About the Artist
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Me? I'm an artist? I've lived with a few at least, does that count?
Well, maybe not, but I certainly try. Like most artists, I first started drawing recognizable objects
in elementary. Unlike most artists, I was quickly outclassed
by just about everyone in and out of school--my sister and mother were the artists, I
was the science geek. I pretty much gave up the arts to those that were obviously more
qualified than I. Nevertheless, in High School I designed a few successful advert posters for
a local theater group and I decided to pick up the pencils again. My friend Ryan Holland's
extensive comic collection was a major help, as I pulled most of what I knew at that
point from Jim Lee (Marvel and Image). I did a little work on my style in college, working on the basics mostly. Even though I really didn't know what the basics were. I would see something I liked and try to figure out how they did it. Sadly, I really like photo-realistic art, so this was no small task. Most attempts ended in a frustrated scribble, but I kept at it slowly in spurts of creativity or inspiration. While never formally trained in an art class (I was a Mathematics/CS major), I feel that I have learned more from my friends and roommates anyway. I picked up oval body-styles from Kyle Drayton, non-parallel line body-posturing from Cory Kubischta, and color-shading from Robbie Losinski. I don't know what the real names of any of these tips were, but I used them as best I could. By the time I graduated I had done a few decent pieces, but nothing spectacular. A year or so later I ran into a girl that I had once met at an SCA event years previously. As it turned out, Jennie Seay was quite the artist, not just the longsword swinging redhead I had encountered earlier. I've learned much just from looking at her pictures, and an immeasurable amount by watching the secretive artist do a few of her pieces. With unforeseen amounts of practice I may someday be able to reach her high-school level of ability. I would happily consider this quite an accomplishment on my part.
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Why Xechon? |
Quite simply, it's a character name that's gotten rather out of hand. A mutated
version of the Greek name Xechion, it was originally
used in a script I was writing for the Xena series.
The name was later incorporated into a role-playing game system that I was helping to
design called Aelstrom
(© â Knight Castle Productions). The
character had transformed from the simple warlord into a mercenary warrior with a solid depth of character--eventually
having a major role in the Aelstrom novel that I was working on. While I never finished it, pieces
of the novel have appeared here in there in other works. It was around that point
when I completely reworked my old homepage from college and decided to use "Xechon's Campsite" as the
new theme. It has just grown from there, now officially becoming the name I use in most network computer
tournaments and websites. Somehow it's just kind of stuck, but at least it's unique...
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All drawings are signed and therefore internationally copyrighted.
All Rights Reserved - ask for permission before using.
Graphics, Content, Artwork Copyright (©) 2002 or previously by John Ryan Decker
Last Updated: 13 February 2002