There’s plenty of Pixar in today’s PixArt piece… and a little Disney too. Artist Adam Grason brings us this adorable take on Mike Wazowski in younger days – much younger days. This could be the prequel to the prequel. Adam is a talented artist and designer with a strong passion for what he does. It’s evident in all the work he does. Make sure to check out his site for more great art. Keep on reading to learn more about just what drives this talented guy. Our sincere thanks to Adam for taking time out of his busy schedule to create this for us!
Name:
Adam Grason
Website/Blog/Portfolio:
http://dribbble.com/adamgrason
I currently Live in…
Kansas City, MO
I consider my hometown to be…
Orlando, FL (Disney World)
My favorite Pixar movie(s) is(are)…
Ratatouille & The Incredibles. I love the way the stories give hope to the underdogs.
My favorite Pixar character is…
Remy. I understand his story a little deeper than most people. Remy, being a rat, has no right being a cook. But he was born with a special gift and passion. He denied everything to seek out his dream and to cook. I have no formal design training and never went to college. In that, I shouldn’t be doing what I am doing. But I was born with a dream and passion and I intend to deny everything to go for my dream. So, like Remy had a dream of being a chef, I dream of being a Disney designer/illustrator.
About my piece:
Obviously I am obsessed with anything and everything Disney. Since I can remember I have been a Disney fanatic. When it came to doing my piece I wanted to create a story. I also wanted to include one of my all time favorite things about Pixar…the easter eggs. My piece features several easter eggs. The story behind my piece is basically the reverse of what Monster’s, Inc. is. Instead of the monsters scaring children, the monsters were the ones being spooked, or in this case more surprised. So you have Mike W. as a toddler in his bedroom which shares many of the same aspects of Andy’s room from Pixar’s Toy Story. Completely unaware of what’s happening, Micky Mouse is coming through the door to surprise him. In this piece Mike is a little Disney freak much like myself. He dreamed of meeting Mickey – all he wanted was Disney toys, Disney furniture. When he slept, he dreamed of being a actor for Disney. His greatest desire was to be part of what brought him joy.
I think the real core meaning is to remember your roots – what inspired you as a kid will surely come back to inspire you again. The dreams you had as a child still have the capability of coming true. Never grow up – always remain teachable as a child. The best way to grow up is to never grow up. When things get tough, don’t retreat into the circumstance but retreat into the past things that brought you joy.
Who/What inspires you?
So much! First off Jesus, my wife, family and friends. On the more design route – Disney, Pixar, Mary Blair, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, John Lasseter, Melanie Matthews, Rogie King, Jerrod Maruyama (who has helped give me the faith to go for my dream), Joey Ellis, Chris Sandlin, Pascal Campion, Tad Carpenter and seriously so many others that I couldn’t possibly name them all.
Recommend something, anything to our readers:
All I can really recommend is to go for your dreams. You will never be happy until you do what you love. Life is too short to get wrapped up in the garbage that comes against us…you will always have a million reasons to not go for your dream but in the end you will never be satisfied until you do. Also, stay inspired. Take some time every week to study up on the designers you admire. Never arrive but always be on the journey forward.
Shameless self promotion:
Well not much to promote other than I have big plans to release my Tiki Room designs as a set of 5×7 prints and have a few other Disney Pieces headed to my store. Zadok44.com is where you can find my online portfolio, contact information for freelance and links to my store, dribble, and twitter.
Thanks for the great illustration, Adam!
View all our PixArt pieces here.
