PKD Media Spotlight Presents: Rand Arrington
Welcome back to the PKD Media Spotlight, which shines a light on creators, artists, and other forms of media you might be sleeping on.
Today we spotlight another member of the Bad Monkey Brain Studios crew, Rand Arrington. I met Rand at Heroes Con 2009 and not only was he a class act, but he’s a talented artist to boot. Read the interview below to learn more about Rand:
What lured or drew you to becoming an artist?
I’ve always been attracted to art and comics just took that interest to new heights. I can remember looking at my brother’s comics time and time again just being enthralled by the visuals on the page. Fantastic Four #54 with Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott, Iron Man #100 with an amazing cover by Jim Starlin and a Marvel Team-up #75 with John Byrne and Al Gordon. Not to mention Byrne and Dan Green’s run on the Avengers.
Who or what are your influences?
I admire so many different artists from numerous artistic outlets and I believe that all of them have some sway over what I do. Some of my favorites are Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, John Byrne, Gregory Manchess, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Drew Struzan, Mike Mignola, Josh Kirby, Howard Pyle, John Singer Seargant, Frank Cho, Neal Adams, Ryan Zook, Michelangelo, Da Vinci and the list goes on and on and on…
What would you call your style?
I would say that my style is pretty realistic although I’ve started to develop other styles where I can explore the more abstract side of illustration. My ChipMonk property will have a style that mixes Mike Mignola and the traditional Disney style. The response to it has been very positive thus far so I’m really excited to get the story out there and see what everyone thinks.
How did you end up being a part of the Bad Monkey Brain Studios?
A great friend of mine, Robert Juif, was also friends with the creator of the BadMonkeyBrain Studio, Jerry Carr. We were introduced and started hanging out together and I became a member of BMBS through osmosis.
What do you enjoy most about the illustrated form?
I pretty much like the whole process. It’d be easier to tell you what I like the least which would be doing the research. This can be pretty tedious at times.
Are there any upcoming projects you would like to talk about?
The first project that I’m attempting to get out will be ChipMonks. There’s a war going on in the forest for survival. The animals all scramble to get control of the food sources but the chipmunk have a secret. It’s the society of ChipMonks that are empowered by their king to work off the radar to protect the chipmunk realm from internal and external threats.
You can also check out Rand’s artwork at randarrington.deviantart.com as well.
I hope you enjoyed the interview, and we’ll be back to shine the light on someone (or something) else next week.
Peace and good times.
-Shawn
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