Version 1

Although there are only minor changes evident so far....I thought I would post. I will probably do anywhere for 3-7 versions of this Bad boy

Words of Wisdom 2

An old man in a whirlpool once said, "Some days it doesn't pay to get up" and I wondered why is he "paying" to get up, it's free isn't it?

Another Bio Self Portrait

While waiting around for some of my web materials to come in, I have decided to continue doing some self portrait work that will appear on the bio page of my website. Although unfinished (both image and certainly composition), it is a good start. Fun too. Reminds of my college days when I did a whole series of drawings of my professor Sid Hurwitz as famous people, my favorite being Sid Hurwitz as Golda Meir.

On the Cheap

Got a call the other day from someone who wanted to do a 30 minute film in flash for under 3G's. Yikes!!! If you are wondering how this could happen, well, to me it is a direct symptom of the willingness of many animation companies and individuals alike who are more than willing to "whore" themselves out just for the job. Animation always seems to be in quiet desperation mode. I will write more on this another time. No I didn't take the job.

Breaking the Rules of Engagement

Making an impact as an artist can be difficult even for the insanely talented. I have had many many gifted artists work for me over the years and watched them struggle in spite of their prodigious talent. Why? I have no clue. But I do have one suggestion, break the rules. Not in terms of your art, but in terms of gaining new business. We have a tendency as artists to think that our work is the only barometer. That one look at our portfolio and the pearly gates of destiny will sweep open and rose petals will be floated in our path to grand success. I only wish it were true. Our work either sets us a part or shows that we are capable of doing the work of any given work provider. That's it. The most important aspect is how you present yourself, are you a creative, and inventive person. That doesn't mean wear black nail polish, dye your hair blue, and talk about the spirituality of rodents. Don't freak people out, be inventive. Find an interesting way to present who you are. Find an inventive way to make contact and be noticed without burning down the building. We once needed information from agencies that they were no longer willing to give out. What did we do? We represented ourselves as a professional agency information service that would help them keep track of creative services of any agency. We cheated, got the information we needed and were never heard from again as The "Creative Directory", but this was also before caller ID.

Words of Wisdom 1

There are many ways to skin a cat, but it can make your neighbors very angry.

A Weird time

Many of the producers I have talked to lately have been truly struggling in this economy. Not only are the banks holding on to OUR money (stimulus package), everyone else, agencies, clients, seem to be holding on to their money as well. What to do? Work, R&D, whatever you can think of to improve your position in this wacky world. The one thing this economy cannot not touch is an artist's commitment to his/her work and its production. So quit crying about how it sucks and get moving, maybe other things will begin to move as well. I am flipping broke but that isn't stopping me from producing new projects and keeping active creatively on three new fronts. Denial, Stupidity, and Self destructive behavior, wait I mean, working like a fiend, being creative every day, and producing great NEW work.

Working out with a Pencil

As some of you may know I am about to embark on another massive waste of resources that is commonly associated with the production of an independent animated film. Jeez, another caveman thing, what a monumental surprise. Here are some preliminary sketches of one of the primary characters, Ooga-ooga. I am trying some different ideas here even within the same drawing. Decisions, decisions.

Longhair and Doubledome's Cave

Background for "Good Wheel Hunting", a pilot for the Cartoon Network.

From Post it to final

Doing a little twitter button. Probably won't make the cut, too damn cute, but what the hell, I thought I would post something before I go stealth for a couple of days.