Superpowers Online Premier

The short comedy film Superpowers is finally online!If you would like to view our fun little flick just click HERE.

I've gone Deviant!

There is more work to do but like many great artists before me, I now have a Deviant Art Gallery! Please feel free to stop by!
-Josh

This One's For The Kids - by Josh

Well, all my work is done on the summer camp program. It wasn't really completed but it did finally end due to time.

One of the projects I worked on is this small four page comic that acts as a flyer for the camp program. This is my real first attempt at drawing and coloring a comic book, lettering and graphics not included.The following images are the cast of superhero characters featured in the program. The drawings were made to be a series of posters, one for each character. I was not able to color all of them. Graphics such as font and logos were added later.

For those out there who know a certain friend of mine, this entire curriculum was created by Steve Burrows!

How We Spent July 4, 2006

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYBODY!

Josh has been bugging me for a whole year now to tell this story so, I thought it would be fitting to relive it on its anniversary. It is sure to be a classic 4th of July "tail" for years to come. So, here goes….

It was July 4, 2006. After realizing that it was over one hundred degrees inside our house and that all of our food had either melted, disintegrated, or spontaneously combusted, we sought refuge in the good air conditioning and sustenance of the Cheesecake Factory. By the time we decided being at home would no longer be a safety hazard, it was dark outside and the 4th of July festivities were in full swing all around us. It seemed like there were insane amounts of explosives shooting into the air from every one of our neighbor’s yards. I hadn’t seen anything like it since I lived in the "909." Josh and I decided to enjoy the spectacle from our front step since the likelihood of someone catching our house on fire was high and we preferred to watch it burn down from the outside rather than the inside. The sky was filled with bright bursts and loud bangs and there were more people out and about than I have ever seen on our block.

As we watched explosion after explosion come dangerously close to igniting someone’s roof, we noticed a semi-large dog, making his way across our front lawn at full speed. He was headed straight for us, and before we could even figure out what was happening, the dog had stopped right at our feet and appeared to be looking for shelter from all the noise by nuzzling in between us. He was noticeably terrified and, judging by the way he was panting, had probably been running for a while. We weren’t really sure how to react. The dog obviously belonged to someone but no one around us appeared to be missing him. He was wearing a collar but nothing else- no license, no ID tags, no clues as to where he might have come from. We yelled over to some people that were in our neighbor’s yard. It wasn’t their dog. We yelled as loud as we could, "Did anybody lose a dog?" No answer, just more deafening booms. The dog was obviously getting more distraught and we weren’t quite sure what to do.

We decided maybe he was thirsty so I went in the house to get some water and Josh stayed with the dog trying to calm him down. In the time it took me fill up a small container with tap water the dog managed to find its way to our open back door. I could hear Josh yelling from outside, "I think the dog is in the house!" as I turned around to see the dog walking casually through my living room. Josh’s suspicions were confirmed when he finally caught up to the excitement just in time to see the dog make his way to our kitchen floor and comfortably lay down like he owned the place.

We were baffled. A strange dog had taken up residence on our kitchen floor and we had no idea what to do. He was still panting pretty hard but no longer looked scared. He just sat there perfectly content to suddenly be a part of our family. We cranked up the air conditioning and all of the fans to drown out the ongoing festivities outside. This dog was large enough to kill us both if he suddenly snapped and went on a rampage, so we made sure to speak softly and not move too quickly as we scooted the small bowl of water toward him. We didn’t have dog food on hand so we decided a few slices of bread would probably be okay for him to eat- the only other choices were Marshmallow Peeps or melted Spongebob Squarepants fruit snacks.

While the dog decided to take a nap, we tried to figure out what to do. The Humane Society and Animal Control could be of no immediate help to us. Their suggestions were to either wait till the next day when they could send someone out to pick the dog up or just drive him to the nearest shelter and drop him off ourselves. I wasn't wild about sharing a confined space with a dog I didn't know for a twenty minute car ride to Downey so we decided to take the dog for a walk and try to figure out where he lived on our own. We just happened to have a dog leash on hand (a remnant from the previous Halloween- it's not nearly as weird as you are probably thinking it is) so we pulled it out and as soon as we started talking about going for a walk in that excited talking-to-an-animal voice, the dog's tail started to wag.

There were no objections form the dog when we latched the leash onto his collar and led him outside. By now most of the neighbors had exploded anything they could light on fire so things were winding down for the night. As we paraded the dog up and down the streets, we hoped that he would just suddenly remember where he lived and lead us there but he didn't appear to be in a hurry to get anywhere. In fact, he was very well behaved on the leash and didn't even get that excited around other dogs we passed. Someone somewhere had trained this dog. We talked to everyone who was still outside and no one recognized this dog or knew of anyone who might be looking for him.

There was a brief moment of hope when, upon hearing the sounds of some kids (probably playing with explosives) in a nearby cul-de-sac, the dog's ears perked up and he gently pulled us toward the noise. There were several families in the cul-de-sac cleaning up the remnants of their flaming fun. None of them thought the dog looked familiar though. We warned all of them that this was not our dog and we didn't know how friendly he actually was but some of the kids ignored this and wanted to pet him anyway. The dog seemed to have no problem being pawed by tiny hands and surrounded by high pitched squeels and laughter so we suspect he may have come from a family with young children. Unfortunately, none of these families were his so we decided to return home, unsuccessful in our mission.

As we headed back in the direction of our house, the dog seemed to almost be leading us, like he remembered exactly where our walk had begun and when we came within a block of destination, he broke into a bit of a trott and lead us right up to our front door, tail wagging, tongue hanging out, happy to be...home? By this time, I had already decided to name him Sparky (get it, Sparky?) and was trying to figure out how we could hide a large animal from our landlord and the guys living in the "real" house behind us. Josh and I have both wanted a dog since before we got married so this was almost an answer to prayer but the reality of the situation was that this just wouldn't work out. Not now anyway.

We took several stunning photographs of Sparky and printed up a bunch of "Found Dog" posters that we planned on putting up all over the neighborhood the next day. Everything was set, we would keep Sparky in the gated area behind our house for the night and feed him some dog food that our friend had agreed to bring over in the morning. Once we got the posters up, we would give it a couple days and if we didn't hear anything, we would give in and call a shelter to come pick him up.

I would love for this story to end with us being the heros who reunited a lost dog with his family. I would even settle for an ending with us saying goodbye to Sparky as they took him away to be adopted by someone who could keep him. Unfortunately, the real ending is rather anti-climactic and offers no closure- which is why it's taken me a year to figure out how to tell it without it being a total bummer at the end so, you can either insert your own happy and exciting conclusion here or just read the real one below.

Basically, when we got up the next morning and went outside to check on our visitor, he was gone. There was no sign of him anywhere. Only the side gate, unknowingly left open by one of the residents of the house behind us. We were sad but hopeful that Sparky had either remembered where he lived and returned home, or been picked up by someone who kept him as their own. We will probably never know. But even now, every time I see a grey and black dog anywhere near our neighborhood, a part of me wonders if it might Sparky, trying to find us- if only just to relive those few hours we all shared last year on the Fourth of July.

Transformed

Hi guys,

Just wanted to let everyone know that we just got back from the theater. Guess what we saw before the release date?

Too Much Time On My Hands?

Last month for Josh’s birthday I decided I wanted to get him tickets to an upcoming concert but wasn’t sure which event he would most prefer to attend. I narrowed it down to three choices and put together the following "comic book" to present them to Josh. There are a few semi-obscure jokes that may or may not be funny to you if you don’t know the back story but everyone that has seen it in person has chuckled at least a bit so I decided to make it available to the entire world. Here it is in all it’s cheesy glory:
Just in case you’re wondering, Josh chose #3, Alison Kraus and Union Station at the Greek Theater tomorrow night. We would still like to see Weird Al but we missed the boat on getting tickets for any of the OC Fair performances so we’re going to have to wait till the end of his tour when he comes back through SoCal. Also, you may have noticed my "subtle" subliminal message about the Keith Urban concert- I guess it worked! (see June 26 post)

The Perfect Alibi (by Katie)

If for some strange reason I was ever named the prime suspect of a crime that happened the Saturday before last, and was dramatically asked the question, "Where were you the night of June 16, 2007?!" I might have difficulty deciding whether I should use my rock solid alibi or just take credit for the crime and go to jail. After all, would anyone even believe me if I told the truth? I wouldn't have even believed it myself if you had told me I would actually be where I was that night. I can picture myself on the witness stand with the "edge of your seat" courtroom suspense becoming unbearable and everyone waiting for me to answer. I would decide that jail probably isn't worth it and then slowly lean forward and mumble something about being at a concert into the microphone. From there, they would undoubtedly want to know the details of said concert and, to ensure the credibility of my statement, I would have to offer up a painfully precise description of the evening. There would probably be many shocked faces, audibly sharp gasps, and maybe even fainting- depending on who was telling the story afterward.
So, just in case by some freak coincidence I am wrongly accused of a crime I didn't commit and in order to clear my name I am forced to testify on my own behalf, revealing where I actually was on June 16, 2007, I would prefer you read it here in my own words, rather than those of the over-sensationalized press.
Now, for those of you who care enough to actually still be reading, I was ... drum roll please ... at-a-Keith-Urban-concert-experiencing-the-Love-Pain-and-the-Whole-Crazy-Thing-tour-live-and-in-stereo-at-the-Staples-Center...there, I said it. Now you know.
Okay, okay, I know you're probably thinking one of two things, "So what," or "Who the heck is this Keith Urban guy and why does Katie seem so self consious about going to his concert?" (or perhaps if you know who he is and you are mildly obsessed with him like I am, you may be wishing you got to go too). For those of you who really just don't care, I give you permission to stop reading right now, I won't be offended- just don't blame me when everyone is talking about how this one ends and you don't know because you didn't bother to read the whole thing. Now, for those of you who do wish to continue reading but don't already know who Keith Urban is, let me introduce you. Keith-everyone......everyone-Keith. Keith Urban has been on the country music scene for several years now but was most recently in the news/tabloids for marrying Nicole Kidman (who is almost as pretty as he is) and then a few months later, just days before the release of his latest album, checking himself into rehab. Now, with his life back on track, he is touring the world showcasing his latest album and greatest hits including, "Stupid Boy," "I Told You So," -referred to by Keith as a "ckeeky sarcastic love song" and "You'll think of me," -referred to by me and Josh as the "Suh-weater Song" (ask us why sometime- don't worry, it's not embarassing or even that funny).
I guess I feel a little rediculous about this whole thing because my initial interest in Keith Urban was his scruffy good looks and well-styled hair. Somehow, I've reverted back to being a junior high girl. I can't exactly pinpoint the moment I decided to start listening to country music radio just to hear his songs or when I made the decision to buy one of his albums, then all of his albums, and tickets to his concert, and a comemorative T-shirt and life-size poster at the concert. (I'm kidding about that last part- I only got the poster). I guess the road that brought me to this point has been a gradual journey paved by Country Music Television (CMT) when I was between jobs, KFROG 95.1FM, and the newly back on the air Go Country 105FM. I had never been a fan of country music before all of this- except for a very brief time in 1992 when my family was so caught up in the "Achy Breaky Heart" craze and the legendary mullet of Billy Ray Cyrus, that we actually bought the album and listened to it...a lot. So, I guess maybe I'm just a product of my raisin'. After all, I am a white girl who lived in "the sticks" (also known as the Inland Empire) for about eighteen years- sounds pretty redneck to me. Why should anyone be surprised that songs about horses, beer, and tractors are suddenly appealing to me? This does slightly complicate my theory that I am secretly Canadian but hey, Keith Urban is from Australia so I guess it doesn't really matter. All I know is I had a great time at the concert singing along to every word of every song. Josh was a good sport and sat there beside me the whole time probably wishing country music had stayed in Texas where he left it. I have no way of knowing how long this little phase of mine will last (again, I'm like a junior high girl) but I do know that June 16, 2007 will live in my memory as the night I breathed the same air as Keith Urban...and a few thousand other people in boots and cowboy hats. It's great to feel thirteen again, without actually having to be thirteen again.
- Katie

Hipahipa! Part II

Congrats and 100 points to Adam for submitting the correct answer to our June 11th word scramble. And another 100 points to Adam for being the only one to even make an effort. Yes, the answer was "King Kamehameha Day." Josh came up with the fun illustrations based on the items we ate drank, and watched in celebration of Hawaii's famous monarch. But what do these things have to do with Hawaii?
Hawaii consumes massive amounts of Spam- more than any other US state. Hawaiians prefer eating the canned meat in a dish called Spam Musubi- and so do we.Spam musubi has become a favorite "special occasion" food at our house. It's fun to make and to eat! Check it out at [wikipedia].
I honestly didn't know pineapple wine existed until I walked into BevMo and found a bottle of it in the dessert wine section. Produced and bottled by Tedeschi Vineyards, LTD. in Ulupalakua, Maui, Hawaii, the description on the back reads, "...a soft, dry fruity, wine with an unmistakable pineapple bouquet." Mmmmmm pineappley.
And last but not least, being the rabbid Mystery Science Theater 3000 fiends that we are, we managed to track down the one and only episode (that we know of) where the characters watch a movie that is set in Hawaii, "Code Name: Diamond Head." As usual, the movie is terrible and the jokes are funny- especially after a little of the Maui Blanc.
In the true spirit of Aloha, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. Mahalo to King Kamehameha for giving us a great excuse to celebrate. Hipahipa!
Mark your calendars (June 11, 2008) and feel free to come share in the fun with us next year!

Hipahipa!

One hundred points to the person who can figure out what today's date has in common with these things...Unscramble these letters for the three word answer:
MKAGMEYHANDEIAKAH

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Superbusy

Yes, it has obviously been a very long time since our last post. This is not because we’re lazy but because we have been very busy both professionally and personally. I’m not sure how the average blogger finds the time to make posts in times like these. Anyway, let’s get ya’ll up-to-date!
The short comedy film of Superpowers has been completed and had its premier in San Diego on Saturday May 26.We got word that it was a huge hit and due to the audience demands, shown three times!
We missed the premier since we were in Dallas for the wedding of my lifetime friend Randall Knuton to a woman who is a true blessing from God, Ryanna. I was the Best Man! Thank you Randall and CONGRATULATIONS to both of you!! Speaking of weddings, my friend Ryan Agadoni also got married on the same day to a wonderful girl named Amy. CONGRATULATIONS!!
Superpowers was a great film to work on and I feel very grateful that my friend and director Mike Olson let Katie and I share in the creative development. I completed the comic book pages that were featured in a great opening credit sequence created by Jared Gerbrandt and Nathan Morgan.These pages were created using Photoshop, they do not exist in real life! I basically pasted the comic onto some scanned paper that I crinkled and then added a rough paper texture along with painting in some paper stains to show decay. Katie provided all the text for the comic book and the opening credits themselves! The film will be available online soon and when it is I'll let you know.

These days I’ve been working a large illustration and design project for a summer camp curriculum with a superhero theme. How funny is that? The projects are many and diverse (character, logo, costume, set, etc.) One of the projects I’m working on is a small four page comic that will act as a flyer for the camp program.
Here is a sneak preview:This job has taken up most of my time these days. I’ve been working on this while going to an 8-5 job with traffic, a life drawing class two days a week, my birthday (May 8), our trip to Dallas, and our computer was down for almost two weeks. I hope to have more info and images in my next post!

Better Late Then Never (SPD-01)

Last year for St. Patrick's Day (SPD) I began an annual project which I shared with some friends. The following is the email I sent out:
3/17/06
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!
I thought I'd share with you guys something kinda unique for this day. Instead of celebrating the life of the man who brought the Gospel to Ireland, I did what any average Joe would do and designed a theme park attraction.
This attraction is not a St. Patrick Day theme, instead it is a tribute to Irish myth and folklore, but it is hosted by Leprechauns. I actually came up with the idea when I was a freshman in College, but I haven't drawn anything for it until now.
I apologize for how rough and crude these drawings are, I made most of them during my breaks at my job within the last day or so.
I have only scratched the surface of designing this attraction. After the "stone room" comes another section that transforms into a motion simulator, and there is even more after that! I might continue drawing all of this, or I may just wait till next year and make this an annual tradition.
Well, thank you for taking your time to read about my crazy ideas, and have a HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
Back to Present Day: This year I was swamped with personal and professional matters that kept me from getting any more drawings done on time for SPD. About a week ago I got this drawing done during my morning break (I latter painted it in PS). It is my first attempt at designing a Leprechaun. I followed a few descriptions from various folk tales, such as the face and the red vest.Kenfied Trivia: Katie's mother tried to bribe her doctor to ensure a SPD birth, but was unsuccessful and Katie came two days later by way of emergency C-section. I guess mom does know best.

The site that may never be

During October last year, I did a good chunk of drawings for a Superpowers! website. It was deigned to be completely done in Flash animation. The navigation buttons sat on the side of the main frame and were designed to look like elevator floor buttons, in fact the whole site was designed with an elevator theme.Within the main frame was an elevator room where Smiley and Darko would stand around in various poses and with small bits of animation (ex. a tapping foot). The doors would open and close revealing different areas of the site along with some fun random images. Speaking of random, if a visitor happed to press the big red button something wacky would happen. Such as . . .Sadly the web designer was unable to finish working on the site. However, he did design the opening page.
Kenfield Trivia: Even though it doesn't show too clearly, Katie created the floor design for the elevator. Ten points to anyone who finds the hidden "signature." Hint: Try tilting your head slightly to the left, standing on one foot, and whistling Dixie (purple monkey washing machine). No, but seriously, there is something hidden in the squiggles.

Post-Hiatus Post

Hi ya'll!
Still alive and drawing!
As I said in my previous post, I'm working on creating a fake comic book to use as the opening credits for Mike Olson's short film Superpowers! This is a rough drawing I made that shows what the final comic might look like. Katie is supplying all the font including the credits themselves.The opening credits will be drawn in a 1950's style comic introducing the two main characters and their history together. It will all be tied together with an exciting music score written by the Livesay twins! So far it sounds fantastic!
I'll let you guys know how it turns out when we're done, which should be soon!
BTW- Check-out what would have been the offical website for Superpowers! I did all the art for it and I will post what was not used sometime later.

Drawings that Fit

Back in October I made these drawings for a comedy short film by Mike Olson titled, “Superpowers!”The film is about a caped crusader called Darko The Night Watchman, and his archenemies, Smiley, set in a 60’s style Adam West (Batman) world. These characters get stuck in an elevator together at a point when their careers are on the way down. The drawings I made are the comic book versions of the characters during their prime years. I designed these characters with Mike before the script and casting was completed.When Katie and I visited the set during the shoot we had a very surreal experience. While my eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the studio a tall figure in a cap walked up to greet me, I don’t believe I returned the greeting very well because I was in shock. It was Darko in full garb! Now, just to clear things I have done a little costume design work in the past mainly for stage productions, but this was very different. Not only was this guy dressed in a fantastic Darko costume, but it was exactly like my drawing! I thought that the costume designer was just going to use my drawings as a base to work from but never did I expect the costumes to turn out just like them! Matt Biedel, the actor who played Darko, was a very nice guy and he did a great job with his performance.The man who built these wonderful costumes was Randal Sumabat, another nice guy. He comes from San Diego and worked on these outfits during his own free time within a very limited schedule! Randal, in a very giddy way, showed me his work on the Smiley costume, and again I was floored!Matt Gaydos, also a nice guy, played Smiley and pulled off an equally great performance!I am credited as the Concept Designer for this film and I still have more work to do. Currently Mike and I are designing the opening credits of the film which will feature more comic book drawings of the characters. I’ll be sure to tell you guys more about that later!
- Josh

WWW (Part 2)

The Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) rules the land of the Winkies from her castle. To protect her stronghold and maintain control over the Winkies the WWW has armies of bees, crows, wolves, Winkie soldiers/slaves, and winged monkeys.The WWW does not carry a broomstick; instead she bares an umbrella which gives a hint of her fear of water. When Dorothy splashes the WWW she does not melt away into steam as much as she turns into a pile of mush! The book illustrates this with the description of brown sugar melting. Since she is so vulnerable to water I came up with an idea of her skin being cracked and brittle like dry soil.I also came up with idea that she has cast some kind of spell on her body to make her immortal. This spell, however, is also a curse because even though she is still alive her body is decaying and falling apart. Kind of like the curse in the black comedy film Death Becomes Her. I created an example of this by drawing her left hand.The WWW possesses a Magical Eye that she can use to see across great distances. I came up with the following idea of what it could look like.The Eye pivots and its midsection can extend like a telescope. I also thought it would be interesting if the WWW stole a green emerald from the Emerald City to use as a type of magical lenses for her Eye.The WWW also possesses the Golden Cap which is a magical hat that allows it's wearer to give three commands to the Winged Monkeys. "Twice already the Wicked Witch had used the charm of the Cap. Once was when she had made the Winkies her slaves, and set herself to rule over their country. The Winged Monkeys had helped her do this. The second time was when she had fought against the Great Oz himself, and driven him out of the land of the West. The Winged Monkeys had also helped her in doing this." The WWW uses the Cap to control the Monkeys for a third and final time in kidnapping Dorothy and her friends. Later Dorothy would use the Cap herself to carry the team back to the Emerald City.I came up with this image of what the Golden Cap could look like. Since it seemed like an ancient device, I gave it an Aztec influence since the Winged Monkeys come across as an old warrior race in the book. The only thing missing in this design is a ring of diamonds and rubies. I'll try to figure out how to make that work later.

I don’t believe that the WWW is really a witch at all, kind of like how The Wizard was not really a wizard. A Witch in the Land of Oz seems to be a being that naturally possesses magical abilities. I believe that the WWW was just a normal Winkie that envied and desired the magical powers of real Witches. Since she didn’t have magical powers of her own she had to obtain or make magic items that could make her powerful, such as her Magical Eye and the Golden Cap. With the building of her magic abilities she became power hungry and eventually took over the land of the Winkies.

BTW: If you would like to read the chapter in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that features the WWW just click here.

More to come!

Puppetmasterpeice

Almost a year ago I was browsing through the Documentary section of a DVD store when something caught my eye, mainly because it did not belong in that section. The title and appearance of this DVD case got me really intrigued. Before I even read the description on the back I already new that I wanted to see this movie.Strings has got to be one of the most well made original film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s so refreshing to discover something that isn’t the same old recycled crap. The story plays out like an ancient Greek tale about two feuding tribes. An old warrior king dies leaving his son a message to end the endless carnage between their people and another powerful sect. But an evil advisor, envious of the throne, steals the message before it gets to the prince and lies to him, saying that the king was killed by their enemy. So the young brave prince goes on a false journey of revenge only to be taken down a path he was not expecting filled with danger, punishment, and forgiveness.Strings is a film that takes place in a world of marionettes. This is not a film that has marionettes pretending to be human characters, the puppets know what they are. This is a race of people whose life force comes from the “strings” that descend from the heavens. They carve their young out of wood and connect the strings that the mother grows to the child, giving it life. Death is caused by the severing or destruction of the “head string.”Not only does this film show how life is given to these marionettes but it explores the functioning of the world in which they exist. For example, when a city is under siege, instead of using a set of doors to block the city gate, a large bar is raised over the entrance creating a barrier that blocks the strings of the outsiders, preventing them from entering the city. What impressed me even more is not only did this film explore this unique world and race but it did so in a manner that did not slow down the story. That does not happen often.

So if you want to see a film that is very different from anything you’ve seen before, checkout Strings. It’s Kenfield approved!

WWW (Part 1)

Frank L. Baum’s Land of Oz books have been a wonderful part of our American culture. What I find so special about the Oz books is that Baum has created for the USA what C.S. Lewis did for England in his land of Narnia. Like Lucy and her siblings leaving rural England in magical ways Dorothy and others have left rural North America (such as Kansas.) Oz is the magical land that Americans can claim as their own! Generations have embraced and explored them over the years in many ways.

Whenever someone mentions the Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) an image that comes to our minds is that of a lean, green woman dressed in black with a pointy hat and a nose to match. Top this off with an evil cackle while soaring through the sky on a broom stick. This design originated in the MGM film based on the first Oz book and it has been imitated ever since in other books, films, and now a wonderful musical (Wicked!). However, no one seems to think of the original WWW from the words of Baum’s description or W. W. Denslow's illustrations. She’s very different from the pop culture image in more ways than one, and she is wicked through and through, not a misunderstood victim of circumstance. Not to mention she is a very small part of the book.Anyway, I thought that I would take this opportunity to show you how I explore and design a character and my example will be the WWW.This is the basic form of the character that I am going to use as the platform for the rest of my work.

I will continue to present a series of posts covering my design exploration of this OZ character.

Texas Love Found In The Philippines

My dear and life long friend Randall Knutson is getting married! I know that some of the people who read our blog know Randall which is why I'm sharing this exciting news! Randall and I have been friends since we were in second grade in Duncanville (South Dallas) Texas. Later we would find each other again in Manila, Philippines and attend the same school through junior high. We found each other again in Duncaville and graduated from high school in the same school system that we were in durring second grade. Throughout these years our friendship has grown stronger.

I am so excited and happy that Randall is getting hitched! But I'm even more exited that he is marrying an amazing woman, Ryanna. The journey of their relationship is even more exiting than the journey of our friendship. Read their story here and find out why!

The wedding will be in Dallas, Texas on May 26.

CONGRATULATIONS RANDALL AND RYANNA!

North Pole Workshop (a themed environment)

For a little while now I have been designing an idea for a small, indoor themed environment/experience of Santa’s Workshop. It’s basically like a very small theme park with attractions and other themed activities. Imagine taking an area of Disneyland (Frontier Land, Toontown, Fantasyland, etc.) and making it a small, separate theme park. I have a few sketches of the main entrance to the Workshop and I hope to draw more soon.

The entrance area will be outside as opposed to the rest of the Workshop which is indoors. Towering in front is a landmark formation of the North Pole. I wanted this pole to appear at first to be man (or elf) made but when you get close you get the impression that is a natural creation that appears to be growing up from the earth and bursting through the ice.

Just past the Pole is this small building that contains a “secret” entrance into Santa’s Workshop which is suggested to be hidden underground. I thought it would be fun to somehow make this building appear magically from the snow when the visitors approach it. This one room building is what I call a “Crowd Divider.” It breaks up the visitors into smaller groups for a more controlled and smoother entrance into the attraction. A good example of a Crowd Divider is the stretching elevator room in Disney’s Haunted Mansion. These kinds of rooms also help to set the tone in order to prepare the visitors for what they are about to experience, rather like an Overture for a theatrical production. This room contains every image possible of Christmas in our culture. For example the building itself is deigned to resemble a Christmas Tree.

In the center of this round room is this globe showing the complicated flight path of Santa. It is designed to look like it was carved out of wood.








Above this globe is this dome ceiling that wraps around the base of the tower’s vault. In this dome are suggested silhouettes of iconic structures from around the world.








A long pole that hangs from the center of the tower reaches down to a spot just above the globe. Attached at the base of the pole is the “North Pole” sign that points at the top of the globe. Also attached by a rod to the pole at the spot just below the dome is a small model of Santa’s sleigh. The sleigh rotates around in a circle (this is due to the pole that is slowly spinning) suggesting Santa’s flight around the world. I’m still in the midst of drawing the rest of the elements of this richly detailed room. Whatever I don’t finished designing this Christmas I will continue developing during every Christmas to come, as is my tradition.
There are much more exciting things to come!
Preview: This room will become completely animated and a whole sequence of events will occur around the audience leading to the secret entrance.