Rising Stars: Meet Andrew Hunt of Mid Wilshire

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Hunt

Hi Andrew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I came to LA from Florida, about 20 years ago, to pursue a career in entertainment. I didn’t realy know what that would look like I just knew I liked to draw and figured I could do that some how. Comic books and movies were the main source of my inspiration growing up but as I got into my early 20s I became fascinated with portrait drawing and painting.

I started doing portraits exclusevely for a while because I wanted to master likeness and proportions but I still found my skills were lacking something. I was fresh into California, living with my brother, trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. How do I turn this thing I love to do into a job?

I started going to a community college just outside of LA where I began taking my first life drawing class. It’s shocking I had gone this long in my life without a proper life drawing class but I didn’t really have access or know how to do those things in Florida.

I had a fantastic teacher at said college who use to be an animator for Disney during the 90’s 2D animation renaissance. She was hugely supportive and convinced me to go to art school. Art school was always a pipe dream to me because it was so expensive but she convinced me to try anyways. “Just see if you can get in. Then figure it out.” She said. So, I did. I applied and a month later I was accepted with a generous amount of scholarships being thrown my way.

Spent 3 years in art school studying concept art and illustration. Sharpening my tools, grinding, and getting better. All leading up to senior year where you get to put on a show of your finest work and industry pros walk around looking for fresh talent. All of us, soon to be graduates, lined up, hoping and praying some awesome industry person will pluck us out of obscurity and change our lives. Turns out that didnt quite happen for me. Senior night came and went and I remained jobless.

This trend would continue over the next two years. I worked valet to make ends meet and continued sharpen my skill, preparing for the day I would become a working artist. I started a comic book with a friend because, frankly, I didn’t have anything else going on and I needed a project to keep me going. Ironically, making the comic lead me to landing my first gig. Now, I did’t have time to finish said comic. And to this day it still isn’t finished because I have been working ever since. Unfortunately, the comic doesn’t pay the bills. That was 12 years ago, I started the book, but I still work on it in my spare time. Despite how little of that I get these days.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been smooth. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of failures. I’ve been laid-off from jobs, fired, and ghosted many times. People take advantage of artists. Squeeze and squeeze and squeeze as much as they can. It’s worth it though. When things are going well its pretty great to be able to make a living making pretty pictures.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m currently making a living making movie posters. I’m probably most know for my portrait painting. I am most proud of this unfinished comic I co-created with a good friend of mine. It’s called Backslider. What sets me apart is my diverse skillset.

What does success mean to you?
Doing something you like for a living and having all the bills paid. Having good family and friends. Your support system is everything in this world. Neve take it for granted. No one does anything, remarkable, alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://AndrewHuntWMC.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewhuntwmc/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahunt2046/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Astrocreep2046