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Christian Johnson, Illustrator, Irvington, Virginia
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© Christian Johnson
The interpretive cover illustration of the Dragon Run is by local Irvington artist Christian Johnson. The Dragon Run snakes some 40 miles through Essex, King and Queen, Middlesex and Gloucester Counties and is Virginia’s cleanest and best-preserved blackwater stream. Framed and unframed prints are available for purchase at DragonRun.org. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Dragon Run, an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Christian Johnson graduated in the Class of 2018 from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, which ranks No. 2 nationally for public university art programs in the most recent U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate School rankings and Best Online Colleges rankings.
A VCU communication arts major, a concentration that emphasizes illustration and graphic design, Johnson learned how to integrate traditional art media with digital platforms. This marriage of media introduced Johnson to the style of art he uses.
“I like to do a lot of pen and ink, and I like to do intricate drawings. Then I put [the line drawing] in Photoshop and color it digitally. So, it’s kind of a mixture of traditional media and digital media,” Johnson says.
To discover the source of Johnson’s inspiration, you’ll have to go back to the work of the turn-of-the-20th-century illustrator Franklin Booth and mid-20th-century French comic book artist Jean Giraud (pen name Moebius), both of whom started their illustration careers in media—newspapers and magazines.
“Franklin Booth did a lot of really dense pen and ink. So, I’d say his style is an inspiration for me,” says Johnson. “I’d [also] say Moebius—the French comic book artist, Jean Giraud—he’s also definitely a big inspiration with me. He did a lot of interesting color combinations with the pen and ink style. So, I’d say maybe my style most closely resembles his.”
Johnson was commissioned to do the cover of The Local Scoop; it was a project that combined two things he loved—nature and art.
“I’ve always been a fan of biology and nature, and I liked learning about the Dragon Run Wilderness. It was cool doing all the research and finding out about all the animals that live there and the native plants and translating that into a top-down bird’s-eye view…actually kayaking down the Dragon Run and using that as inspiration,” he says.
As Johnson continues to grow his portfolio of work—which includes artwork for the band DeadRise and bottle labels for That Damn Mary Brewing Company in Hayes, Virginia—he hopes to make a career of art.
“I’d like to be able to support myself doing art full time,” Johnson says. “It’s always been my dream to design things for movies or video games because I’m a big sci-fi and fantasy nerd. So, I like drawing spaceships and dragons and stuff like that. So, it’d be cool to end up working for a big-time game company or big-time visual effects company for movies and be able to see my creations on the big screen.”
Christian Johnson, Illustrator I Portfolio: herondesign.pb.online I Instagram: @one_true_christian_artwork
Johnson's Dragon Run poster may be purchased at DragonRun.org. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Dragon Run, an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
