ABOUT ME
My love for movies goes back as early as I can remember. Sitting in the dark theater and getting lost in the world of the story while the film projector flickered onto the screen. I remember feeling those connections you made with the character and how it stuck with you after the film had ended. I knew I wanted to tell stories of my own, but how?
Growing up in the 80s there weren’t a lot of options available as a kid to make films especially without any money (no iPhones or filmmaking apps back then). So starting with what I had, a pencil and a paper, I started making flip book animations. This took much longer than I realized so I didn’t get too far. :)
My Grandma saw some potential in these drawings and really gave me encouragement that I still remember today. So I kept drawing but I wanted to do more.
My Dad, a track coach and in need of a way to record his athletes performances, had just bought a VHS recorder which was basically a large VCR machine with a shoulder strap and large camera wired to it.
After much convincing, he finally let me use the camera to start “video taping” each of my pencil drawings as close to single frames as I could by hitting the record and pause button as fast as I could. I also tried my hand at claymation a few times using some of my younger brothers Play-Doh.
Later on my parents cashed in a savings account to help me buy my first computer, an Apple IIGS. I had used other computers in school but this computer was in color! The “GS” stood for Graphics and Sound and using that computer I created my first 2D animation on the computer. I used the mouse to hand draw these 7UP bottle cap characters playing instruments timed to the song Hey Jude by the Beatles. I knew this was something I wanted to pursue more when I went to college.
Finding a college that taught computer animation in the 90s was nearly impossible. At that time the only computers capable of doing 3D animation were $20,000+ Silicon Graphics machines. There were only a few schools in the country that even had them. One was Kansas City Art Institute where I was able to receive my BFA in 1997 and work for a local company doing litigation animations for lawsuits among other things like a Princess Diana reconstruction accident for Inside Edition. As a student I created a 3D animated short film called “Ca Chinks” that won an award at the Kansas City Juliee Festival.
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All of this led to the opportunity to work for amazing companies like DreamWorks Animation, Square, and Tippett Studio on films such as The Matrix, Bad Guys, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and more!
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I also got the opportunity to direct several short films including Ozlobot, For My Sister, and El Aura Azul which have been featured in major festivals around the world. The short film El Aura Azul was acquired by the French channel Canal+ and Gonella Productions.
After many years of not creating much personal artwork, I came back to some of my early inspirations that I had as a kid and started creating images and short animations again using story, art, and technology to transport the viewer to a unique world and to evoke certain emotions.
I drew on my childhood memories of movies, anime, games, art, and music from the 80s to influence my artwork today. Music like Synthwave/Vaporwave/LoFi and all the electronic keyboards of the 80s.
My artwork is created using 3D computer graphics and 2D animation techniques trying to find that intersection between art and technology. Bringing in some of my influences of the retro 80s designs, technology, and even the music.
Many of my pieces explore themes of the individual, isolation, and technology. Finding the beauty in vintage city neon lights and technology to create pieces that tell a story and create a sense of nostalgia even for places the viewer hasn’t been. To transport the viewer, giving glimpses into a story that’s unfolding, evoking emotions of nostalgia for the past.
Clients
DreamWorks Animation
Tippett Studio
Square Animation
Metropolis 3D
Awards
VES Award Nomination - Rise of the Guardians
Kansas City Film Festival Animation Award