|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| |
What
can I say about myself that will reveal the vast, artistic
knowledge and wisdom of the man behind the artist? Hmmm... let's
see. I actually liked the movie Howard the Duck,
or maybe it was just the kinky aspect of watching Leah
Thompson in her underwear kissing a duck. What?... You're
still reading?
I grew up watching old monster movies in St. Louis Missouri
with my friend Brett. We'd have sleepovers when we were
in grade school and check out 8mm movies from the library
like The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Godzilla,
anything with a monster in it, and stay up all night watching
the projector eat them. I wanted to go into special effects
back then, but growing up in the midwest didn't seem to
provide much of an opportunity for that to ever happen.
So, I wandered aimlessly through high school, getting
decent grades, drawing monsters, robots, and sick little
cartoons all over my notebooks, but being more concerned
at the time about whether or not the rumors about two
certain hot girls in my class were true. Wasted a lot
of time wondering about that one.
After High School I went to Junior College. Since I still
had no idea of where to go career wise and didn't think
anyone would ever pay me for drawing monsters, I thought,
hey, how about data processing? Yeah, right! I lasted
about half a semester with that. So then I decided, if
I'm going to suffer through the tough as nails education
of a junior college, I might as well enjoy what I'm studying,
so, head first I dove into their art program. Thankfully
they actually had some great teachers there or my head
would have hit the pavement when I jumped because the
program was pretty small. Loved the classes, loved the
teachers, no rumors about any of the girls in the classes
though. Oh well. |
|
| |
|
|
After
graduating from junior college, with degree in hand, I
set out to seek my fortune as an artist. Did I mention
this was in the midwest? Not that many places looking
for someone who wasn't excited about the idea of type
setting as a career goal.
So, it wasn't long before I landed my first job after
the rigors of junior college as an assistant manager of
a little mom and pop style video store. I'd still be stuck
there today if a friend who went through the same junior
college art program hadn't stopped into the video store
one day. He was home for Xmas break and told me he was
going to an Art Institute in California and that I should
apply to the school. Six months, and a little financial
aid later, I was on my way to California. Thanks Ed.
The school was great, not the best neighborhood at the
time, but the types of classes they offered were more
than I could have asked for. Richard Milholland, Michael
Wingo, Dan Quarnstrum, David Willardson, Jim Heiman, and
Clive Piercy were just a few of the phenomenal teachers.
After graduation, I tried my hand at working as a freelance
illustrator. Did some product illustration for Mattel
Toys, some design work for some t-shirt companies here
and there. Then a friend of mine introduced me to the
idea of working as a scenic artist for film and television.
Sounded cool. It wasn't. You ended up going home at night
with more paint on your clothes, in your hair, and in
your lungs then what you painted on the set. |
|
After doing a lot of product illustration work for a lot
of different clients, I got the opportunity of my dreams
when Jurassic Park came along. A friend of mine
was dating a girl at the time whose father was working
for Rick Carter doing pre-production art for the film.
I did a few sketches for them and one painting that still
hangs on the wall of my studio today.
After doing a few jobs for small production projects,
I found the freelance routine a little too stressfull,
waiting for the phone to ring or wondering when accounting
was going to actually get around to sending out my check.
I decided to follow a few of my classmates into the field
of animation. There I stayed for about ten years.
I worked in almost every division within the field of
animation as a freelance artist & on staff with Warner
Bro's Television Animation for over seven years and a
couple of other studios in between.
I started playing around with digital illustration while
working in animation. I was reluctant in the beginning
to think I would enjoy sitting at a computer trying to
create art out of something so sterile, but once I started
playing around with it, I became hooked. I still find
my best work comes from something that was initially created
by hand through traditional means though, that I then
scan and continue rendering digitally.
I'm pretty much where I want to be right now. I have a
diverse career going between my Photography and my Illustration
that keeps me creatively busy and fresh, but any day that
goes by where I don't get to draw some silly, creepy,
or cute and fuzzy monster, feels like a day that wasn't
quite complete.
Fortunately, I have kids now who are always asking me
to draw that kind of silly stuff for them. Ha-ha, thank
God for kids!
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
All
Artwork © 2010 Greg Dubuque, Scarab Creations. All Rights
Reserved. |
|