HISTORY
Born in 1981, the late 80's felt like an era of change, of possibility. That was then bolstered by the enthusiasm of the early 90's.
I grew up on animated shows like Transformers, Odyssey 31, Mysterious Cities of Gold, He-Man, Thundercats, Bravestar, Mask, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and live action fiction, Dr. Who, Star Trek and Red Dwarf.
All had heroic, funny, brave characters and thrilling adventures that seemed to fill every second I was awake.
Fantasy films such as Star Wars, Labyrinth, Star Trek and The Dark Crystal guided me before I could even understand their concepts toward telling stories that would inspire.
The Lord of The Rings, Dune and Foundation series' pulled me into universes of endless possibility where diverse characters thrived, battled, died and were reborn.
Exercising my imagination and creativity I could tell a story with a single carefully crafted image. Drawing became my outlet for storytelling and my passion.
I've been doing it for a long time, doodling, sketching, inking, painting, digitally and traditionally.
However, as often happens to dreams the real world impinged. I felt that there was no future in art, it wasn't a 'real' job. So I put away my passion and my creativity, to become something I'm not, thankfully (and perhaps inevitably), I failed.
It's taken me a long time but I realised that consistent inspired work on something I love is better than consistent resigned work on something I don't.
The unknown is as much a thrill as a challenge.
MOTIVATION
Narratives help inform young minds how to be in the world, around others, and how we come to see and know ourselves and the world.
Surprising, fun, tense, tragic, uplifting, scary, ridiculous, brave, honest, serious, characterful, humorous stories give us frameworks to structure our own lives and the events within them.
Heroes and villains spring from childhood memories. Imposing themselves onto every facial expression, tone of voice, and action of ourselves and others in the real world.
Some stories are perceived to be so real you could touch the characters, feel the stress of their struggles, the love in their hearts and the tension in their words. They bleed into our reality and underpin our expectations of how life should be.
The very concepts of good and bad are personified and ingrained at a young age. Narratives can provide a safe environment to hold discussions about important topics for people of any culture, social class, age, and understanding.
The greater the quality of the stories we tell ourselves and each other the greater the unity in our societies will be.
The greater the hope in our actions will be. The greater the contentment in our lives, and the brighter our tomorrows.
Not just for ourselves but the generations that follow us, those who will build the future.
Telling stories that accept, include yet transcend age, religion and race while weaving characters that you believe in, with situations that intrigue, inspire, and terrify is my goal.
Tackling important subjects, treating them with the maturity they deserve, while framing them in unique worlds with interesting characters and varied possibilities and perspectives.