The below interview was conducted during the creation of 8: A Kid’s Book Anthology 2010.

What advice do you have for a young person who wants to have a successful creative life?
Embrace it. If you want to create then create. Dont worry about what others are doing or what they think of you. Some people will understand you and some won’t. It’s simple but important: Do what makes you happy rather than what might be popular or the latest fad. If you’re not doing it out of love eventually it’ll show and you’ll burn out. Try new things, constantly challenge yourself and your art, always be learning. If you want to do comics try painting or sculpting every now and then. It recharges the batteries and brings new lessons and perspectives.

What about an adult who wants to re-focus their life in a more creative direction?
Awesome! There are not enough free-thinkers and creative types out there! Go for it. You get one life, do what makes you happy. Even if it’s just drawing doodles for your kids, its art and its making someone happy, including yourself. It’s never too late, never.

How do you balance family, financial obligations, and creative personal projects?
This is the biggest challenge for me. I am fortunate enough to have a full time job (not art related but computer related) and have two young kids who love playing with their dad. How do i make the time to do art? I MAKE time. I don’t sleep enough, I barely watch TV, I don’t hang out with many people, I don’t waste time doing things that aren’t important or that I deem worth taking time away from my kids/family or my art. If you want to create and are passionate about it you will find the time. Sketch on your lunch break, on the bus, while your waiting at the Dr Office, etc. When I’m at work I have paper right next to me to jot down ideas or sketches.

Do you do freelance work? Work a day-job? Have a full-time creative career?
I did graphic design for almost 10 years but now work in the IT field. As for freelance not much, but lately I have been doing a ton of commissions, which is wonderful.

Any tips on time management, marketing, networking, and the business side of creating art and stories?
Networking is a constant “job”. Email people, visit blogs, facebook, forums. They’re all great for meeting and showing your work. I’m no expert and can use a lot of help in this area as well…

Do you have a particular style and/or medium that you use? Or do you “mix it up”?
I like digital but since I sit in front of a computer all day when I get home i don’t want to be near one. Right now I’m doing mostly ink and watercolor which is a ton of fun and I really enjoy it.

How do you decide what ideas you will develop?
I do a lot of sketching, writing down ideas, etc. I have notebooks full of one sentence descriptions of stories or images I want to do and when one really stands out and hits me then thats the one I work on.

Can you describe your working process? (writing, character design, style, etc.)
I start with the idea, and then pencils(rough) and then knock it out. I like to work relatively fast, the longer I work on something the more bored i get with it. New ideas and stories are constantly popping into my head, sometimes it’s hard to stay focused on a long project…

What are you working on now?
I just finished two journals Im printing at KaBlam. I am starting another journal, and a book project, as well as the commissions I’ve been doing. I like to be constantly busy. All the time. I’m not much fun on vacations unless you like to go-go-go and hardly sleep.

Where do you see yourself (and your work) in ten years?
Hopefully still creating, I’d like to think my style will have evolved, maybe make some money, I’d like to have a body of work that makes me proud and brings joy to others.

What are your artistic life goals?
To be the best I can, create art and stories that make people smile and maybe even inspire.

What is the current state of illustration, and where is it headed?
I’m not sure how to answer. I do know with the internet it seems like artists are everywhere which is good, you can see a ton of work and be inspired and learn new things all the time. But of course that does make it harder to make a living and stand out…

Is there a future for print?
Nothing beats holding a book in your hands.

Is design, web / tech development, and animation, necessary to find an audience or client?
I don’t think so, depends on the audience of course.

What do you think about the blurring line between “professional” and “amateur” artists?
Good. The work should speak for itself, regardless of who made it. I’ve seen pre-teen art that blew me away and I’ve seen “professional” art that i thought was crap. I would say “pros” may have a better work ethic but that’s not true either. the project we just finished had both “amateurs” and “pros” flake out so that arguement it mute as well…

Pros and cons of the online art community?
Pros: Exposure, for your work and the exposure to work you may not usually see.
Meet people, opportunities for work or projects, etc.

Cons: There are so many people out there, sometimes find it hard to stand out, forums and facebook are constantly updating things may get lost in the busyness.

How do you stand out in such a huge community?
Quality and persistence. Keep working at it.

Pros and cons of digital vs. traditional work?
Well you have to spend a lot of time on the computer for digital and you can’t sell the original. But you can sell prints and for some art its a lot faster and you have lots of options and undos and layers…
Traditional has a more crafty feel to me, hands on, you can sell prints and the original..Its harder though, theres no undo button with watercolors…
Both are fine and wonderful, depends on what you’re working on and what you want to achieve.

What are the most important things we can do right now to be relevant in 10 years?
For me it’s find a relationship with God and Jesus. We need to be nicer to one another and this planet. Start doing the right thing, all the time, not just when it’s convenient. Get back to personal relationships with each other and take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. Stop idolizing actors and athletes, thats dumb and empty. Lend a hand when it’s needed and listen more instead of talking. Boy, did I go off on a rant…

Tell us about some of the influences which fuel your creative work?
Cartoons!!! All different kinds! 80′s Tv shows and cartoons – love the optimism they had then, European comics: Asterix, Smurfs, there’s so many…
I just like to surf the web and be inspired by the art I see and find…

To discover more of Chris’ work click onto www.ctupa.com, visit his blog or follow him on Twitter: @tupa01