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Sarasota News Leader May 10, 2013 Page 83 preciates illustrators who produce editorial In the meantime, McDonald plans to publicize his pieces as much as possible in Florida while commentary. saving up funds for the move. "I'm trying to do Asked what he hopes to achieve as an artist, freelance, and it's hard to break right into and Peacock responded that he wants to be able have enough clients," he said. "So the plan is to publish his own work and have patrons rec- to just promote myself on the Internet, send ognize it as unique. "I'd like to consider that out postcards — stuff like that." my voice is very apparent in my work," he said. "I guess my aspiration as an artist is to be a part of the [comic artist] community and be able to put out my work independently and have people who are interested in it." WREN MCDONALD Wren McDonald is an illustrator who shares a penchant for comic and editorial art similar to what Peacock described. In an interview with the News Leader, McDonald specifically mentioned the names of acclaimed French comic artists Jean Giraud — also known as Moebius — and Christophe Blain. Also like Peacock, McDonald plans to head to New York City within a year, with the goal of successfully joining the independent artist community up there and sustaining himself with his creative work. Asked what his ultimate goals are as an artist, McDonald responded modestly. "I'm not trying to change the world or anything. Basically, I just want to tell stories the way that I see them and express my voice of interpretation," he continued, "like I'm interpreting as opposed to creating, if that makes sense." THE NEXT STEPS Regardless of whether they plan to return to school or pursue careers as artists, this year's Ringling Illustration graduates are taking the next steps on their artistic paths. And though many of them will likely be leaving the area soon — if they have not done so already — the 2013 Illustration Senior Showcase offered them one final opportunity to let Sarasotans see what they have been working on throughout their undergraduate education at Ringling. % QUICK TIP Share stories by clicking the icon in the menubar and choosing to share via e-mail, post to Facebook or Twitter, or many other sharing options.