OnTheBallBowling.com has opened its virtual doors to independent artists wanting to expand their portfolio to have their designs on bowling balls. One of the first artists we’ve brought on board with our team is Michael Graham from Winston-Salem, NC. Since July of 2005 Michael has worked as a full time illustrator. From 1995-2005 he worked as a graphic artist for several local companies while doing freelance illustration.
Scarab design by Michael Graham
Michael has drawn for as long as he can remember and as a child was enthralled by Disney films, the creations of Hanna-Barberra and the myriad of Looney Tunes characters. Having a father who is a fine artist was a tremendous influence and role model in Michael’s artistic development. As a teenager the artwork of Frank Frazetta and J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings trilogy provided the first impetus to follow in the footsteps of visionary dreamers.
After graduating from Wake Forest University with a degree in physics Michael journeyed into corporate America. It did not feed the hunger to create. In the Fall of 1993 he decided it was time to get a commercial art degree from Guilford Technical Community College. It was at this time Michael acquired the first taste of Adobe Photoshop’s magic and realized the full creative potential of the computer. The majority of his color work is now done digitally. All sketches and preliminary work begin with pencil on tracing paper. The sketches are scanned into the computer where a variety of Macintosh software and a Wacom tablet are used to complete the paintings.
In addition to providing illustration for children’s books, Michael has done work for role playing games, book covers, video games, product labels, t-shirt designs, character designs, web pages, logos and album covers.
OnTheBallBowling.com is excited to have such a talented artist on our team and will update new designs when they’re available.
Click Here to View all Michael Graham Designs