Getting Up and Running

Hello World!!!

So over the past two years I have been slowly creeping deeper and deeper into the world of digital painting and art in general.  I grew up always drawing, taking art classes, being a film major at Chapman University, only to let it all go for so many years after I graduated.  Now, I never fully gave up art all together, its just a part of who I am; but, as far as really working at it, improving, learning, and trying to get my stuff out there, it had been way too long.

Close to four years ago a good friend of mine introduced me to the world of digital painting.  He let me try out his Wacom Intuos 4 tablet for his computer he was using for a class at Gnomon school of Art.  I was hooked.  I bought one...  only to watch it gather dust for another year or so.  Being married, having a full time job, bills, and responsibilities sometimes just don't make it easy to become the artist one wants to be overnight.

Then one fateful day, surfing the net, I found a tutorial on digital painting.  Something really clicked.  A fire that had been dead for a long time, with just a small ember left, found new fuel.  I started working through tutorials at first.  Then I started buying books, magazines, checking websites, anything I could find to help me progress not just painting digitally, but as an artist.

Now I haven't mentioned this yet, but earlier, before my ember ignited into a brush fire, my friend +A.S. Thompson approached me and said he had written a novel.  I was at first in a bit of shock, given this was someone I had no inclinations ever wanted to be a writer.  But, he had done it.  He had written a zombie/survival horror novel which would turn out to later be The Longest Road.  He really shocked me when he asked if I would be interested in illustrating it.  I agreed to, though to be honest I was really scared.

Things are funny how timing is so key.  A.S. Thompson wound up moving before we really got started on the novel.  He moved back east, and I didn't really hear much from him.  A year went buy and I got a phone call.  "Hey Mike!  Remember that book I wrote last year?  It's getting published!"  My jaw dropped.  It was a small time publisher, but who cares; this book was going to be for sale and in print!

I just congratulated him, really happy his hard work would pay off.  That's when he asked me to do his cover art again.  On top of the sleeve, he also said he wanted a full page black and white image for every chapter.  What he didn't know was that he couldn't of caught me at a better time.  My fire was burning and I couldn't wait to get started!

For months we collaborated and wound up with a finished product that I am very proud of.  It may not be the very best art work out there, but I was actually starting to live a dream.  I was doing art work for a reason, illustrating for something that would actually be seen outside of my home and sketchbook.

These past moments have led to a hell of a past year.  I've now illustrated two novels for A. S. Thompson, was commissioned to do three original art pieces for a restaurants wall menu board, several logos, art work for friends, and have started taking a class called The Magic Box by +Chris Oatley (former character creator for Disney Pictures, most recent work with Planes.)

So, the reason I've written all this is to give a taste of what this blog is all about.  It's about my rekindled journey with art in general.  I'll be updating with all of my on going projects, podcasts, where you can meet me at conventions, and so on.  After several years away, its feels so great to be peace again, with a pencil in my hand.


I'll be posting my art work up on this site, but you can also catch my stuff at

mboyajian.deviantart.com

and you can follow me on twitter at

@thenood1818


MB