoticed.”

“One of the most important things about growing as an artist is developing your eye, and once I started doing that I picked up on the details of life, body language, light, micro-expressions etc. And I wanted to centre my art around that – which is what led me to comics and storytelling. The art of “immortalizing” moments in time.”

It says on your bio that you studied Chemical Engineering? How did you get from that to becoming an illustrator?

“Well for me, I fell into the very mainstream idealistic mindset of “get a job, have kids, bla bla bla”. The old way. And as much as I tried to push myself further into that direction, I still just found myself drawing.”

“I was sitting in class for organic chemistry, and I was drawing. In a class for physical chemistry, I couldn't stop drawing. To the point that it was affecting my marks. I did okay, I passed with decent marks, but it doesn't take away from the fact that I did not do the best that I could’ve done there, and it was partly due to the fact that it just wasn’t where my passion lay.” 

“I came back from China when the COVID lockdown hit, and I found myself needing to work to support my family. Instead of getting a regular job that would most likely lead me back into the feeling of doing ‘chemical engineering’, I could do something that I really wanted to do.”

“So I got my art together, I put out a makeshift portfolio on Reddit, and I ended up linking with Trey Bellasario. We worked together on a book called The Five Fingers. It never really took off, but if it wasn't for that book, and Trey, I wouldn't be where I am today. Shoutout to Trey.”

“I don’t come from an artistic background, I’m self taught, but what I’ve been able to accomplish has been monumental to me, because I’m passionate about it.”

It’s so wild to me that you’re self taught, judging by the calibre of your work. How did you manage to accomplish that?

“I think when it comes to being self taught, an important thing for any artist to learn is to ‘learn how to learn’. To be conscious of what you're doing, why you’re doing it and also what you’re lacking.”

“Everyone always says that an artist will be their own biggest critic, but what is missed is the WHY. Why are you your own biggest critic, what’s wrong, what can you do better?”

“I think we as artists need to be kinder to ourselves, you shouldn’t just accept that you’re not good enough, be curious – ask yourself WHY you’re not good enough, the answer to that question informs your way forward, not only in practicality, but in terms of your overall journey too.”

“I followed a very generic art style when it came to comic book art. I tried to model myself after the greats like Jim Lee and Greg Capullo, followed guys like David Finch and Ryan Ottley, the artist for Invincible.” 

“Just by seeing where I lie in comparison to them I find out what I’m lacking, and there I found my ‘Why’.”

“Why am I my own biggest critic? Because I’m not them. Eventually I found success and my ‘Why’ changed over time. I found that I was no longer comparing myself to them, I wanted to do things differently – for more personal reasons, which opened me up to new growth.”

“I’d say what worked in my favor when it comes to growth was diving headfirst into the furnace of comic book illustration – the industry really pushes you to to master key fundamentals really fast. That was my process of becoming self-taught. Just drawing every day. I hated that ‘practice makes perfect’ cliche so much, but you have to do it. It is an undeniable and irrefutable truth.”

Why specifically comic books, what attracted you to that medium?

“I like comic books because it's a way for someone to make movies without all the hassle. Without the bureaucracy, the funding, the time, the location. And you as the artist can do it in a way that’s true to you, in the way that you want to see it.”

“You can really create things that would otherwise be completely impractical in real life. Your imagination can not only run wild, it can be perfectly translated into a practical and digestible format – which sounds like a pretty good trade off to me . And I can do all that off a pack of cigarettes and some art supplies, hehe!”

What all goes into the art you produce? Insofar as creativity, the technicality of the medium and putting the work out there?

“I follow a fairly formulaic approach to my work—I’ve figured out what works for me, but I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve or refine my process. As Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘If you’ve got eight hours to chop down a tree, spend six hours sharpening your axe.’ That pretty much sums up my philosophy.”

“I always begin with conceptualization and research, so that I not only understand the story, but that I have a firm grasp of the underlying themes too.”

“For example, If I see an opportunity to drop in a visual that will only pay off in future as the story progresses, I try to figure out how to get that in there so that when it finally does pay off the reader feels a sense of cohesion and thoughtfulness in the story. Composition is key, and I keep two core principles in mind: show, don’t tell and less is more—although I do have fun breaking that last rule now and then.”

“Once the groundwork is laid, the process becomes more technical. I start with rough sketches to explore ideas, and panel layouts. Conversational sequences are better off being straight forward, action sequences need to be dynamic, but these rules aren’t set in stone.

"Once I’m happy I dive into the pencil sketch. The best way to figure out what works is just to begin, so I spend a lot of time rearranging elements until the composition feels right.”

“From there, it’s all about the inking. I pay close attention to lighting and line weights, as the ink work is where the piece really gains its depth, presence and weight.”

“Balancing creativity with deadlines can be quite tricky. I’m quite thankful for my background in comic book illustration; the industry is incredibly fast-paced, with the expectation to produce a page a day to meet monthly deadlines. It really pushes you to capture ideas from the aether on a daily basis. As time goes on, a lot of what goes into it becomes second nature, and that’s when you really hit your stride.”

Something I’ve always been curious about was the different roles that go into producing comics. Can you explain to me what exactly the different artists contribute, from writer to inker to colourists? Where do your strengths lie, and why do you favour one over the other?

“Every artist should know a little bit about writing, every writer should know a little bit about illustrating. When it comes to me as the illustrator, it’s my job to look deeper into the writing, to understand it through and through, from tone, to emphasis, to progression etc. And then to craft the visual around all of that, not just to convey the message but to elevate the message.”

“The writer will write something to express how it feels, and I’ll draw from that, not to say ‘this is how it looks’ but rather ‘this is how that feeling looks’.

“As the illustrator you walk a very thin line between your writer and your colorist, sometimes you may leave your art very “bare boned” just to leave space for the colorist to dance around more. Other times you may take two panels from the script and combine them into one singular panel just to benefit the pacing from a visual standpoint.”

“My imagination is always running wild, and I like being that ‘middle man’ between the writer and colourist because it gives me two frames of reference, and that really keeps my imagination in check, and helps me operate more practically.”

What would you say the colourist contributes to the final piece?

“In my heart, they’re the real stars of the show. They come in and add a whole new layer of depth to your art that sometimes you as the illustrator never even knew was possible.”

“I’m currently working with a phenomenal colorist by the name of Allison Hu, and she has a very flat way of coloring, but her moody, emotional approach to color choice has not only done wonders for the story we’re creating, but it’s made me look at my work and the way I draw in a whole different light.”

“Colorists add volume and depth to the lineart, they breathe a sense of atmosphere into the work that takes it from being a well drawn illustration to an engaging and immersive experience.

“When doing the lineart, you balance your positive and negative space, and you play with angles etc. you constantly aim for a certain emotional tone, but you don't necessarily hit that mark every time (unless you’re Frank Miller, we all saw what he did with Sin City). What the colorist does is they will come through and put the full stop on the message you’re trying to put out there.”

For people who don’t know, for the casual Marvel fans, why should they be paying attention to comic books and the industry in general?

“I think that if you’re a fan of the movie and of the character, understand that what you’ve seen on the big screen is only the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more that goes into these characters.”

“Iron Man 2 probably had a 15 minute insert about Tony Stark’s alcoholism, when in the comics there was a whole 9 issue run dedicated to it called “Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle”, and how that challenges him as Iron Man. That run could be (depending on how you read it) educational, it could be inspiring, it could be sobering, all of those things. Just in terms of density, if you like the characters then go read the comics because that’s where the meat and potatoes are.”

“The writers handling the characters in the comics are deeply connected to them. You don’t draw or write comics because you have to, you do it because you want to, and it is because of this that we find the truest rendition of these beloved characters in the comics.”

“Also, I think that for the longest time comics have been overlooked as being just fun stories. If you look at the Superman ‘Kingdom Come’ arc, you can really see what it means to come out of retirement, what it means to adapt to the times, and to continue to strive towards an ideal despite the ever changing world around us.”

“Since the 60s and 70s comics have always aimed to be a reflection of humanity, so if you want to feed yourself, you should read comics and find your reflection in the superheroes and humans whose stories they tell. There’s a lot of good literature out there, but none quite as fun as comic books.”

You’ve put a big emphasis on finding your ‘Why’ as an artist. From a personal standpoint, what would you say the ‘Why’ of art is, in a general sense?

“There’s so many, so I think I’ll start by speaking personally. I keep the art for the first book I ever drew locked away in a box somewhere, and I think of it as my greatest treasure.”

“The art is terrible, and I cringe everytime I look at it, but that’s the best part, it shows me how far I’ve come as an artist. I’m not a doctor, I don’t save lives; I’m not a cop, I don’t protect and serve, I’m just a guy trying to be a better guy.”

“I’ve found art to be the way I do that, it teaches me things like perspective, patience, active listening, creativity and it pushes me to believe in myself. And because I am inwardly defined by my craft, it teaches me to love myself through loving what I do.”

“To me, art has been the medium through which I live life, and as I live it I see that we creatives are creating things that will most likely outlive us all. Akira Toriyama just died, and I’m sure people will be watching Dragon Ball for generations to come. That creation came through his self exploration and expression – it came through his life.”

“And that is the ‘Why’ of art.”

For my final question, what is a Creative? How would you define the concept?

“A Creative is just the other side of the coin. Life is riddled with monotony, we wake up, we work, we go to bed. Art caters to your soul, we need art, and so – we need creatives (because this shit doesn’t just fall from the sky).”

“Creatives push against social structure, they re-establish the norms, they are chaos to order and  they show the world a different way. It was only later in life that I started to embrace the fact that there is no one singular truth, and that was around the same time that I started considering myself as a creative.”

Are you a creative? What is your WHY?

As always these conversations leave me with new questions, and these new perspectives I explore leave me with a new lens through which to explore my own life.

Maybe that’s my why. Maybe learning to understand others helps me to understand myself.

Or maybe I just relish the opportunity to meet the individuals who inspire me the same way that superheroes inspired 12 year old me.

Either way, VERVE is an adventure that I’m excited to see unfold.