Folks uses the traditional bottle of ink and dip the pen method for his preferred medium of pen and ink drawing. He majored in Illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Denver. Figure drawing, human anatomy, color theory, graphic design, and art history were among the courses in the two-year, totally art program. “I studied under James Valone, John Lencicki, and Phillip J. Steele, founder of the college,” Folks reports.
Folks cannot remember a time when he did not draw. In grade school he filled notebooks with drawings of soldiers, bi-planes, tanks, and countless other images. While being influenced by Dungeons and Dragons during his middle school years, Folks’ good friend at the time, Noah Geisert, introduced him to the writings of JRR Tolkien. “Super heroes, mythical peoples, and fantastic monsters ran rampant in my mind,” Folks remembers.