A theatre of the imagination
For as long as he can remember, Mike’s imagination has played out stories in his mind. He has finally scripted out some of them as picture book ideas. If you are an Editor or Art Director that would like to see his pitch books, contact him through the link at the top of the page.
Wild personalities
Mike wants his characters to be someone a reader would like to hang out with and spend a little time around – about 32 pages worth. Characters that have personality, individuality, and … character. Emotional. energetic, and expressive characters, human or animal, to act out the stories and express the feelings Mike wants to share with others.
Bringing out his inner child
Mike is particularly interested in tapping into the inner child that resides, or hides away, within all of us. He thinks his inner child is about twelve years old. But he remember being younger and still remembers the dreams and regrets of growing up. Mike wants his visual stories to draw from a range of ages and perspectives.
Acting up
Mike loves the story medium because he can get his characters to share his dreams and wishes. Getting them to do the things that he wishes he could have – but missed out on experiencing, was too afraid to attempt, or just forgot to do as a child. To put himself in other peoples shoes and see things their way.
The great escape
Some of Mike’s favorite work is works of fiction. Particularly science fiction and fantastical stories. He is a bit pulpy at heart and loves to draw characters and creatures that couldn’t possibly inhabit our reality. Genre is a great way to communicate ideas from a different perspective and make the everyday easier to appreciate, especially for individuals with limited attention spans!
Places to be
A lot can be said through a character and how they act. But sometimes even more can be said through the places a character lives, travels, escapes, or dreams of going. Mike has developed a creative process that allows him to easily expand his storytelling capabilities by creating environments to extend his visual narratives.
Emotive storytelling
Another important part of human storytelling for Mike is interacting with other people, even if they are animals cast to play the part. Imagining and drawing how someone acts and reacts to the actions or feelings of others is a wonderful part of the creative process.
There’s more
A whole lot more. Mike has sketchbooks filled with characters, environments, stories, and everything in between. If you would like to seem more, or something specific let him know.
Color samples
Oh yeah, and about color. Mike likes it – He just hasn’t had the chance to sit down and colorize some of his kids lit drawings. If you would like to see samples of color work check out Mike’s editorial portfolio. Learn more HERE.
Thank you for visiting!