MANSFIELD — Sometimes, you just know what you want, and for Shawn Finley, that was to become an artist.
The Mansfield native started writing and illustrating stories as early as grade school. Now, the 49-year-old has an impressive collection of pieces under his belt, having done such picture book adaptations as “Baby Po,” “Madagascar” and “How to Train Your Dragon” for DreamWorks Press.
Finley graduated from Temple Christian in 1986 and studied fine arts at Judson University (formerly Judson College) in Elgin, Illinois. During his college career, he illustrated for campus publications. “Anything that was publishing something, I was illustrating pieces for them,” he said.
Soon after graduating as valedictorian, he began teaching illustration as an adjunct professor at Judson University and worked in downtown Chicago as a graphic designer. He also got his first picture book “The Boo Baby Girl Meets the Ghost of Mable’s Gable” published in 1992, just one year after earning his bachelor’s degree.
“I had a lot of things happening at once,” he said.
The Chicago resident has continued to keep busy since that time, producing work for numerous ad agencies, publishers, game developers and manufacturers. He also designs toys, paints, and creates comics in his spare time.
“Sometimes I do a project that’s just for fun,” he said. That includes his online graphic novel, “Bad Like Me.”
“I’m proud of that project, even though it’s not a commercial project,” he said. “It’s just something I like to do.”
He draws inspiration from pop art, abstract expressionism, classic animation and comic book art.
“I think all of those styles are ingrained in the way I draw,” he said.
Before the floodgates of technology burst, transforming workspaces across the globe, Finley relied on a traditional method to get the job done — paper.
“I’m not using a lot of paper these days, though,” he said. “It’s all digital. I’m using the latest technology that’s standard with animation.
“Basically, artificially creating a paint-like illustration or a very digital vector looking illustration, just depending on the project.”
In the next couple years, Finley hopes to expand his horizons by creating designer toys based original characters from “Bad Like Me.”
He also intends to schedule more paint shows in the future.
