R.K. Brown Cartoon and Graphic Art

R.K. Brown: Grandaddy Longlegs and Spidery Thoughts

Last year of high school I had completed all my required classes and had enough credits to graduate. I came up with a class ciriculum for a "creative" art class: Create an illustrated story book entitled "Grandy Long Legs and His Adventures In The Land of the Blue Horizon". So with different styles of pen nibs and india ink in hand (and on hand) I began my last semester in high school drawing and inking, lots of cross hatching with a crow quill pen. I loved comic books but I didn't story tell in multiple panels. I drew and inked on sheets of 11 X 17 sheets of white drawing paper. Continuing with it on and off for a few years and it still gets shuffled around with all my increasing piles of drawings. This story book is what earned my Certificate for Creative Cartooning from my art teacher, Timothy Geiss, at the graduating class awards ceremony. I had wanted to be a Commercial Artist since I first knew the meaning of what it meant to be one. I was first exposed to it in a freshman high school class, entitled "Introduction to Commercial Art". Wow! In a public school ! This was at Belleville High School in Michigan. I was hooked. I began my education in ernest at Jackson Community College, Jackson, Michigan. I studied at Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Both at the time had very good Commercial Art Programs. I painted signs, lettered doors and trucks as a freelance sign painter to earn and learn.
Some where I saw an ad for the then Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art to (now known as the The Kubert School) in Dover, NJ, where I had the unique privilege of having instructors such the schools principal Joe Kubert (Sgt. Rock, any numerous other titles), Al Williamson (comic book and comic strip: Star Wars), Tex Blaisdell (comic strip:Little Orphan Annie), Hy Eisman (comic strips: Katzenjammer Kids, Popeye, Little Lulu), Irwin Hasen (comic strip:Dondi) and Greg Hildebrandt (Lord of Rings Calendar) to name a few. The instructors are all professionals and a great source of inspiration and technical knowledge. Central New Mexico Community College, so far my last stop in institutional schooling, where I began my digital design education is where I met David Bergsland, who had created an outstanding desktop publishing program for the school. He was instrumental in bringing the school up to national digital publishing standards and has authored numerous software "how to" books. David is a true professional and Teacher. Visit David at hackberry-fonts.com.

Comic book artist and instructor Al Williamson in our classroom at The Kubert School in 1983. Al died in 2010.

Last year I was fortunate enough to take a cartooning work shop with the now published young talent and creator of Mal and Chad, Stephen McCranie. Stephen is doing some very interesting things, like going to live in Japan for six months and creating a blog called Doodle Alley. This is a picture blog about sustainable creativity. Check it out ! He is a source of continued inspiration.

To be continued.....

Design Work HistoryAlbuquerque Publishing Company Albuquerque, NM Graphic Designer
Layout and design advertisements and support materials for the Albuquerque Journal and Tribune newspapers.
Set up ads for color proofs, film output, and color keys. Creatively use Photoshop, Illustrator and Freehand for illustration

AlphaGraphics Albuquerque, NM Graphic Designer
Design and produce logos, business cards, brochures, marketing materials for private and business clients.

Zeon Signs Albuquerque, NM Sign Designer
Design on site business signage for city wide business.

CS2R (Creative Services 2 Retail) Lubbock, TX Graphic Designer
Layout, illustrate and create in store signs, displays and promotional material for retail outlets (Furrs Grocery Store, Fredericks of Hollywood).

Famous Fraternity Sportswear Company Columbus, Ohio Graphic Designer
Design custom artwork for imprint on apparel and specialty advertising items. Specializing in “Greek” gear for college campus fraternities.

X Design, Inc. & Art Warehouse Columbus, Ohio Artist
With a team of artists, we created custom retail store interiors for outlets such as Victoria Secrets and Bath and Body Works.
Custom hand painted wallpaper, murals and specialty decor.

Lou Maestas Art Masters Academy Albuquerque, NM Instructor
Developed and instructed a drawing curriculum for children using geometric shapes and proportion lines to create simple characters.

Zia Graphics Albuquerque, NM Graphic Designer
Design custom artwork for imprint on apparel and specialty advertising items. Specializing in sporting events and licensed University of New Mexico
and New Mexico State University apparel.

Freelance
Abbott Advertising, Chatham, NJ: Ad design/create mechanicals/camera ready art boards.
Goya Foods, NJ: Design and paste up;food label art.
Reddy Communication, Inc., Albuquerque, NM :Clip art and comic book art for “Reddy Kilowatt” character.
Chile Pepper Magazine, Albuquerque,NM: Cartoon style magazine spot illustrations.
B&B Designs, Santa Fe, NM: T-shirt designs.
Crumb Elbow Publishers, Rhododendron, OR: Oregon Trail and Its Pioneers: Essays, Diary Excerpts and Other Writings;
Hard bound book, black and white pen and ink illustrations and maps.
YDI (Youth Developement Incorporated) Albuquerque,NM: Illustrated SAS Soccer themed coloring book.
Bergsland Design, Mankato, MN: Illustrate “Overbyte” cartoon mouse, guide for software textbook.
Clarks Pet Emporium, Albuquerque, NM: T-shirt art.
Chile Addict, Albuquerque,NM: T-shirt and logo art.
A&L Marketing, Albuquerque, NM: T-shirt and "spirit" character building program products for area high schools.
Michigan Lakes and Streams Association: Pen and ink "spot" illustrations of fresh water marine life for riparian publication.
Toon City Publications, Albuquerque, NM: Hand drawn "animated' cartoon maps/business directory.