Paul Brown Media continues its Creative Sparks interview series with Freelance Sports Digital Artist, John Sheehan, who has worked with Manchester City, Manchester United, England, Borussia Dortmund, Adidas and Bleacher Report.
YOUR BACKGROUND
Name
John Sheehan
What You Do
Art
Companies you’ve worked with
Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, RBNY, FAI, English FA, Adidas, Umbro, Bleacher Report, Goal
YOUR ROLE
How did you get into illustration?
I was always mad for the colouring books as a kid. Then as I got a bit older I’d pull out pages of skate magazines and trace over the skaters, because I was always a bit shit at nailing the porportions.
Then in school, art class was the only time I’d ever feel like I was really excelling or using a skill, so I went to college then and got my BA in Visual Communications.
What’s the most important personal quality for working in illustration?
I would say to not be too harsh on yourself when something isn’t clicking straight away.
It’s great to have a healthy dose of self criticism, as it helps growth and improvement, but there’s certainly a fine line between positive self criticism and creating additional pressure on yourself.
What do you love most about working in illustration?
Easy one – the freelance aspect of it all.
I am not built for the 9-5. I love working through the night while watching UFC or WWE or the odd MLS match.
Also, having that control over my career is very empowering, and has proper ruined me for any potential 9-5, haha.
Where does your inspiration come from?
The world of sports.
It’s a massively colourful place, full of diversity, creativity, narrative, and characters.
Talk to us about approach and style as an illustrator – how do you describe yourself?
In terms of approach, I guess I’ve turned my skateboarder tracings into a bit of a career.
Now I use a screen and a digital photograph though.
I’d describe my work as loud and vibrant.
You’ve worked with the likes of Man Utd, Adidas, BT Sport, Manchester City, Umbro, Borussia Dortmund, New York Red Bulls and Bleacher Report – who’s been your favourite client to work with?
I absolutely loved working with all these brands, but as a Utd fan it was a very special moment in my career and life to work with the club I’ve supported since I was a kid.
Do you agree that illustration is becoming much more part of the content mix for sports clubs/companies/publishers?
Absolutely, brands are constantly looking for new ways to stand out from the crowd and creating a visual distinction with artwork is a great way to do that.
YOUR THOUGHTS
What’s been the best brief you’ve ever received…was there one that got you really excited – and how did it go?
There’s been some great projects that I’m really proud to have been involved in.
I got to illustrate every first team player for Man City when they won the league a few years ago.
But I’d have to say working with Adidas to create a series of prints for Man Utd’s 2020/21 kit launch, not only because the project itself was really cool, but it led to Man Utd noticing my work and wanting to work with me directly.
What’s been the best illustration work you’ve seen in sport from a fellow illustrator?
Hard to pick one, but I’d have to say Scott McRoy’s work on the EA Sport Fifa 21 illustrations.
It was a series of illustrations displayed on buildings around England. Super colourful and full of chaotic energy.
In terms of industry peers in illustration, who do you most admire?
It’s hard to pick out individuals, because there’s so so much talent, between some of the people who’ve been around for years and the new younger people breaking through. There’s so much, always, to take inspiration from.
But if I had to answer I’ll just say I admire anyone who is able to make a living by creating on their own terms.
YOUR PREDICTIONS
What to look out for in 2021?
Hopefully we can look forward to a whole lot of brands collaborating with artists and designers to create lots of cool art.
We’ve seen illustration used in sport across a wide array of ways – birthdays, programme covers, social media promotions and even, recently, kit launches – are there any other ways you’d like to see it used going forward?
I worked on a couple projects where my artwork was used as prints and given to fans at events – once with New York Red Bulls at their stadium and for Adidas for Man Utd’s kit launch at their stores and the Utd Megastore.
It would be great to see more physical posters like this that can be actually shared with fans.
Finally, any other projects you’ve got in the pipeline that you can tell us about – if not, can you give us a hint…
There are a few cool things I’d love to share but those sneaky NDAs are keeping me from posting any for now.
I’m currently trying to manifest a future where I do not have any clients but just create football or MMA art that people can just buy. No direction, no changes, no input, just me creating stuff. That’s the dream for the future, but we’ll see what happens.
Paul Brown 