EXCITMENT!

officially a student of AM!

and did I mention I am going to CTN-EXPO...oh yeah

IM FREAKIN EXCITED!

call it kismet, but animation is following me

so for my graduation, I was given the gift of ultimate indulgence...in the city of sin Las Vegas.  However, I am not going to tell you of my adventures in gambling, drinking, and late night strolls down the strip.  I am not going to tell you about dancing on tables with my girl friends...

I am going to tell you of one of the greatest indulgences one wanna be animator could happen upon...and it was, the CHUCK JONES EXPERIENCE!

So, for those of you who are not quite as versed in the history of animation, Chuck Jones is not only the creator of Looney Toons, but also has worked on classics such as "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "The Jungle Book."

I was the only one that night in the 8 room gallery, which I kinda liked, because it made the whole experience more intimate, and important.  I took a lot of pictures that do no justice to the threshold adorned with sketches, paintings, cells, and animation.

people watching uncensored

RAW is RAWESOME!

so RAW did an amazing job at putting on our show.  Although I had to leave work early, drive three hours (which turned into 4 hours) through storms, all the way to Hartford, it was totally worth it.

I met some great artists and individuals, sold 2 pieces, and many interested takers, as well as admirers.  I even made a new fan whose sister works for pixar. All and all, a great networking opportunity, and I was so touched that all my friends and supporters were there to route me on.  I could not have done it without you all and you inspire me to continue to do what I love, so thank you!

They were really friendly and made sure that our space suited our needs and that we had the proper lighting and tools to display our work.  As far as publicity, head shots were taken, an interview was recorded, and we received coverage of the event from the Hartford Courant and Raw Staff members.  We were each introduced on stage and talked a bit about our work and our lifestyle.

PUBLICITY!

Sometimes I get a shout out here and there in the news.
So go on...don't be shy...click it! I dare you. 

Articles:
http://www.courant.com/entertainment/arts/hc-artweek-0712-20120712,0,2094755.story

http://www.courant.com/entertainment/ctn-raw-natural-born-artists-show-at-the-russian-lady-20120719,0,3702741.photogallery?index=ctn-raw-natural-born-artists-show-at-the-russi-012

http://www.hartford.edu/daily/article/view/10394

http://www.hartford.edu/daily/article/view/12091

Interviews

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR5mXbsVV4c&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Fu3mM_fVI&feature=youtu.be

more to come. as it comes.

my life plan is sorta backwards

I got a full time job and an art exhibition before I had any time to make new art.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  I have a laundry list of old art ideas that I want to embellish more...and new ideas I have yet to peruse creating.  For now I am sketching and hoping to network through my travels across the country.  I brought my sketch book and watercolors and will be posting some things soon.  I am trying to hone in on drawing more people, seeing as animals come most naturally for me to draw.

Next summer, I hope to do caricatures part time to keep my drawing skills relevant and just to meet interesting people.  I hope to be in L.A. this time next year, but we will see how the economy and job market is treating me by than.

(hey look, it's the kardasians)

If you haven't noticed new art, it's because...it's in the rough phases and I lack a scanner at my disposal.  You might see some crappy phone jpegs in the meantime.  Stay tuned my fellow art lovers :)

working world as an artist

I have only been working for 2 weeks full time and have already learned a ton!  My first few days were a bit rocky because not only was I learning how to use illustrator for a completely different function, I also was learning Corel painter, which I have never used in my life.  I felt like a Columbus, thinking I knew where I was in the program, when truthfully I was really somewhere else.  The buttons are all different, but I happily discovered that Corel painter might be more user friendly than illustrator.  I am trying to commit to memory all the hot keys and short cuts so I can be as fast as my boss Ryan.  He says he is not a creative artists so much as a production artists, so basically...he knows A LOT about a lot of things.  I can ask for his help sometimes, but he is busy running the business and I hate to pester him with questions I could answer for myself.  


As fancy as my title sounds, so far I have done little design work of my own.  I found that 80% of the art work needed for print is on file, either created by the staff artist of another company we print for are Ryan.  I have only done a few design assignments of my own and have spent a majority of the time getting a feel for editing, creating proofs for customers, setting up artwork for films, and printing them on my old foe and arch-nemesis...the EPSON 4800!  

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING IS A DRAMATIZATION OF TRUE EVENTS


Yes, for the past 3 years I have been fighting a losing battle with this printer. Back at UHA, the printer lived in the Illustration studio and was named "jezebel." Time and time again I would fight with the archaic mac desktop and Jezebel to achieve the proper color, size, and paper settings.  And time and time again, I would triumph and fail, wasting time, paper, ink, and ultimately, money! Finally, with my ally and academic advisor Tom Bradley, Jezebel was finally defeated and replaced with a new and improved monster...Epson's much more efficient version of the same high tech demon!     


When I entered on my first day to the workplace, I was half nostalgic to see Jezebel's twin sister (who I have yet to give a name.)  But than came the flash backs, and that was when I experienced my first post traumatic stress episode.   


But other than that, and learning new programs, I manage my deadlines fairly well and communicate well with my clients and my employers.  I'm starting to get to know them all, and we share the same organized chaotic behaviors and sense of humor, which is awesome!  


FUN FACT: I found out we printed for Cartoon Network and Nickolodean!  Don't you love connections? Who knows,  maybe this will lead to my something more.  I am trying to save my pay checks for the CTN Expo Animation Conference in Burbank which happens in November.