By Logan Langlois
NASHVILLE, TN — Sitting behind a booth surrounded by self-drawn photos of his favorite comic book characters mashed up together in original and new locations, I Can Draw owner, operator, and entrepreneur Eric Nyamor smiles again at interested customers looking to share in his nostalgia. Since moving to Nashville from Grand Rapids, Michigan ten years ago, Nyamor said he has been running I Can Draw and using the platform to both illustrate and even become a children’s book author. He takes inspiration from different sources of anime, comic books, and cartoons in his art, with some of his biggest inspirations being Spider-Man, One Piece, and Batman.
Not content with becoming another fan-artist drawing multitudes of profile shots of their favorite characters, Nyamor said he pushes himself to create original spins on the characters from whom he draws inspiration. This approach in his art style is arguably what has led to much of his success within the art community— By masterfully showcasing many people’s favorite characters interacting with other beloved characters they typically wouldn’t in new and unique settings they wouldn’t typically be in.
“I grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes; that was my biggest inspiration. I tried to mimic big line strokes, thick and thin line variation within my brush strokes,” said Nyamor. “I kinda like anime style with their eyes and the action, [but] I try to keep some of my character’s anatomy correct.”
His approach to his art, striving to see little changes in the world around him, has certainly been reflected in his life as he moved to Nashville to live temporarily with his brother simply because he felt as if he needed to see a change in scenery. He describes his artistic style as something that he fell into naturally while learning how to draw in general. While first learning, Nyamor often mimicked the style and technique used by other renowned comic book artists to find what worked for him and his heroes. During this process, he began creating pieces utilizing some of his favorite inspirations and leaning more into a nostalgic style of drawing that draws the viewer in with something they both had and hadn’t seen before.
His nostalgic style provided a natural niche for him to build his business on, something which Nyamor immediately recognized and began pursuing as a creative avenue not yet oversaturated by redundant ideas or drawing styles. One thing that did come to Nyamor as more of a challenge, however, was putting himself out there for other people and businesses to network and connect with. He said this is because he is naturally a more introverted person, so doing things such as appreciating the art of others is easy for him, but not exactly the high-level constant energy needed to be fully engaging at a convention—Though he has proudly made large strides in his time.
While developing an idea for a future piece, Nyamor will often watch the intro songs of old TV shows when looking for inspiration, if not a full episode from the series in question to see how the characters in the show interact with each other. I Can Draw is a vendor at the Nashville Farmers Market every Friday through Sunday from 9 am – 3 pm.
They are also available to follow on Instagram under @super_saiyan_e and his website www.icandraw.bigcartel.com
