Cartoonist Kody Chamberlain has an impressive list of clients and credits, including Marvel, DC, Paramount, Universal, HarperCollins, Warner Bros. and MTV. The UL Lafayette grad earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts at UL Lafayette in 1997.
Chamberlain will greet fans at New Orleans Comic Con this weekend. He will also lead two panel discussions: "The Idea Iceberg," about how to generate creative thinking and build professional connections, and "Making Comics with Kody Chamberlain," about the process of making comics.
The writer, artist and graphic designer is one of only a handful of creators to write, pencil, ink, color, letter and design his own original comic series. Usually, those tasks fall to individual artists who specialize in those areas.
The series, "Sweets," debuted in 2011 with the graphic novel Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story. The book tells the story of a murder mystery that unfolds in the days before Hurricane Katrina makes landfall.
Chamberlain chose UL Lafayette because he drawn to its program in advertising design, which was then led by art professor Richard "Dutch" Kepler.
"His measuring stick was always quality — and nothing else. He would say things like, 'Results count, not effort.'
"(When) you learn the fundamental principles — the philosophy and theory about why you do things a certain way — instead of just learning how to do it, that level of learning stays with you," said Chamberlain. Kepler retired in 2000.
For more information about Chamberlain's work, visit www.kodychamberlain.com.