Wednesday, May 31, 2006

A reason to love YouTube


A great friend sent me this. It completely made my day and reaffirmed why we will always be 10 years behind the Japanese when it comes to videos of men dancing to childrens music while wearing tighty whities.

And for tons of other videos...some fun some, well, not so much. Take a trip over to YouTube.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Random pic of the day...

I present to you...Beethoven!!! Why? Because it's my blog and I can. ;)

So Long Seward Street...

If you haven't had a chance to check out James Hulls site Seward Street...you're almost out of luck. He's going to be closing down his incredibly useful and inspiring site at the end of this month. Seward Street is chock-ful-on animation goodness from insightful animation notes to mp3s of Milt Kahl...so do yourself a favor and cruise on over before it's gone, GONE, GONE!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Gianluca Ciufoli...

I found this image on the Drawn site. The artist is Gianluca Ciufoli. All his work is worth a look but "Presagio di Primavera" (the image above) is my favorite.

Open Season in Japanese...

Ethan over at Persistance of Vision posted this a while back...but me being late on all things cool just came across it...

http://www.sonypictures.jp/previews/player/movies/openseason/

The woman looks a little "Monster House" in her design but everything else I dig ok. We'll see when it hits theaters. I am so ready for something other than talking animals.

Friday, May 26, 2006

And Introducing...

For the last seven years I've been blessed with the good fortune of working at DNA. That long at one studio is definitely the exception and not the rule. I've kinda thought of my career as a very, very lucky train station, meaning I've gotten to stay in one spot while a number of incredible artists have passed through or made their homes here. I've learned so much from all of them and that's the reason for this post.

I want to start introducing you to some of the folks that have influenced me either artistically or personally...or both. Some of these folks you will know and some you might not. But one thing is for sure, they are all amazingly talented and just damn good people to know.

These aren't necessarily going to be interviews, but just some info folks I admire for one reason or another. Keep an eye out, I hope to have the first one out in the next day or two.

Cheers!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Wonderfully Bizarre...


I found this sight over at Cartoon Brew. Make sure you pay them a visit, there's always good stuff there...Anyway, head over to NFCTD.com and spend some time clicking through the interactive etchings. The combination of images and music make for a wonderfully odd experience.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Hey, where'd everybody go?


When you're first ramping up on a project there's an excitment in the air. An electricity as you plow through your day. You have so much ahead of you..some of it terrifying but most of it fun. You're going to be developing new characters and trying new things in your animation and meeting and working some new folks and some old friends...and the whole production is in front of you...

...And then there's the end of production. Wow, talk about wanting to slit my freaking wrists. For the last month or so each Friday has been the same...a big lunch for all the friends that are leaving that day plus a ton of "goodbye, it's been great working with you all" e-mails. And now this place is a ghost town. My last day is June 16th...I wonder what kind of trouble I can get into between now and then? I could turn the department into a youth hostel or a shelter for homeless animators. Clear out all the furniture and computers and turn it into a volleyball court...the 10 foot ceilings will make things interesting....I'm pretty sure I saw a freakin' tumbleweed blow past my cube...A TUMBLEWEED!!!!! Ok, ok...the solitude is getting to me...I've seen this happen in movies. Didn't Tom Hanks go a little crazy in that castaway flick? Enough of the crazy talk...I'm gonna go find out if my mousepad is flamable...I'll let you know how it goes.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Headin' North...

...That's right, I'm movin' on up to Seattle to join the crew at Valve . I'm not what you'd call a ravinous game player but if you're familiar with the work coming out of Valve you know they are taking it to a whole new level. This will definetly be a new direction for me with some of the smartest and most talented folks I'll have the pleasure of working with...and besides, Seattle is beautiful. It's amazing how quickly I fell for the area...there's just so much to love there. I'll keep you all posted...wish me luck.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Not quite on the nose...


I know, I know…odd choice of pictures but it suites a purpose. Some personal but in this case it’s something much clearer for this post. Sometimes things aren’t quite on the nose.

Ok, so I'm making decisions...where my career is going to go. There are worse positions to be in, having to choose between incredible studios. One is exactly what I’ve been doing for seven years, the other…not, but it’s an incredible opportunity with some of the most talented and creative people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. The same thing can be said for the other studio though. It’s enough to make you want to smack your head against a wall (I don’t recommend it, it hurts like a mother.)

This brings me to my current situation. Something old or something new…something borrowed…awe crap, anyway. If you’re one of the poor unfortunate soles that gets the animation mentor news letter, I apologize that you had my face to look at this time around. In it I talk about doing what you love and the money will follow. I’m still a believer in that. But one of my choices isn’t necessarily something I love…not the way I’ve done it for the last seven years. Last night I’m watching movie trailers on apple.com…mainly because I don’t sleep a lot these days, but let’s not bore you with that. Anyway, I see a trailer for a movie called “Peaceful Warrior”. I have no idea if this movie will be any good at all but there was a quote in it that hung with me…”If you can’t do what you love, then find the love in what you do.”….my, my, my…it’s like when you get a fortune cookie that actually applies to your life, or a horoscope that seems to legitimately have the answers…find the love in what you do.

…I’m sure this movie is going to suck.

What am I going to do? I have an idea…stick around, maybe I’ll take you to lunch sometime and tell ya.