Illustration, Comic Book Creator, Graphic Design, Caricature Artist, and Then Some!

Yours Truly (Greg McCrary) entered into existence knowing that if I had to choose between life without drawing and death it was off to the guillotine! I grew up with early influences from Cartoon Network favorites: Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory, all imagined by his artist idol, Genndy Tartakovsky. In those days, I’d draw because the stories in my head need a place to go when I sleep. I have always had a taste for imagination. As a child I would draw through reams of paper, driving my mom batty with weekly trips to the store. If there was no paper in sight, I would go batty myself from all the monsters and superheroes that were collecting in my brain, like a creative constipation. Growing up multiracial had its complications as well and eventually served as inspiration for my art. As the youngest of four interracial brothers, the son of a White mother and a Black father, a resident of North County, and a student in the Kirkwood School District, I constantly felt pressure from my peers to choose a racial identity. It was confusing, but my art and my writing allowed me to channel those frustrations into something cool and exciting: comic illustration. Through the duality of this medium, the ability to write and draw my characters into existence, I could represent the duality I encounter in everyday life and share that cool imaginative stuff with others. And, most importantly, drawing makes me happy! It is without a doubt my passion. After graduating from Meramec Community College in 2012 with an Associates Degree in Graphic Communications, I committed myself to turning this passion for illustrating into a career. I then received training as a caricature artist at Six Flags in 2014 and continue to freelance at events in the St. Louis area. I’ve self published three comics, Laser Dog: Issues I-III, in the past and I’ve been involved with several small press publishers, contributing 4-8 paged stories for designing, illustrating and lettering. In 2015 my work was featured in the Maurice Sendak Gallery at the St. Louis Public Library. In 2016 I was featured on the cover of the River Front Times.