just wanted to thank everyone who stopped by my page this week to check out the daily deviation!

also, thanks to everyone who bounced over from slashfilm!

all of the comments, faves and watches are greatly appreciated!

so, as i continue to post my art (some old, some new) on deviant, i find myself cringing when i look back at some of my older work.

now, i know that it's healthy and natural and a gigantic blessing to be evolving as an artist, but i don't know how healthy or natural or blessed it is to obsess over pieces that are finished but could use a just a little extra spit shine. i'm continually tempted to go back and touch up old artwork, which i know is a slippery slope, because eventually i'll wind up trying to fix every piece i've ever done. that's why i usually talk myself out of it in favor of creating something new.

anyone else wrestling with this, or am i the only one suffering from george lucas-itis?

when i heard that creature special effects master stan winston had passed away earlier today at age 62, i caught myself uttering "aww no" under my breath.

i guess that's pretty common when you hear about a movie star or sports icon passing on, but i don't think it's too often that a special effects guy has that reaction on people. but then again, this guy was something beyond that.

stan winston was the creator of some of the most unbelievably awesome monsters and effects in some of the most influential genre movies of my time: terminator, predator, aliens, jurassic park, and most recently, iron man. and that's just naming the big ones.

those movies are such a part of me, i have no doubt that stan and his many monsters had a profound impact on my career. he truly was a hero of mine.

it was midday saturday at this past weekend's wizard world philly convention when i got the call from my wife, kelly that things were beginning to happen. i asked my buddies, pat mcmullen, dave perillo and scott derby to cover my spot at our artist alley table and i was off.

less than twelve hours later, i was holding our first kid, dasch t. whalen.

and what a wild ride it's been so far...

i've heard so much about deviantart (especially from a lot of talented artists that i met last weekend at the pittsburgh comicon), that i've finally been moved to start my own page. my goal is to try to keep my site relatively up to date and post all of my new projects here...anyway, away we go...