Palencar was born in Fairview Park, Ohio.
He developed an interest in the subject matter of horror and science fiction early in life; dressing up as an alien with a homemade custom latex masks and exhibiting a fascination in both scaring others and being scared himself.
In the third grade, his family would move to Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
He would win his first award in art in fifth grade with a three-colour block print for the Cleveland’s Plain Dealer newspaper calendar contest.
He went on to attended Midpark High School. It was in high school that the artist came under the art training of Frederick C. Graff, who up until today is a established award winning artist, primarily in watercolor.