A R T I S T P R O F I L E
KODY CHAMBERLAIN: CAMPAIGN FOR COMMUNITY CREATIVITY Local Artist / Writer on Cultivating Creative Projects
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or what might be the first chance in a while, we all have idle time on our hands with this universal virus situation we are currently navigating through. When we look back at what was “normal” for us before, was it really all that amazing? Did you spend most of your time on social media or creative projects? I’d be willing to bet more time was spent on social media for the majority of us. With this gift of time, and opportunity to explore what’s really possible in this life, we should tap into our creativity, for both pleasure and for growth. When I had coffee with Lafayette Comic Writer / Artist (along with some film and tv sprinkled in for good measure), Kody Chamberlain, our area was on the cusp of a major change to life as we were used to experiencing it.
by Abby Meaux Conques
You could feel a bit of tension in the air, people conscious of not shaking hands and hugs were a definite no-no; you thought twice about the way you opened a door. This is all new for us.
FROM CHAMBERLAIN'S CRESCENT FLAME
For that time I spent speaking with Kody, I forgot about the outside world for a bit and listened to stories of how different creative projects came to (national) fruition for him and the detail it takes to compose an entire board game from a graphic design perspective. That is the power of creativity and art. It’s a world in itself to get lost in. Chamberlain sees art as a means of communication. Since we’re all alone, together right now, why don’t we utilize a different method of communication when our daily lives are completely disrupted? We can communicate ideas, feelings, and thoughts in a creative way, and put depth to what we feel and what we’d like each other to see just as we do.
“People go into debt to get a degree, but art and design are skill sets and trades that you can earn a living off of. If you can learn to communicate where art and language come together, that’s the core of communication,” Chamberlain said. He continued, “If you want to understand the importance of art and language communication utilized effectively, all you have to do is look at one of those escape plan cards in the seat pocket of airplanes.” Chamberlain is an Advertising Design graduate from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) and worked in a variety of fields in that arena upon graduating (copyrighting, advertising agency work, illustration, etc.) “I always preferred pen and paper,” he said of his 2008 leap to a formal full-time comic career. “I’d say 80% of my work uses traditional media,” he explained. “Software companies are great at marketing to people that art needs to be digital, in my opinion, traditional ways of creating are just as great, if not better.” During his stint working for other agencies prior to contracting out work, he attended larger comic expos and conventions. “Other people had these printouts of their work and I wanted to stand out, so I hand stitched these portfolio books and walked around with them, handing them out to higher-ups who had booths. Many were impressed when they saw the time I put into my ‘portfolio’,” he mentioned. That’s how he got to working on Chapter 4 of 30 Days of Night, the comic that eventually became a movie based on Chapter 1 of the series. The proverbial ball continued rolling since then, with Chamberlain being a sought-out artist for assorted projects from TV to film and beyond. Last year was a big year for Chamberlain as he was the official artist for Festival International de Louisiane.
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