Current projects

Hey all!

I figured I should probably post an entry, so you guys don't think I've jumped OFF the bloggin bandwagon. I've been frantically trying to get some pieces ready for the "Sioux Falls Cartoonist Exhibit" that is happening here in May. My stuff is due to the people by May 1. That's not too long from now. Plus then add to that trying to get some things done and ready for my friends, Campbell and Linda's wedding, as well as, trying to get some "HELLO...HIRE ME!!" animation created and ready for the people at Disney to take notice...and then there's the work at the gym (ya know..the stuff that pays the bills!) and you pretty much have my whole life right there!



The image above is one of the pieces (I think) that I'll have in the show. (For some reason the image looks blue..that ain't right...but the true image is yellow!!) If I get another piece finished, this one might get bumped, but we'll see. After the opening, I'll post more on what I did put in, and how the show went.

Until laterz!

Cartoonist Day Exhibit

Hey all!

For those of you that are in the Sioux Falls area, the week of May 3-9th there will be a local cartoonist exhibit in Sioux Falls, SD. It's being held at Dunn Brother's Coffee on east 10th street. Myself, along with about 10 other professional cartoonists will be showing some work. If your in the area during the exhibit, check it out!

Where've I been??

Hey all!!

I realized I have tried to post a few times in the last couple months and for one reason or another, I didn't get it done. So, just to make sure you all know I'm still alive..here's a quickie. I've been pretty busy with work and coaching. The gymnastics season is coming to a close, so that's gonna make life a slight easier. I've had a few clients that have wanted some animation done, so that's taken most of my time. Now, I'm focused on a few personal projects and getting ready for a few trips this summer. I'm heading over to Taiwan for my wonderful friend's, Campbell Chang and Linda Way, wedding in June and then go to San Diego for this years SIGGRAPH 2007 conference and to catch up again with my friend Julie. I'll be posting more about these trips and about my next push to get a job at an animation studio (get ready Disney!!)

Until laterz!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Today is New Years Day in the Chinese and other Asian cultures, the YEAR OF THE PIG! Happy New Year all! I missed posting on my birthday..then I forgot to post something on my MOST HATED holiday (Valentine's Day...yeah..well, do you blame this single guy???) and then realized that TODAY was Chinese New Year, so I drew up this image to celebrate with my friends in Taiwan! ENJOY the Holiday and week off!! Please tell me what all you guys did for the break!

Until laterz!

Oscar Noms Announced!

Early this morning, the Acadamy Award Nominations were announced. I'm excited for the three Animated Features (Cars, Happy Feet and Monster House) I have to admit I haven't seen "Monster House" yet, but will before the awards are handed out. But I am still behind "CARS"!! In my opinion it may not be Pixar's best flick, but it is the best of the year from these three.

I was also super happy to see "The Little Matchgirl", a Disney short. It was wonderful and if I remember right, it's been in production for a long time. I saw some of the pre-production stuff and LOVED the look of it. If you haven't seen it yet, you should try to find it. The AWN showcase has a clip and some stills. http://showcase.awn.com/showgallery.php?cat=778

In other Oscar news, even though "Dreamgirls" received 8 noms, it was shut out of the Best Picture catagory. But Jennifer Hudson was recognized (and my bet to win a golden trophy) for Best Supporting Actress as Effie White in Dreamgirls! I'm also happy that Meryl Streep was nominated for "Deveil Wears Prada" and Will Smith for "Pursuit of HappYness". The Oscar nominations always show me the movies I need to try to catch up on before the awards. And besides "Pan's Labyrinth" (which has yet to get to my neck of the world!!), I wanna check out "Half Nelson" with the Best Actor nom for Ryan Gosling. He's an actor that some people may know, and other's will as he gets more and more exposure. Gotta love those ex-Mouseketeers!!

Gotta start getting ready for my annual Oscar Party!! Whoo hoo!

Until laterz!

Yeah-but...

So the NEW YEAR is upon us and I decided I should make a post. This is a little illustration I just did today. It's a commissioned piece by a guy from church for one of our pastors that is leaving to go to a church plant in Custer, SD. I know, it took me a lot to create a NON-DISNEY character, but it's a paying gig! I do what pays the bills! :) It's actually an inside joke between the men that commissioned the drawing and Pastor, so I can't really tell you what the meaning of it is..except that the Pastor is most comfortable in his cowboy boots and hat.

Until laterz!

Bring back the "SHHHHH!" campaign

I went to see the latest Ben Stiller movie, "Night at the Museum" last night. All in all, a really fun movie with some GREAT effects and animation, as well as good comedy from Stiller, Robin Williams and Owen Wilson. But this post isn't a movie review. No, it's a rant about how people these days (specifically tweeners—those inbetween childhood and the teen years) don't have any theater ediquate. At first, we thought we had it made with open rows in front and behind us. As for my friends from my time in Taiwan can attest too, I don't like being around people I don't know when I go to a movie. At least if it can be avoided. Well, after an awesome "Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer" and a "Transformers" trailer that brought me back to my childhood(KICK-ARSE trailers by the way!!), these three pre-teen girls come in and sit behind my group of movie watchers. I thought to myself, "It'll be fine. They'll get settled and then allow me to be immersed into the fantasy of the film. But NO! Throughout the entire film, they would talk "quietly" (input sarcasm here!), slurp loudly on empty drinks and open candy package after candy package. Now most of the time, I can fight through the urge to turn around and glare continually at the little movie goers. But this time I was numerously pulled out of my film experience to turn around and try and give them that "Shut the Frick UP!" look; hoping they would see it and fear in terror. Which i think happened once. If that wasn't the worst, these girls picked the quiet, intimate points of the movie to do all of this. WHAT THE FRICK!! I even try to find a loud part of the movie soundtrack to open up my bottle of Coke Zero so that the fizz sound doesn't disturbe my fellow movie fans!

After this expereince, I longed for the days of the dancing hotdog singing "Let's all go to the lobby..." and the "Shhhh! Please no talking during the show" movies or title cards. I know I have been known to talk a little in a movie, but I try to keep it to a whisper and SHORT! If you want to chat with your friends, why the heck did you just pay $8.25 to come into a dark theater and carry on the conversation instead of a local restaurant or your own home??? well..I'm glad you have taken the time to read my ranting and hope that we can work together to end this needless, noisy chit chat. So that we may all be transported into the far off galaxies or distant lands we paid good money to be taken too. Not to be reminded how rude some people in this world are!

Thanks for your time!
Until laterz!

Northern Lights

Last night I walked outside from my room and looked toward the northern sky high above the town lights of Brandon to watch the faint dancing lights of the Aurora borealis! It was kind of amazing. It was tough to see them and not as clear as I'm sure it is up in Alaska or Canada, but I couldn't help think about the Disney film "Brother Bear". This film might not be on most peoples top animated film lists, but there was something simply magical about the story and the look of this film when I went to see it. And each time I pop in the DVD, I get the same feeling. In college, I took a Native American art class to fill an Art History requirement for my degree. One of my favorite regions of Native American art was the Pacific Northwest and this film brought those studies back to my memory. I'm not sure if last night was the only night the lights could be seen from my part of the world, but if your awake at around midnight..and you don't live in a brightly lit city..run out and check it out. You might be plesantly surprised at the glory of God's creation! (yes...I know there is a scientific reason for the event, but God created that scientific reason!!)

Until laterz!

Networking...

Hey all!

Some of you readers may know that I have been waiting to get an interview with a studio here in town since about August of this year. I was told Nov/Dec would be when they were getting to the interviews. It's a small company that I don't want to name (not that you'd know it) but they are owned by a BIGGER company (still that you probably wouldn't know). They said it takes longer to hire then when they were locally owned. Anyways, I got an email today telling me that another guy that had applied about the same time as I did was most likly going to be hired instead of me. I was told that basically it was because he had a loose association with someone at the company.

My main reason for this little rant is how I've discovered how important networking and "who you know" is in my chosen biz. I'm both bummed and happy that my work was good enough to hire me, but that it was the fact these guys didn't know me more then they personally know Walt Disney and that they know this other guy a tad bit more. Ultimatly, the chance of getting hired at this place is still there. Even though I didn't get an interview for THIS position, I was told the company would proabably be hiring again in six months.

But that's what freelance and coaching team gymnastics is for, ain't it! To fill the void between rejections and that ever eloosive "YOUR HIRED" email!

Until laterz!

Happy Birthday Mr. Disney!!

As some of you may know, but most probably don't, today would have been good ol' Uncle Walt's birthday. He was born in 1901 and would have been 105 today! Many that know me personally, know that I have had a love for all that was Walt's passion and love since I was a child. I remember writing several reports on the man through out my school days. I can only hope to do a small part of what this great American treasure did to entertain the world during his life (and even after his death!).
I wish I could have gotten to meet the man, but today's generation of animators has enough men and women following in his footsteps for me to meet! Many that owe a lot to his contributions to artform!

Happy Birthday Walt Disney!

The end of the month already??

Hey readers! It's been a few weeks since I've posted and many things have happened since that post. We had our second meet of the year...We got screwed on many scores, but the girls did a good job. It's tough for our 7 and 8 year old Level 4's (the entry level we compete) to win when they are competing against 15 year old girls that are in there fourth or fifth year of Level 4. But besides that, the Watertown meet was a good first away meet for the girls. The Brookings meet is this weekend! Go All-stars!

Election Day 2006 finally arrived. Not happy with the overall voting of my states peeps, but that's par for the course! The Thanksgiving holiday came and went. It was a wonderful holiday time for me and my family. The food was wonderful and plentiful and I didn't even gain a pound...not really! And besides that, I've been swamped with the growing freelance jobs for Dakota Kid Animation. More art and updates to come!!

I pray and hope the holidays continue to be joyous for you, my readers!

Until laterz!

An Incredible Poster

I know this isn't really anything I've done, but it's at least Animation related.


Today, I FINALLY got this awesome "Incredibles" poster framed. It's really signed (not just a printed signature) by the fantastic Brad Bird—famed director of not only the Incredibles, but "The Iron Giant" (a must if you haven't seen it!!). A fellow Disney fanatic and friend of mine sent me the poster. Give me a few years and people will want MY signature on a movie poster! ha!

until laterz!

Today's Illustration

A "new" buddy (a borrowed friend...thanks Campbell!!), Jared Bradshaw, asked me to do a caricature of him for his website. He's an up and coming Broadway star (currently starring in "Forbidden Broadway: Special Victims Unit"). It's my first attempt at the Al Hirschfeld-style of doing caricature. Let me know what you think. And if you wanna see what he looks like in real life, check out my post about my trip to NYC. That's him with Campbell!

Until laterz!

Happy Trick-or-Treat, Y'all!!!!

Just a little something I drew up today to celebrate this day of begging for candy and goodies! Hope everyone has fun with all the fall fun that comes along with this day!! I'm gonna be a "gymnastics coach" this year!! ha! (yeah...I gotta work tonight!!)

Until laterz!

Stupid Logic...

Hello out there!

I have just now received my wonderful laptop computer (the life blood of not only my blogging, but also of my whole freelance and personal life!!) from the wonderful people at Mac Doctors and Apple. Last week, after doing some work for a client, I discovered my computer would not come back awake. I didn't even hear the lovely BONG that all Mac users know signals the start of these wonderful computers. Anyways, I frantically ran to my file cabinet to check my records for my Apple Care warranty paperwork. I jumped for joy as I saw that my Apple Care had another whole MONTH before it was null and void! WHOO HOO! This totally sold me on paying for this warranty with ALL my future Apple computers. Back to the point of this blog. I am now together again with my beloved computer and internet. (Is this a sign of addiction or dependance?? ha!) Tons of things have begun happening for me and my freelance company, Dakota Kid Studios. It's been an amazing last year, and the next one looks even better!!

Until laterz!

Playing Catch-up...My Mini Vacation

So...I realize I should do some updating of some past stuff that's been going on. I'm gonna start with the most recent adventure...my trip to NYC!!


A good buddy of mine from Taiwan, Campbell, was visiting his parents in New York, before visiting his girlfriend's, Linda (also a co-worker from Taiwan), family in LA.
I decided that it'd been too long since I'd gotten to see them and I bought a plane ticket to NYC and spent a long weekend with them. I flew in and hung out with some friends of Campbell's.
Then we spent the next two days mostly in the Times Square area of NYC. We tried to get cheap Student Rush tickets to JERSEY BOYS but they ran out a few people in front of us. We tried for the WICKED lottery tickets (front row seats for $25) two times and didn't win. We then walked around trying to find cheap tickets to other shows. We finally decided on an off-broadway show called FORBIDDEN BROADWAY. It's a hilarious show with only four in the cast. The really cool thing about this show was that one of the actors was a good friend of Campbell's. We got to talk with him, get an autograph (he's gonna be huge one day!!) and then saw the backstage. It was a fun experience. Jared Bradshaw (cast of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY) & Campbell Chang (future Broadway star!!)

Then the second day, we tried for lottery tickets for THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. It was a smaller lottery then the Wicked one, but guess what..I WON!!! I got two front row tickets for $25 each. Since we had three people in our group, we purchased a balcony ticket and split the cost among us. Campbell let Linda and I have the front row tickets since it was our FIRST REAL BROADWAY show. Let me tell you, it was a blast! I loved that I made eye contact with one of the leads and she continued to find me when she came to my side of the stage. If you get to NYC in the near future, I highly recommend seeing both these shows. Next time the Wicked lottery tickets are MINE!! ha!


After seeing some more of downtown NYC, such as the Staten Island ferry at night, the Brooklyn Bridge, Ground Zero, The 5th Ave. Disney Store, and places like Rockerfeller Plaza, I also stuffed myself with some wonderful Chinese food (a bi-product of staying with Taiwanese people) and my favorite donuts, DUNKIN' DONUTS!!! All in all, the time in New York and with Campbell and his family, was such a great time. It reminded me of how much I miss my friends that are still in Taiwan (or have moved back to their respective home countries), but I look forward to these mini "reunion" trips. SAN DIEGO 2007, BABY!!!!

Until laterz!

Still alive...

I know, I know...I haven't written in a long time. I'm getting on it. I just returned from a 'mini' vacation to NYC. It was great and always fun to got to the big city. I'll post some pics and tell you about it in another entry. Just wanted everyone to know that I'm still kicking and got some things in the works. I'll hopefully get some samples of recent stuff posted soon.

Until laterz!

LifeLight 2006

Okay..I know this concert festival was Labor Day weekend, but I'm just now getting the pics off my camera. For those of you that might not know, LifeLight is a FREE Christian Festival held here in Sioux Falls, SD. It's been going on for at least five years and has gotten many of the biggest names in Christian music, all genres! It is held over the Labor Day weekend, Friday thru Sunday. So, after the first night of concert fun not happening because of the huge amount of rain that turned the parking lot into a mud wrestler's dream, the clouds cleared on the second day and I was able to see Jeremy Camp and one of my all time favorite groups, Casting Crowns.


There concert was as good as it was two years ago. I didn't end up talking with them in person this time (cause it was just way too much MA FAN!!) but I had a blast with the group from my sunday school class.

I love hanging out with friends and acting like we are still in college! ha!
The last day of the Festival, had Remedy Drive (a some what local band from Lincoln, NE), Kutless and Newsboys. Remedy Drive (previously known as "Remedy") is as good as ever. Kutless was a little tame since the lead singer had had shoulder surgery recently. The boy's from down under of Newsboys put on a good concert per usual.

Thank ya...Thank ya very much!

Hey all! Been on a bit of a road trip since last Friday night. Leaving my country home in South Dakota at around 3AM, I traveled about 12 hours to Indianapolis for my dear "Taiwan days" friend, Amy's wedding. Now, keep in mind this was a trip with me driving alone. I made it...and don't necessarily want to do it again...but I gotta get back home! Amy was beautiful! The wedding was beautiful! Indy...not really so beautiful...but oh well. Reunited with some good friends and even managed to make some wonderful new ones.

After a fun time at the wedding, I jumped into my Jetta (that I'm told needs a name) with four OTHER "Taiwan days" friends. Now, remember, said "nameless" Jetta is not all that huge, but we managed to pack five people's luggage into the trunk and then pack the owners of that luggage into the front and back seats and headed to the home of blues and Graceland, Memphis, TN!

The girls and me in Memphis, TN

This was only the beginning...

Here...There...

I just get a kick every time I pass this corner near my home. The sign has been up for a while now and as far as I can tell, no one knows what this sign is directing too or for what..but it sure gives me a chuckle...and reminds me of the corner I need to take...even if I have driven the same route since I started driving!



Until laterz!