Meet Chinh Potter | Freelance illustrator and Comic book artist

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

Hi Chinh, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Giving up is not really an option due to me postponing this career of mine to pursue a guarantee paycheck from a 9 to 5 job. I keep going because I know all my hard work, studying, and passion was meant for more than just working for a corporation where i was replaceable.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I first was born and grew up in a very small town in the middle of Kansas. I had no real idea about what the world was outside of my small town. I grew up drawing and painting what I saw on Tv, and being inspired by the few comics I was able to get. I didn’t get out much and didn’t have that many friends growing up which leading to me to get bullied a lot which made me dive deeper into my art. In my college years I took every known art class the college provided before graduating. I was diagnosed with bipolar depression, and fits of suicidal tendencies, I have attempted suicide 3 times in my life, I am not ashamed of those, it was just a learning experience. I always tell people its okay to ask for help and always talk to someone if you ever feel down. I am a big advocate for mental health. I later moved out to Arizona, hard times after hard times, from being homeless multiple times to trying to find work and trying to be stable and then becoming a father. I can honestly say the road to a dream is not easy in the slightest especially if it involves the arts. My son provides me drive to be better, to look with open eyes at the world. As a single father, it helps that people like my art enough to pay so we can eat and live comfortably. I want people make sure you support your local comic book shops no matter where you live and to shop local. I like to thank everyone who ever showed me kindness during the hard times and the friends who are kind enough to support me during my success.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well me being from a small town in Kansas, Everything rocks in the valley. I first will show them around my local comic shops I spend time at Monster Comics and Collectors Choice Comics in Tempe. For Lunch probably Pho Thuan Thanh in mesa, It is literally my favorite place to get the best tasting Pho and Banh Mi hands down. We would go to Cobra Bar where we could play games even if you don’t drink which I don’t but a lot of my friends do so everyone can have a great time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to thank Kevin Gawthrope over at Collectors choice Comics, Todd Harvey at Monster comics, Alex Pescador of Blue Crown Comics, Bill Deyden of Economics in Comics Youtube Channel, I would not be where I am today without these great supporters who believed in my art.

Website: sinpotter.com

Instagram: @sinpotter

Other: You can always call either shop of Monster Comics or Collectors Choice Comics to see if I am at those and to find me for a signing or some of my work for sale.

Image Credits
Cover for THE DEVIL IN ME Published through Blue Crown Comics, Author Alex Pescador