My Work in Progress

A sketchblog where I post a few of my scribbles from a variety of works-in-progress, usually from my rather random personal creativity outside of the daily grind. I occasionally, but not always, post the final artwork.

6/01/2005

Reviews

Woohoo! Tomorrow after work I get to see a free screening of Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle" based on the book by Diana Wynne Jones, one of my favorite YA writers. Even better, Miyazaki is one of my favorite animation directors! Totally sweet deal all around. The Dallas animation group, A Bunch of Short Guys (horrible name, I know...you should see their Industry Giants' logo) is sponsoring part of it, I think... at least, that's how I got my seat. Thanks, guys!

At work, I'm developing concepts and some final art for a new product line. Looks like we're also getting a patent for it. Kinda interesting, but of some concern to me as well...will my art hold up to long-term consumer and competitor scrutiny if it's part of a one-of-a-kind piece that no other company can legally duplicate. EEK!! Especially when you consider the fact that everything at this job has to be created RUSH RUSH RUSH. And I have 7 more final pieces to create (all of my additional sketches were approved and I was told to go to final art). And they take about 24 production hours to complete just for one. And they want it all yesterday, of course. Not to mention the other 15 art requests on my list that are getting pushed back because of this new priority. ARGH! I'm sorry, but I am not going to work 14 hour days 6 days a week because the creative staff at the China factory keeps those kind of hours and then some! I'd like to have a life - do some of my own creative projects at my home studio, and occasionally have a social life and make friends outside of this job. It's almost nice to be needed, somewheres by somebody.

On a final note, I'm also in the process of reviewing a new animation book, Storytelling Through Animation by Mike Wellins. An excellent read so far (I'm only about half-way through the book), with examples from well-known movies, both animated and not. In addition, there are some interesting interviews and insights from a variety of professionals in the animation industry who talk about their specific areas of animation development. While this is primarily for beginning or intermediate skill levels in animation, it's still a worthwhile read I think. Especially if you've had limited exposure to animation history or are looking to create your own first animation short and would like some hints and tips on what to do and what problems to resolve to ease the development process. Ooooo....I even got to meet a couple of the animators who have a short on the CD included with the book,
Patrik and Amila Puhala. They created a funny little animation short called 107.6 Degrees. Anyways, I'll post a more in-depth review of the book once I've finished reading it. :)

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