Where are you from originally? What’s your Origin Story?
I was born in San Fran, grew up in Vegas, (even lived in Texas for a bit), and then somehow ended up out here in Jacksonville…
Why are you pursuing a degree in Digital Media?
I’ve always been a creative person… I’ve also been addicted to computers since as long as I can remember. For instance, I used to draw video game and comic book characters on my homework and would often make stop action movies instead of doing said homework.
Throughout high school whenever I would be forced to move away from all my friends, I’d cope by losing myself in writing – world building entire sagas from the ground up. It soon became clear though that writing wasn’t necessarily a valid career path. When I first started college back in ’06 I knew there were things I’d like to accomplish in life, and that I needed a college degree to accomplish those goals. Problem was figuring out which degree would be the best stepping stone.
As I worked towards my AA I went through several different majors. Then, the year I completed my Associate degree, I met Dr. Troy Johnson. He informed me that FCCJ was becoming FSCJ – a four year institution and that one of the degrees offered was Digital Media.
This degree seemed way more attuned to my interests than whatever else I was considering at the time (communications?), so I decided to pursue it, even if it meant taking another couple extra years of pre-reqs…
Who inspires you the most and why?
This one doesn’t have an easy answer, because I could list off a thousand people and still think of more. So I’ll try and make this quick: Ridley Scott, Chris Hardwick, John Lasseter, Jim Lee, J.K. Rowling, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.
That said, I’m constantly inspired by all the professors and students in this program alike!
What do you do off campus?
Currently I’m a Barista at Starbucks to pay the bills. I’m also a history blogger on my site, “Epik Fails of History” (EpikFails.com), and I write comic book reviews and online content for the local comic book shops (Super Hero Beach and Super Hero Hive) @ SuperHeroBeach.com – I also help out at the store on occasion as well as events like Free Comic Book Day. I was recently on the Short Box podcast and have been working on a few articles for Movement Magazine, including a recent interview with James O’Barr, the creator of “The Crow”.
If that’s not enough, I also volunteer at the Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church (BBUUC) in Orange Park on occasion, where I run the sound system / projector for services and events.
I live with my wonderful and supportive wife, Danielle, our two feline roommates (Buffy and Willow), and our adorable dog Chewy.
What work are you most proud of?
I’m usually a pretty harsh critic on myself, but I’d have to say my 3D animation and modeling work: The Kraken creature model, my Bowser’s Castle design, and my Star Trek sequence especially turned out way better than I ever expected – All of which took many moons to complete and I may still end up updating them further at some point.
3D programs like Maya, Mudbox, and 3DS Max are REALLY daunting at first, but if you have patience, trust yourself, and don’t give up, the possibilities are endless. I LOVE the creative freedom that comes with 3D design.
Interesting facts about you:
• I love techno and video game music.
• I used to be very in shape, as a martial artist with a second degree black belt in Japanese Shotokan / Tae Kwon Do and even competed in tournaments. (I then broke my hand, had to have surgery, and have since put on a few pounds)
• I didn’t actually know much about history until I was inspired by college level humanities courses to dig deeper, eventually prompting my inspiration to write and research an ongoing blog / book about just how ridiculous it all is.
• I was working at both Blockbuster AND Borders when BOTH companies went bankrupt at the same time.
Favorite Book / Movie / Series / Video Game / Comic?
• Books: Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park”, Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One”, and Ben Thompson’s “Badass”
• Movies: “Back to the Future”, “V For Vendetta”, J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” (2009), Edgar Wright’s “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”, and Zack Snyder’s “Watchmen”
• Series: “Cowboy Bebop”, “Vikings”, “The Flash”, “Comic Book Men”, “Battlestar Galactica” (2004-2009), “Game of Thrones”, “Cosmos”, etc…
• Video Games: Super Mario Bros 3 (NES), Donkey Kong Country (SNES), Sonic 2 (Genesis), The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64), Mrs. Pacman, Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham Asylum, FEZ, etc…
• Comics: Grant Morrison’s “All Star Superman”, Scott Snyder’s “Batman”, Jason Aaron’s “Thor: God of Thunder”, Robert Kirkman’s “Invincible”, and Brian Azzarello’s “Wonder Woman”
What are your future goals and aspirations?
- Land a job that allows me to use my skills creatively within the Digital Media field.
- Make enough money to support my family and one day be able to put my kids through college.
Become a published author.- Collaborate on a comic book series.
- Write a feature-length screenplay.
- Create a video game.
One thing you wish you could share with others is…
Believe in yourself, knowledge is power, the key to the future is learning the mistakes of the past, and question everything. (I know that’s technically like 4 things, but whatever)
You can learn more about Erik and see some of his work at his professional website erik-slader.squarespace.com
Our featured students are student-selected. Once a student has been featured, they nominate the next student to be profiled. Come back next month to see who’s been picked!
Have any questions? Please contact Professor Liz Murphy Thomas at Liz.Thomas@fscj.edu
