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Here’s one of my old drawings from High School. It’s a caricature of one of my friends, Jeremy.

Today, I went through all of my old artwork. Not the drawings, sketches, and doodles of my early years, but the large pieces from High School, college, and recent years. Boy, that was like an archeological dig, exploring and finding old artifacts. Now that I have them out, I’ve decided to archive them in digital form. It may take a while, but I’ll be able to pull up any piece that I want and make copies, prints, or post them online.

Well, my hardback book came in today, and it’s really nice. I was expecting it to somewhat look like it was printed on a laser printer, but it does not. The pictures are clear and colorful, and the dust jacket is glossier than I expected (glossy is good).

Happy new year, all! I’ve been scanning a lot of my old works, including the very first drawing that I did as a serious artist. It’s all childish, but fun stuff that I may occasionally post here (not in the galleries).

I’ve also been working on a private book, something to add to my personal library. But, I’m thinking about making it for sale to the public. That means I’d have to see about permission from Disney since many pieces do hold their copyrights one way or another. Originally wanting to be a Disney animator, I spent a lot of time drawing Disney characters or incorporating Disney themes into my pieces.

I’ve also moved the Doorless Chambers site to its own domain, and it is now its own fully-functioning website.

For updates on my ongoing Halloween props and special effect, read my post at HalloweenForum.com. If you’re a Halloween buff, HalloweenForum.com is an awesome place to get ideas, tips, and how-tos.

I’ve taken on a brand-new public project. In fact, it’s world-wide. I’ve never organized anything like this before, so I hope it goes well. First, it has to get off of the ground. So far, there are only four Web sites participating. But, there’s plenty of time between now and October.

Doorless Chambers is a free online trick-or-treating event by the Disney fan community, for the Disney fan community. Guests will travel from site to site, each offering a downloadable treat.

I’m crossing my fingers.

Several months ago, I helped design a badge for the Banning Police Department’s Honor Guard. The design is loosely based on the regular officer’s badge, and was originally to have the rays in the center be free-floating so that the uniform would been seen through the badge. I guess the see-through feature was a bit too much for the manufacturer to handle, so the area has been filled in with a flat, black enamel.

The badges returned from the manufacturer yesterday, and from what I’ve been told, they look awesome. I’ve also been told that as far as anybody knows, this is the first instance in which any police department in California has custom-designed a badge for their honor guard. Most departments either use a pre-designed badge or simply use their officers’ badge.

As an added bonus, there just happens to be an extra badge. With the help of my Dad, I’ve been able to get my mitts on it! Now, a regular Joe is not allowed to have a police badge because it could be used to impersonate an officer—which is well against the law and not taken lightly. So, tomorrow it will be sent off to be encased in a block of solid acrylic. One of the guys at the station is also talking with the Chief to possibly give it to me for free! Woo-hoo! The badge alone costs $100 or more, and I have no idea how much the acrylic casing costs.

I still haven’t seen the finished badge (I’d at least accept a bad cell phone picture), but I’m looking forward to having my own.

Here is a short time-lapse video of the Mara mural that I reproduced from a photo. It’s a simple procedure: just trace, fill, and shade. Re-creating existing artwork can be relieving since I don’t have to worry about composition, color, etcetera, and there’s still some room for some artistic license. It can also be fun to do, and I enjoyed doing this one.