Updates & News

It’s finally here! The official Tor.com “Stubby” paper model. I really enjoyed working on this one, and I’m glad that it has finally been released. I actually had planned on emailing Irene Gallo about it, if only to remind her that Tor.com had this thing to release. When I open my email client, I see an email from Irene. What a coincidence! Or, do great minds think alike?

You can download the paper model over at Tor.com, and feel free to sign up to post comments and pictures there. You can send your comments here, too, if you like. Read the rest of this entry »

Many of the photos in the galleries can now be seen on Flickr! There, you will be able to get a closer look at the artwork at better resolutions.

If you have access to a laser printer or a Xerox machine, here’s how you can transfer images onto paper, fabric, and other objects.

Start by printing your design onto regular paper. Be sure that your image is reversed or the transferred image will be backward. Remember that you have to use either a home/business laser printer or a Xerox machine. Anything that prints with toner (a fine powder that is fused to the paper with intense heat) will work. Inkjet printers will not work for this!

Place the printed image face-down onto the surface that you are transferring the image to. I recommend taping it in place to prevent shifting, but leaving areas free so that they can be lifted for visual inspection.

You will need a bottle of acetone and either a q-tip or a cotton ball. Be sure to use 100% acetone without any colorants or perfumes. These added chemicals can discolor or stain the transfer surface.

Acetone is strong, and it can eat certain surfaces like plastic. Test a small area before continuing.

Acetone evaporates quickly, so work in small sections at a time. When you apply the acetone, the paper will become transparent, making it much easier to see where you’re working. Use the back of a spoon or a bone folder to rub across the transfer image. Be careful not to shift the paper; you just need some pressure to transfer the toner.

You can lift up sections to see where you need to re-apply acetone and rub some more. It’s generally very easy. If the papers are sticking together, don’t pull! Simply apply a little bit of acetone to the back of the transfer image to release them.

When you’re done, remove the transfer image. It will not be a perfect copy, but it’s great for painting/drawing guides.

Let’s take a quick look at a personal project that I just recently finished. One morning, I woke up with an insatiable urge to design a miniature scene inside of a pocket watch. There’s nothing like being slapped upside the head by a Muse.

I scoured eBay for a cheap pocket watch, and suddenly, there it was! I was pretty simple, with zodiac symbols circling the face. It immediately reminded me of the zodiac that surrounds the Magic Mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Guess what scene I created.

The materials used were acrylic paint, Mod Podge, watercolor paper, plastic, and an epoxy glue.

First off, the pocket watch has to be gutted. Duh. Once opened, I had to constantly keep the interior clean of fingerprints, smudges, and lint. Constantly. A watch full of lint isn’t pretty.

Image outlines were produced with Adobe Illustrator, then transferred onto watercolor paper with acetone.

Using a pair of magnification glasses (I highly recommend them), I painted the mirror frame and glued a piece of plastic to the back as “glass.” Using some scrap paper as spacers, the mirror was glued to the backdrop. The spacers (unseen underneath the mirror’s frame) add a bit of depth. Wiping the watch’s interior clean, the mirror assembly was glued into place.

For the two layers of “smoke,” I painted onto clear plastic. I used a mixture of Mod Podge and white acrylic paint. The Mod Podge adheres to the plastic very well, and the white paint makes the Mod Podge (dries clear) cloudy. Layer after layer, using various opacity levels, the cloudy Mod Podge looks like swirling smoke.

Using various embossing styluses, the slave was rounded and shaped after soaking in water for a couple of minutes. It was painted, and glued onto a dark disc. The white tabs sticking out from underneath rest along and edge, keeping the whole piece from falling into the watch.

Lastly, the film’s title was painted and glued to the back of the watch’s rear cover. An artist’s signature and date are written, and the parts are all snapped together for the final product.

I’ve added a new Sketchbook/Fun gallery. It will highlight sketches, doodles, and other fun things. Right now, you can check out a funny Mother’s Day gift, featuring my Nephew.

Oh, eBay pirates are fun. I’ve been fighting them for years. They like to sell my paper models, and the photos that they use to promote their auctions are my own. They don’t take them from this website but from my Flickr photo album.

Most pirates leave the Disney Experience logo and copyright notice intact, but place their own logo or trademark on top. They’re typically unwilling to Photoshop anything out or, better yet, build the models themselves and take their own photos. But, today, I finally found one who not only Photoshopped my logo out, but placed their own logo, in a similar design, on top of the area to help mask any imperfections. It’s a nice try, but that doesn’t stop me from reporting the violation.

While I design a better watermark for all 174 of my Flickr photos, I’ve made them private, and I have temporarily closed the 3-D art gallery.