Meet Sarah Myer: Comic Artist & Cosplayer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Myer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I’d always loved drawing and had always wanted to be an artist since I saw Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” in the movie theater as a kid. When I first started attending conventions and doing art commissions, I was a young teen. I’d been amazed by the variety of artists at anime conventions when I first started attending in the late 90s, and after talking to some of them I realized it was something I could start doing right away, too. My thought processes weren’t related to money at the time; they were solely driven by my enthusiasm at the prospect of sharing my love of cartoons, animation, and comics with other fans. My first artist table was at AnimeUSA in the early 2000’s, and I brought my sketchbook, a few photocopied prints of my colored art, a tacklebox of markers and pens/pencils, and a clipboard with a commission sheet. I was surprised and excited that people enjoyed looking through my sketchbook and talking with me, but the fact that I made a decent number of sales and commissions at that convention made me want to pursue that as a career even more. I’d enjoyed attending conventions wearing my own homemade cosplay costumes before getting an artist table, and I continued wearing costumes even while behind my tables for years to come. The cosplay costumes add to my business because they sometimes bring more foot traffic to my table at conventions. I’m just as happy to pose for a photo and chat with someone about the character I’m cosplaying as I am to discuss art or answer questions they have about my comics and art pieces. Since then, I’ve built my business on experience interacting with customers and clients in person and online, and I’m never lacking motivation because my business is rooted in my own lifelong passion for visual storytelling. Recently, I was given an amazing opportunity to write and draw a graphic novel for First Second Books, “Maker Comics: Create a Costume!” which guides beginner cosplayers on how to make their own costumes. That book represents a marriage of my love of drawing and my love of cosplaying, all in one.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I don’t think my art is anything special in regards to draftsmanship and skill; there are plenty of artists out there who I look up to and feel represent my art and career goals. But I do think that my art has a liveliness in the expressions, character gestures, etc which genuinely reflects the joy I take in producing art! I try to infuse my art style with a mix of my influences such as classic Disney, Japanese animation, and even Chuck Jones animation styles– my reason being because I loved those stories growing up. In some ways, I feel that I was very fortunate and had some easy or lucky breaks in getting to where I am professionally; my meeting with Robyn to discuss my graphic novel opportunity was an instance of being in the right place at the right time (but with the skill sets and interests that she was looking for in an artist). But I also recognize that I wouldn’t be in a right-place-at-the-right-time situation if I hadn’t persevered through artist alley tables, studying art in school through college and grad school, and keeping up my practice every day. There had been some people criticizing how I cosplayed in young adulthood, but my persistent love of cosplaying is exactly what got me my first professionally published job in comics! So that was a lesson in favor of remaining true to yourself and persisting. I’ve drawn nearly every single day of my life for 30 years, which hasn’t always been easy or enjoyable, but when I’ve felt discouraged or worried that I won’t succeed at getting another freelance job or sales in art commissions, I just try to stay busy and keep working towards another goal. For example, if I’m not finding success with one art piece, I’ll try to keep focused on moving forward by teaching myself a new skill like digital painting, rather than dwelling on that piece. Perseverance, being objective about what I can improve upon in my own art practices (and following through with the work to improve!) are my two main tools for overcoming challenges. It’s easy to get discouraged or even fearful when maintaining and pursuing a creative career, but I think as long as you keep moving forward and ensuring that you’re always building on and protecting the value/joy you personally find in producing your art, you’ll never tire of the work that it takes to maintain your business. I want the world to know that my story is about being a little bit different, and accepting it. I grew up as one of very few minorities in a small town, and was ostracized and bullied as a kid partly as a result of me being a Korean American Adoptee. Because I’d experienced the pain and loneliness of being bullied for things which I had no control over (being Asian in a mostly Caucasian town), I grew to recognize that the best I could do was be true to myself however different I might be, because I wouldn’t fit in no matter what I tried. I related to fictional characters and found drawing to be my escape from that bullying, and a way of expressing myself. Now I am happy to be in a career where I have the opportunity to share stories that portray being an outsider as something to be explored and embraced. If one person reads my comics or sees my art and comes away feeling like they are a little bit less alone, then I feel I’ve achieved my goals.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m going to be biased, because my Atlanta experiences relate strongly to DragonCon. I would take them to DragonCon, buy them a 4-day Membership, and take them to eat buttermilk fried chicken at SWAY Restaurant in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency. Then we’d spend the entire weekend walking between the Marriott Marquis, Hyatt, Westin Peachtree, Hilton, and the Sheraton and people watching, taking photos of other cosplayers, and maybe taking a break by going to the Georgia Aquarium. We’d walk through Centennial Park and eat delicious curry and naan at Aamar Indian Cuisine on Luckie St. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to first and foremost give a shoutout to my parents, Mary Ann and Steve Myer. They’ve supported my passion and career goals from the moment I started obsessively drawing mermaids as a child, and my dad took me to my first anime convention. I also owe so much to my favorite teachers and mentors: Mrs. Lemon, Mrs. Galinski, Mrs. Stickney, Mrs. Benson, and Mr. Zaldivar, who did everything to encourage me in my early education through high school. And to my Professors who encouraged me through college and grad school: Professors Bob Pendarvis, Mark Kneece, Benjamin Phillips, Jose Silva, Ray Goto, Ashwin Inamdar, Maher Yacoub, Sherran Deems. Thank you for all that you do and for genuinely enjoying and assisting in the success of your students. Thank you to Lauren Collopy for connecting me with Shoutout Atlanta and for keeping me in mind. Thank you to DragonCon, MomoCon, Anime Weekend Atlanta, Otakon, AnimeUSA, Emerald City Comic Con, and to everyone who has stopped by my artist table for the past 17 years. And I am grateful to Robyn Chapman at First Second Books for giving me the wonderful opportunity to publish my first graphic novel.

Website: https://www.sarahmyer.net/
Instagram: @SarahEMyer
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-myer-comicart/
Twitter: @SarahEMyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahEMyer

Image Credits
Sarah Myer AtlantaFashionPolice.com