 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Ray Friesen")
While some college students may find it hard to relate to a cartoon ostrich, many could easily relate to another 21-year-old.
With no professional experience, author Ray Friesen's success is attributed to his background in printing and production.
Friesen will be promoting his third book, "Another Dirt Sandwich," at a book signing at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Barnes & Noble. He will also draw free sketches and hand out bookmarks.
Southern California-born Friesen has been drawing cartoons since he was 4 years old in his parents' T-shirt shop, he said.
Friesen's book features a fearless ostrich named Tbyrd and a gullible cassowary named Hopalong. The comic-strip-filled book follows the two through the trials and tribulations that accompany living without money, a situation many students know all too well.
Friesen's sarcastic, all-ages humor is noticeable in his previous books, "Yarg!" and "A Cheese Related Mishap." Friesen's wacky cartoon characters of penguins, ostriches and other animals illustrate all of his stories.
"This book is a little Monty Python meets Walt Disney," Friesen said.
The 100-page, full-color story targets children and adults with its humor.
"Little kids are gonna dig it, and a jaded college student will get a kick out of it, too," Friesen said.
The book and characters were inspired by Friesen's own personality and life, he said.
The main character, Tbyrd, tries to act more important than he actually is while his friend and sidekick, Hopalong, takes the shy route and is gullible and naive.
The first chapter, which can be read online at donteatanybugs.com, shows the tricky nature of the main character and the artistic talent Friesen brings to the table.
The book was written over a six-month period, Friesen said.
"I can see why Pixar has so many employees," he said. "It takes a lot of time to get everything polished."
Friesen freehands the drawings for his books first, then takes them to the computer to fill in color and fit the words into the right spaces, he said.
The finished product is always rewarding, Friesen said.
"The day when I get my sample copies back from the printer, and I can see the cool thing I did is always great," he said.
Along with loving the process, Friesen realizes how important his fans are, he said.
"I really like meeting all the fans," Friesen said. "It's my job to convince them that I'm the greatest and they need to buy my book."
"Another Dirt Sandwich" is set to be a trilogy Friesen is working on, he said.
Unlike many cartoonists, Friesen doesn't stick to one set of animated characters.
"I've got about six different sets of characters I wanna do a book for, and they all live in a different kind of universe," he said.
With three books out already, Friesen is close to his goal of producing a book a year.
"The book industry works so far in advance I already know what my next book's going to be," he said. "I've got about 18 I want to do after that."
Drawing inspiration from everyday life, Friesen doesn't look like he'll be running out of ideas any time soon.
"Every single thing you see is the fertilizer from which your own ideas grow," he said. "We're all just inspired from everybody else, and it's one big creative world."
All of Friesen's books and information can be seen online at donteatanybugs.com.
Emily Whitehead can be reached at ewhitehead@theorion.com
Be the first to comment on this article!