Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
SYFY Black History Month creator shares his journey in animation to inspire others
Meet creator and business owner Jarmon Maxie.
In honor of Black History Month 2022, SYFY and Tongal, a global community of content creators, invited three Black creators to create video shorts that represent their experiences through the lens of science fiction and fantasy.
This month each short film will air on SYFY network and SYFY’s Instagram and Twitter handles. We sat down with each creator to get to know them a little more and celebrate their artistry further. Next up, we have Jarmon Maxie.
Tell us about yourself!
I'm a 2D animator and illustrator located in Houston, Texas. I run my own studio called Cold Waffles Animation. I am currently developing my own animated series.
Tell us about your piece. What inspired you and what does it mean to you?
It is a retelling of my journey to become an animator in a heartfelt way that I hope will inspire others.
What or who inspired you to become an artist?
A guy named Daniel Runge. He was an older kid and I admired his artistic ability. I would watch him draw while on the bus ride home. That's what prompted me to start drawing. And I would mimic his drawing style. I guess you could say he was my first art teacher.
Tell us about some of your favorite genre works and why you love them.
I love comic books, cartoons, sci-fi television, sci-fi movies, etc because it brought so much excitement to me as a kid in the town where there wasn't really much to do.
Some of my top favorites are Smallville, Star Trek: Voyager, and Static Shock.
When was the first time you remember seeing Black representation in the fantasy/sci-fi/genre space? Was it a show? A specific creator?
It was 1994’s Iron Man: The Animated Series character War Machine, aka James Rhodes!
On the flip side: What still needs to happen to make you feel as though Black experiences and stories are truly represented in genre?
I’ll just say this: If I could hop in a time machine and tell my younger self about the world of today, I think he would be happy.
What does Black History Month mean to you?
For me, it's a moment out of the year to highlight a significant piece of American history.
Watch Jarmon and the rest of our BHM 2022 creators' shorts above and find more of his work on his website. Be sure to also check out the other creators' shorts on SYFY network and our YouTube and continue our celebration of Black History Month.
