Taking advantage of virtual events, UVU welcomed award-winning comic book artist Will Sliney for an interactive draw-along. Leaning on his experience drawing for Marvel, Sliney, who joined live from Ireland, took the audience along the same process he uses to illustrate many of the iconic characters we know and love from acclaimed series including Spider-Man, Star Wars, Defender and Celtic Warrior, among others.
Throughout the event, Sliney answered audience questions about his journey towards professional illustration, the comic book industry, drawing techniques and his favorite characters. “I didn’t realize you can do this kind of job when I was young,” said Sliney, advising hopeful artists to continue polishing their craft. “The more you draw, the better you get. It’s a skill, not a talent.”
The event came in an effort to continue bringing enjoyable, meaningful campus experiences to students in a virtual environment. Sara Groesbeck, a junior studying communications at UVU and event organizer, points out, “events this and last semester have been really different but it has been really fun to try new things. We have learned that no matter what setting we are in, our students want to be engaged… because we have such a wide variety of students, we are able to reach a lot more of our non-traditional students and even those that are not currently in Utah.”
With a strong attendance from both students and faculty, the event provided a unique opportunity to interact, learn and have fun with the short project.
Sliney is a regular on Twitch and also posts regularly on his YouTube Channel, where he shares both skill and enthusiasm while helping others improve their drawings.
