So here’s my life story, for those who have some time to kill.

In 2002, I created my first website under the artist label Maginationhart. My inspiration came primarily from Adam Betts. He would help me every now and then over AIM, giving me tips on how to improve my work and what to avoid. With his help and additional aid from Dan Flax, I was able to create and release my first icon set, Steel Icons. Thanks to The Wayback Machine, my very first website has been archived!

A year and a half later, I decided it was time to get a website with my own domain. I was growing out of Maginationhart, and needed something new. I chose Pixel Blue, but after discovering it was taken, I went on to create a few dozen other names until I finally ended with Pixel Sage. On August 26, 2003, Maginationhart became Pixel Sage, and I finally had a website with my own domain name. Check out the remnants of my first Pixel Sage website.

I believe that within a few months, MacThemes was born, a website designed by Adam. I took part in the community, which propelled my love for the graphic arts. I also met up with Jean Oliver-Lanclót, who soon became my first client. I created an icon for his Chercher app he coded as part of the now defunct Cliché SW (which caused Ambrosia SW to send him a cease and desist notification, since they had a similar app). Through this time, I did tons of experimenting in Photoshop, often unleashing icons and desktop papers. I even tried selling some stock icons (and failed horribly). Nonetheless, I found out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: Graphic Design.

Another year past by, and I eventually dived into the third dimension. I taught myself how to use Blender3D, and within three weeks I was modeling full characters on my own. With my newfound passion, I started to love 3D over 2D. I had lost contact with Adam thanks to World of Warcraft, but met new people in those two years of his absence. I gained inspiration from artists at MacThemes during Adam’s absence, and even met the mastermind behind MacThemes, Phill Ryu.

Phill created My Dream App, where I was able to stir up some controversy by making mockups for one of the entries, Desktop Wars. Afterwards came MacHeist, which I also had the privilege of taking part of. There I met Jonathan Schlaepfer, and with him made an application called Cypher. We created MacMage, a Mac software gig where we released another app and widget. In January of 2007, I met both Phill and Jonathan in person at the MacWorld Expo.

So now Pixel Sage has blossomed quite a bit. It’s gone through maybe 7 different web overhauls, and I’ve had a chance to develop my portfolio along the way. I currently attend the Art Institute of California in San Francisco, aiming for a Media Arts & Animation degree. Simply put, my 3D passion had sat on my 2D work, but now my enthusiasm for Photoshop is returning. I’m working with several clients as a freelance graphic artist, and continue to look into the future and see what’s in store for me.