Turning fan art into physical art, how I spent the spring of 2025

Hello friends. I hope that you are doing well. What have you been up to since my last new update? I was sorely in need of a break this spring, and summer. Work, and family issues had taken a lot out of me in 2024, and the first part of 2025. I needed to step away from blogging in order to recharge my physical, creative, and mental batteries. The break allowed me to explore my art, which I haven’t really gotten into since the start of the pandemic many years ago. Back then I did illustrations in the style of Steve Nazar (RIP), and drew almost 100 different BMX bikes. Just to get my creative spirit back.

I picked up my sketchbook in the spring, just as I was wrapping up my blog run. I had been getting back into comic books. I wanted to see if I could do an illustration of one of my little brother’s favorite characters. Psylocke from the X-Men. Not just any version of the character, but her pink costume look from her time with the British group Excalibur. Her name is Betsy Braddock, and she is the sister of Captain Britain in case you didn’t know. Current fans may not be aware of her earlier look. Most people today know she wears a sexy ninja costume. Yet she originally looked much different. She was a a white woman that wore a soft flowing pink costume. The character had strong psychic powers, which were often presented as pink butterflies in the comic book panels. The psychic blades that she stabs heads with didn’t come until much later. This was when her mind switched bodies with a brain-dead Japanese assassin.

I had fun with the piece, and wanted to try another illustration based on a real person next. This was around the time that the San Diego Comic Con was happening. My family used to attend the event, but it had been years since we had been able to go. This didn’t mean I wasn’t eager to see the updates from the various websites. Joan Xiao is one of the actors I follow on Instagram. I first saw her in the Flash television series as the Rainbow Raider 2.0, and thought she did a great job with the character. She announced that she would be voicing Iron Fist in a Marvel animation. I thought it was wonderful news. I’m always happy to see minority actors get both live action, and voice-over roles. I had no idea what her costume would look like in the Wakanda cartoon, so I created an illustration of a more casual comic book design. I think the drawing came out well.

As the months went on I wanted to take my art to another level. Instead of making illustrations I wanted something tangible. Something physical, something other than a print that I could hold. I got the idea while playing through Sonic Dream Team. The game was one of my favorite Sonic titles in years. It introduced a new version of Dr. Eggman, and a standout hero called Ariem. It made me sad that we would most likely never see action figures based on these great characters.

I’m sure that you’ve read comics, watched movies, or played video games where you wished there were toys, statues, soft goods, and other collectables that you could pick up. I was surprised that to this day publishers never realized there was a fan base that would pay for merchandise of any rare title. Like many of you I always loved toys. In fact as a kid I wanted to be a toy designer. Fast forward a few decades, and I became an illustrator, and educator that still loved collecting. I didn’t know how to model in 3D, and I didn’t own a 3D printer so I knew that I couldn’t design or print my own toys. That didn’t stop me from coming up with the next best thing.

I shopped around to the various printing companies online, watched videos, and read up on how to produce acrylic charms, and standees. I decided to make an acrylic standee for Ariem that would be in scale with my Sonic figure collection. I created a front, and back, as well as a reversible base. I figured as long as I was going through the steps I might as well revisit the illustrations that I made for Metal NiGHTS. So I created fronts, and backs for Metal NiGHTS, Metal Reala, Metal Jackle, Metal Wizeman, and even Nightmare Eggman. I made sure to carefully measure to heights, and proportions of my Sonic 2.5 inch figures. This way when I got the standees made they would be able to fit side-by-side with my collection.

It took me a few weeks to finalize the designs, and a few months to get the order back from China. Needless to say I was very happy with the way they turned out. The colors were really vibrant, and they gave me a sense as to how Sonic Dream Team, and Sonic Superstar toys would have looked if they were real. As I was working on the art, and waiting on the delivery after uploading them to the printer I kept an eye on some overseas auction sites. As you may know I am a fan of Wonder Eggs. This was the first video game theme park created by Namco. Ephemera from the park which ran from 1992-1999 was rare, but does pop up from time to time. It took me years to get a few items from the park, but almost overnight a bunch of rare items turned up in the spring, and early summer of 2025. Thankfully they weren’t pricey. As a theme park fan several of these could be considered “Holy Grail” items. There were a few Wonder Eggs items left to get, but as far as my collection went I was extremely happy with what I had.

I had a lot of fun putting together art for standees. It made me think of what else I could do. I’m going to talk about that in the next blog. I hope to see you back for that. So how did you spend your spring, and summer of 2025? Did you get into any art projects? Tell me about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Pink Monorail Manufacturing the Magic Ep 21: Disneyland’s sister parks – Part One

Heya friends, I spent the summer of 2025 recharging my creative batteries, and working on side projects. One of which was to continue the podcast series featuring the missus. This podcast is designed for Disney fans, amusement park visitors, and history buffs. You’ll learn the roots of the multi-billion dollar theme park industry from ancient history all the way to today. The missus, and I worked hard putting these episodes together through 2024, until we had a family emergency and had to stop working on it for 7 months. We are back on it through 2025. Click on the picture or link to visit our streaming page hosted on Jim Hill Media. I hope you get a chance to listen, subscribe, and leave a review so we can climb the theme park podcast rankings!

The Pink Monorail Podcast Manufacturing the Magic Ep 21: Disneyland’s sister parks – Part One In the 21st installment of this educational series, Shelly and Noe Valladolid talk about what happened when C.V. Wood (the original president of Disneyland) went off in 1956 and set up his own theme park design company. This episode takes a close look at Freedomland & Magic Mountain Over the course of this episode, listeners will learn about: 

• How many theme park designers did C.V. Wood take with him when he exited Disneyland?
• What was the first theme park that Wood worked on after he stopped working for Walt?
• How was Freedomland’s opening day much like the one that Disneyland experienced back in 1955?
• What similarities did Magic Mountain have with Walt’s original family fun park?
• Who were some of the stars that performed at Freedomland? 

Are there any current or former theme parks, or attractions that you love? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Pink Monorail Manufacturing the Magic Ep 20: More tales from Disneyland’s early days

Heya friends, I spent the summer of 2025 recharging my creative batteries, and working on side projects. One of which was to continue the podcast series featuring the missus. This podcast is designed for Disney fans, amusement park visitors, and history buffs. You’ll learn the roots of the multi-billion dollar theme park industry from ancient history all the way to today. The missus, and I worked hard putting these episodes together through 2024, until we had a family emergency and had to stop working on it for 7 months. We are back on it through 2025. Click on the picture or link to visit our streaming page hosted on Jim Hill Media. I hope you get a chance to listen, subscribe, and leave a review so we can climb the theme park podcast rankings!

The Pink Monorail Podcast Manufacturing the Magic Ep 20: More tales from Disneyland’s early days

In the 20th installment of this educational series, Shelly & Noe Valladolid talk about the land search for Walt’s family fun park. More to the point, how the Company settled on “Disneyland” as just the right name for this project. Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about: 

• Where Disneyland was initially supposed to be built?
• Which cities inspired Main Street, U.S.A., and the Park’s Opera House?
• Who said that “… Disneyland will not be a commercial venture”?
• What did the Stanford Research Institute discover?
• And what was Walt’s greatest fear in regards to this project?

Are there any current or former theme parks, or attractions that you love? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Pink Monorail Manufacturing the Magic Ep 19: Drawing up plans for Disneyland

Heya friends, I spent the summer of 2025 recharging my creative batteries, and working on side projects. One of which was to continue the podcast series featuring the missus. This podcast is designed for Disney fans, amusement park visitors, and history buffs. You’ll learn the roots of the multi-billion dollar theme park industry from ancient history all the way to today. The missus, and I worked hard putting these episodes together through 2024, until we had a family emergency and had to stop working on it for 7 months. We are back on it through 2025. Click on the picture or link to visit our streaming page hosted on Jim Hill Media. I hope you get a chance to listen, subscribe, and leave a review so we can climb the theme park podcast rankings!

The Pink Monorail Podcast Manufacturing the Magic Ep 19: Drawing up plans for Disneyland 

In the 19th installment of this educational series, Shelly & Noe Valladolid talk about what happened in September of 1953 prior to Roy O. Disney’s fateful flight out to NYC. They also talk about how the material that Walt’s brother showed to executives at CBS, NBC & ABC to sell them on Disneyland was created. Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about: 

• How did Herbie Ryman’s “Lost Weekend” with Walt REALLY go down?
• Which “Lands” were initially proposed for Walt’s family fun park?
• How did Walt go about securing all of the funding that was needed to build Disneyland?
• Who were the Park’s original sponsors?
• How did C.V. Wood go about recruiting Disneyland’s participants?

Are there any current or former theme parks, or attractions that you love? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Pink Monorail Manufacturing the Magic Ep 18: How Walt riding the rails led to rides at Disneyland

Heya friends, I spent the summer of 2025 recharging my creative batteries, and working on side projects. One of which was to continue the podcast series featuring the missus. This podcast is designed for Disney fans, amusement park visitors, and history buffs. You’ll learn the roots of the multi-billion dollar theme park industry from ancient history all the way to today. The missus, and I worked hard putting these episodes together through 2024, until we had a family emergency and had to stop working on it for 7 months. We are back on it through 2025. Click on the picture or link to visit our streaming page hosted on Jim Hill Media. I hope you get a chance to listen, subscribe, and leave a review so we can climb the theme park podcast rankings!

The Pink Monorail Podcast Manufacturing the Magic Ep 18: How Walt riding the rails led to rides at Disneyland 

In the 18th installment of this educational series, Shelly & Noe Valladolid explore how Walt Disney’s lifelong fascination with trains impacted the development of his family fun park. Special guest Roger Colton sheds light on this specific aspect of Disneyland history. Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about:

• Why is Walt’s visit to the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948 considered such an important moment in the development history of Disneyland?
• Which specific Disneyland attraction was inspired by Walt & Ward Kimball’s stop at Greenfield Village?
• How the miniature steam train Walt had set up in the backyard of his Holmby Hills home influenced the design of Disneyland?
• Which lands at Disneyland Park were directly influenced by what Walt & Ward saw at the Chicago Railroad Fair?
• How many steam trains did Disneyland Park have in its fleet?

Are there any current or former theme parks, or attractions that you love? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Pink Monorail Manufacturing the Magic Ep 17: Further Advancement in Animatronics

Heya friends, I spent the summer of 2025 recharging my creative batteries, and working on side projects. One of which was to continue the podcast series featuring the missus. This podcast is designed for Disney fans, amusement park visitors, and history buffs. You’ll learn the roots of the multi-billion dollar theme park industry from ancient history all the way to today. The missus, and I worked hard putting these episodes together through 2024, until we had a family emergency and had to stop working on it for 7 months. We are back on it through 2025. Click on the picture or link to visit our streaming page hosted on Jim Hill Media. I hope you get a chance to listen, subscribe, and leave a review so we can climb the theme park podcast rankings!

The Pink Monorail Podcast Manufacturing the Magic Ep 17: Further Advancement in Animatronics In the seventeenth installment of this educational series, Shelly & Noe Valladolid continue their look back at the history of themed entertainment. This time around, they're joined by veteran Imagineer Joe Lanzisero, who looks back at how AA figures were developed for the Disney Parks. Throughout today's episode, listeners will learn about: 

• How Electro the Robot wowed folks at the 1939 New York World's Fair
• How "Project Little Man" influenced the creation of "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln"
• Where Disneyland's animatronic graveyard is located
• How animatronics wizard Garner Holt got his start with Chuck E. Cheese
• Plus Joe's terrific new kids book, " Lemonade, the Yellow Bear" 

 

Are there any current or former theme parks, or attractions that you love? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Pink Monorail Manufacturing the Magic Ep 16: Early Automatons & Animatronics

Heya friends, I spent the summer of 2025 recharging my creative batteries, and working on side projects. One of which was to continue the podcast series featuring the missus. This podcast is designed for Disney fans, amusement park visitors, and history buffs. You’ll learn the roots of the multi-billion dollar theme park industry from ancient history all the way to today. The missus, and I worked hard putting these episodes together through 2024, until we had a family emergency and had to stop working on it for 7 months. We are back on it through 2025. Click on the picture or link to visit our streaming page hosted on Jim Hill Media. I hope you get a chance to listen, subscribe, and leave a review so we can climb the theme park podcast rankings!

The Pink Monorail Podcast Manufacturing the Magic Ep 16: Early Automatons & Animatronics 

In the sixteenth installment of this educational series, Shelly & Noe Valladolid continued their look back at the history of themed entertainment. This time around, they focus on some of the innovations Walt Disney helped introduce with his family fun park. Throughout this episode, listeners will learn about: 

• How far back in history do automatons go? 
• Who was the first creator to use pneumatics? 
• What sort of control systems were used originally at Disneyland Park? 
• When were Audio Animatronics first introduced? 
• PLUS Special Guest Joe Lanzisero’s experiences working with animatronics 

Are there any current or former theme parks, or attractions that you love? I’d like to hear about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!