[Un]Discovers: Nick Sheehy aka Showchicken

I instantly fell in love with Nick Sheehy's works when I first came across his website. His chicken creatures are kind of creepy to a point they will be stuck in your mind. Nick's works have definitely brought me to a fantasy journey and today it is my honor to have him as the feature of the week!

The Crowd

Hi Nick, thank you so much for letting me to do a feature on you on this site! Please let me know, how did you become an illustrator?
Well I'm sort of half illustrator, half artist. I spend a lot of time doing self initiated work. Every now and then I'll do some client work but I don't really chase it down. I guess I like the freedom to draw whatever I like. It sort of started by just putting work online. After a while people start watching what you're doing and ask you to do stuff for them. If you're lucky, they give you money to do so.

Rocket Snowboard

I always think freelance job is great because you can always control the pace of the project. So, what 3 words will you use to describe your works? Why?
Odd
- I like strangeness and different levels of strangeness. I like full on freak-out strangeness and then I like subtle, just under the surface strangeness.

Textured
- I like form and texture. I guess it's a reaction to the clean and neat lines I used to use in vector based software like Illustrator and Flash. I think it adds to the atmosphere and tangibility of what you're drawing.

Sinister
- Every now and then I like to do something that's a little creepy.

People I've Never Met

Creepy is definitely what I can associate with your works as I once showed one of your pieces to my friend and she had goosebumps after seeing it. Well, how did you come up with the idea of creating the chicken-like creature? 
It started a few years back. I used to draw obese chickens just as a way of getting back into drawing. I'm not sure why they were chickens, probably just a random decision. I used to stick them up around the streets. Soon the chickens stopped being obese and just started being odd.

Brickman Snowboard

Clearly the chickens are no longer obese now and they are becoming strange and creepy. I guess this is why I like them so much as they are unique. Out of all the works you have created so far, which piece is the most memorable to create? 
I think The Vision was the most memorable. I remember it being a bit of a turning point, technique wise. I sort of felt good about using pencil again. It was something that felt comfortable and yet challenging at the same time.

The Song

You have been in this industry for quite some time now, what kind of advice can you give to our readers who want to take illustrator as their career path?
I think it's about self promotion and momentum. Building momentum up and always keeping an eye on what you're going to do next. I think putting effort into keeping your skills developing while retaining a distinct style is a tricky but important balance because you will have to adapt to changing tastes and trends. In short, keep productive, and make sure people can see what you're doing. Don't be too precious about what you're doing, everything you do is development.

Submarine Snowboard 

Those are some good advices and I believe they will benefit some emerging artists who are reading this site right now. Last but not least, if you could pair up your characters with one superhero in the comics world, which one would you choose? What kind of story would you want to develop?
Perhaps the Amazing Screw on Head could do with a mutant bird as a sidekick? They could go protect some Aztec temple from being used as a central doomsday device or something. I'll come up with a story arc and pitch it to Mike Mignola.

Tall Bird Ski

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Let's get to know Nick more by reading these trivia questions!

PC or Mac?
Mac. I'm sick of PCs not working.

Spring or Autumn?
Spring. I love how everything comes to life.

Beach or Mountain?
Both. Beach for fun, Mountain for the challenge.

Blue or Pink?
Blue. Pink is a colour I'm not to keen on. Even though I keep on using it.

Lemon or Lime?
Lemon.

Before The Fire

Bird or Frog?
Both are cool. Let's go for birds. I draw them all the time

Milke or Orange Juice?
Orange juice. Fresh

South or North Pole?
No preference. Let's go for North Pole because there are Polar bears.

Australia or Europe?
Europe has more to offer.

Muffin or Croissant?
Croissant. Too many bad muffin experiences.

Conversations I've Never Had

Once again, thank you so much to Nick for answering my questions today and I am sure you are pretty much in love with the chicken creatures as much as I do right now. All images are courtesy of Nick Sheehy and if you want to see more of his works, you can take a look at his official website.