AMers Represent!!

A HUGE CONGRATS TO ALL MY FELLOW CLASSMATES ROCKING THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY! I just found out today the another handful of peers that I graduated with got hired on at Rhythm and Hues Studios! Hearing great news of Animators doing what they love is inspiring me to push myself further and become better!! Way to go all of you, you're going to be brilliant!

July.... really??

It's been a few months since my last post. I can't believe that it's already July. I've been applying like crazy all over the country with not a lot of response. I recently revised my demo reel (CLICK HERE). I've been scrambling like mad to try and get some new work on it, but haven't had much time at all to work on it. I'm hoping to get the next version up by October 1st, which is right around the corner. I've gotten some feedback from a couple of big studios, and their comments were the same. My reel needs more 'realistic' type animation. My next piece that I'm working on, is going to have a man doing some karate moves. I might even go with some parkour type animation through an obstacle course. This way I'll be more marketable to game studios too.

I'm still working on the kids' movie and not sure when production is going to be finished, but as soon as I get my shots 'finaled' I receive my next one.... that's good. In the meantime, if you want to get out of the heat, go and see Despicable Me. It looks like a really fun movie and it's getting great reviews. Till next time....

April. Already? Time for a new post I guess...

Holy moses smell the roses. I honestly don't know where the time goes, but I am truly amazed at how fast it goes now. I can't believe it's already 2010, let alone April already. A little update on what I've been up to. My wife and I recently found out that we're going to be parents again... Number 2 is on the way. And should be here just in time for Hallowe'en (due Oct.30th). So as if our lives aren't hectic enough raising a 2 year old, let the fun begin.

I started Animation Mentor 2 years ago and am continuing to learn and enjoy animation more and more. I'm still doing some freelance animation for that kids' DVD movie. It's going well and am learning some about the animation process and more about what working remotely is all about. I also recently got involved with a really cool online PROJECT and am excited about getting some more industry experience and networking with some great animators. If you're an animator. Go to the link above and register. Talk about yourself and get involved. It's a great project and should be really awesome when it's all completed. With the announcement of our newest family member I had to pick up another part time job that I'm able to do from my home evenings after my full time job. It's going to be exhausting, but it allows my wife to not have to go to her extenuating job and become a stay at home Mommy. I'm really good at time-management and my current situation will definitely test that.

DreamWorks on on the Prowl...

Man oh man... It feels like it's been a while since first seeing Shrek... Although DW isn't as popular with me as other studios, they're really starting to grow on me. I really love Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and Over the Over the Hedge. I really wasn't impressed with Shrek 2 or 3, Antz, A Shark Tale or Bee Movie. I think that something happened to DW. Ever since KFP came out (which is one of my favorites) they've been making really fun and entertaining movies. Now the animation that DW produces ever since Shrek is truly amazing!! I'm talking about the story and originality. Well I knew that How To Train Your Dragon was coming out this year (my last Mentor, Sean Sexton works there) and that they were making the forth and final Shrek sequel... but I recently saw ANOTHER trailer for a movie they have coming out this November (Megamind)... that puts their grand total to 3 movies in one year. All of the movies look good. From what I've heard Shrek 4 and How to Train Your Dragon are supposed to be awesome (I haven't heard anything about Megamind yet)!

I recently saw a teaser trailer for the third movie, Megamind. Megamind looks like a fun and silly movie, which they should be able to pull off without struggle, especially when you have Will Ferrell as your voice talent! I know that they have two gigantic studios in CA, but to produce three motion pictures in the span of one year. Well, that's just amazing to me!! I am really excited to see their next three movies and am probably going to try and see them in the theaters.
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Congrats Pixar, you've done it again!

As you may or may not know the 82nd annual Academy Awards were last night... I really stopped caring about the Oscars, especially after Happy Feet beat out Cars for Best Animated Feature. I would have thought the simple fact that Happy Feet was motion captured and Cars was 100% hand animated would have been a major deciding factor in winning an award for animation... anyways. From that moment on there has been a sour taste left in my mouth and I've completely lost interest all together. Plus, it seems like there's always one movie, that I haven't heard of, wins all of the awards. Last night it was The Hurt Locker. But the 2 categories that I'm most interested in are Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short Film. Last night the other category I was most interested in was Best Picture. The reason being is that Up was nominated, and it's only the 2nd time in history that an animated feature was nominated for Best Picture. The first one was Beauty and Beast back in 1991. That's a pretty big accomplishment for Pixar.


Up ended up winning 2 Academy Awards, Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. Bringing their grand total to 205 awards won, and they have been nominated 211 times. They had some fierce competition this year too. It was a very diverse award this year, with Up being the only 3D movie. Coraline, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox were both stop motion movies, and then the Princess and the Frog and the Secret of Kells, were both 2D animation. I personally am a HUGE Pixar fan, I love all their movies and short films. Up was definitely more serious than their other movies, but entertaining and an excellent story. Everything about Up was awesome. So with that said, congratulations Pixar you've done it again! Another well deserved Oscar to go on your shelf.

Still Chuggin' Along...

Well, it's been a while since my last post... so I thought I would update it with my job hunting news. So far my first freelance animation job is going good, I'm almost finished with my first shot and ready for more. It's crazy to think I'm actually getting paid to animate, it's a concept that hasn't sunk in yet, but once I get my first check that should all change.

I've been searching and applying everywhere that I can. I sent my first reel over seas today. A studio in London that has worked on some big-time movies. Plus numerous amount of studios all over the US. I've already received two rejection letters from studios that I really wanted to work at. Bummer, but I have to keep moving forward and focus on being the best animator that I can be. There's no point in getting discouraged, finding that first full time job sounds the hardest, but I have a good feeling it's right around the corner. I found out today that there's a local game studio here in Colorado hiring, plus I heard back from another studio in Denver... so keep your fingers crossed!

Having spent so much time working on my demo reel and short film it feels like now that I've finished my reel I can take it easy... but it's just the opposite, my reel is like a constant project, that I need to keep fine tuning and perfecting till I land that full time animation position with an awesome company! I have my next 2 animations figured out when I get a free moment I'm going to start planning and hopefully get 2 more great pieces to add to my reel. Also, (side note) I started a new blog to try and keep track of all the notes that I find online regarding animation. Something that I can refer back to here at work if I get some down time or need to look something up... CLICK HERE.

Till the next post (hopefully, it will be with some good news) take care and keep on animating!

2 Movies of inspiration from 2009.

If you haven't seen Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, I highly recommend it. It's a great story, really funny and the animation is awesome! I really like the animation style of the movie and Steve is one of the best characters of all time!


Up was another Pixar great! I enjoy this movie more and more every time I watch it! Up is the 2nd fully animated feature that is nominated for an Academy Award this year. Unfortunately it's up against Avatar, and I have a feeling that Avatar is going to clean house... I feel that Up totally deserves the Best Picture Award.

There were so many others that came out last year that were also great, but these are my two favorite! If you haven't seen them yet, what are you waiting for?!