Drawing for a Dream: Tamlyn's Comic Strip 'Blinds' To Be Published
By Ryan Schlehuber

At left, "Blinds," a 15-page comic story created by Chris Tamlyn of St. Ignace, will be one of many short stories featured in an anthology. Mr. Tamlyn designed the characters and scenes, helped write the script, and was the design coordinator of the book. He is an employee at Caricatures on Mackinac Island.

Chris Tamlyn's dream of becoming a comic book illustrator is a step closer to reality as his comic strip, "Blinds," will be featured in an anthology of short stories called "Cereal and Pajamas," to be published during the first week of August.

Drawing has been a hobby for as long as Mr. Tamlyn can remember. His favorite cartoon show was Batman, the animated series, which he uses to inspire his drawings even today.

Mr. Tamlyn, 26, a native of St. Ignace and a 1999 graduate of Pellston High School, has been drawing caricatures on Mackinac Island and in Mackinaw City since he was 14, and now draws at the Lilac Tree Hotel for Caricatures, a small company owned by Eddie Renner.

"I never thought of this as a way to make a living," he said. "I'm doing something I love and I'm paying the bills."

Mr. Tamlyn's main character, Guy, "a lovable loser," was inspired by side characters in Humprhey Bogart movies. (Illustration by Chris Tamlyn)

Now he has collaborated with Matt Dyer of East Lansing as the illustrator for Mr. Dyer's short story, entitled "Blinds," about the criminal underworld set in the 1930s. Their contribution is among 11 such pieces to be published in the 114-page anthology, "Cereal and Pajamas," influenced by Saturday morning cartoons. The publisher is Ape Entertainment of New Jersey and the book targets people ages 13 and older.

Mr. Tamlyn is also the design coordinator for the book and has helped promote it. It will be available at area book stores and gift shops, he said.

"He's a lovable loser," said Mr. Tamlyn about his main character, Guy. "He has no idea who he works for. That's how he is able to make money and keep a clear conscience."

At the same time, "He struggles with getting his hands dirty and not wanting to admit to himself that what he does is morally wrong."

The plot, he said, is driven by the characters.

"Guy is the side character you see in Bogart movies," said Mr. Tamlyn, "the one you see for a second answering the phone and then leaving the scene, for example. We took that side character and created a story that focused on him."

Hidden within the script and scenes is a continuing joke.

"If you look for it hard enough, you'll see that all he really wants is a bite to eat, but he can never get it," said Mr. Tamlyn.

Mr. Tamlyn's cartoons, said Mr. Dyer, add to the plot.

"I enjoy Chris' style of being realistic, without being realistic," he said. "He's able to bring the characters to life, yet he still is able to keep that cartoon look."

"Blinds" takes place at night, an influence of the Batman car- toon show.

Mr. Tamlyn incorporated computer sketch programs like Flash, Adobe Photoshop, and Alias Sketchbook for the book, allowing him, he said, to do the work of five people. This was his first experience with drawing on a computer.

"Sketching on a computer program is as equally challenging as using pen and ink," he said. "There's a lot of trial and error," but, he said, "the cool thing is that you can easily go back and correct something."

Mr. Tamlyn's experience with "Cereal and Pajamas" has made him realize that doing something he loves can also be demanding work.

"I've learned that you have to approach everything you do to its fullest," he said, "whether you're drawing a page or creating an advertisement. People are buying you.

"I've learned the value of really putting yourself into your work. It's a whole new level of pride."

He hopes someday to collaborate with Mr. Dyer on a four-issue comic book.

"I don't want to create the next Superman," Mr. Tamlyn said. "We want to tell interesting stories about interesting people, like Guy, characters that create their own world."