Tuesday, September 23, 2008

So, here is the story behind my short lived career as a comic book creator.  I have loved comics for years, pretty much on and off since I was about 10 years old.  About twelve years ago I started dabbling with drawing my own comic, and I did it as a hobby for many years.  About three years ago my wife and I sold our house in Benicia and moved up to Oregon, where we could afford to buy a house pretty much out-right, and where I would have a chance to be the stay-at-home dad and pursue writing comics full time.
However, the more I learned about the business, the more I realized that I wasn't really cut out to be an illustrator, and that I really wanted to focus on the writing end.  So I hired an illustrator and began to work on the first issue of my comic, Tzedik.  The more I did in that business, the more I realized that what I was best suited for, and what I could possibly make a living at, was digital coloring.  However, here is where I faced a real crisis of conscience.  I could at this point, after about a year and a half of working at this, either go back to teaching or color comics.
Now, I didn't give up teaching because I don't enjoy it.  Quite the opposite, I love to teach, and at the end of the day I feel like I have really given something to the kids.  Also, at the end of the day, I feel like I have really performed my mission in life when it comes to serving Christ.  Could I really get that same feeling spending all day coloring bodacious babes beheading zombies?  If I was coloring, I would have to pretty much color anything that came across my desk.  The choice seemed clear to me.
So now I can work for at least another 30 years teaching and I never have to look back and say "What could have been..."
So, that's my story.
here is some more my work that got published on the web:
my illustration of Psalm 4 can be found here:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the Psalm Hale...great artwork...we still have the Ariel sketch you made for Cassie...I will frame it and keep it for when you are famous and then you can't pretend you never knew us!

Karen Hatzigeorgiou said...

Your story is really inspirational, Hale. I loved that you followed your dream of being an artist. And even though it didn't work out the way you planned, it appears that there was a bigger plan for you in teaching, and that you found your way back to it. The kids in Benicia are fortunate for that!

Hale said...

Thank you for the kind words Carleen and Karen.

Steve said...

Your passion is evident.

Mel Harley said...

I have the joy daily of working with you, Hale! I witness you teaching and caring for your students. It is a true gift to me to be teaching with you! No, really...it's true!