How did all this begin? Maybe this goes back to my first trip to Disneyland in 1981. Or was it the endless hours of Disney movies and The Wonderful World of Disney on TV that piqued my interest. However it began, I can’t think of a single moment in my life when I wasn’t fascinated with how the Walt Disney Company operated. I used to study the layout of Walt Disney World when I was in high school and submit super detailed reports to my bewildered teachers. I saved newspaper clippings and magazine articles on changes to the parks and corporate acquisitions. Boring to most, but I just couldn’t get enough ‘Disney’.
Then came college. By my fourth year, I had finally found a subject that not only interested me, but it was something I was good at. 3D design and modeling, with a sprinkle of animation, became an obsession. I enrolled in the same class three semesters in a row, since at that time there was no intermediate or advanced classes. The instructors were unable to provide inspiration and guidance, since this was a foreign subject for them coming from traditional media like oil painting and watercolor. I looked to my other interest and found the architecture of the Disney parks.
It was all down hill from there, as I jumped in feet first with my first model: The Grand Floridian Resort at Walt Disney World. That was followed by work on Disneyland’s Main Street Train Station and Sleeping Beauty Castle. At some point I just decided to model the entire Disneyland Park and created a Facebook page to showcase my work and ask for feedback from fellow Disney fans.