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Michael Peckham Interview
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“Take the time to figure out what you TRULY want, and mold your life around that.” Michael Peckham
Who is Michael Peckham?
Michael is a comic book artist, who writes and draws his stories to express his ideas. He is actively producing work and released a full 3 issue comic series, “Ouroboros” last spring. Currently, he is working on a weekly comic, “Beast Hunter,” made for print and the web.
Put in the Time.
After high school, Michael made the active choice to become a comic book artist and made it a priority in his life. From there he started spending a majority of his time creating. “You want to be doing something enough that it becomes who you are. Once your art becomes a part of who you are, you start to create work at a higher level,” Michael stated at our interview. He has created around 300 comic book pages in 2 years on top of tons of other drawings. He also works a fulltime job and still makes time to get 30-40 hours of drawing time a week. To make progress and to become great at something, it is necessary to prioritize and dedicate a serious amount of time to work. In the image of Michael, the cape represents the mass amount of work he has created in the past, a visual representation of the work that comes with achieving one’s goal.
Find your CORE goals.
It’s really important to set time aside to think about what you are doing and what your motivations are behind your actions. Michael’s deep rooted goal is to express his ideas through his comics. It’s not good enough to have your core goal as, “I want to be a comic book artist”. These ideas don’t stand on their own and can end up feeling hollow, it can be easy to find yourself chasing an idea just because you like the way it sounds. Dig deeper, find the emotional reason behind it. If your core reasoning is not positive, it will quickly become apparent in the quality of your work and your energy will quickly run out. I have created projects where the main reason behind them is just to get more work. I feel that they tend to be weaker and I run out of energy after the first day.
“If my core goal was to become a famous comic book artist, right now I would not be happy, because I am not famous. I am working to become more known, but it’s not at my core. And because I am already achieving my core goals, I am happy in this moment.” This is SO important. If you are not enjoying the journey of being an artist, and just waiting for the final destination, you risk living an unhappy life. Don’t rely on success as a means to happiness because when you get there, there will be new goals. You could miss out on happiness.
Money
I don’t think there is anything wrong with having money incorporated in your end goal, like one of Michael’s goals is to be financially dependent on his art alone. It can get dangerous when you run the risk of sacrificing your core goals to acquire more money or making it your end goal to collect as much money as possible. I’ve noticed that using money as a gauge for success is a deeply rooted notion, likely motivated by its prevalence in our culture (Movies, TV, ect.). If money slips into your core goals and you are making your life decisions with it in mind, it can become treacherous.
Fame/ Following
The same goes with fame and following. Michael says, “If I had a large following, I would use it as a tool. The more people I can reach the better. It’s not about being famous, it’s just knowing that the work is being noticed by more people and that they get to see what you are saying.” Selina Miles is an amazing videographer, one of her more well-known works is a video titled “Limitless”. There is a good chance you have seen it because it’s views are in the millions. Selina says, “One thing that the ‘Limitless’ experience taught me is that gauging the success of my career by YouTube views, or financial profit, or any other number – despite seeming simple and uncomplicated – is actually a very unhealthy and stifling pattern of thought that doesn’t lead anywhere positive or foster creativity or happiness.”
End Goal
Michael’s end goal is really positive and doesn’t involve being rich or famous. “I want to be where I don’t have to worry, where I can invest all of my time approaching the artistic problem at hand and working on my craft.” True artists just want more time to do what they love.
Writen by Thomas Sblendorio
Behind the Scenes
The Artist
Michael Peckham
