Today we’d like to introduce you to Ru Toulon.
As long as I remember I have always been drawing. I grew up in the small island of Dominica that is located in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. Resources were very scarce and i drew on random paper or any excess paper my folks could get me from my dad’s studio. My father was a painter and graphic designer so art always ran in the family and my older brother was a big comic fan. When I was little my older brother read a lot of comics to me and I would just be amazed at the art and would try and draw what I saw. The earliest influences were Spider-man, X-men, Spawn and Predator and Aliens that was just the beginning. I loved comics so much I would even draw my own comics based off Marvel and characters I liked and would even draw the commercials in between pages.
I was not an A student in school, it was very hard for me to focus because all I wanted to do was draw. I used to just daydream and get lost drawing and doodling in my exercise and textbooks during class. You can already guess it annoyed a lot of my teachers, haha. Then we got our first video game system the PlayStation One and that was the next step in my influence of drawing. I was an avid video gamer as a kid when I came across Crash Bandicoot and Oddworld Abes Oddysee, I started drawing way more; definitely became obsessed with it. Something about Oddworld being weird and so different that I wanted to make things like it. I would always draw my own levels or knock-off video games of Oddworld and various other games we played. Then when the internet was a bit more accessible, I studied the photos of any of the Mcfarlane Spawn toys and comic covers. There I discovered who would be my all-time favorite artist Greg Capullo and i knew i would never stop drawing.
When I reached high school, I would say I went through numerous art phases. It was a very interesting few years, I went through a horror phase. in time i was making my own characters and started to evolve my style. In the middle years I came across my second love and influence Graffiti. There were so many great styles and it was amazing how simple letters could be manipulated to look so different.
My favorite part of my journey was when I started creating my own characters and even giving them stories or hints of a story. My high school friends really liked them and were always eager to see what I was working on. around the period before my last few years of high school in Dominica we moved up to Boston.
Moving to Boston was hard, I left my family and friends and had to readjust to a “new way of life.” I knew it was for bigger and better things because I wanted to go to an art school for college. After finishing a few extra years of high school, I interned at Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN). My time there I dabbled in film and video editing and on my own did some experimenting with t-shirts and prints. After high school i wanted to go to an art college but did not know where to go or look. I did not want to move far because I definitely did not have the resources to do so. I loved film but it was not what I wanted to go to college for, one of the mentors from BNN suggested The New England Institute of Art – she and a few others from BNN attended and graduated from there and told me about the animation program.
I applied and was accepted to NEIA it was very exciting that I was going to college especially for art. I met a lot of great near and dear friends from there. It was amazing being around other artists, we were a tight bunch of kids, my professors were also amazing. I got to dabble in animation, 3D modeling, 3D animation, and motion graphics. It was a tough journey of three years. I miss those days, I can’t lie, the endless nights and hang out in the animation laboratory were unforgettable.
Post-graduation, it was hard getting full-time work I took some time to train and put some work to expand my skills. After college unfortunately I realized I did not want to do animation like I thought I did. From there I got into numerous projects like comics, designs, character designs, and vector art. It was great but it was not consistent but the experience was worth it. I more wanted to draw for me and research where I need to aim for as far as my ideal or dream career.
I am constantly trying to grow my skills so my journey I feel is still beginning and ongoing, there is so much I want to do and try and eventually create. The journey still goes on and on…
Please tell us about your art.
I would define my self as an illustrator. I love drawings characters, graffiti, dinosaurs and monsters. There is a lot of influence from movies, music, toys and especially video games and comics. I grew up around comics so the influence will always be there. But if I had to say what the DNA of my art style is, it always points back to Gorillaz, Spawn and Graffiti. Gorillaz Demon days was a heavy influence on my original characters. I can’t lie, I like weird stuff like Gorillaz and Oddworld these things played by their own rules. I try and incorporate my own style and weirdness in my work and I want people to see what my world kind of looks like and how my characters fit. Eventually, I want to build my world that’s fleshed out and my viewer’s imaginations open. I want to get deep into writing so I can build it more.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
Reach out, don’t do it alone. You will be surprised at times how willing people are to lend a hand or help. Linkedin, Instagram, and even Facebook are for linking with other artists. Other artists have been through the journey and if they are where you want to be, just ask them a few questions about their journey. And you never know you could end up collaborating too.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can check out my Instagram @Drostoney. I want o eventually have a convention table in time or put other creative projects together.
And also, check out my art station https://rudsart.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rudsart.
artstation.com/ - Email: rtoulonart@gmail.com
- Instagram: @Drostoney
Image Credit:
Ru Toulon
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
