Rising Stars: Meet Chris Haywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Haywood.

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Chris! My story started when I was about 7 years old. I have been drawing since I could read and write. I would make crude little drawings in children’s books and always draw with my friends in school. Art became something I was interested in from the beginning, good at, and I knew I would someday do. In my youth, I was interested in superheroes and anime and constantly watched anything Cartoon Network was airing. On Saturday nights, there was a program block called Toonami that featured Japanese cartoons. I didn’t know they came from manga, and I became interested in their dynamic storytelling and world-building from the moment I switched on the TV. It exposed US audiences to Japanese culture and storytelling. As I got into high school, I was introduced to comic books by a friend and recognized that the characters I loved (from DC and Marvel) lived within these pages. I also got into music in high school and became obsessed with drums. Drums offered me a new way of expression, and from that, I began to pick up more instruments (piano, vocals), and a friend gave me a ukulele randomly. I was bored one day and would try learning how to play a song on the ukulele turns out it is one of the easiest instruments you could teach yourself. I learned piano and vocals from finding my favorite songs on YouTube and watching tutorials on how to play or sing a specific section. My school offered different music programs, and before I knew it, Visual Art had taken a backseat to Music and Musical Theatre. I was in a worship band for a while and it taught me how to be in a band. When college was on the horizon, I was conflicted about whether I wanted to take the music or art path. There are so many choices, and being 18 and stupid, you never make the right choice, you just have to choose. As a church kid, I grew up in a very isolated environment and wasn’t exposed to the wider world or different perspectives. I applied to a couple of different schools, and I got accepted into The Kansas City Art Institute. I was beyond excited! I was always thinking art school would be the ticket, the school for me. I could see myself drawing for hours and meeting new and interesting people. So I packed my art supplies and entered my first year a nervous but determined young person. Everyone has opinions on art school, but this is mine: I learned so much and cannot thank my professors and peers enough for pouring into me. The first year is Art 101, or how to think and tell a story visually. You are exposed to everything from 3D sculpture to digital construction and experimental media. I was instantly overwhelmed by the amount of work, I had no idea what I was doing, and it seemed like I was falling through the cracks daily. My studio projects got more complicated, and I was wondering when am I going to the program that I wanted to go to? For me, that question was a blank because there wasn’t one. I was interested in Graphic Design, Animation, and Illustration. I didn’t have a specific focus on which I would pursue, so I carelessly finished my assignments and was troubled with my grades. I was battling self-doubt, depression, and the comparison game to my peers. I didn’t know where I fit into all of this. I was losing my way. I talked to my professors and parents, and I could only finish out a year before I had to say I quit. I had to regroup and gather my thoughts. This whole time I was disappointed in myself for not making it. For not being that kid on the stage on graduation with a smile and diploma in hand. But in the back of their head, they are thinking, how will I ever pay this school off? A couple of years went by, and I was still stuck on where I would land with my creative career. I pursued music after and even had an apprenticeship with a local studio in Kansas City called JTL GROUP. I learned how to record myself during this time and even released a few songs. Still, I wasn’t satisfied. I wasn’t going to where I wanted to go. Just before the 2020 Covid pandemic shook our world and changed our lives forever. I  just sat down one day and drew a sketch of Superman. Superman, for me, is one of those characters that can lift your spirit. Just by watching him in a movie or reading a comic, I’ve loved Superman, and I even wore a cape for a long time when I was a little kid. The cape meant security, assurance, confidence, and perseverance. Superman came to life for me that day, 6 years after I gave up on art school. I didn’t touch a pen or pencil during that 6-year gap and was only focused on music. We cannot deny any part of ourselves or we are not fully whole. I wasn’t whole for a long time. I decided to give Art another try, so I found a very affordable alternative art school that offered Illustration classes, so I decided to take them. Through this program, I learned that I don’t need a degree to be an artist; I have the guts to say I am. Once I said that, I was off to the races. I drew every day, finished a portfolio within a year, and updated my social media accounts to reflect my progress. I would say I’m still in the beginning stages of my career. I’m not super popular and I don’t have that big of a following.  I figured out who I am by reflecting on the stuff that always made me happy. Comics, superheroes, anime, skateboarding, punk rock music, sci-fi fantasy stories, and coming-of-age stories. I don’t want to trade places with anyone. I cannot deny myself as a whole, so I am pursuing art and music simultaneously. It’s all a matter of thinking, planning, and setting yourself up for success. We don’t have all the time in the world, but we have the decision to say what will I work on today? How am I going to get better? What’s something I’m afraid of doing? What hasn’t been done before? What would I want to read? What story do I want to tell? What would I want to listen to today? What is visually exciting to me? What is the right lyric for this melody? What instruments sound good for this song? I have to make these decisions and stick to them. There will always be trial and error and success and failure. Everything works out for good. I believe that God works on behalf of me, and he has put me on a path to fulfill his promises for my life.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been pretty rough. Even the greatest of creative successes aren’t without their hardships. I would say my struggles were with doubt, depression, and anxiety. I have high anxiety and can burn out under stress. Also, not knowing to target specifically where my creative strengths lie and how to use them to my advantage has been a big hurdle. Comics are hard to make and take a lot of time and effort to produce. A song is very hard to make. You have to get through a lot of emotion and catharsis to produce something you can be proud of. There are also things I will never show to anyone because I have set a standard that is always moving. There are songs on my hard drive nobody needs to hear! In my opinion, there are sketchbooks with the worst drawings in the world! I also have to battle insecurity and not promote myself more. I wish I were more into social media, and I am challenging myself to improve on various platforms.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I create comics and illustrations. I am starting to self-publish my mini-comics, zines, and art prints. I typically work in the genres and stories of action-adventure, sci-fi fantasy, mystery, horror, and coming of age. For my music, I write and record alternative pop music. I usually work with another producer to polish my songs, but I mainly record everything myself. My hope in the future is to have bandmates I can go to for advice and play live with. I don’t have any published comics, but I have released two songs under my former project, Hidden Jungles, on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. I should have a zine and mini-comic out by next year.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Kansas City is a great city to live in! It’s cheap and affordable, with great food, music, art great things to do on the weekends. It’s the intersection of country and city to me. Kansas City has so many creative people that I could walk down the street and talk with other artists. The community is strong and keeps getting stronger every year. It is very inclusive, and it promotes its artists to bigger cities. The seasons are here, and there is always something about the change that lifts my spirit. It is always changing and growing. I think the only thing I dislike about the city is the parking. Other than that, go Chiefs! Go Royals!

Pricing:

• $5 – $20 commissions

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chrishaywoodart.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/chrishaycomix
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/L4pAPF6h4qg
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chrishaywoodmusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0mlbouNbyU5zzuOU26YKaA?si=j_tveJWiRvmlgD-bKOzQoQ