...digging up the past on New Years eve...

I was going through old sketchbooks and notepads. Besides a bunch of stories and character designs I found something I had no idea how to create at the time. My first job in the 3D animation world was at a start up game studio. I was thrown into the lead animator roll after a few weeks and it was a true learning experience. I had no clue how to create an animation pipeline that would be effective for getting us from the beginning of the game to the end. The pipeline had to show the back and forth between the different departments and not just what the animators output. I wanted to post this because it is kind of a release to see that I could do this. I really appreciate John Sicat (EA Creative Director now!) for giving me the chance to prove myself. We have been good friends since then. You can do anything I guess when the pressure is on you to perform. Like Al Pacino said in Devils Advocate, "...pressure changes everything....some people focus..others fold"

stay focused in the new year!

...new Rapunzel image released...

This image was posted by disneypixar.fr. and has the two main characters facing off. I am sure there will be many more to come.

take a break from drawing and draw?

researching some stuff for work and drawing some ideas..but I took a break and kept drawing. I used to love the Looney Tunes stuff that was drawn in the real world even though it looked odd. For some reason I was amazed by it and still at that point I didnt know I could do animation for a living (very young age). I found some fantastic stuff and I think it is really going to help out for next year. I will probably stop in the office tomorrow and work out some things that have been popping into my head over the weekend. I also had time to help my wife out with a logo for her math education blog.

If you have kids and need a good way to get them excited about math, my wife is creating an area that will give exposure to great ways of learning math. It incorporates real life situations, videos, and information that can help them excel in class. I will give an update when it goes live. Here is a sneak peek at what the logo looks like so far.

HI-HO....HI-HO its off to... (lack of posts)

Aww Man homie... I have not been posting much stuff here or the Pencil Test Depot, but I did put 2 new pencil tests up go take a peek at PencilTestDepot. I showed my first shots for production today. 6 shots for the movie within the same sequence. I blocked out all six and wanted to show them before the holiday break. I didnt want to come back and have to wait for the directors to see...or just sit on the ideas that long period. I was able to show and got some good notes that I can hit the ground running when we get back. This wasnt the first animation I showed. The first bit of work I did was with the main villain of the movie. That test got sent off to simulation so that we could see everything working as a whole. I cant wait to see what it looks like.

Anyway... feels like going to the office everyday with the "Bruce Leroy" glow! Excited to be at work and eager to keep pushing forward to help make the production be something we all can be proud of.

Animation: A Labor of Love

Animation has always been a big part of my life. I used to sit in front of the TV at a young age and watch anything that was animated, even episodes of My Little Pony. I just loved cartoons at a young age. When my mother couldnt get us toys she would give me a stack of paper and pencils. Being a teacher, my mother had more than enough of both. My grandmothers house was just another place that fueled my head with ideas. Now that I am working as an animator, I think back to all those days. The moments of trying stuff, mimicking other artists, and just being curious. Animation is hard work and it is work that I love. I try so hard to be better, more creative, strong mentally, innovative, and so many other things to be good as I can be. Staying humble and remembering the struggle is what keeps me going day after day. I remember eating crap and staying up until the sun showed up for a new day and how that was a regular way of living. For me, animation is hard. I try so hard to get the ideas and character out of my mind and on to the screen, I am literally drained by the end of the day. I try hard because I want my mother and brother to be proud of me. I want my grandmothers to smile down on me and be happy their grandson is still trying. Trying to be someone they can be proud of.

JB

...Santa and Hannukah Harry are on the way...

The holidays are creeping up and I have been grinding at work pretty hard. Going in early and trying to push. I hope everyone gets to have a good holiday this year. I drew another yearly HOBO SANTA. I have a few of these I draw during the holiday season... something about the holidays and hobos... This is not the happiest mixture but I always find it interesting. I am in the middle of coloring this one... fingers crossed for the outcome.


***Disney Update: I have been working on a something to hopefully help define one of the characters for the movie. Its not set in stone but I have been getting some really positive feedback and I look forward to really trying some powerful acting.