Templeton resident Raymond Mullikin is a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and credentialed educator. Courtesy photo
Local illustrator & writer Raymond Mullikin creates, designs, and shares his skills
Step inside a world of fun, creativity, cartoons, and a bit of mischief with Templeton resident Raymond Mullikin, a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and credentialed educator. When he’s not busy teaching art classes to children and adults, Mullikin creates children’s books, comics, computer games, and animated films.
A product of Cambria and Templeton schools, Mullikin’s first published works came about in the form of designing ads and logos for local businesses at the young age of 12. By the time he was 16, he had created his first fantasy graphic novel, The World of Weralt, currently available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and The Tumbleweed Trail, published by Bluemoon Comic magazine.
Mullikin self-published cartoons in books, magazines, newspapers, and e-cards in the United States and Canada. His animated films have been shown in film festivals throughout the world, including the award-wining Miced: War of the Little Worlds.
In 2002, Mullikin created his Raytoons company. He currently has Crystal Harris — illustrator, Brian Bicknell — penciler, Alex Hoffman — editing and coloring, and Andrew Han working with him on comics and children’s book projects.
Jonathin Quackup
One project that has been gaining in notoriety is Mullikin’s Jonathin Quackup comic series. He has 12 issues already written and illustrated, and is releasing the comics in print and online, with much of the sales made in foreign countries including Germany.
In addition to creating cartoons and comics, Mullikin is currently working on three new children’s books. Photo by Meagan Friberg
“The first issue was very successful with over 4,000 prints ordered,” Mullikin said. “The second had 2,500 prints made and I’m still processing orders. The third issue is set to be printed and released this fall.”
The first issue introduces readers to the main character of Jonathin Quackup, who spent five years of his life wandering the lands between the Pelishtee Cat and Human borders, protecting the peoples from all sorts of villains and monsters.. After a couple of pages of action scenes, After rescuing a child in a local town, Jonathin reflects on his hard life and how it became this way. This leads to flashbacks of his past, including how he and his family faced war and tragedy, and enables Jonathin to discover the hero inside himself.
Sharing his talent
Over the summer, Mullikin kept busy teaching classes in Cartooning, Video Game Creation, Claymation Film Production, Cell Animation, Comic Book Making and Publishing at Cuesta College and through the Paso Robles and Atascadero recreation departments. At the Cuesta College For Kids, he helped students start their own web-comic series.
“It’s been fun,” he said. “I mostly teach classes to kids, but I occasionally teach adults as well. The response has been positive, with most of the classes filled to capacity. Many of the students enroll in follow-up classes and it’s great to see their progress; some are quite advanced. I have one student from last year that became my assistant this summer.”
Mullikin is currently working on three new children’s books: Attack of the Fantasy; Space Flight, and A Night of Dread, Under the Bed. Most recently, he was a speaker and conducted workshops at the annual Central Coast Writers Conference.
Sign up for classes, download games, and find more info about Mullikin and Raytoons at raytoons.funurl.com.
