B i o g r a p h y
THE
VISUAL ARTIST
Gideon's interest in visual art began with drawing at the age of 4. His father was his initial inspiration, who produced personal art of some of the most iconic comic characters of the time, in addition to oil paintings inspired by the works of Bob Ross. Growing up in the 1990s, Gideon also drew inspiration from the animated movies of Don Bluth, as well as the highly popular films produced during the Disney Renaissance. As a teenager, Gideon experienced his first paid experiences as a visual artist under the Art At Work program in Atlanta, GA, where, for six weeks during the Summers of 2000-2002, he, along with several other Artist Apprentice youths, produced numerous pieces through different media in expression of a specific theme, all to be featured and sold in a show at the end of each term. It was during this time that he learned Adobe Photoshop, which aided his artwork tremendously. Also during this time, Gideon was introduced to anime, where he discovered popular IPs like Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing, Ronin Warriors, Tenchi Muyo and more. All of these would inspire his efforts, ultimately resulting in the creation of his own original characters.
THE
MUSICIAN/FILMMAKER
As a young boy, James Gideon was exposed to the music of some of the great contemporary composers in film, such as John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Terence Blanchard, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard and more. And for many years, in addition to very active musical involvement in church as a singer, he was an avid fan of the male gospel group Commissioned and the solo career of original Commissioned member Fred Hammond. All of these would significantly influence him musically in the years to come.
In 2004, he began his education at Morehouse College, majoring in music with a concentration in composition (Dr. Robert Tanner) and applied lessons in voice. (Dr. Mel Foster) During his four years at Morehouse, he served as a member of the Morehouse College Glee Club, under the direction of Dr. David Morrow, where the group shared the stage with the likes of Take 6 and Shirley Caesar, as well as annual engagements with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, just to name a few. Graduating in 2008, he attained his BA in Music Composition.
In 2009, Gideon continued his music education at Columbia College Chicago, where he learned composition and orchestration techniques for film and television under the tutelage of Hummie Mann, composer of scores such as Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. In the Summer of 2011, Gideon traveled to Los Angeles for his final semester, where he recorded and completed his thesis score at Capitol Records. In 2011, he received his MFA in Music Composition for the Screen in 2011.
Since graduating from Columbia, James Gideon has scored the music for numerous short film projects, two of which he has written, produced, directed and acted in. In 2012, Gideon, along with his brother, filmed his first independent film project entitled Smoke Patrol, inspired by his personal experiences during the Spring and Summer of 2009. In 2013, Gideon produced and directed his second independent film entitled Without Spot Or Blemish, an experimental, Biblical narrative about the Rapture. In tandem with this project, he also wrote, directed and composed the music for the walk-through dramatization of the same name for Greater Christ Temple Church in Nashville, TN that same year. In addition, Gideon has provided orchestrations for several song projects over the years. And in 2018, he independently produced, recorded and released online his debut gospel album, Awesome & Mighty.
THE
WRITER
1997 saw the creation of Gideon's first original character and protagonist, Kylar Jaieren, who took several visual iterations in the following years, including a very rough draft of a graphic novel in 1999. But it wasn't until 2000 that he decided to flesh out the story of the heir of Daimenchen in novel form. Over the next twenty years, this story would progress and expand through several drafts. The story would not see "completion" until 2023. Now in the throes of revision, James Gideon is pursuing the traditional publishing route, in hopes of the soon release of The Jaier Chronicles: The Children of the Achren.