Keep the Creativity Mega.
Jerod Andrew Wheaton, "JAW"...
Born seeing the world in my eyes... looking forward to creating characters and meaningful writings ever sense I can remember, I purposefully drive forward to extend Hip Hop Culture as an African American Artist.
...and... after months of ridicule for continuing to remain interested in the world of comic books, well... "Graffic" novels... (one of my Peoples at the time hipped me to the Slick and Hex battles going on, showed me some graffic magazines and my brain began exploring the possibilities).
In 1991, I convinced an author, Lateef Mungin, to work on and co-produce a comic book, The Cipher (apologies to H. Rap Brown on the misprint, no disrespect intended). Seeing The Dark Knight, by Frank Miller, presented another realm of possiblilities in creative writing within the medium of graphic novels.
Lateef and I came into publishing graffic novels (beginning stages), in 1991; simultaneously, the Sims Brothers came out with 'Brotherman'. Even though I met Dawud ("David" at the time) they reinforced my inspirations to bring about positive African American characters (other than, say, Falcon or Powerman, who, although are great characters, they were developed by illustrators other than Black which doesn't completely allow expression of the demograffic, you know). Anyway, my point is that Dawud showed me some ways to put together comic book panels in his sketchbook at a Black Expo we were both in; however, Lateef and I were in the process of completing our first book before we even seen 'Brotherman' (or I'd seen any other Black comic character that wasn't Marvel or DC). As 1992 approached, I got wind of Dwayne Turner at Milestone Media and I started noticing more of Overton Lloyd's work on the Funkadelic/Parliament covers. It was a comic strip illustrators, Rob Armstrong and Rupurt Kinard and curator, Roshon Perry who actually gave us direction in getting our conceptualization into tangible existence.
After, Several rounds with investors--grudgingly and carefully articulated arguments over art versus business; in the midst of which, we managed to get 7500 issues self published (the old fashioned way--web press and half tone).
We focused on completing college and graduated from the San Francisco State University education program with Bachelors of Arts degrees--my degree in Cinema, and Lateef's degree in Journalism. The series now in the process of being revised into Graffic novel form. We got some great comic book signings, museum exhibitions, and lessons on how fast selling published books can turn over and how much time one needs to put in to get [something] back. ReSPect on the reasonings.
Composing and promoting a comic book series (4 issues total) took over 5 years in itself. I got on TV, sold books at trade shows, met with Peoples about business plans, forecasting, bookstores maneuvering for straight sales over consignment because "the landlord can't pay his property taxes on a "they're some good kids" speech.
So from 1991 to 1997, give or take a couple of projects and mid term exams, I worked on self publishing and promoting the artwork and business. It is a serious endeavor. I've met many Peoples with my crew, and learned it is about keeping things moving forward. Since emerging on the scene in 1991, It is great to see comic books like 'Brotherman', and MileStone reach certain acheivements, reinforcing the strength of not only what is possible, but what can actually really reach existence. I continue to produce projects: "Graffic" Novels, Music Production, and Animation. I've published a poetry book of Urban Erotica; I'm working on a Graffic novel compilation featuring a revision of the Cipher comic book series; I've recently completed an LP, 'CALIforNIA 729', official release date 9/18 of this year.
I'm inspired by Will Eisner, Wallace Wood along with, of course, the Artists aforementioned (strength in numbers), Afro Samurai, Fat Albert, The Boondocks, Johnny Quest (60s series version), 70s Spiderman, and the Animated Blue Carpet Treatment (honestly, I'd probably lean toward a West Coast, Wild Style Hentai). I'd like to network with a team of talented better than good, Graff-Inspired Artists to make the realness happen--Graffic novels, Hip Hop music production, Animation with the inspirations. Interested collaborators or fans can visit my online store at lulu.com, connect with me at myspace.com, or email:
Lulu.com store:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=846241
Myspace.com:
email:
Keep the Creativity Mega.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Ability to create concepts in vector artwork
Excellent hand skills; solid layout skills
Ability to understand and follow established design style guides
Ability to produce mock-ups/comps, create PDF forms
Strong time management skills with ability to work efficiently on multiple projects, meet tight deadlines
Highly organized, work and take direction well from others
RELEVANT SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
Graphic Design
Produced original art works by hand
Created concept promotion ideas (photo montage) in Macromedia Flash, Premiere, and Final Cut Pro
Designed movie poster and character comps based on instructions from film director (‘War Path,’ MasterWorks Entertainment)
Created storyboards according to director’s locations list specifications (‘Rest Stop,’ Dolgi Productions)
Developed lay out designs for Pacific News Service (‘Youth Outlook’)
Constructed 5 to 12-page illustrated stories based upon submissions editor specifications (Fantagraphics Books, Carnal Comics)
Created 5 graphic novels (mature content comic books) based upon concepts discussed with production managers (Fantagraphics Books, Carnal Comics)
Creator, illustrator, writer, and publisher of Black action-hero comic book (‘The Cipher’)
Composed cover art for various album covers (Darkman Productions)
Refined final illustration draft of mural concept for three-level high school gymnasium (Calvin Simmons Jr. High, Oakland, CA)
Technical Skills
Composed and combined audio elements for song and commercial promotions
Experienced with image compression, file correction and optimization techniques; compressed completed art work into digital format (JPEG, vector, avi, dv, wav, mp3) files for publishing.
Proofed and match-printed film for newspaper advertisements and coupons based on digital files.
Experience preparing 4/C process and spot color mechanicals for offset printing and digital output
Implemented and maintained image/file cataloging, archiving and backup programming.
Completed illustrated projects and layout designs within schedule constraints according to client, project management, editor, or director specifications; ensured all projects follow required traffic and copy/proofing workflow.
Part-time teacher providing instruction to children, ages 2 to 15, on basic art technique, artistic expression, and music video production.
Mentor assisting high school students in comic book development and music video production.
Digital Skills
Adobe CS3 Design Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Acrobat, Premiere)
Final Cut Pro
Sony SoundForge 4.5
Quark Xpress
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Freelance Production Artist Plusworks Gardena, CA 1994 – Present
Proofer/Graphic Designer Graphics Atlanta Livermore, CA 1/2000 – 7/2000
Illustrator/Staff Writer Pacific News Service San Francisco, CA 2/1994 – 8/2000
Art Teacher Museum Of Children’s Art/Mocha Oakland, CA 4/1998 – 6/1999
Tutor/Mentor East Bay Asian Youth Center Berkeley, CA 6/1995 – 2/1998
EDUCATION
San Francisco State University
Bachelor of Arts, Cinema/Animation 2005
Diablo Valley College
San Francisco City Visions Cable Channel 29
Video/Audio Editing Certification 1999