World of Spokes

KIrby's Sock Complete!

2011-06-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

It's finally finished. I'm at a loss for words about the project. It's time for the work to speak for itself.

300th Post

2011-03-01T09:49:00.001-08:00

I was looking at my blogger dashboard and realized this is my official 300th post. That sounds like a lot of blogging to me. When I first started out I was not into the idea of blogging at all. I just thought it would be a good way for folks to keep up with me on my cross country trip. Now, it's still a great way for folks to keep up, not just with my cycling adventures, but also with my "artistic" and life endeavors as well. Anyway back to the post:

WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING INSTEAD OF WORKING ON KIRBY:

Kirby is at a stand still for whatever reason, mostly mental for me, I guess. So, I've come up with other projects to fill my free time. Here's one, I just finished this illustration for Community Cycling Center. They're a local not for profit bicycle shop, that not only has a great helpful staff, but also a ton of outreach programs for youth, people of low income, and the bike novice looking for knowledge. The illustration is 4' x 2' and will be used for a teaching tool in the shop. Allie wrote out all the type and helped with the painting.

Waiting For Kirby

2011-02-15T13:10:00.001-08:00

for those of you following along, its been a year and two months since I started out on the kirby endeavor. Believe you me, nobody is more ready for this animation to be in the can than I. Rest assured it is nearly complete...

updating pedalmation.

2011-02-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

At least one officer was killed in Suez that day.

2011-02-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

Protests had been particularly violent in the port city of Suez, 83 miles east of Cairo. On Thursday, Jan. 27, protesters attempted to firebomb a riot police car. Police in turn fired rubber bullets, water cannons, and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators.(Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters)

Now that's productive

2011-01-16T11:34:00.001-08:00

I'm slack, I know it, you know it, so there, it's out in the open. But if you want to see an animator who is anything but lazy check out Dailymation. It's a great blog by an animator who puts out a new short almost everyday. Very impressive.

Good Photo, Bad Drawing. 4

2010-12-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Good Photo, Bad Drawing. 3

2010-12-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

Good Photo, Bad Drawing. 2

2010-12-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

Good Photo, Bad Drawing

2010-12-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

Here the first installment of a new series on world of spokes 'Good Photo, Bad Drawing'

Enjoy.

Texture

2010-12-21T09:43:00.001-08:00

Work has picked up and free time at the studio is at a premium right now. When I do get a second for side projects, I've mostly been experimenting with texture for the kirby short. Here are some examples.

Hand Up

2010-12-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Animation Complete

2010-11-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

I finished all the hand drawn animation last week. Left on the to do list: Backgrounds, detail drawings, and some minor tweaks. I still don't see this thing premiering before the new year,but I am glad to see that the end is near.

Things I have learned since starting this process:

I will not be creating another animation in this style. It has taken entirely too long and would not be cost effective in any business venture.

Let others help. I've been so afraid to let anyone in on this project that I've only really shown it to three people. Allie has been the only one to help and the guy doing the sound hasn't even seen it yet. I'm a very private person, but sometimes it's better to get these things out there and get some crowd reaction.

Let the computer do more. I was so hell bent on this thing having a hand drawn feel, I completely ignored any digital help the computer could have done. The last few days I've been thinking how a few different rendering techniques could have saved me months of work.

In the end, I'll be proud of the finished piece. It's even inspired a few more ideas for animations that I hope to produce in the future. If nothing else, the experience of making this animated short has given me a sense of purpose in an otherwise directionless time in my life.

Font vs Typeface

2010-11-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

Do you know the difference?

Another Bear for my childhood

2010-11-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

I wasn't a huge fan of winni the pooh growing up, but I can still recite a few lines from the saturday morning cartoon's theme song. I'm feeling nostalgic today and this made me laugh.

Side Projects

2010-11-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Along with kirby, fixing and maintaining bikes fill my spare time. Currently, I'm rebuilding this Raleigh. It's a bit small for me and I'll be selling it once it's finished. So, if anyone out there needs a sweet red single speed, let me know.

Filmed by Bike Write-Up

2010-11-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

I got a little write up on Filmed by Bike's website. Their a great organization that combines two of my favorite things bikes and films. I've submitted movies into the festival three years in a row, but sat out last year. The kirby animation has dominated all my free time for nearly a year now.

2 scenes left

2010-11-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

So close, soo close...

Gourd-n-Pork

2010-10-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Illustration for a upcoming event we're hosting.

Only Four Scenes Left.

2010-10-19T11:44:00.001-07:00

PedalMation is GO!

2010-10-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

My website 2.0 has been launched! It took a bit longer than expected, but what doesn't. I have to thank my good friend Sean Fitzgerald for all the coding work, he's amazing.
I hope to continue adding illustrations and videos in the coming months to the site. Here's an illustration that did not make the cut.

I love tracing.

2010-10-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Introspective and Important

2010-10-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

not really.

The Good, The Bad, and The Freelance

2010-10-05T09:07:00.000-07:00

Life Cycle

2010-09-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

You know the old saying "the more things change, the more they stay the same". I've been feeling that way a lot lately. It's not so much that things don't change, it's that most change is so gradual and incremental we hardly ever see it's effects until long after it has happened. The hardest part about change is the small day to day cycles we constantly are trying to program or unprogram in our routines. Through constant analysis and retooling of the little things we do each day, real change happens.

It's Official

2010-09-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I received this piece of junk mail. I think receiving junk mail for your start up business makes you official. It's cheezy but I liked it so much I hung it in the office. It's my only signage for the time being.

Staying Busy

2010-09-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Pedalmation.com is almost ready for the relaunch, finished a scene for Kirby today and I just posted an updated reel to my vimeo site. All positives, but it also means I've been working less and have had more free time. Good for me, bad for the bank account. All is well though, picking up small jobs here and there. Staying positive and optimistic.

Here's a shoe!

what's going on

2010-09-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

What a busy summer. Things here at the studio have been productive. Kirby is still slowly coming together. Just six more scenes and all the animation will be done. I'll still have to figure out the backgrounds and add more detail to a lot of the drawings. The end is in sight however.

Until then check out this student film I mentioned in a blog post some time ago. It's called Slim Picking Fat Chances and it's great. It has an old warner brothers animation feel with some fresh witty humor.

milhouse

2010-08-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Allie took this great picture.

www

2010-08-10T12:55:00.001-07:00

rebuilding pedalmation.com, here's a still from the design process.

I got new glasses

2010-07-28T10:34:00.001-07:00

They're a little taller than I usually get, but still my classic black plastic frame.

Repetition

2010-07-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

One thing bicycling and animation have in common is repetition. By repeating the same steps over and over you create something that is larger than the sum of it's parts.

It's been awhile since I've written anything about cycling. While I still enjoy it and try to ride everyday, it's become a very personal journey for me. Plus, it's kind of monotonous and there really isn't much to write about.

The same can be said for the kirby animation. While I continue to find a place for it everyday, there's not much new to report.

Both also have meditative qualities to them, which helps me clear my mind. I think this can be achieved by just about any activity with a lot of repetitive qualities.

American States United

2010-07-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Never forget where you come from.

U-S-A... U-S-A!

2010-06-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Movie Night

2010-06-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Went and saw Toy Story 3 last night, and it was even better than I expected. The animated short before the feature alone was worth the price of admission.It's also the best use of 3d glasses I've seen yet. It was the best short Pixar has created in quite awhile. The feature was great too, but for me the real charm was revisiting those characters that were such a part of me becoming an animator. Funny, well written and a joy to watch. Kirby gives it one paw way up!

The Closer.

2010-06-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

I've been called many names in my life. The closer is my favorite. I take the slop that people throw at me and I make it into something useful. If there's ten hours left and the whole project needs animating, call me. I like to think of myself as the Mariano Rivera of what i do, but it's probably more like a Jonathan Papelbon. I want myself to be all cool and collected, but in reality it looks emotional and sporadic. Some where in the middle is probably most accurate.

In case you're wondering, my least favorite nickname has been lotion, but even that is kinda fun now that I'm older and can laugh at myself.

DANCE!

2010-06-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Ya'll!

It's a work in progress

2010-06-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

So, I've decided to not set any more deadlines for kirby. The animation will get done when it's done. Forcing unnecessary deadlines on this project only makes it feel like work, and that's the last thing I want this to be.

PIG

2010-05-27T19:10:00.001-07:00

The Return of Kirby... soon

2010-05-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Kirby has been absent from my life now for almost two weeks. While I've had a few minutes to work on the animation here and there, no real time has been dedicated to it for sometime. If you've been reading this blog than you probably know I've had somethings that have come up, that have kept me from having any free time..

I hope that after this week things slow down and I can have a few minutes to myself to contemplate whats next. I told Allie the other day, that I'm going to need sometime to disconnect from work and reset. I think, some time away from working for others and concentrating on what I want will help improve my outlook on this silly profession I've decided to pursue.

With more free time I'll be concentrating more efforts on finishing the Kirby animation. More detailed updates on Kirby the next time I post.

I haven't drawn in days which is terrible, sorry no new sketches.

Reclaiming Life

2010-05-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

For a long time I've been abstaining from writing about work here on this blog. While bits of work do slip through every now and again, most criticism of it was left out. While I won't be changing that policy anytime soon, I will for this post break the rule.

Last month Allie and I decided it was time to purchase a house. After much searching we found a great house in a great location. The proper paper work was drawn up and we were in mid swing, when my full time employer decided it was a good time to let me go. Now, I won't go into names but certain people knew I was in the process of purchasing a house, and I'll bet money they also knew I was about to get let go. Regardless, As of last week I did not have a full time job any longer, which also meant I had no way of qualifying for a loan for a house.

So, the last few days have been pretty hard on both of us. For me, it's been this primordial feeling that the one job I'm supposed to do, provide, is not getting done. It's been tough, adjusting to the fact that this underlining feeling inside me, to provide, can not be accomplished.

After much soul searching and many a good friends helping me out in my time of need, I came to the conclusion that I was indeed better off. Although we would not be getting the house we hoped at the end of the month, I was free from the bondage that created such frustration and anger.

Such is the way of god and life. I've spent the majority of my career freelancing, and while at times it can be tough, I feel that I may be better off working for myself. I've never been one for offices or corporate mentality. Unfortunately, after talking with our realtor today, I realize that that freedom comes with a price. Self employed people must show at least two years of income on their tax reports to qualify for a mortgage loan. Since, I'll be starting over again with my self employment it may be sometime before we are able to buy a house.

What's done is done, and for now all I can do is be fortunate for what I have, my health, my family/friends, and the most supportive wife anyone could ever ask for. I have no great words of wisdom to end this post. I know that I will get up tomorrow, the sun will be shining, and I'll continue to live my life the best I know how.

Thanks to everybody for all the support they have shown Allie and I through this turbulent time.

Ball is Played

2010-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Many crazy changes in my life the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure how detailed I'd like to get into it here on the blog. I will say that they're not all bad, but possibly life changing. If I keep things in perspective, I can honestly say that these changes are minimal compared to things people are facing right at this moment.

Kirby report soon to follow.

Club Fred

2010-04-29T19:47:00.001-07:00

I'm starting a new bike team. I'm calling it Club Fred. More later.

Kirby: slow and steady.

Work

2010-04-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

Finished this animated piece before the vacation. I'm proud of it for the fact that I designed, directed, and executed it with little help. It's nothing ground breaking, but it's perfectly suited for it's purpose.

Happy Friday everybody!

Alvaro Espinoza

2010-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

I came back into the office today after a weeks vacation. To my surprise a colleague of mine had left me a shoe box full of baseball cards from the 80's. Now, I love baseball, and I realize how un-hip it is to admit it, but it's true. So it was fun to dig through all the cards and see all the bad mustaches and mullets. Since it's a transition day for me, I thought I'd take some time to do a drawing of one of my favorites. I don't even know who this is but the glasses and mustache sold it for me. Maybe I'll do a few more of these.

As for the vacation it was great. Saw the fam,went to the beach, and relaxed. But, as all vacations go, I am glad to be home. Didn't get much done as far as Kirby animation goes, but fear not. I'm back on the job, and will post updates soon.

My Grand-Ma

2010-04-13T07:53:00.001-07:00

Here's a photo of one of the sweetest women to ever grace this earth. I'm flying back to North Carolina tomorrow to visit her, my mom, and the rest of the family.

I'll still try and work on the animation while I'm over there. Doing a lot of 2d hand drawn stuff right now, so I'm bringing a sketch book and my favorite pencil.

The Original Kirby

2010-04-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the bear that started it all. My grand-ma gave him to me many years ago. I've moved around a lot over the years and I've always made it a point to keep Kirby around.

ElectricPig

2010-04-13T07:49:00.001-07:00

Best Laid Plans

2010-04-01T09:13:00.001-07:00

Scene 4 of Kirby'Sock. Building this scene was definitely a learning experience. It's been a difficult road thus far but I'm sticking with it until the end. Allie is helping with the coloring now, so with any luck the process should move faster. Of course I've been saying that in every post, maybe this time it will hold true.

Good, Fast, and Cheap, pick two.

2010-03-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to have scene four completed last week and posted on the blog. But, if you've been following along you know that my best laid plans, fall short very quickly. I've had to redo scene 4's dope sheet, and it looks like I'll be redoing it again tonight. All the drawings have been done, I've just got to sort through the jumbled mess of numbers and abbreviations I made myself. As soon as it's sequenced and timed out, I'll post the scene. This has definitely been a learning process for me, and I really hope to take what I've learned and apply it to the next scenes.

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement, and for sticking with me thus far.

Illustrated

2010-03-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Here's two samples I sent my friend for his blog. Their still not finished but I wanted his opinion on the direction I'm taking. Both are very different, but I think we're going with the more realist version as apposed to the stylized one. I've never claimed to be much of a draftsman, but I do enjoy it.

In other news, I stumbled upon two blogs that are documenting the making of their respective animations. The first is Slim Pickings Fat Chances. This animated short is being produced in Holland (I think). It looks great, and I'm excited to see the finished product.

Another blog I discovered, is dedicated to the production of an animated series called 'Adventure Time with Finn and Jake'. The style is awesome and the pilot episode I watched was clever and fun.

Kirby'Sock scenes 1-4

2010-03-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on the last couple of months. These scenes need backgrounds, shading, tweeks, and what not, but this should give a good sense of the direction I'm going. The last scene is just the rough 3d, and should give you an idea of my process.

Kirby's Prologue

2010-03-09T20:15:00.001-08:00

these were done about a year ago leading up to production of the first kirby cartoon.

dope sheet, kinda

2010-03-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

Some details about the image I posted last night. In the crudest sense it's what we in the animation industry call a dope sheet. The idea being that these graphs help time out the animation and line up each drawing with the corresponding drawings.

For the scene I'm working on currently, I felt it would be quicker if I separated parts of the characters body onto different layers. While there is 44 frames of actual animation not every body part moves through out those 44. If I separate say the left arm, once it stops moving I can just hold that drawing on the rest of the body for the duration of the scene.

On a true dope sheet, the time line for the entire scene would be broken down, including the hold frames. For this scene I'm just marking where the hold frames will be with an "H" or #.

Here's what an actual dope sheet looks like.

to travis

2010-03-08T23:03:00.001-08:00

dope-sheet

Faces

2010-03-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing I feel good about drawing, it's faces. Mostly cartoon faces though.

Mildly Offensive

2010-03-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

I think now is a good time to discuss the possibility that my film may be mildly offensive. I think it would be off putting in the way that Pee Wee Herman or Ren & Stimpy was to my parents in the 80's. Not so much disturbing for adults, but possibly for children.

Now, from my point of view, it's humorous and perfectly suitable for kids. But my opinion is very different from what others may think. In the end what may make it offensive to some viewers is what makes it charming to me.

Here's a good test: If you find my infamous penis & balls sketch offensive, chances are you'll probably find my animated short offensive too.

Spammed!

2010-03-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Uuuuh, some lovely spam group has targeted my site for some serious Japanese ad spam. PLEASE DO NOT click on the Japanese links in some of the older comments. I've tried to clean out some of them, but many persist. Because of this I've had to moderate the comments a bit more now. It's too bad, cause I really liked the open forum.

IN OTHER NEWS:
A friend of mine has been writing a blog called PDX Dad. Its about being a stay at home dad and all the fun that in sues. He's a great writer and has asked me to do an illustration for his title bar. I'm excited to get started on it, should be fun.

Sleepy Turtle

2010-03-02T10:04:00.001-08:00

I already have a concept for my next animation. It involves a sleepy turtle and a rambunctious bird. It's gonna be great!

The current animation continues to come along at a snails pace, but at least it is still moving.

More soon.

BUSY

2010-02-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

WOW, very busy week all around. I'm still chugging away at the animation, but have no time to post anything new. Please, check back next week and I'll have something then. Thanks for your patience.

Happy Birthday Sweety

2010-02-17T13:12:00.001-08:00

I love ya

Tuesday

2010-02-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel it's incredibly hard to make time for the things you really want to do? That is how I've felt the last couple of weeks. The animated short has been coming along so slow, but the things that have kept me busy are things I can not neglect.

The work I was doing two weekends ago was for a not for profit, so I can't complain that I will not get paid, or that it took away a whole weekend of Kirby animation time. Last weekend, Allie and I went out of town to visit her family. Again, something I can't complain about (we had a great time), but again no time spent on Kirby. Oh well. Things have kicked off again so at least I am making progress.

I decided last night that April may be a bit overzealous, to finish production. One of my weaknesses is under estimating the time it takes for me to do my job. I've heard in the past that you should take your estimated time of completion and triple it. This saying holds true in animation, maybe more so than anywhere else. SO, my new deadline is June. I know some of my readers are probably already getting impatient and want to see some progress. After consideration, I decided to post some clips of the animation, soon.

Until then, another drawing from the sketch book.

And finally today, Allie gave me this great book for Valentine's Day called The Making of Mr. Fox. It a "behind-the-scenes look at the creation of [the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox]." According to amazon. Inside are beautiful photographs, great interviews, and concept sketches of the movie. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of animation or foxes.

Happy Tuesday All.
Thanks for reading.

Ode to Yogi

2010-02-11T07:21:00.001-08:00

Seeing as how I'm creating a bear themed animation, how could I not have been inspired by the most famous animated bear, Yogi. I decided to add a subtle nod to Yogi in the animation. I can't tell you how, so you'll have to watch the short and see for yourself.

And speaking of inspiration, one of the most influential animators for me, Bill Plympton, has recently start a blog with fellow animator Patrick Smith. I moved to Portland, OR a few years back, and didn't even know he lived here. One of the first things I'd did here was attend a screening of his feature film Hair High. I always get awkward in social situations, and even though he was there and had a Q & A session after the showing, I never said anything, or even got up to shake his hand. A year or so later, I saw him at an animation festival. I sat next to him at a screening (I don't remember what it was) and again said nothing to him the whole time. I think it's silly to go up to someone you admire and gush all over them. Maybe one day, I'll meet him and get the courage to actually talk to him.

Finally today, I wanted to point out John K also has a blog, although his has been around for sometime. He too, has been a great inspiration in my work. There are many others, that have influenced me, but I should really get back to work now. I'll try and cover more obscure animators in the future.

It's a Bowie Day

2010-02-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

"Oh no love! you're not alone
You're watching yourself but you're too unfair
You got your head all tangled up but if I could only
make you care
Oh no love! you're not alone"
-David Bowie
Rock 'N' Roll Suicide

Thanks Dave I needed that.

FREE_lance

2010-02-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

emphasis FREE. Picked up a side job and the animation has been put on hold. I promise to start back up tomorrow. Until then, new sketch-pad.

Color Theory

2010-02-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Color is one of the most subjective elements in all of art, so I've read (not sure where though). It's hard to determine what makes a combination of colors work, but we all know when they don't work. I tend to pick two or three colors and stick with them for everything. Red and yellow were my colors for a long time, but recently I've gone more muted and soft with my color choices.

For the short I'm working on currently, I started with a pale blue for the background color. I've been using various forms of this color for sometime now. It's a very popular color choice currently, and is an easy go to color.

Next, I needed a color for outlines. Kirby, the bear, is outlined in dark tan. His nose is brown and his eyes and mouth get the same dark grey.

Then, I choose a colors for the fill. These are basically off shots of the line color. I like to use pantone colors whenever possible. So, once I've established a color I'll go into my color library and choose a color close to the original.

Finally, I add the shading and highlights. Again, these are just off shoots of the line color, or in some cases the line color itself.

The shading/highlights seems to be taking up the majority of the process time. In order to speed up production, I'm creating the line and fills for all scenes first. I plan to come back later and add the shading/highlights. This again goes back to the assembly line style of production I am so fond of.

Thanks again to everyone who's keeping up with the blog, and also to my newest (FOURTH) follower. Knowing somebody is out there interested in what I'm doing, keeps me posting, and creating. Cheers!

Last Day, Last Page

2010-01-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

This is it. The end of the red book. I have mixed feelings about finishing it, but I'm happy with the work in it. I am excited to start a new book.

Time's a Wasting

2010-01-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

Back at it, drawing the individual frames of animation that is. Last night as I was working a little OT on the project, I started doing the math. I tried to calculate the amount of hours a week I work on this project and then multiplied that by the amount of time I have left until myself imposed deadline. I then calculated the amount of work needed to be done, and how many hours it would take to finish. It quickly came to my attention that I'm going to need about three times the amount of man hours, that I currently have myself scheduled for.

This came as a shock to me, but I'm glad I found this out now, early in the process. So, today I'm coming up with solutions to either speed up work flow, or get myself more time to work. To speed up work flow, I've decided to start using more actions in photoshop. I learned a lot of great actions working for primal screen, and need to implement those into my routine. I've also decided that I'll have to dedicate even more time on the weekends, and possibly more during the week. Another idea, is to get Allie to help me out with the drawing. Although I have not asked her yet, nor have I worked out the logistics of it, she has been a very useful resource in past animations. Also, she does already have a "creative director" credit in this film, why not add another.

Once again, I have no new imagery to show. So, once again, I will be posting something from another blog. It comes from 1111, a blog by Ben Prisk. He's a great illustrator and art director, that I worked with long ago. Although we have not kept in touch, I still follow his blog, and am inspired not only by his images, but his words as well.

Finally, a big shout out to my THIRD follower who just sign up today. Thanks for watching.

Monday Monday

2010-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

Yikes, where did the weekend go? Well, it's monday, and I'm happy to report that all 3d animation has been completed, pretty much. I have to figure out a transition between two scenes. I may just have to combine those two scenes into one. It's funny how these problems only present themselves, once you actually start putting together the nuts and bolts of a project.

So, once again I have put off drawing any actual frames until the 3d motion is done. That means I have no new imagery to show today. But, I'm braking from one of my general rules, and will be posting links to things I've seen on other blogs.

I discovered United Fakes Reel on Motionographer this morning. I loved their work so much I had to watch this twice and then root around on their website for more. It made me want to move to Barcelona and work for them.

Also, I had a request from one of my two followers, Michelle who started a blog Called The Muse Factory. She describes her blog as follows:

A blog about my life and ambitions in 2010. I've set 100 goals for myself, this will follow my progress as well as any humorous, introspective or interesting things that happen to me on the way.

Michelle, asked for a cat picture, and although I attempted my own, I felt this one on my buddy Mark's blog far surpassed anything I could do.

In Other News

2010-01-19T12:29:00.001-08:00

I have less than ten pages to go in my red sketch book. This is momentous for me, because when I bought this book, the idea was to do one drawing a day, everyday a new page, for 300 days (amount of pages). Now it's been a year and a half, and although I did not draw on a new page everyday, I still feel that it was a success.

The Book, has a nice chronology, not only for my style of drafting, but is a great example of the evolution of an idea, as well. At first I didn't know what that idea was, however the further along these drawing progressed the more of a common theme I saw through out. The idea of study this book seems to follow is language. Not only the written word, but icons, glyphs, and my new favorite term a "visual language". I didn't intend to produce a book about language, it just seemed to manifest itself. Of course my study of mayan glyphs that started about the same time as the book probably helped. Enough babbling though, here's some examples found through out the work.

Two More Shots

2010-01-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

I have just two more shots to animate in 3d, then I'll have every scene animated. Already, I'm finding that some of these scenes will have to be redone or at least adjusted. Still though, I'm excited to have a base of animation to work with. With any luck the last two scenes should be done in the next few days.

I'm excited to get back to drawing on top of the frames. After finishing the first scene, I stopped drawing so I could concentrate on animating in 3d. Like anything with a lot of repetition, assembly line style is the most effective way to construct animation. If you concentrate on one process at a time, that process becomes faster and easier to produce.

Animation Progress

2010-01-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

The animated short is coming along nicely. All the props have been constructed in 3d, and I only have four more scenes to animate. I'm starting to think that the total running time is going to be over 45 seconds. After watching what I have play thru a few times, it seems like a lot of the action happens to fast. I'll have to slow some shots down a bit more.

As far as story line goes, I've been keeping that a bit under the cuff. I think for this animation to work, the viewer has to watch it without knowing what it's about. The premise is so simple, to explain it would be giving away the punchline.

Nicknames

2010-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot of nicknames in the past. Mr. Snoops, is probably the least offensive out of all of them. My buddy, Tyler even drew me a visual. It's me, kind of.

Happy Friday

2010-01-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

I have not posted a Friday Happy Hour post in a while, so I thought it was time. Coors Light was the first beer I ever got drunk on, which was far to long ago that I hate to admit when it was. Since then I have become what others have deemed a "beer snob". While this may be true, I'm not above having cheap beer when the setting is right. There is a dive bar not far from my work called Dockside. Their clam to fame is that the evidence to convict Tonya Harding was found in their dumpster. My co-workers and I have a standing tradition of going there on fridays, to have burgers and a pitcher of coors.

Thankfully, I woke up early this morning and finished my hour of animation before work, because friday evenings are no time to try and get any work done. Allie suggested I get up early, and I think this is a great idea. This week has been tough trying to get everything done that goes on in a regular day, as well as spend an hour animating. I may have to start getting up early everyday, which if you know me, is not exactly my strong suit. But, I'm willing to make sacrifices to get this thing done.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Producing an Animated Short

2010-01-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

I'm the kind of person who loves the process of how things are made. When I used to paint, I was more into stretching canvas, mixing paints, and brush strokes, than actual concept or theory. Those things just seemed to get in the way of the bliss one receives when you're lost in the act of making something. With animation its the same way. People go on and on about theory and purpose, when all I want is to take an idea and bring it to life.

For this particular project my method is something I've wanted to do for years but have yet to fully realize. The idea is very simple, make a basic model in 3d, animate it, then draw on top of the frames to produce the final look. This is not a new idea, Disney experimented with it in the late 80's/early 90's. I've also seen this method executed extremely well in an animated short called the The Pearce Sisters. The idea of rotoscoping has been around since the inception of animation.

So I don't claim to be developing an entirely new way of animating. Rather, I see it as taking an established method, and applying my own style to it. Of course this "style" is an amalgamation of things I've seen from other animators through out my life, so the idea of ownership of this creativity can not be mine alone. I'm starting sound like one of those theorists, so I will digress.

The tech-specs are as follows: I'm using a copy of Autodesk's Maya to create the 3D. After that, I take the frames rendered with Maya into Adobe's After Effects. Each scene is timed out, and then a Photoshop file, per scene, is created with each frame on a separate layer. Next, the frames are drawn on using a Wacom tablet and Photoshop. Finaly, the files are brought back into After Effects for the final composite.

It sounds complicated but really it's not. It is however, very tedious. Currently I have 25 seconds of animation finish in 3d. That sounds like a lot, but when you consider that it's taking me around 30 minutes to paint each frame, you can see how the tedium kicks in. I'm hoping though, that the more I practice the quicker these frames will be produced. I do enjoy it, which makes the effort rewarding.

More about the short film

2010-01-05T13:07:00.001-08:00

With production in full swing, I'm taking a minute to inform my loyal reader about some details of the up coming short. Firstly, I hope to top it out at around 45 seconds in length. The style will be very similar to my entry for cut & paste, this time with more detailed drawings. This will hopefully create a more frenetic look. I'm giving the animation team (consisting of myself) four months to complete the project. I plan to spend one hour a day during the week and 3-4 hours during the weekend days, working on the film. I'll keep you posted with more details as they become available.
Wish me luck.

Another Kirby Animated Short

2009-12-29T12:42:00.001-08:00

is in production. Below is a style frame. more to come.

Seventh Day of Christmas

2009-12-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

Seven Swans a Swimming

Sixth Day of Christmas

2009-12-19T12:24:00.001-08:00

Six Geese a Laying

Fifth Day of Christmas

2009-12-17T16:48:00.000-08:00

FIVE GOLDEN RINGS

Fourth Day of Christmas

2009-12-16T15:19:00.001-08:00

Four Calling Birds

Third Day of Christmas

2009-12-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Three French Hens

Second Day of Christmas

2009-12-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

Two Turtle Doves

First Day of Christmas

2009-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

RED ALE

2009-12-11T12:19:00.001-08:00

It's friday and if you're anything like me, it's the perfect time for a lunch beer. I know in the times that we find ourselves in, people are more likely to stay at their desks, keep their head down, and try not to get fired. However, sometimes you have to do something wrong, to feel alive. Life is to short to worry if your boss can smell booze on your breath. Granted if you're a doctor, or crane operator this may not be sound logic.

For the rest of us, enjoy yourself it's later than you think.

World of Blog

2009-12-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

I was watching the movie "Julie & Julia" the other day, and started thinking my blog was a failure. I realized quickly how melodramatic that sounded and then considered that the medium of blogs is dead. People have been writing blogs long enough now, that just about anything you can write about is being written about multiple times over. It's gotten to the point that most blogs just re-post what they've found on other sites. I'm not trying to be critical of this, but where does it leave us in this world of blogs?

I for one will not stop looking at blogs any time soon. I just wonder about things like, how does one get their blog to stand out in an over saturated market? What is the point of looking at blogs other than to kill time? What's the next step in the evolution of internet social sites?

It's been over three years since I started this blog. I took a hiatus about a year ago, and that probably turned off a lot of the readers I may have had. Still, it bums me out that no one has commented in quite awhile. I guess I should be thankful that I do have one person following my blog. No, they're not my mom or someone I know, so that's something. So to the one follower I have,
Thank you.

schematic drawings

2009-12-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

I love schematic drawings, so formal and functional. Yet, at the same time contain so much aesthetic beauty.

Winter Riding

2009-12-08T09:59:00.001-08:00

Well it's cold out, and today I pulled out all the stops for my ride into work. Two jerseys, a jacket, full gloves, cap with ear flaps, and booties. You know it's cold when the booties come out. They look so funny on, kinda like I only have socks on or they are connected to my tights.

ARM

2009-11-25T10:07:00.001-08:00

a blog about life, death, love, hate, wealth, poverty, racism, just a few things that's been running through my head.

No one's going to tell you how to do it,

2009-11-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

but there's plenty of folks that can tell you what you're doing wrong.

going green

2009-11-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

use the following imagery* on all your corporate media and watch the green dollars flow in:

Wind Turbines
Reusable Bags
Solar Panels
Green Plants
Bicycles
Wind Turbines (you can never show enough of these)
Globe
Recycling Bins

*note, there is no need to actually have or use any of these products. Showing the illusion of these things is good enough.

plug-ins & FX will kill you in the end.

2009-11-23T19:27:00.001-08:00

It's that time of the week again

2009-11-20T14:29:00.001-08:00

What the hell are you still doing at work?

It's a Blog Eat Blog World

2009-11-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

I'm just trying to introduce some new blood into the www.

Less Than 20/20

2009-11-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

So, I've had some kind of eye infection since monday. The last few days I've not been wearing my glasses. It's been a while since I've gone sans glasses, and I like the fact that everything farther than three feet from my face looks like an expressionist painting. If only my eyelids weren't swollen and sore this might be a pleasurable experience.

All I want for Christmas

2009-11-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Good Die Young,

2009-11-19T09:39:00.000-08:00

The Special Live Forever.
update: these things never sound as good the next day.

I go beans out!

2009-11-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

StopWatch

2009-11-18T09:16:00.000-08:00

From the same project as the gavel.
Another look that never made it off the ground.

Occlusion

2009-11-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Another occlusion render that didn't make the final cut.