Mike

Flesh Workshop

Video Producer

Game Writer/Artist

Comic Writer/Cartoonist

Mecha Artist

Art Director

Digital Product Designer

Reno Raijnes

Likes

I am a world-builder. The world-builder style of fiction writing has become overpopulated, but none are as sophisticated and well-loved as Stephen King’s Derry – Maine, Dune, Discworld, the DC Universe including Wildstorm, the Image Comics Universe, Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, X-Men, Narnia, Cronenberg’s New Flesh and the worlds of Jim Henson, Dogme 95, Ender, Tony Wong, Buster, Nny, Roald Dahl, Animaniacs, Bill Gaines and Cow and Chicken. Also L. Frank Baum’s Oz.

I grew up in the oldest town in the UK, Colchester – in rural Essex. I came over to New Zealand with family when I was six years old. Coming from a strict primary school where I had to wear a shirt and tie, to a small school where it was so hot we didn’t even have to wear shoes. I went to school in a small shearing village with six other kids. Holidays were skiing or road trips or camping. Growing up with the Spectrum, C64, Acorn Archimedes and Amiga. In the early 90’s in Turangi, I was introduced to the Sega Master System. And I would soon begin learning to make video games with a BBC Micro emulator in BASIC. And also writing rpg rulebooks and card game mods. Fast forward two years. In High School, around the same time I got the school's high score in the algebra exam (98%), I began reading Stephen King. Inspired by “It” at thirteen, I wrote my first unpublished novel, 300pgs. A few years later, I wrote a short story that got a good mark, in my last year of high school – 1999. (I was told it had elements of writing expected of someone two years my senior.) I'm inspired by artists I'd love to work with: Roman Booteen, Makena Peet, Daniel Rozin, Mechtild Nienaber, Robert Bauder, Roo Falcon, Ryan Todd, Paul Bonner, David Meng, Sho Yamamoto, Russell Catdaddy Gillespie, Ana Albano, Roberto Padula, Chris O'Neill (OneyNG), Kelly Kyv, Jaime Rodriguez and the excessively gross and talented Jason Rooney. I'm also heavily inspired by the following studios: Semisecret Software, Panic!, SloClap, Sensible Software, Twisted Pixel, Neostream and Playdead.”

As far as gaming, I almost exclusively stick to PS3, Star Wars on PC, steam indie, emus for sega/ps1/c64/amiga, MTGO, ds lite and win xp discs – eventually also 3do.

In a twitter topic on whether or not video games rot the mind, I said "visual interactive art stimulates your thought muscles, and your imagination, sometimes even improves your instincts. this is something other than rot."

My entire life I’ve been fascinated by materialising society’s fears, misery and absurdity, the disturbing and creepy, psychosis, nightmares, delusions, visions and fantasies. with respect to those older processes which are lasting in their effect/revealing something new about something old. the dismantling, evolution, criticism and analysis of minds and processes – their function in society and how they themselves function.

My top 20 favourite video games are: Magic: the Gathering Online, Land of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse, Another World, Discworld 2, Limbo, Earthworm Jim, Lemmings, Close Combat, Joust, Mortal Kombat 2, The Sims 1, Gain Ground, Robocop VS The Terminator, Syphon Filter, California Games, Astro Warrior, Rampage, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, Marble Madness, No Fear Downhill Mountain Biking.

re: Walden Two: ” “What is the Good Life?” The book’s answer is a life of friendship, health, art, a healthy balance between work and leisure, a minimum of unpleasantness, and a feeling that one has made worthwhile contributions to a society in which resources are ensured, in part, by minimizing consumption.”

bioReno Raijnes

00:00 / 08:00

Reno Raijnes

My Journey

The fertile mind of a pro writer and expert at managing tiny-budget projects. A creative machine, constantly creating innovative, fiercely cerebral, powerfully expressive, internally investigative, intensely imaginative and often both absurdly morbid and deep... self-flagellating... grotesque... sensual... and partially insane, partially a study of the evolution and dismantling of the brain (and the creative process,) with specificity in the settings and the violence – of: designs, art, screen stories, digital products/spaces/tools, and writing, which are also sophisticated and comprehensive in detail.

More than an optimist, I'm a romantic. I'm looking for four responses to my work: 'There's no denying that was brilliant, but I'm not sure how it made me feel.' or 'I love how that made me feel, and made me think. But it wasn't a good feeling, it was all my feelings.' or 'After reading/watching/playing that, I need a stiff whiskey. And I haven't had a drink in 6 months' – self-destruction as a tool for self-analysis. The last response is that they are moved to change themselves, or change the world. It doesn't have to be a 'happy happy, joy joy' experience, just significantly positive in the action it provokes, even if that is just thinking.

I am an expert at three things: writing, managing tiny-budget creative projects, and cartoon/design art ideally with a narrative.

After college, (1yr Cert in TV, Theatre and Radio 2000, Bachelor of Applied Arts - Screenwriting 2011, Grad Dip 2d Digital Art and Cartooning: The Learning Connexion 2013,) it was taking a long time for me to get through the gatekeepers with a piece of writing, though my poetry was doing well. And to get a movie together. And to learn enough coding to make software and games. And I had no money to develop toys. And I didn't want to upskill my web coding without learning to make games. So I started freelancing, and I was helping people. I found that I was very good at helping them better articulate their means of expression. I was good at helping people with technology who weren't confident themselves. I was good at making cartoons and happy to do something special and unique for the enjoyment of a single individual. I was customising web templates and learning Javascript and Wordpress just by tinkering. And sometimes I would write for games, affordable pricing for small grassroots teams who wanted excellent writing in their projects. Or I could give feedback or help them write their design documentation, rules or prototype. And I was open to doing narrative or design work and/or art direction for interactive spaces and mechatronic art.

I still do freelancing. But I've started developing my own work as well.

I do have a goal to write a truly great novel in a similar vein to dolores claiborne, the stand, it, superfolks, the witches, discworld: night watch, diaspora, I lucifer, walden two, the martian, microserfs, sleepers, speaker for the dead, dracula, london revenant, fight club, night watch by lukyanenko and the forever under-rated sims by f. paul wilson and darkfall by stephen laws.

the 5 types of writing that I do

Writing to send to publishers and digital publishers, producers, contests: webcomics, graphic novels, comic book series, screenplays, scripts (tv, theatre), ride/attraction designs, novels, indie video games, theoretical design books, tabletop games/rpgs, narrative essays.

Writing to collaborate with indie developers – as above

Writing e-courses and self-published writing/sketch art: blogs, cartoons, ebooks, comic strips.

Writing and designs which I also produce (movies, songs for video, mechatronic games, interactive spaces and puppetry amusements, LARPs, interactive animated visual novels, indie video games, animation, toys, CCGs, CMGs, digital products and game art.)

Creating design which is both reactive to excessively progressive technology and respecting my deep and powerful need to create something new.

Creative Influences

Richard Garfield

game designer. He has the gift of invention. He created a game-changer and that's what I want to do.

Creative Influences

I have been reading DC comics since discovering Clayface, Captain Atom, JSA/JLA, Hal Jordan and Plastic Man as a kid.

I later discovered: Cerebus, Metabarons, Wetworks, JLI, Michael Holt, Uncanny X-Men, Ravage 2099, Wildstar, Hellshock by Jae Lee, Sensei by First Comics, Tony Wong, Wolverine and Daken, Cable and Deadpool, Bishop, Punisher, Spiderman villains, Spawn and Ken Reid.

Still into those but getting more into: X-Men, X-Man, Wildstorm, Curse of Spawn, Silver Surfer, Swamp Thing, Suicide Squad, Sinister Six, Death’s Head, Checkmate, Lucifer, Slave Labor Graphics, Bill Loebs and Sam Kieth, Marvel Zombies, Elseworlds, What if, Generation X, Atom Smasher, Spectre, Argus (bloodlines), Thanos, Dr Strange, Richard Thompson, Earth X, X-Factor, Captain Britain, Batman ’66, X-23, Youngblood, Wild C.A.T.S. and Black Adam.

I love visual storytelling. Scriptwriting for both screen and sequential art is one of my core passions.

teepublic

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

2011:

Graduated with a degree in screenwriting

2012:

Won a 10hr mentorship for my novel in development from the NZSA

2013:

Graduated from my final college with a Grad Dip in cartooning and 2d digital art

2022:

feb 13: a new song for video called "zip, way, path"

october 20: second song, “Pink and Blue”

march 6: first Reno Raijnes merchandise will be released

develop webcomic strips and a webcomic and our first digital product

finish writing my first novel 26yrs in the making

2023:

develop my own Manga

may: third song, "Zombies Exposed"

An FX video in 2yrs with audience reaction

self-publish a zine

2024:

Animated short films due

7 game narratives due

launch new audio e-course

2025:

6 production design mood books due

12 comic strip merchandise via teepublic

self-publish a new kind of novel

2026:

first of 3 issues of a comic book which I'm writing, penciling and
digitally colouring in 2.5yrs per issue

November, develop a digital prototype of an original tabletop RPG/CMG with network software

a small indie video game project about dungeons and six digital products

raise capital to hire a coder for 400hrs on my second indie video game prototype

first 30mins of an animated feature film to make in 9yrs, 30mins per 3yrs

2029:

develop a digital simulation of a robotic tournament

2032:

develop a toy prototype on a $4k budget and record development on video

2033:

finish first two massive indie video games “Mechanoidz Sim” and “Peddler: Extended” and experiment with AR

2034:

$4k the first mechatronic amusement developed by me as a project for a museum/theme park

2037:

a major feature fiction video movie project on a micro-budget

$4k develop a feature documentary video movie

2068:

9 massive 5yr indie video game projects from 2023 (ideally with some
Javascript help)

Artwork

this is the kind of thing I like to draw. I also enjoy designing and supporting other writers, designers and creative people. I'm also a cartoonist. I dabble in producing movies and series. I make software, digital products/spaces and design art. I'm into art direction - especially for animation, making game art and FX. writing e-courses. and I'm a freelancer.

I freelance as a bespoke cartoonist, web designer, game writer, design document feedback, narrative and designs for amusements and interactive spaces, and creative writing coach - mainly for screenplays and other types of scripts.

Buy Artwork