Wizard drawings by Saeira and Ryan, age 5.
I used to say that I was self taught. That is, until I remembered that I had an at home drawing teacher until I was 7 years old. My aunty was not just my mom’s best friend, she was my mother. We did everything together. Draw, laugh, play. Stay up late watching inappropriate sitcoms on Fox. When we slept, she was often my pillow. At one point in her life, her tumors caused her to weigh at least 1,000 pounds. Her health improved by the time I was raised by her, but those were the wounds I would dress as a child.
When I say drawing teacher, I mean that literally. We weren’t just coloring together, I was being guided while we were making pictures. I remember when she taught me how to draw Pikachu by starting with a “piece of toast”. There was also the many times she would erase my lines, and guide me to try again.
Not only was she my first art teacher, but also my first spiritual teacher. I was never taught to meditate, only told to, and allowed to intuitively. But when it comes to astral travel, I was taught by my aunty. She made it a game, just like she did everything else. She asked me where I wanted to go, and we chose three places. The first were Egypt and outer space.
Even as a kid I loved getting mail, especially the Lego magazine. Legoland was the obvious last choice. While we were there, we saw each other and waved, and returned home with an intense craving for orange soda. The last night I saw my aunty was the last time I traveled. I watched, floating in the corner just above the stairs, as she was taken out of the house for the last time. She was my first creative partner, and the first artist I ever met.
The time my mother asked, “What would you like to do when you grow up?”; I said I wanted to fix helicopters. To this day, I’m not quite sure where that came from.
Helicopter drawings by Saeira and Ryan, age 5.
As a 90’s kid, saying that I love Pokemon is a guess you can take to the bank. Same works for being a male Black millennial and Dragon Ball Z. I was homeschooled from 2nd to 6th grade, and most of my time spent was self guided. Most of that time was spent drawing, and nothing compares to Dragon Ball in its continuous role as fuel for my creativity. Drawings, sculptures, repurposed broken toys, animations, and friendships. Dragon Ball inspired them all.
Only those who recorded on VHS to draw while its paused would understand. Gohan drawing by Ryan, age 9.
Mouse only, pre drawing pen in MS Paint. Ryan at 9yo. Various Dragon Ball drawing by Ryan, age 9.
The never ending inspiration of Goku and the graffiti sprayer of MS Paint. Goku drawing by Ryan, age 9.
Thankfully, my mother supported my fandom, especially by entertaining a toy collection at her initial expense (the collection has grown since). But curiously, one day she watched me enjoying my fandom and said, “You know, someday you won’t like that show as much”. I replied emphatically, “I’ll always love Dragon Ball Z.” Shout out to parents not always being right.
A collection of Dragon Ball Drawings from ages 9 to 28.
By the time my homeschooling ended, what was created was equal to what no longer remains. Random internet adventures opened my world of understanding what was possible though creativity. Finding the blog site of a toy customizer encouraged me to repurpose broken figures. I often made the figures that I couldn’t buy. Not just a lack of disposable income, what I wanted simply wasn’t being manufactured. A Flash animation class at College for Creative Studies, and stick figure fights on New Grounds laid the foundation for Dragon Ball Tournaments animated with video game sprite rips. Capsule figures that were never made were created with beeswax and bake-to-harden clay. This was the beginning of viewing the entire world as a canvas for creativity.
Going back to school was about more than my education, it was the second time in my life that I was consistently around other artists. To my amazement, there were kids who could draw from imagination. Not only did they become my friends, they became my inspiration to grow as an artist. I started to try to draw Dragon Ball from memory too.
Billy age 14, Dorian age 13, Ryan age 13.