James Rallison: Alumni taking self-made illustrative success to the internet

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James Rallison

Youtuber James Rallison working on his comics.

Everyone has a passion; something that they can count on to bring them joy. However, many people can not pursue their dreams due to obstacles like money or practicality. For a lucky few like James Rallison, their passion leads them on a rewarding journey.

Perry Alumni James Rallison owns a website, Tumblr account, and YouTube channel all under one name, “The Odd 1’s Out.”

The main focus of these social media sites are based around Rallison’s comics and videos. He has written about 400 comic strips. Rallison started drawing funny cartoons for his friends back in high school as a hobby.

“I started drawing stick figure comics in the 10th grade and to be honest they were horrible,” Rallison said.

The first comic he posted on his website was in June of 2012. Drama teacher Shawna Marquis said, “He always had a fun-loving attitude. He seemed to always enjoy life. I think that goes hand in hand with what he does.”

His comics tend to focus on lighthearted themes such as taking the literal meaning of famous puns or poking fun at social cliches. One of Rallison’s recent comics depicts a character taking the phrase “hit rocks bottom” seriously and slapping Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s bottom.

The comics center around the main characters called “marshmallow people” because of their white, roundish look. They have become the staple of his comics.

His videos, on the other hand, are acted out by Rallison’s marshmallow people with his narration in the background. Rallison posts his videos to YouTube on his channel.

Rallison has been on YouTube for two years and in that time has accomplished a great deal. His first video was published in Aug. 2014 and since then he has made eighty-seven videos.

He recently reached the one million subscriber mark. One million subscribers is a mark of prestige in the YouTube world. To prove this accomplishment, all Youtubers who reach this goal receive a gold YouTube button plaque.

Freshman Ariana Rallison, Rallison’s sister, said, “He has been creative since he was little. He puts a lot of time and thought into his videos.”

Rallison hopes that in the future he will be able to continue to make videos and that his viewers will continue to watch and enjoy them.