A REMINDER OF WHO I AM: TONY TUTHILL (KINNEAS) Before The Internet & Online since 1993
A REMINDER OF WHO I AM
TONY TUTHILL • KINNEAS
THE CREATIVE HISTORY — BEFORE AND AFTER 1993
An Artist, Illustrator, Broadcaster, Multimedia Creator, and Emerging Songwriter
ONLINE SINCE 1993
There are a lot of ways to introduce yourself.
Artist. Illustrator. Designer. Broadcaster. Podcaster. Publisher. Multimedia producer. Songwriter. Music-video creator. Livestreamer.
I've worn quite a
few of those hats over the years.
It's been a long time since I've written a comprehensive account of my history. The Internet has changed, the creative landscape has changed, and I've moved through quite a few different worlds along the way.
So I thought it was time to put the story together.
This isn't just a biography about what I'm doing today. It's a look at the road that led here: the early art education, professional illustration, traditional commercial art, the arrival of the Internet, online communities, Star Trek media, broadcasting, podcasting, publishing, video production, and the new adventures in songwriting and AI-assisted music-video creation.
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My name is Tony Tuthill.
My creative identity is KINNEAS.
And this is the story behind both.
PART ONE — BEFORE THE INTERNET: THE ARTIST TAKES SHAPE
THE BEGINNING: LEARNING TO CREATE
I began working in commercial art and illustration in 1984. At that time, the creative world was very different from what it is today. Digital tools were limited, and much of the work involved traditional artistic skills, physical materials, mechanical layouts, typography, photographic processes, and hands-on production.
I learned the foundations of commercial art through formal training and practical experience.
My education included drawing, illustration, painting, printmaking, photography, typography, advertising art, logo design, book design, layout, typesetting, mechanical art, production, and art direction.
I learned how to take an idea from an initial concept through thumbnails, roughs, finished artwork, and final production.
Those fundamentals have remained important throughout my career.
In 1985–1987, I attended Douglas County High School, completing a double-baccalaureate program in Art and Commercial Art.
I continued my advanced commercial art training at the Cherry Creek Campus in Aurora, Colorado, studying under Professor Craig Lincoln. That training included traditional commercial art techniques, typography, advertising, book production, photography, darkroom work, layout, and early digital art.
I have always considered that period an important foundation. It taught me to think about the entire creative process, not simply the finished picture.
EARLY PROFESSIONAL ART EXPERIENCE
My early professional work included commercial illustration, editorial art, and publication production.
My professional portfolio documents work beginning in 1984, including projects associated with Honeywell, the University of Colorado at Denver, and Douglas County High School.
I also worked with traditional art and production environments where the finished product required a combination of artistic ability, technical knowledge, and attention to detail.
I was learning how creative work actually gets made.
That distinction matters. Having an idea is one thing. Turning it into something that can be printed, published, presented, or delivered to a client is another.
That combination of artistic and production skills became a recurring theme in my career.
KANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE
From 1988 through 1992, I attended the Kansas City Art Institute.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration/Design and was a Top Ten graduate.
My studies included illustration, painting, printmaking, photography, digital art production, art history, and other areas of visual and creative development.
It was an important period of growth, both artistically and intellectually.
I also continued developing interests outside traditional art, including psychology, philosophy, history, and the study of ancient civilizations.
Those interests would eventually find their way into my creative projects, storytelling, humor, and songwriting.
THE AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Those experiences might seem unrelated to art, but they reflect something that has followed me throughout my working life: I enjoy learning complicated things, understanding how they work, and finding ways to make them work better.
PART TWO — 1993: ENTERING THE ONLINE WORLD
ONLINE SINCE 1993
It marks the beginning of my online creative journey.
The Internet was nothing like the world we know today. There was no YouTube, no modern social media, no easy video publishing, and no enormous collection of ready-made creative tools.
Computers, networking, online communities, and digital communication were still developing.
I was interested in the technology itself, not just what it could display.
My experience included building, repairing, and upgrading PCs, computer networking, computer-aided design, digital content creation, and exploring Internet broadcasting and online communities.
I was interested in the possibilities.
How could people communicate? How could creative work be shared? How could communities form around common interests? What could broadcasting become when the audience was no longer limited to traditional radio and television?
Those questions would eventually lead me into online community leadership, podcasting, Internet radio, publishing, and multimedia production.
The tools were changing, and I wanted to be part of that change.
THE EARLY YEARS OF ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Before today's social media platforms, online communities were built in very different ways.
People gathered around interests, hobbies, games, entertainment, technology, and shared experiences.
I became involved in online communities and America Online, including community leadership and chat-host activities.
That environment helped develop skills that would later become important in broadcasting and podcasting: communicating with an audience, managing discussions, creating engaging experiences, and helping people feel part of a community.
It was not simply about being online.
It was about participating in the creation of something that existed because people came together.
That idea continues to influence how I approach livestreaming and audience participation today.
PART THREE — ART, COMICS, PUBLISHING, AND STORYTELLING
RETURNING TO SEQUENTIAL ART AND GRAPHIC STORYTELLING
From 2001 to 2003, I worked with Lee Nordling and Platinum Studios on graphic novel property development, character design, and book layout.
I was selected for Platinum Studios' Rookie Pick program and received professional training in sequential art and graphic novel production under Lee Nordling.
From 2003 to 2005, I worked on the Platinum Studios project The Taking of Happyland.
The work involved character design, background design, graphic novel layout, pencils, digital inks, coloring, text, lettering balloons, cover design, and cover artwork.
It was an opportunity to combine many of the skills I had developed over the years into a sequential storytelling format.
THE ADVENTURES OF CHUTNEY & CHOW
It represents another part of my interest in characters, humor, illustration, and storytelling.
I have always enjoyed the challenge of developing a visual idea into something that has its own personality and can be experienced by an audience.
ST — STAR TREK ONLINE CARTOONS
This project brought together my illustration background, my interest in Star Trek, and my
involvement in the online gaming community.
It was a natural combination of interests: creating visual content for a community that was actively following the development and launch of a new Star Trek game.
ST remains an important part of my publishing and Star Trek creative history.
PART FOUR — STAR TREK, PODCASTING, AND INTERNET BROADCASTING
THE HAILING FREQUENCY PODCAST
From 2005 through 2010, I was involved with The Hailing Frequency Podcast, a Star Trek gaming podcast.
My documented roles included executive creator, executive producer, art direction, multimedia production, public relations, marketing, on-air personality, host, co-host, and journalist.
This was a significant expansion of my creative work.
Podcasting brought together several disciplines: audio production, broadcasting, writing, research, visual identity, promotion, and audience engagement.
It also provided an opportunity to participate in a community that was passionate about Star Trek gaming and the developing world of online entertainment.
The Hailing Frequency was more than a microphone and a conversation. It was a multimedia project with a creative identity and an audience.
STAR TREK INTERNET RADIO
Projects and outlets included:
TrekRadio
STO-Radio
- Subspace Radio
My responsibilities included executive creation and production, art direction, multimedia production, public relations, marketing, on-air work, hosting, co-hosting, and journalism.
I worked with people and organizations involved in the development and promotion of Star Trek Online, including connections with Cryptic Studios, Atari, and Bandai.
The experience combined my interests in art, technology, entertainment, gaming, and broadcasting.
THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD PROJECT
One particularly memorable event was connected with the launch of Star Trek Online.
On February 14, 2010, a Guinness World Records event took place on the Millennium Bridge in London, England, involving the largest gathering of people dressed as Trekkies/Trekkers in one location.
My professional portfolio documents my involvement with Tricia Gray, Cryptic Studios, Atari, Bandai, and Guinness in connection with the event.
As I have described it, I suggested the idea of approaching Guinness for a launch event, and Tricia Gray helped move it forward.
It was a memorable example of what could happen when an idea, the right people, and a little enthusiasm came together.
The record was subsequently broken, but the experience remains part of my Star Trek Online history.
A STAR TREK CHARACTER INSPIRED BY TONY TUTHILL
Another unusual piece of my Star Trek history came in 2008.
A character named Tuthill appeared in IDW Publishing's Star Trek: Year Four — The Enterprise Experiment, Issue #2, written by Derek Chester and D.C. Fontana.
My professional portfolio identifies me as the inspiration for that character.
It's certainly not something that happens every day, and it's a particularly fun connection between my online identity, Star Trek involvement, and the published Star Trek universe.
PART FIVE — OTHER CREATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL PROJECTS
THE VENETIAN PRINCESS
From 2009 through 2012, I worked with The Venetian Princess on illustration, branding, and
merchandising.
The associated video projects included Speidi Free, Accident Prone, and The End Is Nigh.
This work continued the combination of visual identity, character-driven entertainment, and multimedia production that had become a recurring part of my career.
MUSIC VIDEO PRODUCTION
My professional portfolio also documents music-video work associated with several artists and musical projects.
These include:
Steely Dan — Black Cow
Elvis Costello — Watching the Detectives
The English Beat
Arthur Yoria — Permanent (The Oldest Story in the World)
Brad Sucks — I Think I Started a Trend
Lemon Demon — Telekinesis
These projects are part of my broader history in digital art, video production, and multimedia.
The combination of music and visual storytelling has been an interest for a long time. Today, that interest is taking on a new form through my own original songs and music videos.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
My working life has not been limited to creative industries.
I've also worked in technology and customer support, including Apple and Gateway Computers.
At Gateway, from 1999 to 2001, I was nationally ranked among the Top Ten Technical Support Professionals and received the Above The Rest award and multiple MVP awards.
I mention this because it is another part of the same story: curiosity, technical learning, problem-solving, and the ability to work across very different disciplines.
Creative work and technology have never been separate interests for me.
They have continually influenced one another.
PART SIX — THE MODERN CREATIVE CHAPTER
KINNEAS — A CREATIVE IDENTITY
It's the name connected with much of my online art, multimedia, broadcasting, and now music.
Today, KINNEAS is the identity I use for my original songwriting, SUNO AI music projects, and music videos.
But the name represents much more than a music channel.
It connects the work I'm doing now with the decades of creative exploration that came before it.
BECOMING A SONGWRITER
I consider myself a novice songwriter.
My journey began with a simple idea: I wanted to turn my own lyrics into songs.
That led me to SUNO AI.
What started as an experiment quickly became a much deeper exploration of musical creation.
I began learning how to communicate musical ideas through prompts, how different styles influence a song, how instrumentation changes the emotional character of a composition, and how vocals, harmonies, arrangements, and production choices work together.
I write the lyrics and develop the concepts. I direct the creative process and use SUNO AI as a musical instrument to explore the possibilities.
I'm learning how to take an idea and guide it toward a finished musical production.
I don't claim decades of songwriting experience. I don't.
But I do bring decades of experience in visual composition, storytelling, creative direction, design, production, and multimedia.
Those skills are now finding a new outlet.
THE 3 WORD SONG CHALLENGE
One of the projects that brings this new chapter to life is the 3 Word Song Challenge.
The concept is simple: audience members provide three words, and the creators use those words as the starting point for original songs.
The challenge adds another layer by having two crea
tors work with the same words and musical style, allowing the audience to hear different interpretations of the same creative assignment.
The show is built around audience participation.
The viewers are not simply watching someone make a song. They're helping direct the creative challenge.
It's an opportunity to combine songwriting, improvisation, experimentation, live broadcasting, and community participation.
It's also a continuation of something I've enjoyed since the early days of online communities: bringing people together around a shared creative experience.
MUSIC VIDEOS — BRINGING THE SONGS TO LIFE
I also want to give the song a visual identity.
My background is in illustration, design, character development, visual storytelling, and multimedia production. Naturally, those interests have carried over into music-video creation.
I develop the concepts, visual direction, characters, environments, and stories that accompany the music.
Some videos are humorous. Some are dramatic. Some are emotional. Others take an idea and push it into a completely unexpected direction.
The goal is to make the video more than a collection of images placed behind a song.
I want to create a visual experience that complements the music and gives the audience another way to connect with it.
AI-ASSISTED ANIMATION AND TOONBEE
The arrival of AI-assisted animation and video-production tools has opened another creative door.
I'm experimenting with ToonBee and other digital production workflows to create music videos using characters, scenes, visual references, animation, and storytelling.
Projects such as The Eggs Didn't Stick, Tin Sandwich Jack vs Larry, and Seconds Later represent different approaches to this process.
Each project presents its own challenges.
Character consistency, scene composition, animation timing, visual continuity, camera movement, and storytelling all require creative decisions.
I'm learning how to work with these tools while applying the principles I've developed through years of illustration and multimedia production.
The technology is new, but the creative questions are familiar:
What is the story? What should the audience see? What should they feel? How do the visuals support the idea?
That's still the job.
The tools have simply changed.
PART SEVEN — SKYDUDE AND FLIGHT SIMULATION
ANOTHER CREATIVE IDENTITY
I've also developed SkyDude, my flight simulator identity and livestreaming series.
Using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, I explore aviation through career-mode adventures, livestreams, challenges, and the occasional spectacular failure.
The SkyDude Flight Sim Career Adventures combine aviation, exploration, entertainment, and audience participation.
It's a different creative environment from KINNEAS music videos, but it comes from the same interest in technology, storytelling, entertainment, and interactive experiences.
I've never been particularly good at limiting myself to one creative discipline.
And I don't expect that to change.
PART EIGHT — WHAT CONNECTS ALL THESE YEARS?
Commercial illustration. Graphic novels. Publishing. Star Trek communities. Podcasting. Internet radio. Music videos. SUNO AI. Animation. Flight simulation.
But there is a common thread.
I've always been interested in taking an idea and finding a way to make it real.
Sometimes that means drawing something.
Sometimes it means designing a publication, developing a character, producing a broadcast, creating a video, writing lyrics, or building an entire visual world around a song.
Sometimes it means learning a new technology and discovering what it makes possible.
I've worked through the transition from traditional commercial art to digital art, from early Internet communities to modern social platforms, from Internet radio to livestreaming, and from conventional multimedia production to AI-assisted creative tools.
Each generation of technology changes the possibilities.
But the underlying creative process remains remarkably familiar.
You start with an idea.
You experiment.
You make mistakes.
You learn.
You revise.
And eventually, you have something that didn't exist before.
That's what keeps me interested.
WHY THIS HISTORY MATTERS
Someone might find a KINNEAS music video and assume I've always been a musician.
Someone might discover SkyDude and know nothing about my art background.
Someone might come across an old Star Trek podcast or a published cartoon and have no idea that the same person is now experimenting with SUNO AI and music-video animation.
That's why I wanted to put this history together.
I don't want the earlier chapters to disappear simply because I'm working on something new.
I'm also excited about what comes next.
I may be a novice songwriter, but I'm certainly not a newcomer to creativity.
And I think that distinction is worth remembering.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Today, my creative work continues under the names TONY TUTHILL, KINNEAS, and SKYDUDE.
I'm still learning.
I'm still experimenting.
I'm still discovering new tools and new ways to use them.
And after all these years, I still enjoy the process of making something from nothing.
The Internet of 1993 is long gone. The technology has changed beyond anything I could have imagined at the beginning.
But the curiosity that brought me into that world is still here.
I began working professionally in creative art in 1984. I entered the online world in 1993. And I'm still creating today.
This is not the end of the story.
It's simply the latest chapter.
FIND TONY TUTHILL / KINNEAS ONLINE
I've included these links so people can explore the history, see examples of the work, and follow what I'm creating today.
PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO AND CAREER HISTORY
The Creative Finder — Tony Tuthill / Kinneas
https://thecreativefinder.com/kinneas
Professional portfolio, education, client history, projects, awards, publications, and career experience.
LinkedIn — Tony Tuthill
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonytuthill
Professional profile and career information.
PUBLISHED WORK
ST — Star Trek Online Cartoon Series
https://www.lulu.com/shop/tony-tuthill/stoned/paperback/product-1q68m7r4.html
The Adventures of Chutney & Chow
https://www.lulu.com/
BROADCASTING AND STAR TREK MEDIA
The Hailing Frequency Podcast Archive
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-hailing-frequency-star-tre-31056269/
CREATIVE ARCHIVE
Tony Tuthill / Kinneas Blog
https://tonytuthill.blogspot.com/
CURRENT MUSIC AND VIDEO PROJECTS
KINNEAS — YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@KINNEAS2026
SUNO AI — Kinneas Profile
https://suno.com/@tony_tuthill
FLIGHT SIMULATION
SkyDude — Flight Sim Career Adventures
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4FAlx3rWlpqiiliYQ2C6KF9vB_-6NjlY
TONY TUTHILL • KINNEAS • SKYDUDE
Artist • Illustrator • Designer • Broadcaster • Podcaster • Publisher • Multimedia Creator • Emerging Songwriter • Music-Video Creator • Livestreamer
PROFESSIONALLY CREATING SINCE 1984.
ONLINE SINCE 1993.
The tools change. The creative journey continues.
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