I’ve been doing pencil drawings as far back as I can remember. I don’t ever remember being taught, it was just something I did innately before I learned to read or write. My main influences back then were Pro Wrestling & Video Games. Because of that, most of the drawings I did was of the human form (cause pro wrestlers tend to be half naked), but the environments were over the top (see mushroom kingdoms and the like). Along with that, I was drawing characters from shows like Spectreman and Voltron. Around the 4th grade, I had started reading comics, and they became an inspiration as well.
Around the 7th grade, one of my teachers introduced me to inking. For whatever reason, this was about the first time I started getting positive feedback on my work. Regardless, I still only did the occasional illustration as a hobby. But then, someone offered to pay me for an illustration I had done, and that became a source of income during my teenage years. This was in the 90s, so a lot of customers wanted pics in the Image Comics house style (heavy on hatches/cross hatches). I used this income to buy supplies and teach myself how to paint, while discovering and becoming familiar with anime & manga, specifically Street Fighter II, Fist of The North Star, Ghost In The Shell, and Ninja Scroll.
For awhile, I stopped doing commissioned work so often, as customers wanted the Image style, and that didn’t come naturally for me. I also stopped reading comic and narrowed my focus on anime, and became re-invigorated by video games, specifically Metal Gear Solid. At this point, I stopped doing commissions all together, and began doing a lot of self study in cultural & natural history.
While I haven’t done commissions in years (about eight to be exact), I never stopped drawing. I did stop painting (couldn‘t afford to keep buying the supplies), and started coloring digitally. My contemporary influences include films & music (that “speak to me“), but I still get inspiration from comics, manga, anime, and video games. I even started back reading comics sparingly around the time I turned 25.
I had been trying to get work as an artist, more specifically, a Production Artist or Concept Artist, but have been batting a zero on that front. Also, I currently have no desire to do commissions, so I’m selling prints online at the various sites on the right. At some time in the future, I’ll probably start taking commissions again, but like I said, this is where I am currently.
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