2022: Clarity — NathanJDiPerri.com

There’s a line in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004) where Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) tries to focus on his priorities and who he wants to be after giving up being Spider-Man. “Strong focus on what I want…” he says.

And then he leaps off a building.

Fortunately, I didn’t leap off any buildings in 2022 but I did take some big leaps that were a long time coming. When my family finally got Covid in January after two years of sacrifices and futile precautions to keep us all safe (not to mention the palpable anxiety and dread), the isolation period (and sickness) afforded us the time and space required to reflect on our lives and the direction we were going. Changes were needed and changes were made.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of my year in illustration:

January: animation; February - April: magazine cartoons; May - July: spot illustrations; July - September: portfolio illustrations; October - November: Coffee Lovers’ Christmas illustrations; December: portfolio illustration.

The first big leap came in January — when I applied to Walt Disney Feature Animation.

I know. It sounds absurd and it felt absurd at the time because what business do I — an entirely self-taught animator who is a hobbyist at best — have applying to Disney? Well, they announced they were starting a training program to bring hand-drawn animation back to Disney so I figured, why not take a chance and try? After all, it’s a training program. I had wanted to be a Disney animator since I first started drawing when I was four-years-old. In middle school, that dream gave way to becoming a syndicated comic strip creator and it wasn’t until my mid-20s that I rediscovered my passion for animation and began the process of teaching myself traditional hand-drawn animation in earnest. Though I’ve improved a lot over the years, I have no delusions about the quality of my work compared to that of the masters and professionals that I so admire. But the opportunity to apply to Disney’s animation training program and to learn directly from those masters doesn’t come around often and I knew I’d regret not trying. Here’s my animation reel. It’s not perfect but it’s the best of my journey as a self-taught animator.

Over 2000 other artists decided to “give it a shot “too. It came as no surprise that I was not among the SIX animators that were selected for the training program but I enjoyed the process of preparing new shorts and putting a demo reel together. As far as my future in animation, right now, it remains a hobby and a personal passion that I enjoy revisiting and studying at my leisure. I’ve got another Buddy and Romeo short that I’ve been picking up and putting down since 2019. I’m happy to know that it’s there for me to work on whenever the mood strikes and time permits.

February marked 10 years since the stage debut of the first play I wrote, Miss Wallace Rhymes With William. To commemorate the anniversary, I re-edited the promotional trailer (linked below). Miss Wallace Rhymes With William was published by Heartland Plays, Inc. in March 2014 and has since been performed at several high schools in the U.S. and Canada.

This year saw the creation of more Frega DiPerri cartoons and with them came a pile of rejection. Rejection is a steadfast part of working in that industry. For some publications, rejection is part of “paying your dues” but even once you’ve your first cartoon sold to that publication, you’ll still face a mountain of rejection. Rejection comes no matter how well established a cartoonist you are and it’s a game of odds. The more submissions you make, the more you increase your odds of publication. Amidst all of the rejection, there were several cartoon publications. From Maine Sportsman and Long Con Magazine to a few cartoons in both Phi Delta Kappan and Weekly Humorist, it’s always a pleasure to be published. In addition to those that were published in 2022, we also sold a handfull of cartoons this year that will be published in 2023. Here are a few cartoon highlights from Phi Delta Kappan and Weekly Humorist.

In 2020, I produced 32 black and white spot illustrations for author Pete Lincoln’s short story memoir, Tales from the Cabin. I was delighted and honored to be asked back to draw 40 more illustrations for the follow up, Two Told Tales, which was co-authored by Mr. Lincoln’s wife Debbie. Illustrating this batch of tales was even more fun than the first batch of 32. If ever the phone call comes for a third book, I’ll be excited to get started on another batch of images. Great fun!

Right around the time that I was wrapping up the work on Two Told Tales, I came to (what should have been) an obvious realization: “Oh yeah! I’m an illustrator.” I studied illustration in art school (with that came extensive training in fine art, art history, and graphic design) and, initially, had a good run at editorial illustration. My first professional illustration assignment was published during my senior year of college in a New Bedford, MA newspaper called The Standard Times — actually it was 16 years ago today on December 31, 2006. From there, I steadily grew my editorial illustration client list, the most frequent client being Cruising World magazine, with whom I began working in 2007. After I launched my daily newspaper comic strip in August 2011, I shifted my time and energy toward the comic strip (which demanded all of that time and energy anyway). My last personal portfolio piece was painted in 2012 and I stopped contacting art directors looking for work soon after. I did, however, still accept assignments from Cruising World, which I received steadily until 2014. That year marked the start of a one-year story arc in the comic strip, which was the most demanding (and fulfilling) work I ever did in comic strips (you can find those strips in My Guardian Grandpa Volume IV: In Their Day — click the “SHOP” tab on this website!). My focus remained on the comic strip until daily publication ceased in November 2018.

“I’m Spider-Man... no more.”

— Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2

A couple months before the comic strip ended, in August 2018, my wife and I dusted off a long dormant and gestating project we had dreamed up back in 2012: a series of coffee-themed Christmas cards called Coffee Lovers’ Christmas. I had painted one image of Santa Claus filling coffee mugs hung on the chimney in 2014 but quickly realized I didn’t have time for anything besides the comic strip (well… the comic strip and the plays I was also writing and directing at the time). To complete the first batch of 10 designs, I painted nine more images from July to December 2018 and they were essentially the first illustrations I’d done since stepping away from illustration in 2014.

“Strong focus on what I want...”

— Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2

This July, I decided to consciously re-enter the field and produced three new portfolio pieces: a triptych series of The Big Three in men’s tennis, each posed as one of art history’s famous David sculptures. Initially, I envisioned it as one painting that featured several tennis greats (male and female) in a Marvel’s Avengers-style comic book page. The idea soon evolved into something more firmly rooted in my art history training. The David Triptych: Roger, Rafael, and Novak was painted between July and September; one panel per month.

Julie and I have shared an Instagram account since 2017 upon which we post our collaborative work: Buddy and Romeo comics; Frega DiPerri cartoons and Coffee Lovers’ Christmas (follow @FregaDiPerri). In July, I set up an account to spotlight my solo illustration work. If you haven’t already done so, I hope you’ll join me on Instagram @NathanJDiPerri as I continue to develop new portfolio work. My latest illustration is days away; the final pencil drawing has been transferred to watercolor paper and awaits inking and painting. I’m getting excited about two additional illustrations that will follow soon thereafter and am looking forward to sharing new work with you in 2023!

“I’m back! I’m back!”

— Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2

The fourth sales year of our Coffee Lovers’ Christmas greeting card/print/gift line was our best yet. Incredible! Julie and I continue to be amazed by the excitement, support, and interest that has been shown for the series and are humbled that each sales year has been bigger than the last. This year, Coffee Lover’s Christmas greeting cards were available for purchase at a brick and mortar store for the first time, which was a dream come true. Two new illustrations were produced this year but they weren’t quite ready for release. They made it all the way to “final” but upon reflection and a joint critique, we’re going to re-work them a little so that we’re both fully satisfied. When Coffee Lovers’ Christmas returns for its fifth year in late 2023, we’ll have new designs added to the “Second Crack” greeting card collection, new products, and (hopefully) more stores carrying our cards!