Usually, when you make a print for people to buy into your art, you need to relate to someone. I was thinking of a better way to promote myself. JD: When I started getting deeper into art, I wanted to get as much exposure and get better at my craft. I learned something from that one.ģ03: What first inspired you to start creating the alphabets? Instead of drafting out an email and explaining it and then sending it to all the businesses I drew, I just sent a copy of my artwork without any explanation and there was some confusion. For instance, the first city alphabet, for Atlanta, wasn’t promoted the right way. JD: I don’t think I’ve had many failures, I just see them as missed opportunities. I created him last February.ģ03: Since you’ve already achieved one of your biggest dreams, do you have any failures? Just working there, in general, is a huge accomplishment, but then making my own custom toy was the icing.

In college when people asked what I wanted to do with my life, that was always my answer. I also love “Gumball.” And for anime right now, I’m watching “One Piece.” I go across the whole spectrum of style, but I especially like action or thriller cartoons.ģ03: What are some of your favorite accomplishments in your career so far? Now, I keep watching “Adventure Time” over and over again. When I got into high school my friend put me onto all these animes and now I’m stuck. “Dexter’s Lab.” “Dragonball-Z.” “Ed, Ed and Eddy.” I love goofy and weird stuff.

When I was younger, I watched “Courage the Cowardly Dog” - a little creepy but great. Adulting sucks sometimes.ģ03: My first thought was “he has to like cartoons” - so is that true? What did you like when you were younger versus what you like today? Sometimes you get so caught up in the now of life and the responsibilities of an adult that we forget who we are and what we want to do. JD: It’s a lot of different things, maybe going to the park and swinging. They’re really supportive now.ģ03: On your website, you say that “being a child is the purest form of creativity.” How do you keep your inner child alive and well? At first, they weren’t sure, but now they’re starting to see. It was the first time in my life that I did something my parents didn’t want me to do. I just quit all the political and military stuff and started focusing on drawing, painting and creating clothing designs. When I went there I saw these guys, chilling and doing their art, and it made me realize that maybe I could be an artist full time. At first, I operated under the mindset that you can’t really make money off of art. With 26 days dedicated to the task, Draco came up with the DEN Alphabet - a personal and yet highly relatable artwork to showcase Denver places.ģ03: Woah, that’s a huge change. After moving from Boulder in August 2017, the multi-faceted artist decided to acquaint himself with the Mile High City by creating another city-centric alphabet. While still living in Atlanta, Draco drew up an alphabet for the city with each letter representing a different landmark or business he frequented, the ATL Alphabet as he called it. Now, Draco is making a name for himself in Denver, creating in at least four different mediums - toy sculpting, graphic design, pen and ink linework and painting.īefore coming to Colorado, Draco grew up in Atlanta, where he honed his skills as a graphic designer, creating his own brand of clothing. That’s exactly what artist Johnny Draco did when he moved to Boulder almost a year ago, landing a job with Kidrobot. But what anyone should relate to is the desire to fulfill a lifelong dream. Not many of us can relate to the desire to make customized, collectible toys as a dream job.

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