The School, the Film, the T-Shirt & the Pen...

The first semester of the year is almost through & so far it feel's like I haven't accomplished much. Sure, I've been learning a few new things like compositing in After Effects & a few more helpful tidbits for storyboarding & animation, but other than that it's been pretty lifeless. My segments are complete, most of my homework is done, I've met a few new friends & spent time with the old ones, but I still feel like I'm getting nowhere. It seems like these past few months have gone by so quick yet I can't remember anything of any real significance happening. 

Well, not completely.... I did see a sneak preview of Henry Selick's new film Coraline a few weeks back. Even though I saw only about a half hour of footage, it was a really amazing sight. The animation, the voices, the effects... simply breathtaking. I'm looking forward to seeing it all done when it comes out in February.

Ok, back to SVA... last week, my good friend Pat Woodruff reminded me that this year's SVA T-Shirt Contest was underway again. Because of my busy schedule last year, I didn't have the time nor the energy to participate, but this year I jumped into the rat race. So far, the only other entry I've seen was Pat's, & by the look of his I'll say that it'll be a tough competition this year.

 

I thought since the shirt is going to be for all SVA students (not just the animation & cartooning majors), I designed a shirt that encompassed a wider audience, so I included snippets of  the other majors in there as well (Film, Photography, Graphic Design, Fine Arts, etc.). I came up with a rough sketch on the spot in about 5 minutes, then fleshed it out later on. 

For inking, I didn't resort to the old crappy microns this time around. Around the same time as hearing about the t-shirt contest, my friend Mirella showed me this awesome pen called the Pentel brush pen. Curious, I went over to the local art shop & bought one to try out for kicks. This pen is a revelation to me! It's durable, it's easy to refill, no real maintenance whatsoever, & most importantly it give me just the right lines I want!  I can't do any real quick ink sketches with it, but it's no big deal now. My pen journey is over! This is MY PEN!

I don't know when the judging/voting will take place, but whether I win or not, it was still fun to draw. Still, it would b nice to win the prize. Wish me luck!