How it Started
Some of you may be wondering who I am and where I came from. Thats easy. I am an artist. I am a builder, and like most of my kind I to started off from humble beginnings. before I delve into any of my projects I would like to give you an insight into my back story. How my persona of Raf Reanimated came to be.
It all started a few years ago. I had just gotten home from another long day at work. I walked into my apartment, sat down, and flipped on the television. I had been doing this for awhile. A long while. To the point where it was just a mindless repetition. I sat there on my couch, thinking. Looking within myself to try and figure out what was missing. I thought about how I came to be where I was at the time. Working from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., paying my bills, and trying to make what I had left last until the following payday. It was then I had a realization.
I had become a zombie
Now I know It sounds crazy. It did to me as well. However when I put the pieces together it all fit.
-Mindless routine: check
-Physically drained: check
-Mental capacity diminished: check
-Parts of my old self shriveled away to half empty husks (metaphorically speaking of course): check
I had become dead inside, I let the endless routine of working from paycheck to paycheck consume who I was and spit me out as the shell of a former artist. Like a fleeting star through the cosmos my epiphany lasted only a moment, but felt like decades of thought and contemplation all concentrated to a single electrifying jolt, Jump starting the part of me that had withered and died. I got up from my couch that night, and set about my plans to turn my whole life around.
That night I pulled out my old drawing binder. I loved art. Mostly for the simple reason that it is self expression. As I flipped through the pages I couldn't help but realize just how bad my passion had fizzled. Practically ever since I had graduated from high school. You could see it through my work. My drawings progressively getting less and less colorful. To the point where varying shades of greys and whites were all that made up a substantial portion of my self made collection. The color had left. Died. Sucked out by the world around me and the life I was living. For the first time in years at that point I had finally seen how far I had fallen from my old days of imagination and creativity. I then made the decision to make a change.
I knew I had to do something to break my cycle of depressive tendencies. I would go for walk's, try to be out more, and more importantly rekindle my desire to do art. I kept this up for awhile, as a form of self medication, and it worked. I felt the want, the need, to create. before I knew it I had a number of new drawings and sketch's. Character's without names, or origin's, but damn if I didn't try to make them look awesome. I eventually started using color's again in all of my work, but to be honest I really do like the black and white color scheme I inadvertently developed. That's why I still use it to this day.
It was around this time I had stumbled upon costumes. Which led to cosplay, and conventions naturally. I had no idea what they were and my interest had been peaked. I didn't have the space to build full suits at the time but that didn't stop me from doing research. I came across some very talented costume and prop maker's through youtube and It was here I found out people did this for a living. There were individuals who were literally bringing character's to life through this special form of art. And getting paid to do it in some cases. I was astounded. You can see how someone like me who draws and designs character's would leap at the chance to make costumes based on them.
Not long after, with the help of some good people, I moved out of my old apartment. I couch crashed for awhile, until eventually I had moved to a new location. I became roommate's with a writer and his fiancee. It was there that I rediscovered myself. There was talk of creating a movie about superhero's in our own little way, building the story arch and turning that into a comic book. I was dare say excited. It was there that I realized I was back to my old self. Back but different. Not in the sense that one is broken and fixed, but broken down and remade. It was there I found myself Reanimated.
Eventually the time came where I would strike out on my own again. To which I unwittingly stumbled upon some of the best people in my life. They knew of my want to make costumes. They even went as far as to cover my very first convention badge just to give a glimpse into what I had been missing. The moment I found out I was going to magfest for the first time ever, I set about making my very first costume. It was steampunk themed, and I poured my heart and soul in. I shelled out so much time for it and loved every moment of it. The learning experience, the frustration, the crunch time. All of it, and at the end of it, when I finally showed up at that convention in my first costume for the first time the feeling was amazing. I had built a new part of my life. And I was sticking to it.
That more or less cover's it. since then I have been to three other convention's. I built my second suit, to which I have dubbed my lich armor, and I have what is the equivalent of a family now. I'm a part of something bigger. I'm a founding member of Gametogether and Mizfit Cosplayers of LVA. Magfest is steadily approaching again, and hopefully I will see some of you there. Until then, stay creative and I'll see you around.
Thanks for taking the time to read guys. Stay Creative.
-Raf
