progress

Well it has been a while since my last post. I've been really hard at work with all the animation I've been doing.. So to give everyone an update, I put together the work I've done for my Animation Mentor class up until now. It is already midterms and I'm getting ready to start handling characters with tails and legs in the last half of the class. The school really is everything everyone says it is... and more.. really.. My mentor is a guy named Paul Allen. He worked on the Jimmy Neutron and Ant Bully movies. He is currently working on a TOP SECRET video game project in Texas. Can't wait to see his work when it gets announced closer to the new year. Also, here is an animation I did that I couldn't use for one of my assignments, check it out... it was fun.



On another note, my full time job has been going wonderfully.. It gets a tad stressful with upcoming deadlines, but it is a LOT of fun cause I get to make games. Possibly the BEST part of it is that I get to practice doing 2d animation in Flash. I always hear professional animators say that they encourage people to get started doing 2d before trying 3d.. I completely back this up, because I have learned a lot, much faster from working in Flash than if I only animated in 3d. If you can't afford Flash there are quite a few 2d animation software packages out there..
Pencil
Flipbook
Mirage
You owe it to yourself to do some 2d, even if you can't draw.. try doing simple effects, like a water splashes, or even your typical bouncing ball in 2d.. it is awesome practice.

the paco animated short is going slowly but surely.. We 3 animators (myself, Jared Price, and Frank Tai) have dedicated at least one night a week to work on the animation for the short which helps because we are all so busy. Hopefully this will start to come together towards the new year.

alright, that's about it on this end.. here are some links for your viewing pleasure.. just random things that I think are worthwhile on the net..

Animation Mentor Fall Showcase
Rock Band Trailer
Dale Baer on Animation Podcast
Breaking into Games: I want to be a Designer!
Michael Caine: Acting on Film
A Conversation with Don Hertzfeldt
Wake up - a short about a cat
Awesome stop motion spot for Sony
for fun... Flight of the Conchords - Business Time