Graphic Design
& Illustration

Developing form for visual communication is an essential part of my work and pre-dates my interest in character animation. I have done graphic design work, illustration and cartooning throughout my career in addition to UI/UX Design.

The samples below are representative of the visual design, print and web development work I've done.

Graphic & UI/UX Design

Identity & Logo Design

Fabrication Direction

Visual Development

Specialty Letterform & Print Design

Print Production

On-line Development

UI/UX Design

Cartooning & Illustration

Single-Panel Cartoons

 Comic Strips

Illustration

Photography

Sketchbooks

Identity & Logo Design



Pacific Pools Logo (1984)

Koru Graphics Logo & Identity Design (1986)


XO Games Logo (2003)

Lost Lake Logo (2002)


Eye of the Predator Attraction Logo (2002)

3C Logo (2005)


In Care Of Delivery Service Logo (1984)

Bellyfire Games Logo (2004)


Harpie: Teen Angel Logo (2003)

Play'n Perspective Logo (2010)


Sandpoint Municipal Support Pendant (1984)

AV (novelist/screenwriter) Logo (2008)


Candella Games Logo (2004)

Candella Phoenix Logo (2004)


Royal Printing Logo (1987)

i2i Animation, Inc. Logo (2004)


Horn & Fire Logo (2005)

Circle of Green (film project) Logo (1996)


Speciality Letterform Design



Lewis Carroll - reflection

Mythos - rotation


Debbie & Mike (friends) - rotation

Charlie Chaplin - rotation


Bellyfire - rotation

Coraline - reflection


Judy & Red 25th Anniversary (parents) - rotation

Walt Disney - reflection


Brian S. (friend) - rotation

Lina & Bruce (friends) - rotation


Cal Arts - rotation

Laura (friend) - rotation


UI/UX Design



SpongeBob Subpants

SpongeBob Subpants - UI/UX Design (2015)

This is a 4-D attraction that is driven by a live performer controlling the theater and the main character (Patrick) live using an interface I designed in conjunction with a talented Unity programmer.

The performer monitors and manages the performance from a backstage room using a large touchscreen and a handheld game-style controller while watching a large display showing the stage projection and cameras pointed at the audience, which he also has control over through the UI.

The UI is carefully designed to help the performer manage the significant complexity of the show environment - cameras, character controls, scene triggers, audience interactive elements, audio f/x, practical f/x, camera controls and show control safety - while maintaining freshness and responsiveness in the live, interactive show.

The show has a linear structure that branches based on the performer's input. It maintains a narrative structure and general show duration while allowing for improvisation.



Donkey Live

Donkey Live - UI/UX Design (2010)

Like Spongebob Subpants, Donkey Live is a 4-D show with a live performer managing the performance from backstage. However, when this project was done there wasn't a good game engine to do development with that met project requirements, so I designed and directed development of a custom real-time animation playback engine and touchscreen controller to work in conjunction with MotionBuilder for its real-time display engine and some of its live performance features.

For this show there were two backstage attendants, one handling the character performance and the other managing audio, cameras and other technical duties.



One of the UX tricks was to maintain a fairly simple color scheme so that modal changes could be displayed using color and quickly processed by the performer even when using peripheral vision. The current and next canned performance segments were illuminated and color coded, with unavailable controls de-emphasized.

This image shows Donkey in the middle of an interactive segment, flying in response to Guests. The figure had pre-programmed segments, but the performer could control some parts of the figure live and also trigger short 'gags' with various anatomical groups - body, head, face or legs.




Website Development

See 'n Say - Website UI & python code (2008)

Responsive Site Design Variants - Website UI (2010)


i2ianimation.com - Website UI & python code (2009)

i2ianimation.com - Website UI & python code (2011)



App Design

Sportshub - App Proposal (2014)

Worst Accent - App UI Design (2012)


On-line Game Development

Cryptologic - Lobby & Game Development (2006-2007)

For two years I was the Content Team Creative Director for Cryptologic as they developed what was initially supposed to be a fully 3D On-line Game System. The technology turned out to be a bridge too far for the time, in the course of that effort we developed a significant number of games and lobby concepts.

When it became clear that the full 3D environment was not going to work I suggested using a parallax method to give a sense of shifting perspective using 2D elements generated from a 3D process.


We developed a series of lobby concepts based on the parallax idea. The stakeholders were risk-adverse to making significant changes to the look of the product, so it maintained what I would consider a fairly dated aesthetic.

Global game UI development involved detailed flowcharting and wireframing, with consistent evaluation in conjunction with subject-matter experts and playtesting.


The development included a large number of card, table and slot games, each with specialized rule sets and different UI/UX requirements. We had to find global UI rules that permitted flexibility in look and feel but maintained consistency so players could easily and comfortably move from one game to another.

Other aspects of the UI included marketing (e.g. advertising other products and making it easy to play-for-real), creating clean, clear icons, and engaging representation of gameplay that worked as a 3D visual but also maintains ease-of-use and easy access to controls.


Print Production & Consumer Product Design



Atlanta Christian Family - Magazine Layout (2006)

The ACF magazine needed help for about six months while they found a permanent layout artist and I agreed to handle it, working remotely. This was mostly page layout work with some ad building and occasional artwork.



Apartment Age - Magazine Layout (1986-88)

I worked for Liko Printing in central Los Angeles for a few years and part of my responsibilities as the lead Graphic Designer and Production Artist was to do typesetting, layout and reprographics for Apartment Age magazine.

Liko Printing - Ad Design (1987)

I did quite a bit of ad design while at Liko Printing as well as reprographics, typesetting, print prep and proofing.



Panida Theater - Letterhead & Brochures (1985)

This was a small, historic theater in Sandpoint Idaho that was being renovated and depended heavily on local civic and business donations.

Spikers on Steroids - T-Shirt Design (1989)



Point-of-Purchase Cookbooks (2004)

This was a small job to update a set of spiral bound, inexpensively produced cookbooks that would display near retail registers in drugstores, grocery stores and similar retail outlets, mostly in the South and Mid-west.


The client wanted an update (this is an image of the old version), but without losing the identity of the original. They also requested a brand-specific logo but one that would not clash with the "old-fashioned" feel of the product. I gave the logo a rather generic treatment and focused on getting the subject labels to pop at a distance.

I was asked to provide display design and shipping guides as well.



Virulent Gesture - Book Cover (1990)

The Rock - Game Pitch Materials (2004)


Science Affliction - Screenplay Pitch Poster (2004)

graphic design, poster layout, print direction

Speed Bumps - Product Concept (2004)


Maze Craze - Product Design (2004)

game design, UI/UX design, fabrication direction

Vic Valiant - Game Pitch Materials (2004)


Published Comic Art (mid 1980's)



Fields - Multi-panel Comic Strip (1984-85)

I was a Journalist and Staff Artist/Photographer for North Idaho's Intermountain Citizen. For the year I worked there, I provided a multi-panel strip each week.

I don't consider this work to be very effective - I had yet to build strong drawing skills through life drawing studies for animation, and was just cutting my teeth on how to communicate visually in the cramped space of a comic strip. I was fortunate, however, to have a decent body of published work at the age of 21 and found this to be a great learning experience.

Flicked - Multi-panel Comic Strip (1985)

This was a spec strip I was shopping around to syndicates in '85, just before I decided to move to L.A. and focus on character animation.

The main character was an employee at a movie theater, with subjects alternating between his personal life, experiences in the theater with the public/management, and film satire.

Editorial Single-Panel Comics (1984-85)

In addition to comic strips, I provided single-panel editorial comics for the Intermountain Citizen.

On average I did one editorial comic every two weeks, with general humor single-panels in between.

The general humor panels and most of the editorials were pen & ink.

Occasionally, when working on a specific story, I was able to support the content with color images.