The Walking Dead: Oscar Rodriguez III puts the fan in fan artist
By Susie Graham
The Walking Dead has its share of fan artists and we love fan art at Undead Walking. Oscar Rodriguez III has a little something special.
Undead Walking is part of the FanSided network. We are bloggers that focus on the fan perspective. We are mega fans of The Walking Dead ourselves. I love covering stories about things outside the show that the fans would love to know about: toys, conventions, merchandise and fan art.
I’ve become acquainted with quite a few fan artists through my work at Undead Walking. There is so much creativity and talent in The Walking Dead Family. Oscar Rodriguez has always been on my radar, but I’ve just gotten to know him a little better recently.
(Some comic/show spoilers ahead in the art and text)
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When I first became aware of Oscar a while ago on Twitter, I thought of him as the really popular guy on Twitter who has met a lot of the cast and oh, yeah, I think he does some drawing, too. Now I think of him as the artist, who, oh yeah, has become popular on Twitter and met a lot of the cast.
Oscar’s art is not fan art from the television show, it is fan art based on the comics. But it also has an original twist at times.
He does what the show does. He takes the original source material and switches things up a little.
For example, he took the Rick and Michonne characters and put them together the way they are in the show, but never in the comics.
In the comics Abraham has the death that Denise has on the show. Oscar has drawn Denise from the comics, but with the arrow through the eye, which is her death from the show.
Oscar Rodriguez. Fan art.
Oscar Rodriguez fan art.
Somehow, Oscar has managed to capture the essence of some of the actors from the show in the comic characters. If you look in his comic Eugene, you can see Josh McDermitt in there somewhere.
Oscar has been drawing since he was a child. His 3rd grade teacher would ask him to draw things on the board for him when he needed an illustration. The Walking Dead has motivated his art in a way he never imagined.
Oscar is truly a fan of the show and a fan of the fans. His Twitter account and Facebook are extremely popular. It’s easy to see why when you see him on social media–he’s extremely amiable and has a huge smile making him very approachable.
After meeting him in person, he is even more genuine and affable than he is online. Can you imagine? His generosity isn’t as obvious from his social media as it is in person. He is truly about spreading the love of the show and the comics through his art.
Related Story: Oscar's Red Hat at Monroe Comic Con
Because art is not his career, but his hobby, he can’t help himself but “sell” himself short at times. At the Monroe Comic Con, he negotiated deals with people for great prices. For teenagers who looked longingly, but didn’t have money, he just gave them his pieces on the sly as their eyes grew large and they looked at each other in shock that this man was serious.
Parents of children who were crazy about Pikachu, were thrilled when they bought a print for their child’s room and Oscar tossed in an extra Pokemon print or 2 for the siblings’ bedroom wall.
One girl was dressed as Pikachu walking around the con and Oscar called her over and said he had something for her if she would take a picture with him.
Next: The Walking Dead Finale: An Artist's Tribute Painting
Oscar is starting to attend some conventions to show his art and sell it. He is working on a website and listing his art on some sites where you can purchase it. Maybe he’ll be at a convention near you so you can meet him and get a piece of his art. If you’d like to purchase his art, you can contact him through his website or social media.