Drawin' Up A Storm at UCLA Children's Hospital

This past May I was once again honored to draw with some of the young patients at UCLA Children's Hospital thanks to the invitation of the Lollipop Theater Network. I vividly remember during my fight with leukemia how wonderful a distraction drawing was to the pain, discomfort, and daily grind of being a chemo patient. My hope was that we could give some of these budding young artists the same distraction, along with a healthy dose of laughter and fun. Judging by the smiles we saw and the number of spent crayons and markers, I'd say we did just that.

In the photos below, the patient wanted to draw a mutant frog-man superhero (no surprise there if you check out all the superheroes he has hanging on his wall!). He followed along line-by-line as I drew a quick cartoon. The last one shows our finished heroes, ready to fight for justice one giant leap at a time.

Comic-Con Book Signing!

It's time once again to get out your spandex, Vulcan ears, stormtrooper armor, and facepaint. It's July. It's San Diego. That can only mean one thing: Comic-Con! If you're one of the hundred thousand plus brave souls planning to get your geek on this week at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International, why not stop by the Design Studio Press booth (#1701) on Saturday, July 23rd from 4-6 pm to say hi and check out the recently-published Daily Zoo drawing activity book! I'll be signing during that time and will happily adorn your copy with a sketch of your favorite animal. You can also check out the other latest titles from DSP, several of which are being unveiled at Comic-Con. Hope to see you there!

What: Daily Zoo book signing (we'll have copies of all three Daily Zoo books on hand)
When: Saturday, July 23, 2011 4-6pm
Where: Design Studio Press - booth 1701
Why: As always...why NOT?

Six Years of Remission

Today marks my "new" birthday, the anniversary of my stem cell transplant. Six years of being in remission from acute leukemia! Woohoo!

And for a very brief update, I'm currently freelancing for DreamWorks Animation as a character designer for one of their upcoming features, along with juggling several other freelance projects and promoting the latest Daily Zoo book. Busy, but good!

Even if you're not a cancer survivor, please give yourself a moment today to take a deep breath and pause while you reflect on the many things you are grateful for in your life!