Carlos Castellanos, illustrator and co-creator of the comic strip Baldo, in his home office.
Sitting in the back of his third grade math class, Carlos Castellanos would often draw and doodle. Today at 49, instead of getting in trouble for it, he gets paid.
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Castellanos is the illustrator and co-creator of the comic strip Baldo. Now in its 10th year, it is the first nationally syndicated strip to feature a Latino family, according to Universal Uclick, a global distributor of comic strips.
The main character, Baldo, is a teenager who spends his time trying to be cool, while juggling American and Latino cultures.
About 100 newspapers published Baldo right away when Universal Uclick launched it. Now it runs in over 250 newspapers nationwide and is read by millions every day. It appears in The Palm Beach Post.
"I was a big comic book fan growing up, but I never thought I was good enough to draw them. It was always my first love," said Castellanos, who says he has a collection of over 1,000 comic books.
Castellanos is also a professional illustrator for clients like Publix and Men's Fitness magazine.
Despite that, he is a regular guy. He lives in The Acreage with his wife Maria and their sons Chase, 14, Alec, 11 and Ty, 5. He's the dad watching his sons' football games all day on Saturdays, though he's also the dad signing autographs on career day at their schools.
He works out of a home office where marketing and cartooning books fill a bookcase, and Baldo characters grace the walls.
The idea to work in a home studio with a big slanted drawing table dawned upon him in second grade. He said he got the inspiration from coming home after school and watching Bewitched, where Darrin Stephens worked from home for his advertising agency.
"Being able to work at home really appealed to me before I even had the concept of going to work," he said.
He said he feels blessed that his job allows him the flexibility to spend time with his family. If he wants to play hookie with his sons and take them fishing, he can. To catch up, he'll just work late into the night.
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SOURCE: Palm Beach Post
