Thursday, Jul. 23, 2009
Rick Hershey and the Tangled Muse
Rick Hershey drawing a caricature at Broadway at the Beach. - photo by Scott Smallin, Weekly Surge.
Rick Hershey arrived on the Grand Strand in 1992 at age 12 with his mother and three brothers. His grandparents retired to the area and owned a shop called Razzles and Dazzles at the bygone Myrtle Square Mall. As a result of spending time there, he eventually met local artist Calvin Blassingame, who was doing caricature work there at that time. Because Hershey had already been gravitating toward visual arts, the caricature process interested him. Blassingame and caricature business partner Pete Battaglioli showed him the finer points of the form.
Shortly after graduating from Socastee High School, Hershey went to work doing caricatures for local entrepreneur and comedian Eric Grady, who owns a business called Inspired Arts in Myrtle Beach. Hershey still works for Grady, managing the caricature stands at Broadway at the Beach.
When he was growing up, Hershey says he was influenced a great deal by fantasy. “My dad watched a lot of sci-fi and my grandmother watched a lot of mystery and horror,” he says. This proved to shaped his artistic aspirations. “I got into entertainment media, which is fantasy, horror and sci-fi – comic books, movie and video game concepts – illustration for games and things like that.” Early on, he started freelancing and continues to do so today.
In 2005, Hershey parlayed his penchant for these artistic genres into an enterprise called Empty Room Studios (www.emptyroomstudios.com). “It’s an outsourcing studio made up of freelancers who work for me.” The concept is that of a de facto art department independent of corporate constraints – like a clearinghouse or agency for creative freelancers. “Because I worked freelance for companies for many years, I thought the concept of a studio would go well,” he says. “In 2005, we had like four members. From there it just kept growing and expanding. We kept getting new clients and worked in new fields. Now we have about 41 members – writers, editors, cartographers, illustrators and graphic designers.”
Empty Room Studios boasts clients such as Wizards of the Coast (Dungeons & Dragons, Magic The Gathering), Fox Sports, Marvel and Ant/Image Comics – delivering 2D and 3D illustrations, storyboards, character/creature designs, backgrounds, industrial designs, graphic novels and more. Although the agency employs local members, the majority live elsewhere. Much of the work is done in an online forum called the Tangled Muse (www.tangledmuse.com). “We use instant messaging, e-mail, private messages on the forum, Skype – all different communication technologies,” he says.
“Empty Room Studios is a lot like an agency how we handle clients, but very much a studio how we work. There is a lot of sharing of resources and critiquing. It’s very hands-on when we are working with clients.” We asked whether anyone gets bent out of shape about collaborating, and Hershey told us that nobody did. “One of the reasons a lot of the artists apply for the studio and have stuck around is because of this learning environment.” Multiple artists working in various styles gives the studio an edge in the marketplace, he says.
Hershey is the point man on the business side. “The only person clients deal with is me,” he says. “I send sketches and finals. They send me feedback and I filter it through to the artists. When it comes to payments, they send one check and I pay everybody else.”
Although the Myrtle Beach area is not exactly an artistic hub, especially when it comes to the fantasy genre, like-minded people are finding each other. Of note is last year’s inaugural X-Con comic book/fantasy convention at Springmaid Beach Resort. “I went to XCon last year. I’m hoping it gets bigger and keeps growing, but I thought they did really well for their first year.”
Hershey, who lives in Murrells Inlet with wife Tristan Hershey and daughters Maya (4) and Marilyn (almost 2) and another on the way, says he remembers there is a beach here when he drives by once in a while. Clearly, he has a lot on his plate, so “down time” is at a premium. “I read a lot. Everything I do is sort of work-related. I read comics, play video games occasionally and spend a lot of time looking at art online.” He hits up local art shows and when time allows, meets with his local studio members. “We’ll hang out and sketch or just chat it up.” Sometimes they meet up at Liberty Steakhouse & Brewery, a convenient spot for Hershey because he works at Broadway at the Beach.
“For a long time I felt like the types of artists that I need and like to be around were not here,” asserts Hershey. “But then I started meeting other artists who thought they were living in a void and thinking that they were the only ones here too.” Indeed, creativity abounds on the Grand Strand if one knows where to look.
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