Tyler Parker

Tyler Parker is an illustrator and real human being. theartoftylerparker.com  email:[email protected]

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Went to the Eras tour movie today. Feeling drained from sitting in the dark for 3 hours with Taylor Swift and my thoughts but still thinking about it. Quick doodle while I eat cake and watch Bake Off.

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“It was a sad story how we became lonely two legged creatures” I saw Hedwig for the first time in college. It’s beautiful, messy, joyous and heartbreaking. I still listen to the soundtrack all the time, watch it once a year or so and just generally think about it a lot. The animation for Origin of Love was a huge influence on my creative development. Deny me and be doomed.

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Whenever things get really bad I watch The Birdcage.

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I don’t even like the snow but she does.

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I have a book of norse myth that I’ve alway wanted to do something with and while reading the creation myth was struck by how beautiful it is.

Three gods find these roughly human shaped logs washed up on the shore give them consciousness and then just leave. “We’ll now that you are burdened with awareness we’ll just be off. I guess you two can just figure everything out yourself.

I described it to my partner as “Oh crap I exist.”

In some ways it’s very much a “I never asked to be born” story but for me it’s about that feeling of being thrust into a world nobody prepared you for and don’t really understand the rules.

This is the first completed personal work I’ve finished in around a year, it took shocking long for three pages. I have a few things I’ve picked up and put down, a sketchbook I briefly started and also put down.

Mental health is hard, making things it feel like society is collapsing is hard, making things when the world is on fire is hard and making things when half the world is pretending everything is fine when it isn’t is hard.

I know I don’t post much art these days but I haven’t disappeared. I’ve just had to reroute a lot of the energy I used to have for drawing into day to day keeping it together.

I’m just a log on the shore burden with the awareness of their existence trying to get by.

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Spooky times drawing 3 of X is Lovecraft County, a show I am absolutely crazy about and will probably be battling Ted Lasso at the top of my favorite shows of the year list. Also I guess minor spoiler warning for the latest episode. I thought this one might be a bit of a cheat because it’s not a movie but turns out I didn’t specify movies specifically only spooky things. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGDNzCajqAL/?igshid=1kjkfawyoc39w

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Spooky times drawing number 2 of X is Aliens. One of my more questionable movie opinions is that I like Aliens better than Alien. Actually that’s probably not true, I know I have way more questionable movie opinions than that one. https://www.instagram.com/p/CF-HrLnDxUu/?igshid=1mogsy4rmmosw

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Last night I watched the 1959 Hammer Films version of The Mummy with Peter Cushing. It has the most melancholy mummy ever who I realized part way through is Christopher Lee, because Hammer, and is kind of a love story? I don’t think I’ll be able to do 31 but I’m going to try to watch some spooky things and draw them this month. https://www.instagram.com/p/CF5BUF2jNz-/?igshid=ipynu0dhk173

[tylerdraws]

Last night I watched the 1959 Hammer Films version of The Mummy with Peter Cushing. It has the most melancholy mummy ever who I realized part way through is Christopher Lee, because Hammer, and is kind of a love story? I don’t think I’ll be able to do 31 but I’m going to try to watch some spooky things and draw them this month. https://www.instagram.com/p/CF5BUF2jNz-/?igshid=1uxyptqjim8x0

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Last night the PR firm @ashliblow works at had a virtual sip and draw full of writers that I crashed. Everyone was drawing otters floating on a river and this was my contribution because I am a jerk. https://www.instagram.com/p/CFSKSfHD5iK/?igshid=124b4mslnzza

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Playing around again, maybe something more like this where characters are outlined and backgrounds are more painted shapes? Kind of has an old animation vibe to it. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDj1em7j1cZ/?igshid=1nqoipvsdyje6

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I’m playing around with a new way of working and I can’t tell if I like it or if it’s just getting muddy. I’m so jealous of people who can do linework. https://www.instagram.com/p/CDUIsvdj5tK/?igshid=h9hndl6ddawl

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I don’t know about anybody else but despite having more time over the past few months I’ve had a complete creative block. Maybe block isn’t even the right word, I’ve just had a lot of trouble mustering up the motivation to draw. It’s a weird monkeys paw situation where we finally have all this time to do work but can’t must up the energy to do it. Or maybe it’s more like the twilight zone episode where the guy survives the apocalypse in a bank vault and finally gets to read his books in peace but then his glasses break . But over the past week it’s finally changed and I’ve started to make things again outside of my day job. I’m finally getting back to the comic I’ve been planning since last fall and really excited about this panel sequence in particular. The pages I’ve been working on are some of the most complicated I’ve ever done and it’s slow going right now but feel good. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAlzd2MjpYa/?igshid=19lbc3n2tvkgm

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Haven part 2:

Special thanks to Wolf Haven for the opportunity to visit their facility and speak with us as we worked on this project. They are doing very good work at their facility and really care about the long term well being of the wolf population.

We even came up with the fun bios for ourselves. It feels a little weird putting work out there right now but I also didn't want to just have it sit on a hard drive. Hopefully we'll be able to print some copies to hand out a shows whenever they start back up. 

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Haven part 1:

So over the past few months I was working on a little project with Ashli Blow that we initially intended to launch at ECCC and then at a little local zine fest but since both of them were canceled and who knows when show will happen again we decided to it online for now. 

Originally conceived as a submission to the Animal Issue from The Nib, "Haven" tells the story of a wolf pack living out their days in a Washington state sanctuary.

I decided to challenge myself that in addition to drawing wolf bodies, which are way more complicated than I originally thought, I also wanted to try a limited palette. Part two coming shortly.

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In prep for the Eldraine prereleases here’s a quick Garruk. #procreate https://www.instagram.com/p/B27iUQvDxXT/?igshid=1lora96qdn8ce

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Back by popular demand! I’ve reprinted the original Dungeon Creeps and will be bringing them with me to my table this weekend at @rosecitycc #rccc2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/B2SK7foD0EU/?igshid=18cns7mosxl76