Say Hello To The Graduate!

Hey, y’all! Ya boy Pharoah just graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Illustration from Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (RMCAD) on April 28th, 2023! Shout out to class of 2023! Four years of hard work, and maaan I’m so glad to be done. Art college was as rigorous creatively as the Navy was mentally and physically. I signed up to RMCAD in 2019 after leaving the Navy, to help balance my homegrown art skills out with some traditional art principles.

I also had a Graduation Exhibition on April 14th, where me and my graduating peers all showed off our work so far. It was a great time! I got a nice fade and braid hair cut from @juicyj_fadesnbraids. I sold a bunch of special edition graduation prints, and stickers, and met a lot of cool people. I even gave out some freebies.

Órale!

The cool part about being an artist is you can drink on the job.

Ya boy Pharoah, with a few of my Concept Art Club friends!

Me and the Fam

RMCAD was far from perfect but it certainly helped me out tremendously. I learned a lot! You can certainly see the difference between before RMCAD and after RMCAD, my work now has a completeness to it that just wasn’t present in my previous work. Be sure to check my Portfolio page:

The RMCAD campus! Bye bye RMCAD.

I keep it up to date, so there will be new stuff cropping up there all the time. I learned a variety of new skills, such as perspective, balance, symmetry/asymmetry, shape language, color theory, its symbolic meaning, and how to communicate more efficiently visually. I also made a lot more friends, particularly artistic friends which has previously always been a rarity in my life. I believe it was totally worth it to dedicate the time and space to refine my skills. Check out my time-lapses here:

I am a bit sad my remaining 3 grandparents did not survive to see me graduate, but I like to think they can still see me shining in the afterlife. R.I.P. all those who didn’t make it to 2023. I’ll keep your memories on my altar for Dia De Los Muertos.

My Grandma and Mi Abuela in 2019

Grandpa at his last birthday in 2021

Our family’s Dia De Los Muertos altar in 2021.

So I’ve had a lot of folks ask me what’s next for me? Well, ya boy ain’t stopping, only slowing up to come back even doper. I’m definitely gonna relax and party up more now that I have the freedom to do so. But, I already have numerous commissions lined up including logos, children’s books, tattoo designs, website design, and social media consultations. That’s just me getting started, I got more work than I got time for real.

But that’s not all! On a personal tip, ya boy is focusing on fitness and health. I got a new gym membership and a meal delivery service to start with some organic meal prep. A Lil depression from the deaths of 2021 and 2022 killed a lot of my personal motivations, coupled with more intricate artwork and closer deadlines, I sacrificed a lot of my health to get things done and it’s time to remedy that. I’m also about to do a grip of traveling! I already got my flights, rentals, and housing booked for trips to New York City, the Bahamas, and Las Vegas. With a whole lot more to come!

Beyond health/fitness, commissions, and travel I got some more long terms goals to start pursuing. I’m looking to learn calligraphy, calligraffiti, typography, mural-making, and tattooing. I got several books I’d like to write and have already begun editing on Pharoah’s Book of Rhymes, a collection of raps I’ve written since 2015. I also plan on writing an autobiography and a couple of urban fantasy fictional stories. Once those fictional stories are written, I will begin working on turning them into graphic novels! I also plan on making my first solo rap album, a line of streetwear, and a lot more original prints and merchandise. With my new fancy schmancy iPad Pro I can do my work anywhere in the world with electricity.

So stay tuned! Pharoah put the work in. I’ll keep turning it out. Keep checking the site for updates, for this month of May, I’m working on uploading a page dedicated to all my affiliate/referral links, and getting my online store up and running, and journalling about my travels to New York City to visit the Illustrators Society. Feel free to hit me up if you want to hang out or do business! You know where to find me. Peace out y’all!

Until next time,

Pharoah