In 1995, a love for art brought Mark McLawhorn down from the mountains of Virginia to Raleigh to attend NC State’s College of Design. 20 years later, McLawhorn remains at NC State and continues to develop his craft by cartooning for the Technician, designing characters for educational games and serving as the university’s creative director.
McLawhorn was born in Wilmington but spent most of his formative years in the Appalachian Mountains of the Shenandoah Valley. McLawhorn says he does not recall a time when he became interested in art and describes his abilities as an innate skill.
From a young age, McLawhorn was already impressing people with that skill.
“A great-aunt of mine saw one of my cartoons when I was seven or eight and said it looked like it was printed in the newspaper,“ McLawhorn said.
Like his aunt, McLawhorn’s entire family was always impressed by his work. His parents were both educators and had no problem pushing him in a creative direction.
In 1995, McLawhorn began his years at the College of Textiles, but he quickly became frustrated with the program. He wanted to study in the College of Design, but his advisors were not helping him take the necessary steps to switch degrees.
Looking for an outlet , McLawhorn went to the Technician office and discovered a robust cartoon culture. There were a lot of good artists, and McLawhorn was inspired to get involved with the newspaper.
“I had always been a believer in newspapers,” McLawhorn said. “I thought for a long time that I would want to go into newspapers and be a cartoonist.”
McLawhorn has now worked with the Technician for 20 years and has served in the positions of cartoonist, graphic editor and editor in chief. He served as editor in chief for two years and held the position during the 9/11 attacks. It was a difficult time for students at the university, but McLawhorn used the Technician to publish the response of students to the event.
“The last year I was editor in chief was when 9/11 happened,” McLawhorn said. “I was at the Technician when it happened, and we put out a paper as usual.”
In 2002, McLawhorn took a new job as a graphic designer for NC State’s Division of Information Technology. The job allowed him to use every aspect of his skill from computer animation to fine art.
While working his new job, McLawhorn continued to volunteer at the Technician by contributing editorial illustrations. McLawhorn has continued to contribute, establishing Wolfpack Cartoons as a game week tradition, featuring the week’s opponent sketched up with a stylized NC State wolf, before every football game.
McLawhorn’s job at the Division of Information Technology, now called the OIT, provided other opportunities at NC State and led to McLawhorn earning his current position of Creative Director, which he has held since 2011.
As creative director, McLawhorn contributes to high-level university communications and is in charge of Internet campaigns, films, and commercials advertising for NC State. He helped to create NC State’s newest slogan, “Think and Do.”
“We are a school that was put here for engineering and practical thinking,” McLawhorn said. “We are about solving problems and getting things done.”
In 2010, McLawhorn expanded his work by partnering with Thushan Amarasiriwardena, a previous Technician editor in chief, to create Launchpad Toys. The company has the goal of producing fun but educational video games for children. Amarasiriwardena was inspired to create Launchpad Toys after traveling the world and invited McLawhorn to help design characters for the game. Launchpad’s f lagship game is Tunastic, which was included in Apple’s “Best of 2014” apps list.
While his work with Launchpad could easily be another full-time job, McLawhorn enjoys working with the company because it helps all of his work become better.
“I like keeping my fingers in different pots because it keeps me energized and inspired,” McLawhorn said. “I learn stuff I can apply to other areas of my work.”
Earlier this year, Launchpad Toys was bought by Google and is in the process of researching and developing new games.
With all of his different jobs, McLawhorn often finds himself having conference phone calls over lunch, speaking with Google representatives in California or even partners in Sweden. He could easily drop his volunteer work with the Technician, but he choose to continue because it helps keeps his skills sharp.
“At the end of the day, its Wolfpack cartoons that keep my skills the sharpest,” McLawhorn said.
