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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Change is in the air...

The last few months have been tough. I've had the good fortune of being with the same studio for seven wonderful years...but things change. Wherever I end up I know I'll be surrounded with incredibly talented people and I'll do my best to make it home. I'll keep you all posted.

That's a wrap...

Uninspired title to a post, I know...but appropriate. Last night was the animation department wrap party for "The Ant Bully". I hope to post some pictures soon, I didn't bring my own camera (dumbass) so I'm relying on the kindness of others who should have them at work on Monday.

There are almost always some changes at a studio after one project ends and the next begins. Folks wanna try their hand at another studio, others just want a change of scenery but for the most part you keep the same crew and even bring in some new friends. Not this time. This is a small industry, it's easy and almost expected that you'll keep running into the same faces over and over in your career. This is a good thing because I've grown very attached to a lot of those faces.

School is in....

Most of you know that I've had the good fortune of being associated with AnimationMentor for a few quarters now. On a personal level it's been one of the best experiences with some of the most talented folks in our industry. It has really gotten me jazzed about the sharing of information in our industry and really gotten me thinking. The history of animation has been one of mentorship. "So and so" learned from "So and so" who learned from Milt or Frank or... And I really think AnimationMentor and the great work being done by Keith Lango (luv ya klango) are really helping foster that history. I personally don't think there's much that I could add outside what's already being done when it comes to the art of animation...BUT I would like to start offering information about a different aspect of our industry. I will call it....

"Ok, you got the job. Now what?!?!"

I want to share some info about the industry not involved with the creative side but with the mundane, day to day stuff you'll have to deal with. Stuff like...

Direction: How to take it and why it's so damn important...

Ergonomics: How to avoid that pain in the neck...

Time Managment: The internet isn't always your friend...

Tools: Learn how to use them so you don't become one...

All things you'll need to know once you've gotten that kick ass job as an animator.

Now these are just a few ideas so if you think of something you'd like to see talked about please feel free to chime in with a comment. Hope you enjoy!!!

So my reel is up, sort of...

Ok, I finally have my demo reel up....sort of. This is my pre "Ant Bully" reel....so none of my work for the last two years is on there. But soon, the movie release Aug 4th and then I will add all kinds of "ant" goodness. Take a look under the animation tab, let me know what you think. You will need the latest version of quicktime to view it...on a different note...

Last night I was blessed with the opportunity to meet the man, the myth, the legend...Ray Harryhausen. I'll be talking about that more later. You'll get to enjoy all kinds of nerdy goodness.

Ray is still the man...

If you haven't had the opportunity go pick up a copy of the "The Art of Ray Harryhausen"



I'll admit it, I'm one of those guys who goes all "nerd" when the name Harryhausen is brought up in mixed company. Very few people in our industry have had such a positive impact and been so influential. I could go on and on but I'm starting to drip nerd sweat all over my keyboard so I'll just leave you with....GET THE BOOK!!!

And baby makes three...

For those of you fortunate enough to know Hamish and Janet McKenzie then sound the trumpets and rejoice for they have brought into the world a baby boy...and if he's half as smart as his mom and dad he'll be levitating stuff by the end of next week.

I would love to give out info but being a parent myself (yes, someone actually made babies with me) I don't want to give out info or post pictures without parental consent...and I'm thinking they're a little too busy to ask at the moment.

Soooooo instead I give you WEBCAM BEAR!!!!

Big Man on Campus

Bow down before the mighty animation power of Mark Behm. Not only is a great animator, not only is he an awesome traditional artist...not only is he taking a door to the face better than anyone I know...he is also Animation Mentor's "Mentor of the Month"

"Did you ever know that you're my hero....and everything I would like to be...I could fly higher than an eagle...you are the wind beneath my Behm"......ok, it was funnier in my head.

The man of the hour

You can see the intelligence just pouring out of him...

Such a dork

As the always wise Amila Puhala says, "You...uh....", ok, I can't exactly remember what she said but it was something about winning battles n' stuff. Anyway, after getting my final critiques done for Mentor, I was up till 1:00 am getting this thing up and running...at least the bones of it anyway. Needless to say I've been showing everyone with the patience to actually look. It just feels good to get something done and "out there". Now for you folks that had the patience to read through this here's a picture of the DNA Animation crew....and puppets.

Up and running...sorta

Wow, thanks to the kick ass P.J. Leffelman, I now have my website up and running. Hopefully links and animations and all that other good stuff will be online after the weekend.