Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124104
1 0 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 9 To make a long story short, I dropped out of college to pursue my dream. I ended up drawing comic books for the next ten years for Rob, Marc Silvestri's Top Cow Productions (Tomb Raider), and Marvel Comics (Uncanny X-Men). I then decided to try something new and pursued a career in concept art. I ended up being one of the leading concept artists for Sony Santa Monica, working on the God of War video game series. But I had my sights on what were for me, bigger and better things. After all, even though I was having fun in the gaming world, my true love was still comic books. It was right about that time that Iron Man hit theaters. I remember watching that for the first time, and when Nick Fury appeared, telling Tony Stark about something called the Avengers Initiative. I knew then and there where I needed to be. In 2010, I got the call that exactly mirrored Nick Fury recruiting Tony for a new team called the Avengers. Charlie Wen and Ryan Meinerding were forming their own team, a new visual development department at Marvel Studios. It was an in- house group of artists that would work on all the connected films for the next decade (and beyond). It was the job I couldn't even dare to dream of as an adolescent. Present Day: 2019. I'm entering my tenth year at Marvel Studios, not drawing comic books, but designing the characters for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I've come full circle in a way. I'm living in a dream, being able to play in the worlds created by legends like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and of course, Stan Lee. In recent years, I've been promoted to the Director of Visual Development at Marvel Studios and I lead the department on several films, designing the heroes (and villains), as well as keyframe illustrations to help the directors, producers and the leadership at Marvel find the vision of the story we're all trying to tell. A A. WRAPAROUND SLIPCASE COVER TO MARVEL'S THOR: RAGNAROK: THE ART OF THE MOVIE. PAINTED IN PHOTOSHOP. B. APPROVED CONCEPT DESIGN OF A NEW TAKE ON THOR. TAIKA (DIRECTOR) CALLED THIS THE ROADWORN THOR. PAINTED IN PHOTOSHOP. C. APPROVED HELA WITH BATTLE MASK CONCEPT ART. PAINTED IN PHOTOSHOP. DIRECTOR TAIKA WAS SET ON CAPTURING THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE-TO- PULL-OFF-IN-LIVE-ACTION ANTLERS COMING OUT OF HER HEAD LOOK. I WAS HAPPY TO OBLIGE.