Do you draw your designs? I hand draw all my designs using a pencil and paper. I spend anywhere from 2 to 12 hours working on one drawing. After I get my drawing as close to perfect as I can, I take the drawing to a Staples (office center) and enlarge the drawing. I make about 20 copies and then I bring them home and color them in with colored pencils. Then I choose some a few that I think will look good. I know this is very old-fashioned but I don't know how to use all those fancy computer programs so I have to depend on my own skills.

Where do you get your ideas? I get my ideas from Mother Nature mostly. Sometimes I look at pictures and am inspired. Many times I will wake up at 3 in the morning feeling the need to draw because of a dream I had. Mostly Nature and Native American themes are what I love to draw but every once in awhile I decide to do something a little different. I can assure you that every design I mint is something that I love. I do not mint a design that I don't feel is special in some way. I do this for the love of my subject matter and the feeling I get when people write to me telling me how a certain design makes them feel or how it has touched them in some way. When I get those kinds of compliments I know that through my designs, people are understanding what it is that I am really doing. I once had someone write to me and tell me that when she looked at my designs, she didn't know how to verbalize what it was about the designs that spoke to people but she knew people recognized it even if they couldn't say it. It was then that I knew that I had accomplished what it was I had set out to do and I had a huge smile on my face.

What do your designs mean then? When I draw a design I put alot of thought into it. Most of the designs but not all have a deeper, spiritual meaning (to me). It's a collaboration of Mother Nature's beauty, the way I feel about life and something that can't always be explained in words. Normally I try to give a somewhat brief symbolism of a design but to be honest I want you the holder of the coin to find the meaning or enjoy the experience of the design. Different symbols/designs mean different things to all of us, so in the end it is up to you to recognize it. I know that is a kind of 'deep' explanation but that is what I am about and I'm just going to explain myself from the heart.

Do you draw designs for others? This is a tough question, I have helped a few people along the way but to be honest it isn't something I want to do. The reason being is it takes a long time for me to get my own drawing perfect and I have to do alot of erasing until I get it right and I know what I want my design to look like. Taking on someone else's design is tougher because I have to redraw everytime someone doesn't like something. It's not like the computer programs where you can easily make some adjustments without having to start all over again. If I ever learn Photoshop, then I will be happy to start working on designs for other people. However, if you really felt that I would be the best person for your artwork, I would be happy to discuss your design with you and tell you if I felt I could draw it for you and if not I would be honest and tell you that you needed a graphic artist.

Do you mint your own designs? Yes, when I am done with my drawings, I take pictures of them and send them to the mint. I often include my original drawing along with the mint artwork on my coin pages so you can see how the process started. Every once in awhile I offer a design to another coin vendor to sell and normally that is because I am short on time. I prefer to work directly with the mint and have been doing so for about a year now.

Do you mint coin designs for others?  I will now work with people who want a geocoin minted (see 'Minting Services' link). I will only do one design at a time and it will be on a first come, first served basis. Please contact me at tsunrisebey@gmail.com if you want to discuss minting a geocoin. You will need artwork and for the time being, I will only work on 2D/2D coins (no 3D). Working with the mint in China requires alot of time and staying up until 1 to 2 in the morning, so between my coins and a customer's, I prefer to keep this simple and easy.

What does you name mean and how do you say it? My name comes from a horse I used to have (an Arabian). It was his registered name: T SUNRISE BEY. you say it exactly the way I just spelled it. Most people just call me tsun said :T SUN.