Since his debut in the mid-1960s, the Pillsbury Doughboy was brought to life through stop-motion animation. However, in 1992, it was decided to switch to CGI. It was my pleasure to animate the Doughboy for his final stop-motion commercial campaign at Apogee Inc. for the Leo Burnett advertising agency. A couple of commercials were produced simultaneously under the direction of effects legend John Dykstra, and I was chosen to animate one with a Christmas theme. The project budget was clearly high, as they offered me more than my standard pay rate. Naturally, they expected the highest quality animation in return. I was given a luxurious amount of time to conduct tests and experiment with the character's performance, which was far from the norm for a typical stop-motion shoot.

Introducing The Umblebums, who could have been one of television's weirdest families. I created this series of pictures to illustrate a potential stop-motion show for the now-defunct Limelight Productions in 1991. Limelight then pitched the idea around Hollywood in an effort to find backing for the project. For me, it was "spec work," as I received no payment under the agreement that I would direct the show if it were greenlit. The project never materialized, leaving me to seriously consider whether it was worth the trouble. At least I have some cool pictures to show, which haven't been seen for 20 years!

As a general rule, I do not include painting in the artistic services I offer clients. Painting is my fine art, intentionally kept free, pure, and uncorrupted by commercial use. One exception was a tiny piece I made as a prop in 1987 for the film adaptation of Frog And Toad Together. It was created for a scene in which Frog reads a story to Toad about a knight fighting a dragon (which I also animated).

In 1987, I was part of a group of dedicated artists hired to animate critters for the ABC weekend special Runaway Ralph. For one particularly successful sequence, director John Clark Matthews came up with the bold idea of shooting the stop-motion animation outdoors. The concept sounded crazy at first because the stop-motion process would exaggerate the changing sunlight, clouds, and wind blowing across the landscape. For "realistic" animation, filming outside should not have worked, but it did! The sequence in question involved Ralph the mouse running away from home and riding his motorcycle on the highway. Initial tests proved that if the camera shots were animated in large increments, which was necessary to follow Ralph's motorcycle, the wind and changing sunlight would be imperceptible.

One of the most unusual projects of my career was Red Riding Hood and the Well-Fed Wolf, an educational film featuring characters representing various food groups. As Animation Director of the 1989 film, I created and brought to life talking food interacting with live actors who portrayed Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. Stop-motion animation was the primary technique used, while traditional puppetry was employed for shots involving both the actors and the talking food.

Most of the images in my collection were captured using a Nikon Stereo Rig or the Nimslo 3D camera, accompanied by iconic Kodachrome film. Unlike converting regular 2D photos, I prefer the authenticity and impact of genuine stereo photography. The Nikon Stereo Rig may appear ordinary, but it has the power to produce extraordinary results. It consists of a conventional Nikon camera mounted on a sliding rail, enabling smooth horizontal movement. To capture the perfect shot, I set up a tripod and ensure the subject is stationary. Click! The camera captures the first image, then with a gentle glide, it moves horizontally to the ideal distance for eye separation. Click again! Two images, one for each eye, form a dynamic "stereo pair." (Remarkably, even modern digital cameras can be used in a similar manner.) For moving subjects, such as people, I relied on the Nimslo, a charming camera from the '80s that captured four photos simultaneously. While its four lenses were originally designed for lenticular prints, I utilized only the outer two images to create classic stereo effects. Both of these cameras produced slides that can be viewed through special 3D viewers or projected in stereo with compatible equipment.