Almost Done

Hey guys,

Its week two of my freelance illustration project which means its time to color! Hopefully I'll be able to color faster than I can draw, lol. I also have to draw two more images for my freelance mascot project and then ink/color the remaining five. The deadline for my illustration project is July 6th, so I'll be done soon. I cant wait to get back to animating! Taking on a second project has eaten up the rest of my spare time but it's also allowed me to have enough money for July's rent and thus granting me time to animate next month. Hopefully I'll get an animation job sometime next month so I wont have to take on anymore freelance projects; I enjoy drawing but I really love animating.

Update

Hey guys,

I haven't heard anything about a job yet. I got emails from Rhythm&Hues, ILM, and ReelFx but it was just a confirmation on receiving my materials. I saw a new post for Disney Talent Development animators on CreativeHeads.net today. I thought the TD animators had already been chosen back in May. Maybe they have two programs or something. I applied via the Disney website just to be sure though. I really hope to hear something good this time. The reel I submitted this time is much better than the one I sent back in January, lol.

Yesterday's Roughs

Here's a look at yesterday's roughs. I just realized I'm behind though. I thought I had to do two drawings (as in one spread) a day, but it turns out I have to do two spreads a day to meet my deadline. Good thing I realized this early in the week, lol. I am really learning a lot from this project so far. I think I've already gotten faster since I was able to do these in literally a couple of hours.

Roughs

Hey guys,

Here's a look at what I'll be working on for the next few weeks. They're roughs for a childrens book freelance project. I really under charged for these now that I've seen how long they're taking. I think I would be able to draw them faster if I did it on paper, but each image is 8.5"x5.5". I'm really bad at cutting straight lines so making 15 pages of that size would take longer that it should, lol. I also feel like I can get more detail at this stage from using a tablet since the size is so small. Paper and pencil is still my medium of choice though. I dont feel like I have a good workflow for working 100% digitally and like I'm really slow as the result.

Significant Progress

Hey guys,

I am about to go to bed, but I wanted to share a small animation update with you all. I was frame by framing the Meet Buck clip from BlueSky when I realized what had happened to my work. I was watching the medium shot of Buck talking when something really hit me. I went back to the beginning of the shot and watched how Buck turns around in slow motion. He really leads the action with his head and then his chest and later his shoulders and finally arms settle into his final pose. That's what had been missing from my animation. I had been so focused on trying to get everything done as quickly as possible, that I was animating way too pose to pose.

After realizing that, I decided to work on my Norman scene before I got too sleepy to animate constructively. I think this is a vast improvement over what I had and definitely think I'm headed in the right direction. Thank you so much for opening my eyes, whoever animated Buck saying "weeellllll, he's dead. Welcome to my world. Now uh, go home"!

Ice Age 3 Clips!

Hey guys,

Check out these two awesome clips from Ice Age 3!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDnRFjOi3rA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7iPS5dnynw

I really love the animation on their new character, Buck! I can see from that first clip that he's definitely going to be my favorite character. I think everyone who worked on this film did a fantastic job and I cant wait to see it in theaters!


In other news, I have an update on my job status. I was able to catch a freelance illustration project to work on for the next few weeks. It'll delay working on my drunk Norman scene, but I really need the money for rent. Industry work wise, I'm currently waiting to hear from ReelFx. I applied for their apprenticeship program and hope to hear from them soon. I also might have a position at a small traditional animation studio in Savannah. There aren't any guarantees of course but hopefully I'll either be at ReelFx or doing some 2d animation before July.

My list of possible studios has also grown since I last posted. So far the following studios have my reel:

Disney (rejected)
Dreamworks
Pixar (rejected)
BlueSky
Tippet
Rhythm&Hues
ReelFx
Blizzard (rejected)
Sony
ILM
MPC
Framestore
Blur
Insomniac
NaughtyDog

I've gotten some great feedback from Disney and BlueSky that I cant wait to apply to my Norman scene. I just need to hurry up and make enough money for rent so I can get back to animating.

Another Job Update

Hey guys,

Sorry for the silence and lack of posted work. I've been really busy finishing up at SCAD and graduating. All of that is over now so I can focus on finding a job. Today I found out that I wasn't accepted into the program at Pixar. I'm currently working on getting packages together to send out to Sony, ILM, and Tippet. After I drive home from Georgia I'll have time to send out packages to the rest of the studios on my list. Once that's done, I'll resume working on my drunk norman scene.