Erick McGee

ARTIST STATEMENT

I aspired to be a cartoonist because I am not only interested in drawing, but I am into telling stories as well. Additionally, I am inspired by storytelling in different forms of media such as literature, animation and television. Animation and comics provide visualization of story arcs that intrigue people with moral lessons. Moral lessons are essential for personal growth and one’s values as one goes through life , it can change their outlook on life as well as their view of themselves.

I am also fascinated by the character development, specifically and especially of that of the protagonist, who is the most essential character. Most story plots, if not all, are driven by the protagonist’s actions and decisions, as well as the consequences that result from these acts. I learn the lessons by seeing how he reacts to situations, how he experiences, and more importantly, through his interactions with other characters.

One of the protagonist’s primary challenges in life is his relationships with other characters. For example, the optimist protagonist has a pessimistic best friend, who functions as a foil to him. A foil is a character whose personality contrasts with the personality of another character in order to highlight the qualities between them. The relationship between foils is usually rather complicated because of how different they are from each other, especially in terms of personalities. While it is a great opportunity for the foils to settle their differences under serious circumstances, it is also entertaining to see their contrasting personalities make conflicts.