Artist, Climber, Adventurer… Sketching Scenes From Around World For ‘Drawn’

In the age of GoPro cameras and drone footage, it’s nice to see someone putting pen to paper to craft amazing images. With a new project, artist Jeremy Collins is taking inspiration from five sketchbooks he filled during trips to climb at destinations around the world.

The artist’s images from the ends of the Earth will inspire the film “Drawn.” It looks amazing. Check out the video below that explains the concept.

Collins is raising funds on Kickstarter to create the movie and closing in on a $50,000 goal.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Collins serves as a KEEN Ambassador. He is a dedicated climber as well as a father of two. I caught up with him to ask a few questions about his work and the new project. —Sean McCoy

GearJunkie: In what medium do you prefer to work?
Jeremy Collins: My standard answer is “whatever is next.” I like learning and being challenged with something new. That said, lately it’s been all about pen and ink, and rock climbing.

How’d you get your start in drawing?
Same as everyone else I guess — a pencil in kindergarten.

What about movie making?
I was dragged kicking and screaming into learning animation in 1999. I was horrified with the idea of working on computers, but eventually I saw it as a tool like anything else. I made my first animated shorts for the 2000 Elections with Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist Pat Oliphant. To be honest, they were pitiful. MSNBC bought them up, but I was glad when it was over.

Then speed climber turned funny man Timmy O’neill saw what I was doing and proposed we produce a weird little short about El Capitan in Yosemite. That was fun, but when it was done I felt like I had just scratched the surface of what film could be as an art form for me.

It wasn’t until 2009 that I gave it another go. My film “Border Country” was a response to the death of our friends in China. I didn’t really have much footage to work from, so I animated most scenes. It was definitely my first real step toward understanding the medium.

How did you choose your destinations that will be featured in the new film?
Each one was random, to be honest, but I knew I wanted to go as close to the cardinal direction as possible. West was a phone call from Mikey Schaefer. East was an email to Tommy Caldwell. The North and South ideas came from one dinner with Pat Goodman. Each one was a collaboration as far as where we went, and what line we climbed. I wanted each one to have something distinct about it. I considered doing one of them solo, but in the end I prefer the team ingredient. Maybe my next project will be more solitude in concept.

What is the film’s message?
Be who you want to be, because everyone else is taken. I’m not inviting everyone to come do what I have done, but to do what THEY dream of doing. I think that’s a message everyone can relate to. We all want permission to go for it, whether from ourselves or outside influences. —Sean McCoy