Long Time No See

Thirty thousand page views. I really can't believe it. I leave the blog for eight months and I come back to steady page views, even after all this time! This audience is the best. You - since you're reading this you're the audience - are the best!

I'm just a dude with a little creativity. A few videos (only three!), a bunch of pictures and words. Who'd'a thunk 30,000 people would be interested in that? Thank you ever so much, dear readers!

Now, to catch you up on a few things I've been doing. I'm just about to graduate from my community college with an Associates of Applied Science in graphic design - print media. That means I'm in the midst of my final semester for a while, which also means I'm busy branding, painting, studying, and designing, with only about six weeks to go!

One of my favorite projects to work on so far this semester has been a branding program for a company called Coccinellidae Co. I designed a logo as well as all the collateral (print materials such as business cards, letterhead, postcards and the like) needed for a company. Take a look:

Business cards and buttons - the cards are squattier than
normal business cards on purpose. It's a very mysterious company, so each card has
 a different vintage image as a background. Also see their blog.

Postcards, for mailing out and possibly as Kickstarter awards,
in case the company decides to do a Kickstarter campaign.

Letterhead. A business isn't a business without letterhead, right?

I am pursuing a career as a designer for Disney, so it makes sense to make some Disney designs, right? I've done several Disney pieces, including these buttons (I'm on a button kick this semester! If you have a button make you're done with, I want one SO bad and would gladly take it off your hands!) and a poster:

Just a few snapshots of things I love: Flynn and Rapunzel, Cinderella Castle and the Main Street Station, and Mickey Bars and Dole Whip!

Disney plunked down the giant Sorcerer Mickey hat in front of the beautiful facade of the Great Movie Ride. Lot's of people wish they'd remove the hat, including me. So, I designed this poster, playing off the idiom "old hat" for something, well, old.

I have a painting class this semester too - I've never painted (as in full blown on a canvas with nice paints) before, but I love that this class is required for my major. It's challenging sometimes, but challenge is good. I have two paintings finished so far:

Abstract piece entitled "Soarin'". It was inspired by the orchestral score to the identically named Disney World and Disneyland attraction. 36"x48", acrylic on canvas. 

Expressionist piece entitled "Kingdom Celebration". This one is based on yet another Disney reference, this time Disney's Tangled. 24"x36", acrylic on canvas.

A lot of you are probably wondering if I tangle any more. I do, but with much less frequency than I used to, unfortunately. Although most consider direct eye contact with the preacher on Sunday mornings to be sacrosanct, I've deviated a bit and now tangle in a journal during sermons. I find it helps me to concentrate on the words being spoken, as my brain is less likely to wander. Increased concentration and Zentangling? I call that a win-win!

One of the things I've loved about running this blog is getting to know some great people! I had the chance to meet another reader, New Zealand-based Karen Taylor, who runs a guerilla art blog titled Artshecried. She has beautiful work on her blog - go check it out! She asked me for an interview, which I happily obliged to!

I also wanted to let you guys know that I'll be heading out to work at the Walt Disney World Resort once again through the Disney College Program right after I graduate! I'm terribly excited, as this time around I'll be working in an attractions role. I thought my experience the first time was a once-in-a-lifetime deal, but it turns out to be a twice-in-a-lifetime deal, I guess! God is good!

You'll hear from me again, I promise. It might take another eight months, but you'll hear from me! I may end up posting more to my other blog, College Casted, since Disney is just around the corner, but keep an eye out on this blog too.

Until next time, friends, keep designing and creating!

Chim-Chim-Cher-Ee

You know when you have an idea for a project and it seems like the best idea you've ever had, and you're grinning from ear to ear thinking about how great it's going to be? You just can't stop thinking about it, and the more you think about it, the better it gets? That's how it was when I started this week's design challenge!

Similar to my previous design challenge, I randomly chose something to design and a theme to base it on. This time the item was a business card and the theme was Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins is my favorite Disney movie, and with "Saving Mr. Banks" (a movie about how Walt Disney acquired the rights to Mary Poppins) coming out in December, it seems this challenge has practically perfect timing!

I started out by deciding that, since Mary Poppins is a magical character and pops up to those who need her most whether they know they need her or not, she doesn't need contact information on her card. The only purpose her business card really serves is to make her look official and to be a memento for the families she helps. The card needed to reflect her grace and charm, but be a bit mysterious. I sketched out multiple ideas, including the card being shaped like her handbag, the design including her measuring tape, and even incorporating her very recognizable hat. I think the flowing curved design I went with most accurately portrays her character.

Of course, there are more characters in Mary Poppins than Mary herself, so I made cards for a few of them, too. The famous nanny wouldn't have needed to come to the Banks household if it weren't for Mr. Banks. He's the workaholic banker who finds his life pleasant. He loves his children, but doesn't quite know what's best for them. He's also a muggle, so-to-speak: he lacks the magic that Mary Poppins possesses. His card has all the contact information, and looks very serious. The inward-curved corners and rounded inner area are reminiscent of a bank note (Although I'm not quite sure what the currency would have looked like back then - at the very least it looks like money to modern American eyes). The image of a businessman, down to the bowler hat.

The last card is the simplest, and I'm not quite sure I like it. This one is for Bert the chimney sweep/screever/one man band/kite salesman. In the movie, he simply goes by "Bert", with no surname mentioned. Upon researching the original books, I found out that the Bert in the movie is an amalgamation of multiple characters from the Mary Poppins books, one of whom is named Herbert Alfred, which is possibly where the name Bert came from. I chose only one of his many occupations - since he's a magical character like Mary Poppins, maybe his business card inexplicably changes depending on what he's currently doing! Anyway, the concept was to depict his broom, one of those with a long handle and bristles pointing outward in a circle. It ended up being a really difficult thing to depict. The lines I can make in Adobe Illustrator are very precise and perfect, but I really wanted something that looked hand-drawn. If I had a pen-tablet I could probably have come up with something like what I was picturing, but since I don't own one I had to make do. I also couldn't find a font that evoked what I wanted to. Oh well, this is just practice anyway. Take a look:

There you have it - business cards for fictional characters. Fun stuff. Until next time, remember "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down"!

Orange Bird by an Orange Nerd

I know, I know. I said that since I was back in Texas from my Florida excursion (see previous blog post) I would post to the blog more often. Summer classes started, and since I was taking two of them my time was taken up by studying. It is my first time taking summer classes - I knew they moved fast, but I didn't expect them to be this fast! One of them is already over with, so now I can blog! Can I get a hoo-rah? Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled blog post:

Sunshine Tree Terrace. That was one of my favorite places in Walt Disney World. This little counter-service kiosk served deliciously refreshing items to cool you off on a hot Florida day. Ice cream cones, floats, fountain drinks, and the legendary Citrus Swirl are all offered here.

Copyright Disney

See that little bird in the illustration above? He's the real reason I love the Sunshine Tree so much! 

He's known simply as the Orange Bird. I enjoy him not just because of his obvious, overwhelming, cuteness, but also because of the interesting story behind him. 

The Orange Bird was created way back in 1970. The Florida Citrus Commission decided to sponsor the Tropical Serenade (AKA the Tiki Room) pavilion in exchange for a mascot. And so the Orange Bird could be found both in Disney World at the Sunshine Tree Terrace and on packaging and merchandise for the Florida Citrus Commission. He even had a vinyl record with a song written by the Sherman Brothers and sung by Anita Bryant that detailed his backstory.

Unfortunately the Orange Bird flew the coop when he faded into obscurity, abandoning his post in the Sunshine Tree. He made his return in the early 2000's, however, in Tokyo Disneyland when the Japanese fell in love with him. Then on April 17th, 2012, the little orange underdog was reinstated to the Terrace and returned to merchandise. He's such a neat little character. I'm glad he's back!

I found and bought the Orange Bird record on Ebay, acquiring a record player shortly thereafter so I could enjoy the musical story of my favorite WDW bird. The album cover is delightfully kitschy, with watercolor branches and flowers surrounding the bright Orange Bird. It occurred to me that the Bird himself would look great in watercolor. Lightbulb!

Copying the illustration, I began sketching Orange Bird on paper. Here's the progression:

Initial sketch.

Lightened sketch so pencil lines won't show through watercolor.

Then I broke out the watercolor pencils and began coloring. 

Almost there...

Orange Bird-ception!

All done.

Before I knew it, a watercolor Orange Bird appeared! I just love him. Now I'm thinking I need to do a paper-pieced version. Then a digital illustration.  He's such a simple character that there are so many opportunities!

As much as I love my Orange Bird painting, I know there are others who would enjoy him a lot too. So I've decided to sell this picture on Ebay. Here's a link to the auction if you're interested:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Disney-Orange-Bird-Inspired-Watercolor-/251298974679?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a82960bd7

I'll be back soon with some things I've been designing! Until then, blessings to you.

A Magical Adventure

Hi friends! It's been a while, huh? My last blog post was over four months ago in January. That was right before I started working in Walt Disney World...

Hold up. Did I just say Disney World? Oh yeah, I did! Sorry about that, I still can't really believe it happened!

You see, I applied for the Disney College Program last fall. I was accepted. I took a semester off school to go have the adventure of working at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida! What an adventure it was.

Going into it, I had no idea what role I would play in the grand show that is Disney World. Would I like my job? Would I be required to wear an embarrassing costume? The only thing I knew for sure was that I would be working main entrance operations. I prayed that I wouldn't be stuck driving a parking tram or working the entrance to a water park. I mean, those things are fine and good (driving a parking tram might actually be pretty fun!), but it wouldn't be the same as working in one of the parks.

It was with great, great delight that I learned on the day I checked in to the apartment complex that I would be working main entrance operations at the Magic Kingdom! As things progressed and I completed Traditions and several rounds of training, I discovered my specific roles were Park Greeter and PAC (Parade Audience Control). I also decided, after talking with many people in many different roles, that Magic Kingdom Park Greeter is arguably one of the best roles offered to Disney College Program participants.

In the Park Greeter role I was generally stationed at a turnstile at the main entrance to the Magic Kingdom. I had a vague idea of what a turnstile was before I started, but just in case you don't know, here's what it looks like:

You know, those clunky silver things, where you put your
 ticket in the slot, put your finger on the scanner, and then
 walk through the spinning arm. That's a turnstile!

Disney is also trying to do away with the turnstiles in favor of a more open, family friendly approach to park entry. They've started transforming the park entry points to these "touchpoints":

Sorry it's all noisy - iPhone camera at night, what would you
expect? I just walked up to take a picture of the touchpoints
 as I was leaving the park one night, and seeing as I knew
everyone who was working that night, they decided to make
my picture a little more fun!

These touchpoints are pretty cool, and make it a lot easier for families (especially families with strollers or wheelchairs) to come into the park. I frequently worked these in addition to the turnstiles.

There were various other tasks that I performed, especially during a closing shift (they say your CP status, which means College Program, actually stand for "Closing Person", since CPs get lots of closing shifts). Cleaning the turnstiles, putting the covers on, taking out the dirty towels that were used during the day, cleaning the break room. Can you tell I closed a lot? 1am, 2am, even 4am were pretty normal times to get off work.

The best and most coveted task for Park Greeters is stocking maps in the two tunnels that lead to Main Street, USA. This task involves walking backstage and wheeling out a cart filled with maps. You go to the map racks and make sure they're all filled 3/4 of the way full. If you fill them all the way, when someone grabs a map a whole stack will fall out since they're all squished together. It always was a competition to see who would get the maps task. How I loved seeing maps pop up when getting a new task!

Here's a photo of me in my Park Greeter costume:

I'm the one on the far right!
These are some of my fellow CPs who frequently closed with me.
From the left: Sarah, Matt, Nichole, Lauren, and I.
You guys are the best!

My other role was PAC. I was trained on PAC in early February, and I was scheduled four PAC shifts right after training. After those four shifts, I wasn't scheduled another PAC shift until my very last week of the program, in May! I think I was more of a Park Greeter person anyway - but an even mix of the two would have been nice!

PAC is interesting because for each shift you are put in a different position. There are positions all the way down the parade route, so there are many, many positions. PAC shifts are either PAC South, meaning Main Street all the way up to the Liberty Square bridge, or PAC West, which is Liberty Square to Frontierland.

The first thing you do on a PAC shift is attend the short pre-parade meeting, usually held two hours before the parade you'll be working. You will be assigned your position for the parade and given any additional info you may need (i.e. whether there are any bands/cheerleader groups preceding the parade, things to look out for, etc.). Then you grab the cart with the stanchions and ropes for your position and wheel it out to the proper location. Once you set them up properly, you wait for the parade. At about five minutes before the parade starts, the PAC team begins clearing the street, ensuring guests are on the sidewalk and no one is standing in front of trashcans, no video camera lights are on, and all guests are behind the appropriate rope and tape lines. During the parade you continue to monitor guests, watching especially for "runners", people who would risk their lives to cross the street or grab a piece of confetti in front of the parade floats. "Risking their lives" may sound like an overstatement, but it really isn't. Would you cross a busy street in front of a gigantic, heavy vehicle driven by someone with limited visibility, even if it was slow-moving? Don't do it! This has been a public safety announcement brought to you by the Walt Disney World PAC team :-)

But that brings up a good point - PAC is all about guest safety. Unfortunately some guests don't appreciate that. PAC cast members experience a lot of not-so-nice guest interactions from people who don't want to stand in the tape lines, don't want to obey the rules put in place for their safety. That's when you get help from another PAC cast member or a coordinator - and that's also when you bond with your co-workers, backing each other up and working as a team. That's one of the great things about PAC - you really feel like a part of a team, part of a family.

The PAC costume was my favorite - it's so dapper!

Me and my good friend "Japanois" Jamie.

On the West side the ropes are rolled out and in on rolls that people wear:

Felicia! Thanks for all your help and reassurance when I rolled!

I had the position of roller for the first time on my last day of work! I was so thankful to work alongside of experienced PAC cast members who helped me so much during that last day. 

On my days off I would visit the parks with some of the great friends I made! It was always a blast. Some of our exploits included riding Kali River Rapids four times in a row and getting drenched, visiting each of the four parks in one day, a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad marathon (once during Wishes!), visiting Chef Mickey's and laughing our heads off when we took a "family" photo, visiting "The Bench" late one night just to say we did it. So many good memories! Here is some picture evidence:

Arggh, pirates we be! Me, Anthony, and Dallin. You two rock!

We smile even when we are being blown away in a balloon! Angela, Patrick, Robert,
Dallin, Franny, me, Kevin, and Erika. Thanks for such a fun time, y'all!

The Bench. Erika, Robert, Tori, Dallin, Patrick, and me. We did it!

Sometimes all my friends would be working, however, and I'd visit the parks alone. I enjoyed this too, but for a different reason. I learned that I photograph things best when I am alone and there is no one to keep up with. Then I have the freedom to really look, experiment with different angles, and draw out the most beauty from a scene. I got some photos that I am very pleased with, especially since I shot exclusively with my iPhone camera! Take a look:

The facade of the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot.

Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom at sunrise.

Another shot of Expedition Everest.

Dancers in the Frontierland Hoedown in the Magic Kingdom.

The lobby to the Hollywood Tower Hotel in the queue to the Tower of Terror.

And of course Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom.

I'm thinking about making a sort of coffee table art photo book to sell with some of the photographs from my time in WDW. We'll see how that goes.

There's one more story I must share. I know this post is running long, but this is a good one:
Almost every day I would take a trip to Magic Kingdom's costuming building to pick up a new costume and return my soiled one. Each time I would pick up the same yellow shirt and blue pants, but I would pass by the rows and rows of other costumes. My favorite attraction in all of Walt Disney World is the Haunted Mansion. That may come as a surprise, but my aesthetic inclinations often lean toward vintage, shabby, distressed styles, so it really is a no-brainer. If I could choose, I would definitely work at the Haunted Mansion. So one day, as I passed a row of Haunted Mansion butler costumes, I wondered "Would it be possible for me to check one of those out, just to try on?" Once I had gathered my courage, I picked out a piece of the costume and brought it through the costume check-out system, anticipating an alarm to go off saying I wasn't authorized to check out the costume. No such alarm rang! The next day I acquired the rest of the costume, and later tried it all on. I actually wore it to the class that I was taking through Disney, since we were allowed to wear our costumes to class. After class I had my roommate take a few pictures. Here's how the best one turned out:

I'm a geek, I know. Dreams really do come true at Disney!

I returned the costume shortly thereafter, of course. Oh how I would love to have taken it home!

I hope you've gathered from my description of the time I spent as a cast member that it was a phenomenal experience. Any negative happenings were outweighed many times by good ones. I could see God's hand at work in so many things: the roommates I stayed with, the friends He provided, the work, how everything worked out for my family to visit several times, everything! I'm glad to be home, but I can't lie: I am already thinking about doing another college program, along with some of my new friends!

So there you go. My grand adventure. I plan to get back to more regular blogging here soon. Thanks for reading, folks!

Final Finals

Well my dear readers, I'm back! It's been too long - I apologize for the blog break, but it was necessary for me to focus on school. I've finally finalized my final final! At least until next semester...

To prove to you that I'm not just making excuses, I now present two of my finals. One of the truly wonderful things about being a graphic design major is that you often have final projects instead of final tests. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be up 'til midnight trimming out my final project than studying 'til midnight for a final test! A blessed thing indeed.

The first final was for my Digital Publishing class. Assigning us to present a portfolio of our work over the semester, the teacher set the class free to package the digital submissions (stored on a CD, USB drive, or SD card) in an interesting way. I decided right away to use a USB drive, and initially I ordered a key shaped drive. Unfortunately that drive didn't arrive in time, so I ended up with a smaller one. Multiple ideas floated around my mind - hollowing out a book with a flash-drive shaped hole, presenting it with a fancy certificate like it was a royal proclamation, etc. Then the light bulb lit up - literally! Since all of the designs I needed to present were the product of their own initial idea, why not package them inside a light bulb? That's how I came up with this:

I took one of these light bulb jars from Hobby Lobby, and wired my flash drive to look like the light bulb filament. I also designed a package for it to sit in, just like one you'd see in a store. Continue on for a full 360 degree view.

I've chosen to blur out my last name. You know, for security.

Bright ideas. Very happy with how this turned out.

The next project was for Computer Illustration class. The challenge here was to come up with a concept on our own, figure out how to create it, and then implement our design. We'd done several greeting cards with interactive "swinging" elements in the class, and I wanted to try my hand at a Christmas card. These are difficult because almost everything has already been done. Plus I wanted something that looked kind of hip and trendy while still pointing to the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ. I conquered the first challenge by designing the card as a tri-fold brochure with angled panels - something I've never seen in a Christmas card. To incorporate a modern feel I used flat colors and bold patterns, plus a contemporary color scheme to boot. Here is my solution:

This panel photographed really poorly for some reason. It looks much crisper in person!

That's our family photo and name I've obscured - you get the idea, though, right?

Here's a snapshot of what my digital files look like:

Front.

Back.

You can certainly see some Zentangle influence in the front panel, huh? If you spot Beeline and Jonqal, you're thinking right up my alley. Knowing Zentangle has helped me pass a majority of my college classes, including drawing classes and computer design classes. Yay for Rick, Maria, and all the folks who help bring us Zentangle!

I have to warn you that I may be taking another leave of absence from blogging soon. If you've been following for a while, you know that I got on the Disney College Program and will be moving to Florida and working in Walt Disney World starting in January. I'm playing blogging by "mouse" ear. One of the things on my list of to-dos while I'm there is to complete a Zentangle while casually sitting on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom (Yes, I am a Disney geek!), so at the very least I will post that here. And just think of all the opportunities for fun backgrounds to the Diva Challenges in Disney World! I've also started a blog specifically for my Disney adventures, which can be found at www.collegecasted.tumblr.com - come by and visit, and if you have the inclination subscribe to receive email updates. It should be fun!

Also, Zentangle in Motion part 2 is now officially in the works! Whether or not it will be ready before my Disney departure is still uncertain, however. I'm really excited about it, and I hope to get it made and uploaded ASAP!

Keep Moving Forward

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

-Walt Disney

I was delighted when I saw the I Am the Diva blog post this week with a challenge from guest poster Courtney Frantz! Courtney (A fellow Texan!) challenged us to create a Zentangle to pay tribute to Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, or Walt Disney. This is very appropriate, for I am not only a big Disney fan (my family has a bathroom that is entirely Disney themed! I brush my teeth every morning under the constant supervision of many Mickeys...), but I'm also gearing up to participate in the Disney College Program (which I wrote about near the end of this post). I'm getting very excited as the day draws nearer!

Ever the oddball, I wanted to do something different and unique with my tile. First off, I pulled up a Disneyland map and a Magic Kingdom map to look for string inspiration. The parade routes really caught my attention, red dotted lines twisting and turning across their respective parks. I wound up tracing those parade routes onto my tile for a string, incorporating the Disney parks that inspire me so much into the Zentangle.

Next I started tangling, but I didn't use just any tangles. I chose patterns that would correspond to the name "Walt" - W2, Auraknot, Laced, and Tipple. I had to use a few more to fill in, but you get the idea. I didn't think about it at the time, but Tipple is perfect for this tile because you can often find hidden Mickeys in it. See if you can spot one (or a bunch!):

Of course, as an added tribute to Disney, I had to play some Disney music while I was tangling. My all-time favorite Disney song is "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. Love it!

Posing my tile with our Mickey photo frame wasn't actually my idea - I have to thank my wonderfully creative mom for coming up with this one!.

As Walt said, "...keep moving forward..."!

Thread

Tangles used: Sankegg, Ixorus, Ix, Paradox, and Hollibaugh.

Do I have your attention now? In case you missed it, that is a Zentangle on a snake. Bet that's the first time you've seen that, huh? I'll explain why there's a snake in the picture later...