He’s Back…

Heya!

Holy lick it has been AGES since I last wrote! I swore that it wasn’t going to be like this, and yet it happened! I promise that I am going to make more of an effort now that I think I have some normalicy back in my life. So let’s dig in on what I have done in my absense.

I graduated AnimationMentor.com on March 28th. WOOT! It was one of the best experiences of my life and it was over before I wanted it to be! I loved every minute of it and I have really grown as an animator from it! Heck, as a person! My work I am for the most part pleased with. I am still a noob and have much to learn, but I am pleased my work turned out like it did. Of course I want to push it further and have another go at it lol. I have made strides in my confidence when it comes to skills and that is priceless to me. I met some truly amazing people that will be friends of mine for a very long time. I can’t wait to work with them someday!

I got my short film “done”. Betty from HR is more or less completed and I couldn’t be happier! There are still a lot of things I see wrong with it, but people laugh and enjoy it so I guess I did my job right. I am currently doing a little extra work on it and getting it all lit for rendering. I can’t wait to have it all rendered so people can see what it more or less looks like in my head! That’s half the battle, getting it from your head to screen and it still hitting the mark you wanted to achieve. Its at the end of my reel in the demo page if you care to look. I can’t embed it into the blog or upload video, so I guess I will have to upgrade my account lol. Technology I tells ya!

I am an alumni tutor. I was lucky enough to get into this program where tutors host a weekly Q&A for underclassmen at AM. We talk about different topics and open the floor up for questions and chit chat. It’s been going awesome so far. I get to tutor class 1 and 2 students. Let me tell you, they are so full of energy and you can see their minds sponge everything up. I remember being like that when I started, so it totally reinvigorates me to get back to shots and continue working on new ones. Even just chatting with them gets me all wired. I literally buzz around for a couple hours after they are done! It’s crazy lol.

My computers got infected with viruses. That was jolly fun to deal with. They were down for almost a week and a half collectively trying to quarantine the stupid things. I got rid of most of them and then they got the upper hand by eating my Windows registry. So I was forced to wipe both and start over. I lost some stuff just because I couldn’t backup after the infections. It wouldn’t recognize my external hard drive anymore. Oh well, lesson learned to be on top of things and don’t let roomie use internet on my Maya computer. Tight ship I run now! The Jolly Spilly don’t let no scurvy onboard no more, yarr!

Other than that, just getting out and hanging with friends more. It was nice to take some time off during the computer fiasco. Got to do some fun and crazy things. Now with the batteries recharged and the mind back in focus, I can’t wait to move past my assignments and short film and dive more into my new shots! Carpe Diem!

~Spilly

In the thick of things…

Heya

So its been ages since I posted lol. I was convinced that I was going to post regularly, but of course life got in the way. Suprise, suprise! It’s been crazy trying to balance work, the short, sleep and any attempts at being social. Unfortunately, work has been as busy as it is boring, so coming home I lack the motivation to create brilliant animation. It sucks cause I know my passion is animating, and not having the energy to do it kills me. I have decided to take a week off work and devote it entirely to the short, so that should stop me from fighting with myself lol. Let me tell you this: focus on your passions! Don’t let menial work get in the way of it. I am learning this the hard way. I am literally insane for attempting to animate a third of my short friday night to sunday morning. I get little bits in during the week, but it almost always gets an overhaul again before I submit lol. So I am either becoming a faster animator or setting the house of cards up in the path of a tornado!

That being said, I actually like where Betty from HR is going! I ususally hate everything I do, but this time I am having fun with it! There are parts that drive me nuts, but it seems every third has a shot that makes me giggle. That helps me get through it a lot. I just make sure they set up the good parts so that I have even more fun making them lol. I post some images soon of it so that you will know what I am talking about. Nothing like having no clue what I am talking about lol. Then again, that happens a lot…

Animation aside, it’s been rather dull and busy. My family has realized that I might be gone soon so they are bound and determined to distract me and attempt to spend a lot of time with me. It’s nice and all, but it would be nice if they understood that when I say I need to go and work they should let me do so. I can only do so much and I won’t make it anywhere if I don’t spend time animating. Don’t get me wrong they are super supportive of my animation career, but they just are underfoot too much. I am hermitizing to make everything work, which has it’s pros and cons. My friends accept they don’t see me that often, but then again I am not a huge social butterfly to begin with lol. I like having some alone time where my thoughts can just ramble. Kinda like what they are doing here lol. I know that I am passing up some quality time with everyone to get something done on my short, but I feel I am doing the right thing. I got some events planned along the way so that we get to hang out and be crazy. It’s just a double edge sword. A very frustrating one at that!

Oooo! AM has lined up the annual BBQ with the premiere of Wall-E! I am so excited! Last year it synched up with Ratatouille and a gaggle of AMers went opening night together and basically occupied one theater. It was amazing! It was surreal to be watching it with fellow animators. There was this vibe in the room and the appreciation for what we were watching was electrifying. I have to admit that I became a little bit of an attraction cause my laugh was rather loud that night lol. I almost didn’t make it through Lifted. It wasn’t pretty lol. I had people coming up after and the next day saying they enjoyed how I died laughing. I even had some tell me recently that I have to come to the BBQ this year for that reason lol. Who woulda thunk that my laugh would make me somewhat famous? I totally hope I can go. I can’t guarantee it but I am definately trying to budget for it.

Other than that, I got nothing lol. I am just rambling now. I gotta do more research into life after AM and film more reference for life in AM. I will sign off and get back at it! Rock on!

~Spilly

Back to School!

Heya!

School is almost back in sessions! WOOT! I am so excited to get into the last term at AM. I have severely missed the school over the break. I find myself loading up the page and then remembering for the umpteenth time that we are in a break lol. I totally need my daily forum fix! I am going crazy!

Reflecting on the break, it was far more restful than I thought it was going to be. I wanted to get my previous shots up to snuff and get my blocking started. Oh the great plans! Then I was wiped out due to another visit by the migrane fairy. I was useless for like 4 days because I couldn’t form a thought. I am used to the ones I get and can typically work through them no problem, but these ones just kicked my arse! I am completely behind where I want to be. It annoys me greatly and the rush panic is starting to hit me. I got a lot of work ahead of me! I hope it looks good cause I gotta balance time on the short with sleep and working fulltime. I am hoping the whole “risk big, win big” thing works for me lol. I actually hate this part of the process. Right between layout and blocking. I am completely my worst enemy and I doubt all my decisions to this point. I just need to push through and get ‘er done! Once I am animating I get the flow back and trudge through it. That’s the trick, shutting up that voice in my head lol.

I can’t wait to see who I have as a mentor and classmates. I hope I get one last class with my friends and end this amazing experience with a bang! I totally believe things happen for a reason. I haven’t been disappointed yet and I have high hopes for last term. The level our work has risen to is amazing when you look back to when we started. This term is gonna push us to our limits, the results will be fascinating to see. Look at me, all excited again! I hope everyone has a great term and their shorts kick butt. I am totally going to be a buddy next term if they will let me cause I want to see how the process goes for my friends in the class below me. Great stuff I tells ya!

I better take off. I just wanted to do a quick post before I left for Ukrainian Christmas. Chaos never seems to end, so enjoy the ride! Last term baby!

Merry Ukrainian Christmas!

~Spilly

Happy New Year!

Heya 2008!

It is finally upon us! 2008! Woot! I can’t believe how fast last year went by! It was one heck of a year I tell ya. This one should be just as cool and nerve wracking! lol. Graduation looms in the near future and hopefully the call of an animation job not long after. This little ol animator tackling the big world. That’s a happy little thought I will be hanging on to!

So before my thoughts on the year that’s past, I will share my resolutions for the new one. I resolve to make a kick arse short film in 3 months and land an animation job.  Nothing complicated at all lol. I also resolve to lose some weight and learn to expand my culinary repitoire. I am super excited to get this year underway! A little giddy as well lol.

Last year was quite the year. Animating my butt off for AM was a huge, wonderful part of it. I absolutely love AM. It’s one of the greatest decisions I ever made and I won’t regret it for a second. I learned so much this year and it amazes me how much I still have to learn. That’s the exciting part of animation to me. It’s always evolving. Mental stimulation at its finest! I also went to San Francisco in June for the AM annual bbq which was amazing! Not only did I get to meet some awesome people, I flew for the first time! That was something. I was freaked out, but it was easy once I got into the plane. Why be worried when a great adventure looms?! San Francisco and the bay area is beautiful. The weather was perfect when I was there which made it easy to lose my heart to SF. I made some awesome friends while down there. I can’t wait for grad when I get to hang out with them again. They are like family to me! A whole whack of students went to the opening of Ratatouille while we were there. That was amazing! The movie is stellar and the viewing atmosphere was electric. I never laughed so hard in my life. Lifted almost killed me. My laugh got all shrieky and wheezy. People were coming up to me and recognized me by the laugh. It was cool! But even cooler – I stood in front of the Pixar gates! I have pics to prove it! I had a total geeking out moment too which was a little sad but funny lol. I want to work for them one day solely cause their work inspires me to push myself, my skills and I feel like I would mesh there. Rambling! Anyhue, the year was good! Not too many setbacks or downfalls, which is a plus!

2008 is the year it all comes together! It’s gonna be one heck of a ride. I am so excited I could pass out! ROCK ON!

 ~Spilly

Pixar Shorts

Heya

Due to lack of motivation and gaining thought capacity from my migrane, I opened up my dvd of Pixar shorts I got for Christmas. It was a great little way to spend time on the couch! I watched all the shorts and then rewatched them with the commentary on. Some still stand out to me as hilarious no matter how many times I watch them. I am a sucker for a good punchline, but it got me thinking about my short film. I really need to work it and exaggerate it for it to have a millionth of what these shorts have. Exaggeration is something I am still working on and getting comfortable the idea is good enough to push into something memorable. How can I be an artist if I am not struggling? lol.

So I can’t get through this post without mentioning my favourites and why they are so. Without a doubt For the Birds is my number one favourite Pixar short. It’s brilliant, witty and how could you not love a short where the characters’ voices are squeaky toys?! It completely reminds me of people in the town I grew up in. Little sleepy farming community where anything different needs to go away so not to disrupt things. I am the big goofy bird, in the way he laughs, misses things and how he’s treated. Avoiding a long winded story here, I didn’t fit the mould of my hometown so I was targeted. It was what it was and I learned how comedy is the great equalizer among people. I digress. I still break out laughing when the big bird joins in the countdown and then lose it when the birds are launched and the feathers are left behind. Such a clever idea and told in a simple manner. I totally want a minature wire with the birds on it for my desk!

Lifted is a close second. I love how it has that sci-fi Spielberg feel, but still feels like Pixar at the same time. It reminds me of great old comedy routines or some sketches from the Carol Burnett Show. Most of the comedy is in the straight man. If he didn’t hold together like a rock, then there is nothing to contrast the crazy against. Both the examinator and the abductee play the straight man in it and I crack up everytime they are shown completely unphased by what the little guy is doing. He goes through a great range of emotions himself and they executed it brilliantly. His helmet that lags behind is a great addition to his character. He is one the best examples of falling for a character the moment you see him. Within seconds you are him, going through everything. That is a sign of great story and acting. Listening to the commentary, I totally agree that hearing something as opposed to seeing it is genius. Our minds fill in the worst case scenario, like him going thru the tree or getting out of bed during the credits. It gets me everytime. Anyone in the theater in San Francisco that watched it with me could attest that I was skrieking like a banshee over it. I honestly thought that I would die laughing!

I like the rest, but one that doesn’t do much for me is Bounding. I dunno what it is about it that rubs me the wrong way. I get the whole inspirational message behind it, but something just doesn’t grab me. I know some people who think it’s their best short. Go figure lol. Maybe it’s the Jackelope that bothers me. I never really look at him when he is on screen. He reminds me of an odd Carebear. Even the sheep annoys me lol. Only char I really like is the owl lol. I guess Bounding is like Madagascar to me. It is fine and dandy and done well, it’s just not that memorable to me. Also, is secondary we-need-a-laugh characters that stick out to me and are what I remember. It is the owl and the penguins that made it interesting for me. Damn those penguins were funny. I will save my thoughts on them for another post lol.

I am glad that Pixar plans to make shorts to be released with their features. It keeps the art alive and us noobs striving to exercise our story muscles. Story is huge in anything animated. Cruising shorts on youtube really enforces that fact. There are a lot of student films that attempt to be epic and they feel empty because the story really goes nowhere because of it. I feel bad for them cause I know it’s a hell of a task to make a film. I know it’s supposed to be personal, but it should still make sense to the viewer. At the same time, it shouldn’t drag on. I watched a 4 min short that could have been summed up in 45 seconds max. So after being critical on others, I turn the same eye to mine. I need to take this puppy as far as I can in the next 3 months. It won’t be no Pixar short, but it will be the best that I can possibly do.

Thanks Pixar for continuing to raise the bar on shorts! It’s inspired me to raise the bar on mine!

 ~Spilly

I am animator, hear me roar!

Heya

So I was having a little chat with a friend of mine today about calling ourselves animators. I would name names but since I am new to this, I will play the mystery card lol. We discussed how our day jobs were not what we would say we do when asked by others what we did for a living. This concept to me is amazing! I actually didnt start doing this till recently. I ran into someone from my hometown and they of course asked what I was doing. I smiled and said, “I am becoming an animation ninja!” Now I burst out laughing from this, which is a more typical response for me once you get to know me lol. I said it without even thinking! I would typically say “by day I do this and by night I am an animator.” So here I am calling myself an animator. Finally! I have so much more to learn, but somewhere deep down I feel as though I have made it.

Now for those who know me for a long time, and you will in a bit, know that I have issues admitting that I am “good” at anything. I get all bashful and like to keep quiet about stuff like that. For a guy who can talk your ear off I really don’t like to brag about anything. I would do it in a joking manner at best, which frustrates people. So for me to tell another that I am an animtor, it’s a big deal. Now it may seem like they are two separate things, to me they are the same. Animation is something I have always loved and wanted to do. I can draw ok, but I couldn’t do 2D worth a hoot. I can’t draw the same thing several times and have them looking like each other. So 3D is amazing to me cause that problem is taken away from me. I finally get to go in and play with performing.  I can act and improv, which I did for like 8 years, but I never thought I was good enough to become an actor. I don’t posess a look that people are attracted to and, let’s face it, about as flexible as a girder beam. So I believe I have found my calling. Now that I am saying I can animate and fairly well at that, it’s a huge step for me. It’s like revealing something you have hidden and are proud to be showing it.

Now I can overanalyze the dickens outta anything. Which is probably what I am doing now lol. And I ramble! But I will say this: taking this course and making the friends that I have have made me accept the fact that I can be a good animator. This past year has been a huge dose of reality for me. I look forward to doing my assignments no matter how hard or exhausted I am. I love it when my friends IM me, whether it be to chat or work thru a problem. It makes me feel alive and totally breaks the monotony that my life has become after getting outta the last school I went to. Being trained horribly from that and having my confidence shattered from a reply to a job application for an animation position at the time totally put me in a rut. I never thought I would get to be an animator. Now here I am, animating and ramble blogging about it!

I love animation! I love animating! I love making people laugh! I love AM and my friends!

 Thank you!

~Spilly

Welcome!

Heya!

Welcome to my little corner of the world! I am Spilly, animation ninja in training and laughing guru. The plan is to share my life and experiences while I finish up my short film at AnimationMentor.com. There will be moments of brilliance, stress, giggles and ocassionally an ABBA song. Kick back and relax! Have a cookie!

 ~Spilly