JASON MCCULLOUGH

Jason McCullough is a 24-year-old artist with an interest in conceptual design and animation. At a young age he had developed a fascination with independent animations, most being created with Adobe Flash at the time. The fluidity and energy of the animations felt electrifying to him, yet the simplicity of the art inspired confidence that he could mimic them. Most of the animations were created by a sole creator, which was also enticing to him as an introvert. This served as an entry point that allowed Jason to feel proud of even simple works while giving him an outlet to express himself. His interest in art started early. His dad would often read Calvin and Hobbes to him and his brother before bed. He would make silly comics of his own to show him in return. His father’s words of encouragement pushed me to make more. He continued making these comics into elementary and middle school and took as many elective art classes as he could. All of his assignments would have doodles plastered all on the backside and in the margins. He was very into stick-figure animations at the time so he got really good at drawing little stickmen and compensating for their simple form with dynamic movement. At first it was disheartening when he compared his work to the other kids who were into anime and seemed leagues ahead of me by 4th grade. However, over time he learned to overcome the envy he felt and he continued to hone his skills by taking classes in and out of school. Instead of lamenting over what his peers could do better, he decided he would play into his strengths that make his art unique. He wouldn’t be embarrassed or ashamed of his simple style when finding the extraordinary within simplicity is what inspired me to create art in the first place.