Sean Ryan

Sean is a graduate of our Liverpool Business School, having studied at LJMU from 2003 to 2006. He’s created not one but two businesses since graduating.

Joining forces with his twin brother, they combined their love of indie music with a business opportunity, launching a popular student night in Liverpool called ‘Sh*t Indie Disco’. Then in an individual endeavour, he’s drawn some famous names with his popular sketching business ‘Badly Drawn Celebrities’.

He features in our ‘Humans of LJMU’ (link opens a new window) series in collaboration with the ‘Humans of Liverpool’ social media account, sharing the stories of the people who make our city, communities and university the vibrant, inclusive place it is in celebration of our bicentenary year.   

Sean's 'Humans of LJMU interview'

“I’ve always loved drawing, ever since I was a kid. I’d copy Bart Simpson drawings over and over. But I failed my art GCSE, and at the time, that pretty much ended any aspirations of becoming ‘an artist’. So, I stopped drawing for years.

“Then, when I was 30, I was in my mum’s house, and I found some of my old Panini sticker books. I had a bit of time, so I decided to sketch a few of the players. I’d limit myself to about 60 seconds on each one. It was just a bit of fun. But a couple of friends said they liked the drawings, asked if I could do ones of them in the same style. So, I just carried on and started sharing them online.

“I followed quite a few fashion accounts on Instagram and started drawing the models featured on them as they had really interesting looks. I set up a new account to share my work, and the models I drew found them funny, so it’s continued from there. People seemed to love them, and as it picked up a following, I began to get requests through.

“I got a call asking if I would come to Coachella to draw some of the models and celebrities there. Since then, I’ve been really lucky to work with Dazed, Calvin Klein, Armani and loads of others, drawing their staff at their events.

“Most people seem to like them, which is always nice to hear, and it’s always a relief that no one gets offended. I get some people asking me to re-draw their portrait because it’s too good, so they ask if I can make it worse, which is a funny thing to hear.

“Once, I had a message from a woman asking if I could draw her parents, so I said sure, send a picture. It turned out it was actually Bruce Willis’ daughter. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve also done some for a few footballers and had a request once from Harry Styles for a Francis Coquelin drawing that he ended up wearing in one of his videos. That was so surreal.

“But as with everything I tend to do, there’s always a self-deprecating aspect, hence the name. I think it’s just part of who I am. I don’t take things too seriously; I just love what I do.”