About Me

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio to what I thought was a pretty artistic family. I guess we got a lot of our skills from my mom, who was an art major at Ohio State. I started out at age three, tracing my older brother's drawings until he got tired of me asking for more. So, I started tracing the funny papers until I could draw them on my own.When I saw my first Disney film (the Sword in the Stone), I knew what I wanted to do when I grow up. Years later I moved to LA, in search of Disney Studios. When I found it, I walked up to the security shack, with portfolio in hand, no one was there. I waited a few minutes and still no one showed, so I noticed the animation building was right behind me. I entered and walked down the hallway full of unbelievable feature artwork on the walls. While gazing at the artwork, a lady asked if I needed some help. I said I'd like to show my portfolio. She worked with the animators and brought me in to meet them, and I was told, Eric Larsen was the one to see. He was one of Disney's (Nine Old Men). He took a look at my drawings and then laid a transparent piece of paper over mine and he drew over it, showing me how I could strengthen my drawings. After taking time out of his work to work with me was truly an honor. He gave me his number and told me to come back when I had more to show. Well, I did come back and he was impressed enough with my work, he call CalArts and scheduled a tour for me with Bob Mcrea. I asked him how I can go here and he said, “you're already in, when Eric calls we listen”. That blew me away. After four years of some of Disney's best teachers and being around the most talented students, I returned to thank Eric for the opportunity to help me achieve my dream. I've worked in animation many years for all the major studios and Disney for thirty.