Pelican - Bird Rescue

I've been reading a lot lately about organizations that are helping to rehabilitate birds that have been injured (or rather, oiled) in the BP oil spill. One company that I've been impressed with is Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research.

I'm a big believer that part of what makes our planet a great place to live are the diverse and beautiful creatures that inhabit it. Beginning today, I'm featuring products with this pelican design at my Zazzle.com shop. All proceeds from sales of these items will be donated to TSBR&R. If you're so inclined or inspired, I invite you to either buy one of these items or donate to them directly.

Pelican - Bird Rescue Products

Thanks for stopping by!

My Interview in Imagine Magazine

Melanie Jordan, publisher of the on-line art magazine Imagine, contacted me earlier this year about doing an interview. I had a blast answering her questions, many of which gave me a golden opportunity to talk about the history behind some of the projects I've worked on. It's worth checking out her magazine site, not for my interview, but for the great, comprehensive interviews she's managed to gather.

Since I'm plugging things today, I'd like to send a shout-out to Heather Dixon and her wonderful blog. Heather's done a lot of work on projects I've been involved with, and I was recently editing some of her storyboards together... and laughing out loud. What a clever, funny, and talented writer and artist. If you haven't discovered her quirky blog, check it out!

Thanks for all the great comments and feedback. It keeps me goin'!

Everyone have their tickets for Princess and the Frog?

Ric Estrada 1928-2009

I just received some very sad news. Ric Estrada, one of the most prolific comic book and animation artists in the industry, and a man that I consider both a friend and a mentor, has passed away.

I worked with Ric on a never-released direct-to-video series as his assistant director in the early 2000's, but he had previously worked on such classics as Johnny Quest, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Wacky Races, Captain Planet, and a plethora of others.

What I learned later is that he'd also had a profound impact on the comic book industry. Using his AMBIDEXTROUS DRAWING SKILLS, he cranked out literally thousands of pages for war comics such as Sgt. Rock, romance titles, and even brief stints on Batman, Wonder Woman, and the daily Spider-Man comic strip. At DC, Ric co-created the characters of Power Girl and Amethyst, among others. He received an Eisner Inkpot Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 2000 San Diego Comic Con.

Ric also had a rich personal history. A native of Cuba, he attended college at the same time as Fidel Castro. He moved to the United States on a sponsorship from Ernest Hemmingway! After traveling around the globe on many amazing adventures, Ric and his family finally settled in Utah for the remainder of his years.

By far the best legacy Ric leaves is his sweet, caring nature, his sincere concern and guidance toward those who needed it, and the lesson that life can be whatever you make of it. Thank you, Ric, for enriching me both personally and professionally. The things you taught me will never be forgotten, and I promise to follow the advice you once gave me: "Learn everything you can and pass it on."

When I go to Free Comic Book Day tomorrow, I'll be thinking of you.

Read more about Ric:
Wikipedia
Ponytailers
TwoMorrows
Comicyclopedia
Ric Estrada Movie

My Office Away From Work

Last year I moved into a new house. It's been an experience, to say the least. One of the highlights of the move is that I got my own office. I finally got things set up how I liked them, so I wanted to share the joy!
Here's my desk. As you can see, I've got the requisite faux-leather comfy office chair for all the hours sitting on my rear. I built some shelves for the desk to slid my lightbox under so I'd have room for my TV/DVD player. (All the better to watch Futurama while I work! Bwahahaha!) I've got my Cintiq all set and ready for scribblin', and enough hard drives running to heat a small country.

Here you can see some of my one-sheet movie posters, and the Wall-E poster that poetically sits atop the junk I haven't had time to organize yet. Fold-out couch by IKEA. They had purple and lime green, so I chose purple.


There's more of the couch, and the rest of my one-sheets. At the end of the couch is my monument to Window NT... An old non-working computer covered by Pixar and Disney plush toys. Somewhere in that pile is a Dory doll that starts talking for no reason at 2 in the morning.
My Little Mermaid Big Fig, plus one of my snowglobes and a water fountain ala "Kiss the Girls." I guess this is my mermaid corner. It's fun being a big kid!

Here's the overview... You can see my massive wall of DVD's and my other wall of books and snowglobes. I like to collect Disney snowglobes that capture a great moment from a film. The appeal for me isn't really the globe part, it's the music and characters combined to show a great scene. A couple of my recent favorite additions are a Pecos Bill globe and a Pete's Dragon globe.

Anyway, thanks for letting me share a little bit about myself! Have a great day!