What finally got you into doing cons and selling your art?
I was working at a software developer and we had a booth at SDCC for many years. During the shows I would take my breaks and wander around Artists Alley. I had just discovered sketchcards and I was really interested in what artists were doing on this new format. I was riding an artistic high the entire weekend. I thought these people were the coolest! I wanted to do what they do, I wanted to be like them. I was so inspired. So after a few years of this, I started making goals for myself, and getting a table at a con was one of those goals. I got into the sketchcard scene and was doing some sets and I was selling sketchcards on the internet and doing commissions. I started doing appearances at local comic stores. But one of the things I had to get used to was drawing in public. I had a real problem doing that, I was so self-conscious. But I worked through that and my first show was a show called “Nuke the Fridge Con” and that really was a great experience. Since then I have done a lot of cons, including SDCC and I really enjoy being behind the table and talking to all the fans at the shows

What is your favorite geeky thing to draw?
Zombies. I have really developed a love for drawing all things undead. I draw all the comic and pop culture characters too, but my first love is zombies.

Which you were into first art or geek stuff?
Art. I was drawing for my family at a really young age. I was always trying to impress my Mom by drawing her all kinds of stuff. I wasn’t until I got into comics that I started drawing geeky stuff.

How did you develop your style?
If I had that answer, I would bottle it and sell it. Haha When you draw and do something that feels good, that looks cool, you do “that” again and again. As you follow yourself down that path, you end up producing things that are ‘you’ and when ‘you’ come through, people recognize that and I think that ends up being someone’s ‘style’. I am always trying to change, to find the next line, medium or something that is ‘me’.

Which is your preferred medium to work with? And are you venturing out into anything new?
Ink and copic markers is what I usually use. I have been using just ink a lot in the last couple of years. I found some brushes and pens that really feel great when I use them. Remember that thing I talked about style? Using ink brush pens and fountain pens gave that feeling, I feel like I am doing what I should be doing when I am doing art in ink. Recently I have been looking at canvases and feeling a draw to them. I think that is where I will be doing my next experimentation.

Which character do you never get tired of drawing?
Michonne’s ‘pets’ from the Walking Dead. I love drawing those guys. If I have a block or feeling uninspired, I doodle them.

What is your strangest commission request and did you do it?
At SDCC last year, I had a request from a fan to draw the 4th Doctor as a Green Lantern. And yeah, I did it. I was given free reign for anything I wanted. It was kinda difficult to come up with, but I did it and the client was pretty happy with it. I can’t remember any commission request I have even gotten that I didn’t do.

What do you love about cons and what do you hate about them?
I love showing up and getting into the show before the crowds. There is a smell of new carpet and the bustle of people and crews setting up. That is usually the best time to catch up with friends and see some of the biggest booths. During the show, we pretty much are tied to the table so the best opportunity to see the floor is during the setup, before the day starts. I hate lines. I don’t like standing in lines and big shows like SDCC is just line after line. I am lucky as an exhibitor, we don’t have to wait in a line to get in.

What projects do you have coming up?
I just finished a new sketch card set for Upper Deck, I can’t say the title because they have not given us the okay and if we say anything we could have ‘acid blood’ dripped on our hands. But the thing I can talk about is a gallery show that I will be a part of. The is going to be a 20th Anniversary Tribute Show for Buffy the Vampire Slayer called “Art of the Buffyverse” it will be at the Creature Features Gallery in Burbank, CA. starting Nov 11, 2017. I will have a few pieces in the show, I am really looking forward to it.

Check out Chris Thorne’s website and Etsy.