Spencer always wanted to be an artist when he grew up. So while he’s figuring out how to actually BE an artist, he has refused to grow up!
He knew that education is the first step, so he graduated with a Fine Arts Degree from Arizona State University. He went right out to work as a painter, but, well, not in an “artsy” way. He painted houses as part of his construction job, AND HE WAS GOOD AT IT, but he wasn’t really making art.
He got a little closer to using that degree when he was hired to illustrate and animate graphics for online training courses. He helped make courses for Cisco, Intel, Dept. of Education, World Health Organization, as well as a project for the country of Jordan. He learned a lot, but it STILL wasn’t quite what he had in mind.
While working at this job he kept his creative side active by sketching and shooting and editing wedding videos. It was then that he saw an opportunity to win Burt Reynolds’ Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am in a video contest. He just had to convince Burt Reynolds why he deserved to win the car. So he sketched out his idea, set up the camera and acted out the scene. He shot the video, animated the opening logo, and edited tit all together in a single weekend! He uploaded the video a few days later and ended up winning the car! I think that he day job got a little jealous because a week later they downsized him.
A college friend encouraged him to work on some sketch cards for the Topps Trading Card Company. That work led to an invitation from Lucasfilm to make an exclusive art print for the first official Star Wars Convention in Japan! This opened the door and allowed him to be one of only five illustrators approved for the Star Wars Artist series on Zazzle. Spencer’s illustrations have been used on Mugs T-shirts and have even found there way into LEGO sets.
In addition to making Star Wars art, he has also created an anniversary print for Back to the Future as well as posters for The Princess Bride. His prints create an animated version of familiar movies scenes with a cinematic depth of field. He has gone on to incorporate that depth of field into his layered acrylic ShadowBox art, and has even created a interactive digital image viewing platform called ShadowBox Comics (but the patent was rejected).
Drawing famous movie scenes and characters are really fun, but Spencer also wanted to make his own products. He started by creating a drawing system called Drawing-is-Simple. If you can trace around a coin and mark the guides, then you’ve already started drawing. Following the simple steps makes it so that everyone can draw the characters.
He has also invented keychain toy called a LightStick that will add laser effects to any photo you take. All you need is a camera with a flash. It’s not a photoshopped picture or even a special app. LightSticks are a simple yet effective special effect for your point and shoot camera or cell phone camera.
Hold the LightStick in front of your camera’s lens and align it with your subject. The camera’s flash makes the LightStick glow and will add the special effect to your photo! The 3? long LightStick will show up in your photo as a laser sword, eye beams, power rings or blaster bolts.
Make sure that your camera’s flash is set to the ON position and you’re ready to go. No need to ‘crack’ the LightStick to make it glow. It gathers the light from the camera’s flash and adds the effect to your photos.
Clip it to your key ring to have it ready to use at all times.
*PS, the above is a photo of me, but it could be anyone of my kids. That Kamino Clone Factory’s got nothing on me!