I'm currently taking a character design class online through Schoolism.com. My instructor is Stephen Silver, a brilliant character designer with a long list of credits in TV animation. Our first assignment was to create a character called Fat Joe, so that Stephen could get an idea of where each student's skill level is. The description of Fat Joe was given...
Recently I was hired to develop a cartoon dog character for a chain of gas stations. The final design was just completed, but I can't post it until it has been made public. However, these concept sketches were ultimately not chosen so I feel pretty safe posting them....
There's a "tag-your it" game going around the internet. The challenge is to list five of your weirdest habits. I haven't been officially tagged by anyone, but I wanna play anyway. Here's my five (as if you needed any more proof that I'm not normal): 1. I like to eat my cereal dry, with no milk. Soggy cereal = yuck. 2. When...
Being a freelancer is great, but its also very isolating. Thankfully there's the internet, which allows me to make connections with other artists, share comments and ideas, and get feedback on my work without ever leaving my studio. Over time I've found a few good websites that are designed to give artists a sense of creative community. Many "assign" projects for...
This looks super cool. Pixar will be releasing the Pixar Short Films Collection on DVD November 6. The DVD will include thirteen cartoon shorts plus commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, animation tests, and a featurette. I currently own a VHS copy of Tiny Toy Stories, which contains 5 of Pixar's earliest shorts. Although the computer rendering is crude by modern standards, the...
As you may have heard by now, during yesterday's rush hour the I-35W bridge here in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing at least 7 people and leaving approximately 50 cars still in the water. The bridge was located just 15 minutes from my house, and my wife used to drive it all the time. Everyone here is in...
