September 1st, 2024
Recently, I became a web hosting reseller!... Read More
July 15th, 2024
I’ve been keeping up with the marker renderings, loosely, for about a year now. Mostly it’s just been doodles to work off stress, but every once in a while I throw another life drawing into the mix, and I’m usually pretty impress... Read More
Lead Developer / Designer
May 1st, 2024
A friend of mine, Marvelous Mind Coaching, needed help setting up a logo and website for her new business. She's fairly tech-literate, so the site was designed to be something that she could maintain long... Read More
April 1st, 2024
Logo design for a friend of mind, Marvelous Mind Coaching. She knew roughly what she was looking for, but had a hard time landing on just the right use of space. She also had a r... Read More
I'm grateful for sit/stand desks. I'm grateful to know how I work best. I'm grateful for my health. I'm grateful for my body, and I'm grateful that I make time to take care of it. I'm grateful for new music. I'm grateful the urge to dance. I... Read More
I'm grateful for allowing myself to focus. I'm grateful for the productivity it brings. I'm grateful for crossing things off of lists. I'm grateful to be able to mode-switch. I'm grateful for time to relax. I'm grateful for time to be creative. I'... Read More
I'm grateful for quiet time to reflect. I'm grateful for morning routines. I'm grateful for a chance to start a new day, and head in a new direction. I'm grateful for coffee. I'm grateful for decaf, so I can keep drinking coffee. I'm grateful for ... Read More
My favorite author is Brandon Sanderson. He writes a lot of Fantasy novels, all of which share a single world he calls "The Cosmere". One of his novels contains a race of people called "The Listeners". The Listeners are, in many ways, basically hu... Read More
I'm grateful for uneventful days. I'm grateful for small bursts of energy. I'm grateful for progress in any form. I'm grateful for unexpected time with my son. I'm grateful for drawing time together. I'm grateful for small projects. I'm grateful t... Read More
I'm grateful for quiet mornings. I'm grateful that I can focus on starting my day off right. I'm grateful for emailed copies of things we talked about in a meeting. I'm grateful to be able to follow up with people later. I'm grateful for timers... Read More
I'm grateful for boundaries. I'm grateful for the person who taught me how boundaries work. I'm grateful for being able to set boundaries in my own life. I'm grateful for recognizing when my boundaries aren't being respected. I'm grateful that I h... Read More
It's hard to sort all of the things I want to do. When I list them out, it becomes this long, never-ending pile of tasks I'll never get to the bottom of. Different categories and buckets, and the time things take doesn't match the time that I have... Read More
I'm grateful for new beginnings. I'm grateful that I get to start things over and try again this year. I'm grateful for my drive. I'm grateful for direction. I'm grateful that I am able to set goals for myself. I'm grateful for my friends. I'm ... Read More
"Am I being a lazy underachiever? Or, is that exactly what a neurotic overachiever would call themselves?" Should I be focused on work today? Is a half day a good compromise? Do people usually work the day after Christmas? I'm on my computer anywa... Read More
I'm grateful for my quiet morning routine. I'm grateful for morning coffee, whether half-caff or decaff. I'm grateful for lofi music. I'm grateful for space heaters. I'm grateful for time spent sitting on the floor in front of a tv in a big, dark roo... Read More
I'm grateful for new starts. I'm grateful for lazy Sundays. I'm grateful for planned-unplanned days. I'm grateful for morning hugs. I'm grateful for quiet time to reset. I'm grateful that I have time to plan my week. I'm grateful that I have sp... Read More
I'm grateful for Youtube. I'm grateful to be alive in a time when so much information is available to me. I'm grateful that I have access to so many tools to help my life. I'm grateful that I appreciate good food. I'm grateful that I know how to c... Read More
This morning I'm grateful for calm. I'm grateful for clarity. I'm grateful to myself for making time to relax in middle of a busy week. I'm grateful for music. I'm grateful for space heaters. I'm grateful for decaf coffee. I'm grateful to myself f... Read More
I'm grateful to have my son back in my house this week. I'm grateful to be able to spend time with him. I'm grateful to be able to focus my time on him this week. I'm grateful for the work I have to do this week. I'm grateful that I know what work... Read More
I've been staying in "Focus Mode" the past for the past two days, and it's been weird. I'm still talking to people, but (in theory...) I'm choosing the conversations I'm having. This leaves me feeling like I'm missing out on conversations that are... Read More
Today I'm grateful for my mind. I'm grateful that I am interested in and able to change who I am, and how I live. I'm grateful that I have a group of friends who can talk to each other openly and honestly. I'm grateful for my friend who keeps tryi... Read More
I'm supposed to start a gratitude journal. I have no idea what that would even look like. Just a list of things I'm grateful for? Is it a top 3 list, or a stream of consciousness? The idea is to promote positive thinking - so is this deliberation mis... Read More
November 22nd, 2023
The client requested a tool to be developed for her website which sells yarn and small looms for crafters. The idea was that you could select from her list of thread colors, test specific combinations of colors and patterns, and customize individu... Read More
October 25th, 2023
I was playing around one day with using thick lines as shapes, and playing around with the ways they interacted. Eventually I came up with one that I liked, and decided to run with it. The result was easy to draw, easy to replicate, and the more time... Read More
Lead Developer
August 23rd, 2023
The Madison Modern Quilt Guild was beginning to sell retreat tickets, and needed a more streamlined way to track payments and customers. After discussing our options, we settled on installing WooCommerce to handle our transactions. Products were adde... Read More
Lead Developer / Designer
June 15th, 2023
Website redesign was based on a competitor's website; I created mockups which blended the brand's existing documents / letterhead, and incorporated elements into the site design. A monthly newsletter feature was added, which mimics an existing PDF / ... Read More
June 1st, 2023
Recently I went through and scanned a bunch of artwork I did in college, and looked at what I enjoyed the most, what looked the best, and what I'd like to see more of. Then later, I was at a ComicCon and saw some really awesome pen/ink sketches, and ... Read More
May 24th, 2023
Felt like time for another self portrait, so I slapped one together. I felt like I haven't been very expressive lately, and so I wanted to get some pictures where I was making faces. The range is supposed to be more->less negative as you move across ... Read More
Lead Developer
May 19th, 2023
The client had a custom product on her Shopify website where a "Plant Wall" is purchased, and multiple seedlings are sold as add-on items for the customer. The goal was to create an order flow where, once the product was selected, the user would be t... Read More
Lead Developer
March 15th, 2023
The client was a recent retiree, looking to begin her retirement career as a jewelry designer. She was already beginning to sell her custom rosaries and bracelets, and needed a place to direct her new customers to. In addition to the website build... Read More
September 25th, 2022
Produce is a game I spent roughly 10 weeks Working on. The idea was that I wanted to complete a project before the holidays started, so I came up with an idea I thought could be completed in that span of time.
The concept was that you’... Read More
Lead Developer
July 15th, 2022
This is a client I've worked with in the past to repair website integrations (Mad Mimi, etc) and replace a few images. She came to me with a few urgent issues; she was promoting a new book release, another book was in early-promotion, and large porti... Read More
April 15th, 2022
Dish Crew is a game idea I spent some time working on, and plan to eventually get back to. It looks like it’ll take a while though, so I put it on hold for the time being…
The player would be able to pick their levels; Pots &... Read More
March 1st, 2022
I’ve always wanted to design my own videogame. I can remember doodling level designs when I was 10 years old; little platforms for characters to jump on, equip items, and explore.
About a year ago, I was reflecting on this and decided... Read More
July 15th, 2021
We’ve been in our house for about 11 years, and last fall we decided we needed to put some serious work into the front of out house. The bushes were large and overgrown, to the point where simply trimming them wasn’t cutting it anymore... Read More
March 14th, 2021
A quick lunch sketch while having a salad for lunch on the Linai at our resort in Florida. If we're not out walking around, at least we're getting some Vitamin D!... Read More
February 21st, 2021
We bought David a drawing tablet lately, and I decided to take it for a spin. I'm working with a brush similar to Conte Crayon here, and paying highlights/shadows to simulate bottle refractions. Not bad for my first honest attempt in ~20 years...... Read More
December 8th, 2020
I was looking at my profile picture recently, and it suddenly dawned on me that it's probably about 12 years old now! Clearly, it was time to update it. Since I was in middle of this site redesign, I decided to stick to the same basic elements; devel... Read More
Lead Developer
November 1st, 2020
Wireframes were designed by the client, with the Mocks developed by my coworker. I was responsible for all website development. I coordinated with the team which was tasked with developing front-end features, however some of the work needed to be reb... Read More
Lead Developer
October 15th, 2020
This project was managed entirely by myself; from design to launch. The client wanted to update their site with something more modern, but presented in a way that would showcase more of their product offerings. While this website is still under activ... Read More
Lead Developer
September 5th, 2020
On this project, I oversaw a small team of developers. A coworker of mine designed the theme, while I developed the theme structure and oversaw the front-end development team. During this same period, I also coordinated with a third-party vendor, and... Read More
Lead Developer
July 15th, 2020
This was designed by a coworker, however I was responsible for the entire site build. This site uses a page builder (Visual Composer, I think), and has an API implementation (which can be found Read More
Lead Developer
May 15th, 2020
A coworker and I built this website over the course of about 8 weeks. I was responsible for all back-end development, including the geolocation aspect of the website. The site is designed to geolocate you to the nearest store, and modifies all CTA's/... Read More
Lead Developer
December 15th, 2019
Similar to Aqua-Tots; designed by my coworker, built by the two of us. I was responsible for back-end dev, geolocation (this site features a "Start Your Order" panel which updates info with your nearest location after being geolocated), and the anima... Read More
November 15th, 2019
The assignment was to animate the logo for Happy's Pizza to appear that he was dancing. Based on the level of detail they wanted to include, I figured the easiest way would be to animate his... Read More
Lead Developer
October 1st, 2019
This site was designed by my coworker and built by the two of us. I was responsible for back-end dev, including the geolocation technology (which was later the foundation for the plugin I built for Aqua-Tots). Behind the scenes, the site allows you t... Read More
December 19th, 2017
A major chunk of our time at Pink Castle Fabrics was our Monthly Clubs – at one point, I believe we had 7 different clubs going around the month!
... Read More
January 1st, 2015
Paint on canvas, probably 14" x 10". Abstract, no real plan here, just drawing things. I did a little masking on one, which came out great! More masking on the teal one... which did not, haha.... Read More
January 11th, 2014
After Pink Castle Fabrics began renting and selling sewing machines for our Glamp Stichalot retreats, eventually, someone needed to learn how to repair them. And, tha... Read More
October 1st, 2013
After spending several years seeing what fabrics were popular with the customer of Pink Castle Fabrics, we started noticing some common trends – low volume prints, text prints, coordinating (but not ... Read More
June 11th, 2013
The Stitchalot sewing retreats were an extremely popular event that we ran at Pink Castle Fabrics. We’d gather 4-6 teachers from around the globe, fly them out to Ann Arbor, MI, and they’d teac... Read More
January 1st, 2013
When Pink Castle Fabrics was created, we had no idea it would become so big. What started in our guest room soon spilled over into the hallway and living room. I reorganized the basement, and put a few she... Read More
August 8th, 2012
At Pink Castle Fabrics, we offered a variety of monthly clubs to our customers. Customers would sign up for various clubs from the website, have their card automatically billed each month, and receive a cu... Read More
April 1st, 2011
My son, David, spent his early years growing up at Pink Castle Fabrics. He was always playing with fabric, picking his favorite bolts – even sewing small projects (with a little help). One time he ev... Read More
March 1st, 2011
Pink Castle Fabrics began as a small Etsy shop in 2011, but quickly outgrew Etsy’s limitations (and fees!). The website was first built on Magento, and later rebuilt using S... Read More
February 1st, 2011
This test model of a UAV (Unarmed Aerial Vehicle) Launcher was built while working at Blue Newt Software for a prospective client (guess who, haha). The end goal was to create a series of models and videos for use in training simulations.... Read More
January 1st, 2011
These farm models were created while at Blue Newt while working on a midwest rural environment. Farms are everywhere, so we wanted to see how cheaply we could model buildings, and how many variations we could create without them all looking like the ... Read More
December 1st, 2010
A series of city props, to be used in promo shots for Blue Newt Software.... Read More
November 5th, 2010
Industrial props, to be used alongside train engines, airplanes, etc.... Read More
November 3rd, 2010
A crane with modular height segments.... Read More
November 2nd, 2010
We wanted to add some items for overhead objects. These would have been used in a sunken highway with large sidewalls, to add some vertical elements. to the scene. It was also built to have repeating middle sections, so that we could shrink/grow it a... Read More
October 1st, 2010
This was an early stress-test for our simulator. My boss told me to model a Gantry Crane, an RMG (rail mounted gantry), some shipping containers and various lights, and to see h... Read More
July 1st, 2010
This was an early study on commercial modeling/texturing options while at Blue Newt Software. The goal was to create models of trains and airplanes that could feature different paint schemes, yet still use the same model.... Read More
July 1st, 2009
A "geotypical" city in the midwest (definitely no Ann Arbor buildings here...). The goal was to create a series of modular buildings with various paint schemes so that we could do urban testing for our vehicle simulator. These would mostly be used fo... Read More
January 1st, 2009
One of roughly 20 vehicles I made while working at Blue Newt Software. All vehicles included multiple Levels of Detail, with textures largely coming from the vehicle simulator my coworkers were building. Users would sit inside a hollowed-out vehicle,... Read More
April 1st, 2001
This one was definitely created after I graduated, but I believe it reused a model I created for a looping animation I made in art school. It felt particularly detailed (at the time…), and the movements were pretty fun to watch.
... Read MoreFebruary 1st, 2001
An unfinished project I worked on; "What REALLY causes a toddler's table to become so messy...". It was a cute idea, but I don't think I had time to finish it, sadly.... Read More
January 1st, 2001
A few projects that required storyboards. Since animations take so long to create, planning out the flow of the story is one of the most important steps, so we spent a lot of time planning out the scenes. Some of these projects were built, some we... Read More
January 1st, 2001
I'm not particularly fond of my pencil sketches (colored or otherwise), but I did really enjoy the ones I created on toned paper. We'd draw light/shadows, and ignore the actual forms of everything. Eventually, if you draw enough light/shadow, the sha... Read More
December 1st, 2000
A lot of charcoal work in this series. I had better control over line width, sharpness, etc, and ended up really enjoying Conte crayons as a drawing tool.... Read More
November 1st, 2000
Most of the female models you'll see during this period were the same woman (I forget her name). I didn't particularly like her - she moved a lot, or would scratch her face 10m into a 1hr pose, and then put her hand in a COMPLETELY different position... Read More
October 1st, 2000
A lot of these are in paint. Our model was taking 15s poses - meaning we'd have time to draw a line or two, dip our brush maybe 2-3 times, then flip to the next page and start over. EXCRUCIATING.... Read More
April 1st, 2000
A series of early character sketches for some of my 2D animation work. Testing out different techniques that could be easily repeated for character use.... Read More
February 15th, 2000
The assignment was to do a self portrait in front of the mirror, but without looking at the page. The goal is to train your hand to do what your eye sees, and not what your brain thinks it's drawing.... Read More
February 1st, 2000
I don't recall this assignment; most of my life drawing classes used pencil/paper, sometimes colored pencil to capture lighting. I'm assuming the goal here was just to capture the binary "what is in shadow; what is in light?". Most of the drawings sh... Read More
January 1st, 2000
"Take the logo from an existing business, and create an entire logo package for them". I repeated the design everywhere, but the logo itself would never print particularly well. As much as I hate the original, as a business owner, it's much more vers... Read More
November 2nd, 1999
The assignment was to create a design using our logos, and to see how many of these we could create. I think I've probably made at least 25 of these, but these are all I can seem to find today. If I come across more, I'll definitely update this en... Read More
November 1st, 1999
Early Art School class where I studied shading, design, layout. We had a few assignments where we'd sketch something, then come back later and shade it. Both halves of the assignment were graded. I feel like this was a good exercise and helped me bre... Read More
September 1st, 1999
I believe the assignment was to draw hands and feet (probably 20 of each). Some of these came out pretty good, others still look like High School work. The feet definitely have a lot of un-assumed shapes.... Read More
August 1st, 1999
A self portrait from one of my life drawing classes. You can tell that I put a lot of effort into it from the shading... but it's simply not there yet. This was probably one of the earliest drawings I did at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (and it sh... Read More
July 1st, 1999
I studied Japanese in High School, and even entered a Speech Contest (for which I received an honorable mention). I practiced a little calligraphy as well.... Read More
May 21st, 1999
A 3d rendered image of a castle I modeled as a senior in high school. The castle doesn't look like my first sketch, but it was on the page before my other plans, so it must have been important... Following that, we have an image that was used to plan... Read More
May 1st, 1999
I don't remember this specific project, but I kept the booklet, so it must've been something important! The project was a video assignment for "Empty Bowls", and was designed to raise awareness about their efforts to combat hunger. Apparently I got a... Read More
February 18th, 1999
The assignment was to create a poster for the 1999 SAE event that was held. We had to include the text provided, and use an image that represents the theme. According to my framed award letter, the award also included a $100 US Savings Bond. I th... Read More
December 1st, 1998
My senior year of high school, I took a vocational commercial art class; it ran 3 periods long, and allowed us to work on larger projects throughout the year. We covered a lot of concepts (negative space, shape, graphic design layout), and the course... Read More
December 1st, 1998
The assignment was to take a photograph of yourself, alter it in 3 different styles on the computer, and then reproduce each of those results by using a different style by hand. The computer versions included a BW posterization effect, a "pointali... Read More
October 1st, 1998
This project was created during my junior year of high school. The photograph was taken using a 35mm film camera, and I was responsible for the entire process of shooting, developing, and printing, and even framing this photo. "I chose to print th... Read More
January 1st, 1994
This was a series of pencil sketches I did in high school in my Commercial Art class. The assignment was to find a newspaper clipping, and to draw exactly half of the image.... Read More
October 1st, 1993
I believe this is my earliest piece of art I have on here. It was from a Jr. High art assignment; not sure what the lines and shapes were, but I spent a lot more time on other parts of the drawing, obviously.... Read More