This and That

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I’m super busy finishing up a client project, so today I’ll just post a few miscellaneous links:

• Calling Minnesota Animators. My friend Kelly McNutt is a very talented artist and animator in his own right. Check out his blog and website. He’s currently looking for some Minnesota animation artists to help him out with a client project.

• Disney’s Announces Upcoming Animated Films. The Disney/Pixar studio has announced their upcoming slate of animated films. They will be releasing ten new animated films over the next few years. Most are original stories but there will also be two sequels: Toy Story 3 and Cars 2. Normally I’m not a fan of sequels, especially of the Disney variety. In recent years Disney has made quick profits with “cheapquels”—low quality sequels to classic animated films. But now that John Lasseter is running things, this time things could be much different. After all, Lasseter’s Toy Story 2 was (in my opinion) better than the original. No small feat!

• New Mac Ads. Apple has released two new ads featuring the Mac guy and the PC guy. These ads are always a treat to watch.

• Stuff I’m Selling. I’ve been cleaning out my closets and unloading a few animation-related items on ebay. If anyone is interested, here’s what I’m selling: Disney yearbooks from Mulan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the yearbooks were only given to artists and crew members who worked on the films. I bought my copies on ebay). I’m also selling a copy of the Ken Southworth Animation Program. There’s still a day or two to put in bids before the auctions end.

• Mascot Contest Ends Tomorrow! Don’t forget to take your shot at my advertising mascot contest. If you can correctly name the products associated with all twelve mascots, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free copy of the new book Hi-Fi Color For Comics: Digital Techniques for Professional Results. The deadline is midnight tomorrow.

Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Should I Buy A Laptop Or Dekstop Computer?

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Illustrator Doug Jones writes:

I have always had a tower type computer but now I am wondering if maybe I should go for a MacBook Pro as my main computer. Is there any reason to have the large tower type computers anymore?

A great question. I had to do a little research to answer this one. I’m fortunate enough to own both a powerful desktop machine and a laptop, and I use both regularly. Like many creative types I’ve been a devoted Mac user for several years, so I’m pretty clueless as to what’s available in the PC world. But I’m pretty sure most of what I have to say is just as true for users of either platform.

I’m not an expert on computers, so someone else may give you different advice. But as a commercial artist who works digitally, here’s my two cents. There are several issues to consider:Read More

Sour Apples

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I’m a huge Apple fan. I love their products. I drink the Kool-Aid. I sometimes wander in to the Apple store just so I can drool.

But lately the effects of the Kool-Aid are starting to wear off.

My biggest beef is with Leopard, Apple’s new operating system. Leopard’s new features promised to bring a new level of productivity and flexibility to my computer experience. I’m a sucker for anything that saves time or makes me more productive, so I upgraded to Leopard almost immediately. I should have known better. Apple has a nasty habit of releasing operating systems before they are truly ready. I knew the upgrade would be klunky at first and I was prepared to encounter a few annoying bugs. I never expected this much disappointment.Read More

Leopard: A Sweet Ride With A Bumpy Start

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Before getting into today’s post, I want to thank the guys over at Drawn! for graciously writing a little blurb about my Schoolism.com posts on October 20. That day I got a lot of visitors to this site–over 3,700–and the following day my blog made #61 in the top 100 WordPress blogs for that day. Muchos Gracias, guys! And thanks to all you new readers who’ve been sticking around since.

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Yesterday my copy of Leopard, Apple’s new operating system, arrived in the mail. (I ordered from Amazon.com and saved a few bucks. Their single-user version is $20 cheaper than Apple’s retail price and the family-license version is $10 cheaper. Plus free shipping.) After reading thoughts about the upgrade from the talented and prolific Tom Richmond, I thought I’d post my own experiences.

Upgrading your entire operating system is always a big project, and there are bound to be a few glitches. Most glitches are usually ironed out within a few months of the software’s release, but early adapters take the brunt of it. Since Leopard is only a few days old I knew I’d run into some bugs, but I never expected to run into as many problems as I did.Read More