15 Influential Artists & 15 Minutes

The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen Artists who've influenced you and that will ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Post YOUR list in the comments! I'd love to see it.

1. Renae De Liz (Also my wife! I'm awesome!)
2. Norman Rockwell
3. Bob Ross
4. Justin Sweet
5. Marko Djurdjevic
6. Ryan Ottley (not just saying that, dude!)
7. Todd McFarlane
8. Greg Capullo
9. Rob Liefeld!
10. Joe Maduriera
11. Joe Kubert
12. Kerry Gammil
13. Bernie Wrightson
14. Frank Frazetta (how did I almost leave HIM off?!)
15. Tony Diterlizzi

Did the list in about 1 minute so I might be forgetting some. Seems good, tho.

RayDillon.com | Twitter | Facebook | MySpace | DeviantArt

Will Smith Wisdom

One of my favorite inspirational/motivational videos ever. Such great advice!



QUOTES:

"Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity."

"Its unrealistic to flip a switch and a light comes on. Fortunately Edison didn't believe that. Its unrealistic to make a hollow metal tube and fly people over the ocean in it. The Wright brothers didn't think so."

"We grew up with the sense that where we were almost didn't matter, because we were becoming something greater."

Hey, you can even follow Will Smith Wisdom on Twitter! http://twitter.com/willswisdom

MAKE YOUR LIFE HAPPEN!

RayDillon.com | Twitter | Facebook | MySpace | DeviantArt

Back to Writing - Not in Kansas Anymore!

Well, I'm slowly getting back into writing. For any of you who've been following for a few years back, you probably remember this blog being mostly about writing. Back in the early 2000's I was barely in my 20's, living with my dad, and I was doing a lot of writing every day. Wrote a few novels, graphic novels, and short stories. And art was almost secondary for a while.

THEN A WHOLE LOTTA LIFE HAPPENED!

I met my future wife Renae De Liz, got a step-son, Tycen (now 7), moved a couple of times, traveled all over the country, got married at San Diego Comic-Con, moved again (this time to Cape Elizabeth, Maine), had a baby boy, and all sorts of other crazy adventures.

And during that time I had to focus solely on my art to make money to take care of our family. It's still a huge struggle, but it seems things are settled a bit more than they have been and I can't keep off the writing bug any longer.

SO... I'M BACK AT IT!

Finishing my last novel that has been sitting for 4-5 years without an end (at least one I liked), adapting it into graphic novel, started a new novel, and I'm co-writing a few comics and graphic novel projects. These things will take quite a bit of time to develop, because I'm still a full-time (over-time... all the time) artist, but they'll happen. Little by little and piece by piece.

"A page a day is a book a year." ~ Richard Rhodes

And the other cool epiphany I've had: I've been living life!! I don't live in Kansas with my dad any more, trapped in my room (of own free, hermity will). Over the last 5-6 years I've really gone all over the place and experienced all sorts of things. This adds so much to my ability to write about life and the thing I'm most excited about, it allows me to explore new areas in my writing. Always before my stories would take place in small-town Kansas, because that was what I knew. And any traveling outside of that felt forced and clunky.

NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE, TOTO!
From...

...to...

Now I've spent enough time in places like New York, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Oregon, North Carolina, and now Maine that I can actually set stories in these places. Can't write about them like the back of my hand, but I can certainly expand my writing horizons.

So, you probably won't see much from me right now, but it'll start to trickle in.

And if anyone would be interested in reading my latest novel, a Beta read, and giving me your honest opinion, I'd love to have it. Just email me at rayd@goldengoatstudios.com

Here are sneaky, vague images to preview my two novels / graphic novels in progress:

PROJECT ONE





PROJECT TWO




Thanks for reading!

RayDillon.com | Twitter | Facebook | MySpace | DeviantArt

[VIDEO] 2009 Digital Sketchbook

View on my channel: http://www.YouTube.com/raydillon



There are a few marker/paint pieces, but mostly Photoshop and an Axiotron Modbook Apple Tablet Computer.

RayDillon.com | Twitter | Facebook | MySpace | DeviantArt