Photo By Shaehmus Sawyer | Sergeant John A. Martinez works on a Toys for Tots poster at the Marsh Center aboard...... read more read more
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Married with a baby boy on the way, he works two jobs to provide for his family and serve others around him. He is 5 feet 6 inches tall and modestly tan with jet-black, discreetly-curly, military-styled hair. His glasses give him an air of fastidiousness and attention to detail.
On weekends, he runs a startup multi-media business which includes videos, photos and graphics. Recently, he has been booked for photoshoots, and has many other talents to create different works of art. However, his primary career is a change of pace for most artistically-natured individuals.
Sergeant John A. Martinez, a Houston, Texas, native, is a graphics specialist for Marketing and Public Affairs at Marine Corps Recruiting Command, Quantico, Va. As a graphics specialist, he indulges in his passions of art but with Marine Corps zest.
Martinez was introduced to art at the age of 10 during a class group project, he said. He took part in drawing presidents, but was criticized by group members for his work. He went home to practice with an old how-to-draw Disney book he found in his house and discovered a passion for art.
Through the years, he has continued to expand his skillsets in art but found another calling during the process, becoming a U.S. Marine.
Even though his father served as a Marine, he didn’t have much interest in becoming one, he said. But a commercial he saw as a young teen piqued his interest in the Corps. The commercial compared the making of diamonds with the making of Marines.
An uncut diamond exploded out of magma rock, he described. It presented snippets of Marines training, shooting rifles, rappelling from towers and receiving Eagle, Globe and Anchors in between shots of a sword cutting the rough stone to a glimmering diamond, resulting a proud Marine.
“What really said ‘holy crap’ in my head was the end where the Marine in his blues pops up the sword and everything,” said Martinez. “I was just like—‘whew! That looks amazing! That’s what I want to be!’”
However, his family did not want him to join the Corps, he said. His parents told him to attend college first, then they would talk about the Marines as an option. After he received a Bachelor’s in Media, Arts and Animation at The Art Institute of Houston, he tried to find a job related to his degree.
Unfortunately, Martinez struggled to find work associated with his school investment. At 23 years old with no job, he remembered his dream to join the Marines. He enlisted as a combat illustrator in August 2010, enabling him to pursue his passions for art.
After training and obtaining what the Marine “diamond” commercial foretold, he went through Marine Combat Training in San Diego, Calif., and then his Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) School at Fort Meade, Maryland.
By the time he arrived at his school house, the MOSs combat illustrator and reproduction specialist merged, still to be called reproduction specialist.
This reinforced the fundamentals he already learned during college but revealed new ways to incorporate his talent. He now creates visual products that appear on posters, pamphlets, bumper stickers, mouse pads, lanyards and more for the Marine Corps.
Reproduction specialists create what the public sees, he said. If people see a proud, confident Marine that looks nice, that is what they are going to think of the Corps.
“We are the creators of the Marine Corps,” he said. “We represent the Corps in our product and uphold its reputation.”
He said he finds being a graphics specialist rewarding because he has the chance to give back to the Marine Corps. He especially likes pleasing his customers with his work.
“My reward is doing my job fast with quality work,” said Martinez. “The best feeling I get is when I give a finished product to a customer, and they are blown away by it."
Having a business on the side is entirely his decision and part of his passion, he said. It is part of a backup plan in case anything prevents him from reenlisting in the future.
Thankfully, Martinez was able to reenlist in 2015 and looks forward to his next four years of enlistment. He plans to stay in for at least 20 years, but he is aware the Corps can’t keep him forever.
“The Marine Corps is looking for the next generation of Marines,” said Martinez. “Marines retire, get medically separated and unfortunately can’t stay in the Corps forever, so we need new prospects to pass on our traditions and knowledge of leadership.”
| Date Taken: | 07.25.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.25.2016 10:11 |
| Story ID: | 204925 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO , VA, US |
| Web Views: | 243 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Graphics Specialist Creates Art for USMC, by Shaehmus Sawyer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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