It's Time to Be Brave

As we enter a new month, I've been going through some changes that I personally consider positive and a turn in the right direction. Some of those changes have been documented in my posts this past month. But here's what I've done in the past few weeks:

• After 11 years, I officially stepped down as the webmaster of Immanuel First Lutheran Church in West Covina, California. Sue Beckenham, the choir director and a technology teacher at Providence High School in Burbank, California, is the new webmaster, and only the second one in the church's history. I strongly believe she will faitfully carry the torch for the congregation online as I now fully commit myself to my new church home, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Severing my final tie to my old church is not easy, but I am now free and clear to be all in for the Calvary Chapel family.
• Originally started as a stress and creative release from a very high-pressure temporary agency job, I have been on a roll creating a steady series of fan art, comics and stories based on The Smurfs, the familiar little blue creatures of television and film. As I have been sharing them online and in person with family, friends and co-workers, I've been getting nothing but positive feedback. A few have even said the fan art is better than the recent film The Smurfs 2, which they had to walk out on with their kids in tow because the humor was unacceptably crude and raunchy. Better yet, I now have a small online following on social media that looks forward to every new Smurf toon I upload.
• I have reorganized the website, splitting the cartoons from my portfolio and giving it a new category called Cartoons and Fan Art. In addition to the aforementioned Smurfs fan art, there is also fan art for the Christian animated series Jot the Dot and for my original cartoons Ricki Lee & Tony, Alpha Girl and Javier the Sloth.

(Yes, a sloth. I animated a sloth. Sloths move very slowly, but then again nothing moves that much in a Newport Muse cartoon. So it was a perfect match.)

And finally, I am looking at going back to college for a master's degree in creative writing, possibly applying to Chapman University (my alma mater) or the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I have no idea how I would fund a two to three-year education should I be accepted, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

2013 so far has been a year of risks and changes in my life. After the very emotional and agonizing decision to change churches after 12 years with one congregation, things have just been changing for me in ways I could not imagine. Just one month after switching to Calvary Chapel, I flew out with a mission relief team to Philadelphia, then drove on to New Jersey to help victims affected by Hurricane Sandy. I also tried my hand in the men's choir, got connected with various ministries on the Costa Mesa campus, began developing a web app for Bible study and reading called Maranappta, and just taking leaps of faith.

It's time to be brave. I'm tired of being scared of the unknown. It seems that starting with the switch to Calvary Chapel, a wave of confidence has been slowly unleashed in my life. Just like Princess Merida of the Disney/Pixar film Brave and her little fellow Scotsman Gutsy Smurf, it's time to finally play for my own hand rather than for someone else's wishes.

It's time to be brave.

Fan Art: More of Those Little Blue Guys (and Gals)

Okay, so it's now official: based on the box office returns of the past few weeks, "The Smurfs 2" is a big blue disaster. For a film that cost well over $105 million to make with all the special effects and CGI animation, nobody saw it, and those who did were shocked at the prevalence of blue humor (pardon the pun) and sexual innuendo. I think because the first film did so well, the producers thought they could do more of the same and get away with it, but they really smurfed the shark (er, jumped) with this one. These little blue guys were nothing like the 80's Hanna-Barbera TV series that reruns on cable TV to this day, and audiences smurfed out on the disconnect.

But since I grew up on the TV series and the Smurfs were the first characters I seriously tried to copy and draw, ultimately developing my own original style, it was that cheerful, family-friendly memory that went into the below Smurf fan art I drew up the past few weeks.

Here is a part of "The Smurf Ohana (family)": From left to right, we have Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Baby, Brainy, Vexy, Husky, Sloppy and his beloved pet fly Fly, Snappy, Grandpa, Sassette, Nanny, her pet Smoogle, Clumsy, Grouchy and Painter. It's a mix of the classic Smurf characters with their newer relatives from the films. Vexy's hair was changed to brown based on other Smurf fan art I got a real kick out of.

Here again is Vexy Smurf, post-Naughtie and with change in hair color, explaining her hot temper and adventurous spirit.

And finally, little Baby Smurf ratting out Jokey, whom Vexy wants to have a little talk with after opening one of his trademark "surprises". (Personally, instead of Christina Ricci voicing Vexy, I think Gwen Stefani would be a better choice. Just looking at her CGI style from the movie automatically has me thinking of Gwen!)

This past month has been a very stressful one for me personally, as I have continued to look for work, finally landing some temporary jobs, and dealing with a lot of venting and anger from customers. Rediscovering my childhood friends has been a great creative and emotional release. I've never had this much creative energy in several years, and the ideas just keep on coming. Developing Maranappta may have been the impetus for that creativity, and now drawing these family-friendly Smurf toons has just about broken the dam holding everything back.

So until Studio Peyo of Brussels, Belgium (which owns the Smurfs) sends me a cease-and-desist letter, which they probably won't do because Smurf fan art is all over the web and is actually good publicity for them, I'll keep smurfing away, and giving credit where proper credit is due. Enjoy.