Anyways, I'm sorry that this blog has kind of gone to pot this summer. The reason why I haven't updated is because of my crappy pile of plastic & gears that I call a scanner. It's an HP, which usually (as far as I know) has a decent selection of products, but this scanner has been a complete waste of space almost right out of the gate. Every time I update, or download a program or even restart my computer, I need to completely reinstall the stupid thing. In the 6 months that I've had this, I've had to uninstall & reinstall the scanner's software at least a dozen times, & it's just been a real pain in the ass for me. I have a stack of drawings I've been wanting to scan for months, & this godforsaken piece of hardware has been mocking the living hell out of me.
I've been searching around for a scanner that won't be a whiney so-&-so, & I have my eye on a certain one. I discovered it over here on Dan Caylor's blog . It's called a Brother MFC-6490. Not only is it a scanner, but it's a printer & photo card dock too! But best of all, the scan glass is HUGE, I can fit my Bristol board or animation paper in it with room to spare. & to top it off, it has an automated feed scanner built in on top too, so I can scan a bunch of drawings at once. No fuss, no muss (hopefully). I'm still looking into it from top to bottom, but I think I found the right guy. It's about $300 with tax, but if it lives up to what the specs & reviews show, then it's worth the price.
Besides the hardware debacles, I've been holding up fairly well (more or less). I've been going to the local mall once or twice a week to draw the consumers, which so far has been both a pain & a joy. I've also been trying to get myself in shape & get into a healthier state of mind, though I have cheated a bit here & there. I've also been working on a few projects here & there, animating tests & just trying to be productive one way or another. I'm really excited to get back to the studios & start working. I've been away for 4 months, but it might as well be a year. I'm especially looking forward to seeing all my animator buddies again, I miss them very much & want to hear how they've survived the never-ending summer.
Since classes start again in less than 2 weeks, I'm starting to get my act together. I've been slowly cutting back on my late night drawing sessions, setting my alarm clock & planning out what I'm bringing back over to the SVA dorms. But most importantly, I'm think ahead about my upcoming classes, especially Life Drawing & third-year animation with Howard Beckerman.
-Speaking of Howard, I mentioned a few months ago that I attended a party over at Bunny Hoest's place as Howard's guest. Here's a big group shot of everybody who attended the party. See if you can find me somewhere in this crowd, & while you're at it, see if you can spot a few other familiar faces too!
CLICK TO 'ENLARGIMAFY'!
Like I said before, Bunny was an absolute doll & we all had a fantastic time. While I was there, the first guest I ran into a fellow named Stephen Silver & his wife Heidi. You may have heard of him, or at least seen his work. (CLICK). We chatted for a while & he showed me a sneak preview of his newest book "Passion For Life" (which I highly recommend, go check it out!) & talked a bit about the industry & the importance of life drawing. He also talked about his online character design course, which immediately caught my attention.
A month later, I met him & his wife again at his own booth at Comic-Con. I bought Passion & we talked a bit more about the online class, which further perked my interest. I knew that I'd never be able to fit SVA's Character Design class in my 4th year schedule, so I finally decided to shell out some money & sign up for Stephen's class. I'm REALLY excited about this class, as well as my SVA work. It's kinda sudden, but right now I need all the help I can get. I saw my opportunity & dived for it.
There's still some spots left if you're interested, so if you're willing to learn the ropes from one of the best character designers in the animation industry, consider signing up over at Schoolism.com.
Like I said earlier, I have a 2 ft. high pile of doodles & sketches from the last 2 months sitting next to my computer ready to be scanned. Once I pick up the new scanner, I'll get started scanning in as much of them as I can & post the best ones up here for you guys to see. Until then, enjoy this doodle of a certain bouncy tiger I scribbled in Flash late last night after watching The Tigger Movie. I'll post my thoughts about it another time.
