Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with ERIK REEVES

We recently had the chance to connect with ERIK REEVES and have shared our conversation below.

ERIK, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 30 minutes of my day are spent doing the usual things like shaving, showering, getting dressed, and checking emails.

The next 30 minutes of my day is spent eating a healthy breakfast, reading pages from whatever book I am reading and then watching an episode of my favorite show.

The next 30 minutes of my day include a great workout to get the blood flowing and preparing myself mentally for the cool work I have planned for the day.

I work out of my calendar these days and it has made my life a lot easier to manage.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a full time 3D and 2D Animator, Comic Book creator, Storyboard Artist, Writer and Director.

I have worked as an Independent artist for some of the Top Comic book publishers, Video Game producers and lots of other Great Companies and Amazing Clients for over 25 years and I am still improving as an artist everyday.

I love what I get to do for a living and wake up everyday ready to be creative.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
When I was younger I thought I was just drawing to kill time and that what I was doing was just something I liked to do and that I needed to keep it a secret.

Only a hand full of people even knew I could draw and I never got to go to any special school or anything when I was young,

Later in life I made a very brave decision to enroll myself into Art school with no idea how I would ever pay for it and I thought I was really crazy for doing so.

That decision changed my life, not because of the classes but because I met some of the most talented and coolest people in the world that I am lucky to still consider my best friends.

They made me feel like I was something special and all the negative beliefs I had about myself changed and I no longer believed that I was just drawing to kill time but I am doing what I was put on this planet to do and that is to be creative.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
So many times I wanted to give up and just go sell drugs or something but after I would cry or drink too much from the pain of not knowing what I was doing wrong I usually would wake up the next day and start over.

I wanted to draw comics for the Big Comic Book Companies or do Animation so bad but at the time I was just clueless and scared that I made the worst decision I had ever made by thinking I could be a real artist.

But I just kept going and now I Self publish my own comics and Now produce my own Animations.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I am committed to getting my HOODRATZ IN SPACE movie done based on my Comic series no matter how long it takes.

I have been told NO so many times about everything I have ever done in my life and so I have never let that stop me and I will never let that stop me.

I have the screenplay ready and everything is currently in pre-production now.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. When do you feel most at peace?
I always feel most at peace when I am being creative.

There is nothing that I enjoy doing more than thinking of unique ideas and bringing them to life.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All images are ©Erikreeves.

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