Artist To Author |
When I was a child I loved to draw and create things. I knew I had a natural talent and I was always looking for ways to express my creativity. Over the years I spent a lot of time developing and nurturing my skills. I did my research, went to art schools, listened to professional artists...after years of working in advertising agencies, corporate companies, and independent freelancing, I have become recognized as a leading artist and designer in the industry.
Among my recognitions I am also known for creating the iconic drive-by trivia fun fact illustrations on U-Haul trucks you see on the road today. One of the most iconic and recognized brands in North America. I am the only artist in the world that created the company's "Venture Across America/Canada" fleet graphic program known as "Supergraphics", from 1997 to 2013. (15+ years) http://www.kingillustration.com/u-haul-graphics.html I took the graphic program to heights never before reached with over the top vector illustrations and highly detailed scientific facts. The series became a highly recognized educational program by teachers, universities, scientists, historians and major art institutes. My works have been highlighted in the Adobe Illustrator WOW Book which showcases the world’s best artists and designers working in Adobe Illustrator, a guest on the morning talk show: "Seeing The Need" with–Phil McILveen, featured in The Charlotte Observer: how drive-by trivia come to pass, I have been highlighted in many science and nature magazines, and acclaimed in the local papers. I no longer work for the company and have moved on to bigger and better ventures. While working directly with leading scientist on these educational illustrations, I was inspired to write my own picture books to make learning fun while helping children understand science. |
The inspirational concept "follow your dreams" encourages us not to stay content in our safe box, but to make a leap to follow the passion that would drive us. This is a lot harder said than done, and requires a lot of failing and rising. It was this inspirational mainstay that made me understand that I was waisting my time working for a corporation that did not appreciate me. I have no time for insecure managers that feel threatened by my success.
When a manager has no skill set and lacks self-confidence in their own abilities, they take it out on their subordinates to limit your power. My accomplishments and recognitions made my supervisor furious, especially when it would appear in magazines and newspapers. (I never understood this mindset since it was great publicity for the company). He tried to become a gatekeeper limiting what people know about me, erased any of my existence on the company website and social media, denied writers to interview me for their articles. When I was highlighted in the Adobe Illustrator WOW Book in February of 2013, he laid me off that same week lol. This was a great blessing in disguise. I left a toxic environment and my new experiences opened up many new doors of opportunity. I began working on my book immediately while hopping around job-to-job. I spent a couple of years working as the lead graphic designer and illustrator for the best selling author, Robert Kiyosaki. Among my many works for him, I designed the new game board Cashflow, the board game USA Today calls "Monopoly on Steroids". For a short time I joined Everi Holding Inc., designing graphics & animation for their international tournament casino slot games. A year later I became creative manager at Kangaroo Toy Manufacturing to oversee their art team and develop custom toys and consumer products. I am now an independent artist developing toys and creating toy package designs among many other things. I finally finished my book and self published. My children's book is now available on Amazon Prime. Order @ amazon: https://lnkd.in/g4JxRMD Book Website:https://lnkd.in/gjvb7XE |
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