News

By Cindi Deutschman-Ruiz

You don’t have to be interested in the new movie, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” to be amazed by a recent Fandango video promo that depicts 2002 CIA graduate George Vlosich creating an Etch A Sketch illustration of the four crime-fighting amphibians.

Vlosich teaches illustration at CIA these days, but he’s world renowned for his Etch A Sketch art. Beautifully detailed, with each line painstakingly executed, his Etches are sophisticated and dynamic.

And the one-minute-and-22-second-turtles movie promo – which Vlosich says took about 15 hours to create – reflects his consummate skill. As a child Etch A Sketch prodigy, Vlosich worked hard to master the medium, developing his unique style over many years.

He’s probably most famous for his Etches of high-profile athletes—Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, LeBron James—and many prominent musicians, like Jay Z, Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks.

Vlosich explains that his recent Turtles video is actually the result of the first such video he created “just for fun” in 2007, when LeBron James led the Cavs to the NBA finals and Vlosich videotaped himself creating an Etch A Sketch illustrating James in action.

In one week, Vlosich says, the video had a million views, breaking “all sorts of YouTube records. It was voted one of the top viral videos for 2007.” That success led to his appearances on more than 30 different network television shows including “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” and “20/20,” as well as a commission from Disney to produce promos featuring Iron Man, Mickey Mouse, and Toy Story, among others, which led to the Fandango project featuring the Turtles.

Although Vlosich is world famous for his Etch A Sketch work, he is also a prominent local artist, who just last year was commissioned to create the massive colorful mural that features 17 Northeast Ohio landmarks and graces the side of Sherwin Williams’ world headquarters in downtown Cleveland.

The mural is “kind of a mix between some of the modern things, like the Medical Mart,” Vlosich says, and more historical landmarks “that have been around forever,” such as the Terminal Tower and the West Side Market.

He says the soaring piece was the largest project he’s ever undertaken and probably took more than 150 hours to complete. Overall he says he’s pleased with the result, and has had conversations with other companies about possible murals.

Closer to earth, Vlosich designs and sells pro-Cleveland t-shirts and other apparel, as well as sports posters (of athletes from Cleveland teams and others) through his company, GV Art + Design, at 17411 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio, and online at gvartwork.myshopify.com.

“It’s always great when people get to see your work and it leads to more work,” he says.

Note: to watch Vlosich’s “Turtles” video, click here.