Ending

What can I say? It's been fun wild ride, and I've enjoyed looking forward to this blog I've got here every day since I made it. So, that's all for sentimentality.


FINALANIMATIONEDUCATION

Here it is.


I'm filming tomorrow. I have no idea how it is going to turn out, and it's kind of scary. With The Shave, I at least had a sort of vague idea of what I wanted it to look like. But now. I can't say. Not so confident, yet if done right I think it has potential.

Unfortunately, this blog isn't going to exist by the time I finish it...so.


...


EGM was canceled. Can you believe that? Apparently this was back in January, but somehow I missed the memo. And now I'm heartbroken. And I wasn't even on time. But that's alright, I guess. Some new, young upcomer will surely take the spot.

It's amazing how many people are losing their jobs though. I feel really lucky that my parents are doing alright, but you just can't be sure how permanent that will be.

I really don't want to drop out of school..

But that might actually might turn out okay. Most art schools are cheaper than Chapman.

Speaking of art...!!!

No, that's okay. I won't do that to you. Not on the last blog.

Well okay, maybe just one



I think it would be really funny to do an entire life drawing series where it is blatantly censored like above. Yeah? No?

I think so.

So today I took pictures of my art. A lot of it. It was pretty cool though, because I set it all up on the patio of my house. I got my dad's camera, the school's tripod, and a bunch of clear tape and just went crazy. It was actually a lot of fun. And then I got to retouch all of them.

So all in all, a pretty successful day.

I bought pina colada licorice. Let me just say, I don't know how I made it this far without it.

OH, I got a hair cut too.

I bought Street Fighter IV, waiting for me as soon as I post this sucker..

I went to the Olive Garden with my parents. Their bread sticks never cease to amaze me. And! They had vinegar. Does anyone else ever get vinegar on sandwiches? It's wonderful, so I'd suggest you try it. Man, my mouth is watering and I'm not even hungry.

It was so warm today too. It was kind of nice, but..it's just.. soon. I mean, March...ehhh. I guess I'll let it slide. January was just too weird for me to really comprehend.


...


The awkward silence before I leave.

Okay well.

It's been a pretty eventful month. I'd say you caught me in a pretty interesting time. I hope you've enjoyed what I've had to say about stuff. At least as much as I've had saying it. Writing it. Typing it? It doesn't matter.

...

..
.





That's a pretty awful ending..

February 27th

A good day. One of the best since the making of this blog.

What happened that made today such a good day? Nothing. Nothing happened and it was awesome. I woke up a little later than I had planned. Like 10ish. I went downstairs and ate a grapefruit. I've never eaten a grapefruit before. It wasn't bad. I then did some drawing-related stuff.





They're less work-intensive than they look. But basically I just messed around with brushes and color gradients. I like how they turned out.

I then went running. Not as difficult this time.

OH. I found the most amazing animated short.

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Absolutely brilliant. But it does have some violent humor so beware. Also, don't be fooled by the beginning. I beg of you to watch the whole thing.

And it's dans francais. Encore.




I'm going to do Summer School this year at LCAD. It's aimed at High Schoolers, but I'm willing to bet they'll make an exception.


I have somethings I need to get prepped before tomorrow, so goodnight all.

February 26th

What a miserable week. Today my favorite teacher quit. In the middle of class. He was actually talking about something else, when he just kind of blurted out he was quiting and the end of next week.

Apparently a film he's been working on for a while just got greenlit, so he's leaving teaching to go direct the movie for the next year in Oregon.

This wouldn't be quite so painful if the exact same thing hadn't happened last semester with my French teacher. For once I was excited for French. This was very strange, but something about her just made the subject captivating.

And then she left.

Not that either of them didn't have a good reason for taking off.
But I can't help but wonder why only the good ones leave.



So, an awful rut of bad luck.
but, whatever.


I have to do another film this weekend. I don't have the prompt yet, but just be prepared those of you who I would typically call on for such an event.



Friday mornings are my favorite. My parents are both are work, so I have the entire house to myself. I usually wake up earlier than I would normally and go outside and lay on the trampoline. Then breakfast, followed by laundry, followed by shower, followed by homework, followed by cleaning, followed by drawing/animating. Then lunch. Maybe not in that order though.




ANIMATIONEDUCATION

It's surprising how many of the best animated shorts are French. There must be something to that. But then again, that guy Tyson Ibele is from New Zealand. And he's about as talented as they come, so.. maybe not.

February 25th

I had a pretty awful meeting-with-a-person today. Our school has a thing called "Inside-Track" where we meet with an "advisor" for 20 minutes every week and talk about...stuff.

I originally had a pretty nice, decent guy. I liked him. But he quit, because the job sucked. So now I have this chick, Jessica. Oh, Jessica. She's the most incredible person I have ever met, but in all the wrong ways.

One of the things that, in general, just kind of annoys me is the question "So, tell me about yourself." It's just an odd and kind of intrusive demand for someone to make. But, ah, Jessica. You would take it one step further. I tell her about myself, the general gist, you know. "Freshman, from Mission Viejo, Majoring in Digital Arts, somethings about my family, why I'm at Chapman." And then there's an awkward silence. And then a "Yes, but really tell me about yourself. What are you interested in, why did you come to Chapman." I say wow. Seriously? You are going to be like this? I say this in my mind. But fine I say. In my mind. Whatever. I'm interested in Animation, and what careers are available to me. Also, I'd like to study abroad. You know. Like I said.

"Look," she says. "You're going to have to talk to me if we're going to be friends for the next year"

Right off the bat.

This relationship, Jessica. It isn't working.

So we go on about me. She asks me all of these questions that I give legitimite responses to, that she doesn't find acceptable. Like "Where are you going to work?" I say I'm not sure yet. That I'm going to keep my options open until I find what I'm best suited at. She lets me know that she just doesn't want to see me drop out. That I should start working on a resume. Really, now? Is this appropriate?

We kept talking until we reached another awkward silence. She was going off in a new direction somewhat similar to the "Tell me about yourself," we I cut her off with my own

"So, tell me about yourself."

She looks at me for a couple seconds. She says she enjoys helping students with their problems and that she's a Economics major from Chapman with a minor in Business Adminstration. Jessica asks "Am I good enough for you?"

Whaa..t.

Yeah. sure..

...


Our twenty minutes are about up so she walks me to the door. As I'm leaving she tells me "You don't have much faith in InsideTrack, do you? Well, we'll just have to change that next time."

Annd that was InsideTrack.







I'm friggin stressed out.
And I haven't been this generally pissed off since intro to puberty.



I'm moving to a new room. In a new dorm. With two new roommates.

February 24th

Not a good day.
But it's okay.
Let's not talk about it
After all..





It could be worse.


Blog, we are coming to an end. We are on our final stretch. And I feel like I've just started to become accustomed to your presence in my life. 4 more days. 4 more blogs. Not including this one.


I need a haircut. It's starting to reach that stage where I can't really do anything with it anymore. My face only allows for a certain percentage of hair, and that line is being approached dangerously close. Also, I don't know if this is just a college thing or what, but everyone is growing out a beard. I don't understand. They are pretty good beards too, though. So I don't think it's just a fad. I think there are just a large portion of Chapman men who are good at that kind of thing.

I don't really like having a beard. A beard is just too..heavy. A mustache on the other hand, well that's a totally different thing.

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

I just watched this tonight. So offbeat it hurts. That's another phrase I like sticking on to things. So____ it hurts. You can use with pretty much anything. But I digress.

I turned on bold typed a couple minutes ago to write "animationeducation" and now I can't get it to go back.

Ohhh, the humor in my life in unceasing.










...

Wow, we have a pumpkin in our room.

I have never noticed it.

wait..

February 23rd

I have a zit on my forehead. A really bad one too. I haven't really had any outstanding acne for a year or two (no thanks Proactive) but recently, things haven't been going too well. I'd want to blame it on my increase in stress, or maybe even my diet, but honestly. This is just the way things are. I'm overdo.

I ran a mile today.

And it shouldn't have been as difficult as it was.

It was kind of funny though. Because I went to the downstairs gym, and there were 3 very athletic college women working out. And they have an opposing wall that's all mirror. So you can compare yourself to the other people in the room. But that's not really the point, THE point is that, I started running. And the girl on the treadmill next to me looked like she had already been going for a while. So I start it on slow. Like 2.5 or whatever. And I'm walking. I speed it up to 3...3.5. 4.5 is where you kind of have to start jogging. 5.5 is running. THE MOMENT I hit 4.7 I got a cramp in my side. LIKE 30 SECONDS IN. ohhh, the shame.

Oh, so I uploaded my school video to YouTube. The quality is better there, so if you want, you can re-check it out.

I don't know who has seen this, but you really need to.


My roommate is moving out. The one that I kind of got along with. Which leaves me and the one that I don't really get along with. He said he's leaving for financial reasons, but honestly, I think he just doesn't like us. Also, I believe they are going to try and raise the housing rates for us too, but we'll see how that turns out. That isn't very fair after all.

Pest control came to our room today. Which was..weird. And disturbing. Remember those ants I was talking about a couple weeks ago? Well, he opened the freezer and there they were. in the freezer. Hundreds of them, all frozen to death.

Sometimes, I just don't know.


The roommate with whom I do not get along very well with is watching baseball. He just demanded that I watch baseball with him. I'm kind of..offended, amazed, and appreciative at the same time. I asked who was playing. He said the Angels, so I asked him what sport. He told me baseball and I was like "oh, wow. really?" He then muttered 'I hate you.' Very, very faintly.

But most people underestimate my hearing capabilities.

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Bill Plymton. He really stands out because he does everything by himself. With most hand-drawn animation, you need a good-sized crew to pull it off. But he just takes his time. Frame by frame. That's some amazing patience.

February 22nd

Video # 2, right off the editing station. I'd like to thank the academy.



I had to pull some crazy editing to get it to fit. I hope you like it.

Slumdog Millionaire? Really? I don't understand. Maybe everyone has some connection with that film that I'm just missing.

Benjamin Button got screwed a little bit too.

PICTURES













Seems like so long ago now...


It's funny though. When I was watching the Oscar's, I didn't get that pumped. I never do really. But I was expecting to be pumped because I had spent the previous day getting pumped for the Oscar's. But when you get right down to it, it isn't really the awards that matter, it's the movies. So profound, but really. So, Slumdog won a bunch of awards. It's still a great film, but it doesn't make it any more great now that it is Best Picture. And the ceremony is kind of boring..

I don't know why Hugh Jackman sung so much. But..it was interesting. I guess.

I'm still trying to soak in the 5 movies I watched yesterday.

Emotional overload.

I have to do the school thing tomorrow.

But today, today was fun. And I have a picture as proof.

February 21st

I..am so..worn out.

I missed the first half of Milk. It was unavoidable.

But the half I DID see was incredible.

Twere I a betting man I'd say it would take the Oscar for best picture.

With that being said, my personal favorite is The Reader.

Slumdog..not so much. I mean. It was good. Maybe I was just too spent to really enjoy it. It was a really intense film. But so..dirty. Like in a dirt way. I know that was the point. But wow. Yeah.

I'll make some opinions tomorrow.

I ate so much popcorn.

And I drank

so much Diet Coke.

I sat there.

And learned.

Absorbed the glory of film, so to speak.

But I digress.

It's almost (d)one.

And I need to wake up early tomorrow.

I don't know if that is physically possible.

So much movie to process...

BENJAMIN BUTTON.

WOW. SO GOOD. I LOVE YOU DAVID FINCHERRRRR...

But just not good enough. No, that's mean. It was awesome. But I got the feeling it was just eye-candy..ing Brad Pitt most of the time. It had some very memorable moments though. That sub..wow. Yeah, I won't spoil anything.

Frost/Nixon. I mean, what can I say? For what it was, it was a remarkable achievement. But, I'm just a sucker for depressing WWII nazi crime romance dramas.

I smell like popcorn. I need to remedy this by the morning, so I'm leaving it at that. Happy Oscaring!

February 20th

I wish I had thought of this first.

I've been really hungry today. Which is kind of fun, except I'm not in the possession of much food at the moment. I could really go for a huge plate of pasta right now...or like..a pile of mashed potatoes.

I've been trying to figure out maya pretty much all day. I CAN'T UNDERSTANDDD. It's terrible. I have trouble doing even the most rudimentary things. And I'm not even sure how to learn how to learn. So, it's going to take a while.

It doesn't help that other people can do things like

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

THIS. I just saw this today. It's pretty much the most incredible thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I WANT to be angry at it, but it's just so good that I just...can't. Even the two seconds of 2-d animation is eye-popping-ly good.

Anyways.

The clock is still running.

Those Crest Teeth-Whitening strips are amazing. Expensive, but worth it.


That's all for today.

February 19th

Blog. Let's do this.

My roomy keeps clogging the drain. It's not like he doesn't realize it either. He'll come out of the shower and announce the drain is clogged. So I'll go in there to check it out and it's good foot and a half deep of soapy water. And I'm like, really? You couldn't have just stopping the water when you noticed it wasn't draining anymore? Three times I have had to remove his hair from the drain. AND NO MORE i say.

People have been doing weird things lately. I'm not the type to notice these kinds of things, but everyone is cutting their hair. I can't figure it out! And they're all going for the eccentric, non-conformist hair styles. What happened to the crew cut. I'm afraid we are entering an era of poorly planned fashion statements.

I am the type to notice that people are becoming more and more mentally-impaired. My dad just dropped something in the kitchen, and let out a long sequence of swearing. He then tried to blame it on my mom for stacking them in a way that would purposely make them fall. Calmly and confidently she replies "Do you always have to swear when you drop something?" Response: "Only when something stupid happens." What kind of a retort is that? I don't understand!! My (other) roommate was talking to an advisor on the phone who asked him what his GPA was. "3.5 something" She asks him what grades he got last semester. "One B, Two C's, and a F." That. is. not. a. 3.5. My god. We were playing pictionary in my art class today and a girl had the location of "Panama Canal." She drew it in southern Brazil. Southern!!! Why!!! In my econ class we were talking about how Japan managed to have such a quick turnaround from a developing country to a financial power. This lecture went on for at least ten minutes when the teacher asks "What other developing countries have made a comeback in a short amount of time. A kid in the back raises his hand and suggests Japan. HOW. COULD. YOU. NOT. HAVE. BEEN. LISTENING. FOR. THAT. LONG.


Okay, sorry. I'm done with that. That's been building up for a while. But really.


I like this.

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Edgar Allan Poe. We are on a role for scary animated shorts. I can't remember the name of one of my favorites (sadly) but I'll see what I can dig up tomorrow.

February 18th

ANIMATIONEDUCATION.

Today we start with this. You'd be surprised how relatively few people are able to pull something like that off. I mean, with the internet and everything we see things like that all the time. But really, there are just a handful of people that are that gifted. Not even to mention the story.


Aw man, I said I was going to put some charts and graphs on this post.


...

I should have been thinking about this before I started typing.

Okay, let's take a break while I cook something up...













...


















OKAY!




Man, that is one vibrant graph.


Just one more day of school..


and then...

WEEKEND!!


YEAH!!!

And the Oscars. Which should be awesome.

My R.A. is running down the hallway yelling "HALLWAY DANCE PARTY NEXT WEEKEND," over and over. That doesn't even make sense. But his name is Derek. And he's my friend.

Everyone is rushing for frats. I don't even know what that means. Well, I do. But not really, because I don't care. It's such a weird idea..frats. I don't know. I'm not a frat person.


In my class a couple days ago I was sitting with my group, and a girl asks me if I was in a frat. No. Delta Phi Capa whatever? Yeah, no not me. But she insists that I am. And I keep saying no. So she asks me if I've ever been to a frat party. No I say! Leave me alone I say in my mind! And so everytime I go to that class now she keeps looking at me. Like I'm in a frat. And no I say in my mind. No, no, no! But it's too late. The deed has been done. In her eyes, I'm nothing more than a frat bro.

February 17th

I can't believe I didn't get sick. Usually, I'm the canary in the population. I get sick first, and then I know everyone else is going to get sick soon, too. I don't know what happened, but everyone now is sick except for me. Hoopah!

But while I remained physically strong, I must confess I suffer from a terrible mental illness. What is this illness you may ask? Intro to Design. Like a plague it torments me. Basically everything about that class is the opposite of how I would like to spend my Mon/Wed mornings. So, I'm dropping it.

Like it's hot.

This is a big deal for me.




You know, I said I was going to put on some charts and graphs when I made this thing, and then I never did. What is that? Tomorrow, you can expect some awesome graphs/charts. Be prepared.


We learned about the history of computer animation today. Jeez.

Talk about not..fun...at all. I can't imagine anything more painstakingly time-consuming and under-impressive. It's really kind of said. Especially since it all happened in the 80's so everything was ..frizzy and ..neon..y. bleh.


I love my visual storytelling class. I have to put out and edit a new short in a week, but I'm so thrilled with how much I dig the class that I really don't mind the stress.

I'm going to go hang out with my peeps upstairs.


I've kept you waiting long enough.

February 16th

Huntington Library











My phone takes awesome pictures.

So, blog. Today we get real.



I had a heachache a couple minutes ago, but I took a nap and drank some kool-aid and now it's all better. What's up with that?

sigh..

I kind of wish I had a tv. I mean, yeah sure. There is a tv in my room. But it's not mine. It's Jake's. I mean he said I could use it, but it's just the principle of the matter. And you know how that is.

I miss my friends. I'm not going to hold it back. WHERE DID YOU GUYS GOOOOooo. I keep thinking how much fun it was to be sitting in class after some teacher had stopped lecturing, and I would take out my sketchbook and start doodling. And people would come over and say if they liked it and give me feedback on things. Just..things, but it was just so much more meaningful to impress people from high school. Now it's just kind of..ehhhhh...meehhhh Maybe I'm just poorly adjusting to college. It's funny though because I think this was one of my problems in high school too. I tried to make friends by getting really good at art. I kind of thought the next step in the process would be that people would want to hang out with me. Because I was just so cool and could draw crap. which, well, nah. didn't work out. I'm listening to a really dramatic song right now, so I'm writing influenced by song.

So I'm going to stop there.

Uhhh.




I have art history tonight.

I like that class.

At the beginning of the last class, he was like "after we finish our discussion we'll watch star wars to see how it relates to what we talked about."

And he keeps mentioning how it's just a couple minutes to Star Wars. Just a couple minutes more, hang in there. And the whole class is riveted. We've been in there for like 2 hours, and it's all anyone can think about. He dims the lights and

We watch a 15 second clip. Of Luke getting shot with that laser ball thing.

You have to appreciate a teacher with that cruel a sense of humor.



I love Chapman.

but sometimes...

I wish those Red Bull Girls were still here...




I just don't understand where you guys went...

February 15th

I do not like waking up late. I used to, though. But in recent years, I feel like the day is such a waste if I wake up past 10. Today I woke up at 1. The other one. The almost-dinner one.

I went shopping today for my younger cousin. He wanted a cool shirt. Usually I'd be on top of that, no problem. But for some bizarre reason, NO shops had any "cool" t-shirts. I seriously spent 3 hours in the mall with my mom looking at t-shirts.

I got a cool new Heritage jacket and belt, while I was at it though.

Pictures!










From our trip to Huntington Beach last Friday.

Something that's been bothering me-- study abroad. I really want to. But honestly, it's kind of intimidating. I don't know if I can handle it. But if I don't go now, I'm pretty sure I won't have the guts to do it any other time in my life. I'll have a permanently-stunted voyaging life.

Which isn't good at all.

But I was thinking.

I tend to uphold the promises I make on this blog. I don't really know why. But whatevEVRSO, I'm making a promise that I WILL study abroad during my time in college. For an undetermined amount of time.

I've been thinking southern France, personally. But I don't know if that will pan out.

February 14th

I was going to upload pictures today, but alas, I cannot find my 5 cent piece of plastic that allows me to put pictures on my computer. So, maybe tomorrow. Realistically though, probably not very soon. where the heck did I put that thing...

The 28th is growing closer and closer. Life post-blog. It's a scary thought.



My room is so unkept. It's awful, because I spent a great deal of time and effort cleaning in a couple weeks ago. And now, it's all gone to waste.

Tragedy.

wow, so I was looking for this clear-packing tape for a good ten minutes. I wanted to make a pseudo-lamination. But I couldn't find it so I gave up. I just repositioned myself so it would be less straining to type, and there it is. On the ground. Blocked partially by the corner of my desk. NOW, am I dedicated enough to finish my lamination? I think not. The tape knows me well.

I still have a Sum 41 poster in my room. I don't even like them anymore. But the poster I really like is at school. And it looks too barren with nothing there on my wall.

When I first moved into this room though, I was really looking forward to having big, blank, white walls. So uncluttered and peaceful, right? NO. It turned out to direct attention to all the crud I have laying about. And, honestly, I don't have that much crud laying about. It's just that it's very eye-catching crud.

That water-powered clock is still going. What the heck!

Maybe I should refill the water anyways. It just doesn't seem...to be all that..possible.

I found a new technique for painting. I get a get two sheets of paper. I draw the picture in pen on one of them, and on the other, I put down all the colors I want to use with the gel-crayons I have. The I spray all of the colors with a spray bottle, and I can use it as a palate.

Yeah. Tight stuff.




Happy Valentine's Day.

February 13th

Something bit me on my hand. I absent-mindedly started scratching it a couple minutes ago, and now it's all inflamed and poofy. And it keeps getting bigger, and boy does it itch.

the worst.


today is friday the thirteenth.

I decided to start working on that new animation I mentioned a couple days ago. It's probably going to take me until the end of the semester to finish it, assuming I don't flake out half-way. But, it should be good. I think. Maybe.

Yeah, pretty much, that's what I've been doing all day. Soo..



this is pretty much mind-blowing.


ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Pixar shorts.

All in one convenient location.




I'm watching Kung Fu Panda right now. It's actually pretty good.






so alternative it hurts.

February 12th

Ahhh, the end of the week.


I had to present my video to my class today. The one with the cafeteria. I was surprised with how nervous I got before it was my turn.

But people really liked mine, which was odd. Most of them were just happy to see the dish-cleaning place. But, yeah, I didn't really know what I was doing.




I called a bunch of people last night. Which was fun. By "a bunch of people" I mean like 3. You know who you are. It was nice to hear from all of you. Three of you.


My visualization/perspective teacher is creepy. At first, I thought he was just kind of nerdy. My first impressions are usually wrong, and this case was no exception. I don't know how much I want to..detail everything. But, as an example, he made us draw a postcard in our textbooks that had a naked fat guy running with a dog. Then he went around to all the girls in the class talking about how thankful he was that his running leg blocked out his privates.

Like..to every single girl. Something fishy was to be detected. And it wouldn't be such a problem if he didn't do it all the time. And then he pats them on the back. But like..not normally...

But...whatev.

That class is weird in general.

AND EXPENSIVE.

Oh so it turns out, no one in my group needs the tripod. no one. So I'm stuck with it for another three weeks at the least. THREE WEEKS. ROOM SO SMALL. GTFO TRIPOD>>!!

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Ahhh yes. I think everyone like this one. Watch the first one too, if you have time to kill.

February 11th

I have a tripod in my room. It's a really big tripod, and it's taking up a lot of room. I suppose it could be called a communal tripod. It belongs to the four of us. My group.

We share a camera and a tripod. Unfortunately, not all went to plan. See I took everything first because I had to present my video first. Then I would hand the equipment off to the next person. She did not need any of it. So I'm like. Okay. Fine. So I called the next person in line to see if they needed it. Yes, they say. Great I say. Just the camera they say. Crap no I say.

So now I have the tripod.

The most awkward piece of equipment ever built.

In my room.

Until at least tomorrow.

Oh, they are going to shut off the water tomorrow.

From 9 AM to 1 PM.

So basically, when everyone needs to use the water.

Ew.

Nevermind, that is not what this blog is about.

PG only.

My room has a lot of ants. It wasn't something I really complained about before. Occasionally one would crawl onto my desk. I'd pick it up with a notecard or something and flick it into the hallway. Maybe twice a day this would happen.

Today, all at the same time, there were three ants on my desk.

This is unnacceptable.

I demand a refund.

but I digress.

So I opened up Yahoo! today and my anti-virus automatically closed.

I was like "no." and opened that crap back up.

I am running dangerously low on socks. Like, I think I might be wearing sandals tomorrow if I don't magically find a new pair.

And believe me, it's cold outside.

One of the shirts I got from American Eagle makes me look like a Star Trek character. It's kind of funny, but most of the time it's just pretty sad.




The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to doubt my ability to sit through 13.5 hours of movies in a day.

I have a new idea for an animated movie, but I don't have time to make it.

Here's a picture Katie drew of me. It's pretty good.




this picture did not get enough airtime.

Please consider.

No one liked this picture.



This was my contact info on my reel I sent out to colleges. Sadly it has expired.



ANIMATIONEDUCATION

February 10th

"THIS HANGER IS A PIECE OF CRAP"

says my roommate.

His name is Ben.

And tonight, he is upset.

Why? Well.

Besides the hanger.

He is also the victim of a plot.

What plot?

The plot of love.



but I digress.


Tonight is not a night I feel like writing a blog. This is the first time it has happened, but it was to be expected eventually. Actually, all considering, I've made it pretty far for not knowing really what to say.


So what TO say. Since I have nothing to say. Hey.

Katie made a snide remark about how I always shave at night. Now, this isn't always true, but most of the time, yeah. So I just started thinking. "Why do I shave at night?" The answer did not come to me at first. So I waited.

And waited.

And started writing my blog still waiting for the answer to this pounding question in the back of my mind:

what in my psychological make-up forces me to shave at night?


So that was something to write about. Honestly, I'm struggling through this now. Like a marathon runner on his last half-mile. Pushing and pushing to try and make it the same distance he would typically find to be a breeze.

like, whatever.

Hahaha.

struggling .




NEVER!!!
So I made a character today in my visual storytelling class.

A 34 year old woman with dyed-red buzz-cut hair. 5'3", 160 pounds, good with a gun. Wants to start a family but is stunted in obtaining one due to her constant need for a one-night stand fix.

It was a group exercise. The family, red hair, and good with gun were my ideas.





i'll be fun tomorrow

February 9th

Since I made this blog, I've typically have had the luxury of a quiet place to write, even if it is just for a couple quick, passing moments. Tonight, not so much.

BUT FEAR NOT! I will still deliver. Oh yes, I will. Like...right..NOW. Yeah, did you see what I just did right there?

Actually, since we are comparing this post to the previous posts, I would like to point out one thing. The first time I was writing, I was scared. One could even say, petrified. I didn't know if I could live without....not..having a blog..by my side.

but my, how times have changed.

It's become an almost second nature thing. I wake up thinking "In about 12 hours, I need to put up the daily blog. So today had better be worth writing about." And it usually isn't. So I have to make something interesting happen. Which usually results in me doing something.

I got laid off today.

Well, in the animation biz, we call it "out of work."

But I digress.

I love saying "but I digress," when it isn't really necessary. Actually, it isn't ever necessary.

So I don't know.

So laid off isn't really an appropriate term, because it is actually kind of a good thing. Another way of looking at it could be "today I have successfully completed my first multi-hundred dollar commission." And now I have a guaranteed source for a letter of recommendation. And there's still a check in the mail. And with the probable possibility of future work.

So all in all, it could be worse.

Oh! So I finished that video


I like to think of it as experimental work. Also known as bad. But I like it anyways.


ANIMATIONEDUCATION

I'm not going to lie: I spend a lot of time on Newgrounds.

Most of the things are awful.

But a lot of them are actually pretty decent.

It's actually pretty difficult to meet another person who animates in Flash just by coincidence. Even in my entire Digital Arts class, no one is really familiar with it yet. So when I do find someone who says things like "I like to make animated shorts in Flash," I know this hypothetical person and me can be friends. (see: rival)

But I digress.

Contrary to what you would expect though, today's animation is from Blur Studio.






I burnt my mouth. It hurts.

February 8th

So I filmed my video today. Hahahah.. Yeah. It was uncomfortably awkward.

I brought Katie along to muscle the people in there to cooperate with me. Well. Yeah..not so much. See when I went in there, there were only two people. And I was like "hey, uh, can I do a quick video in here? It's for school."

And, neither one of them spoke English.

So they went to get their supervisor.

So I explained my situation once again. And she says she needs to speak with her supervisor.

Who comes in, and is like "what do you want?" so I re-re-explained my situation again. I tell him it's for school.

And he's like "ehhh, I don't know..."

I tell him I'm really interested in this..thing..that's going on here.

"Don't film the workers."

Yeah, so basically I filmed the corners of the back of the cafeteria for a couple minutes, before confused and defeated, I retreated back to my dorm.

And now I really need a firewire.

And things didn't go according to plan.

But that's okay.



I spilled water on that form I really needed.



But really
today
not so bad.


I went to South Coast Plaza today. I bought two t-shirts.

It's amazing how expensive something can be though.

Like WATCHES.

MAN.

SO MUCH.

They were having this deal that you would get a $100 dollar gift certificate if you spent $1000 in one day.

$1000!

Crazy.

But then again, they know people are buying expensive Valentine day gifts.

OH! and I saw Coraline last night.

I didn't like it.

Well, okay, it's not that I just plain out didn't like it. I really liked the uh, texture of the film. And it was beautifully made. The story was different. And 3-d was fun.

But the characters. They were pretty bad. And it wasn't just the voice acting, but just the way they fit into the story..didn't work..so well. I don't know.

It's still worth seeing it in theaters though. Not too much "things popping out at you."




I bought tickets to the AMC Best Picture Oscar Nomination for 2009. Which means 5 movies!! Back to back! 13.5 hours! I'm going to loose my mind!

And I get a free large popcorn.

All for $30. So I'd say it's a steal.


I just sent Katie a text message saying "the plot thickens." I never use that phrase!

Today is a day filled with risks.

Risks is really hard to say out loud. Especially if you are giving a speech. It's one of those bound to fail words.


ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Brackenwood.

The product of a very talented Australian. He uses Flash (like me! just better) so to say the least, I am a fan.

Check out the rest of his stuff if you have the time.

/

does anyone actually watch the animations I post?




School tomorrow.


GAH. INTRO TO DESIGN. NOOOOooo. Not my favorite class.


The cafeteria closed at 6:30 tonight. 6:30!!!


No respect for people who eat late. None I say!



Fight on!

February 7th

I know, I know. It's awfully early in the morning to be making a daily post. But I have an real excuse.

I'm in that boot camp thing I was complaining about yesterday.It was going fine until we hit about 10:30. See, the thing is we are learning how to use video editing software, and part of our tutorial is how to import videos from a digital camera.

There are about 50 of us. And about 15 cameras.

So. Yeah. Waiting...

and bored.

and hungry and regretting not bringing a bagel in tuperware.

ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Ah, yes. Many of you might have already seen this. Especially if you and me ever like..talk to each other. I don't know much about the person who made it or anything, but it is a really brilliant story.


HOLY CRAP SOMEONE JUST FINISHED WITH THE CAMERA.

whoaaaa

Yeah so no one else is typing. Except for me. And I'm making a lot of noise. Because it's one of those old-fangeled keyboards that like, clicks everytime you hit a key.

Uh, so after this class I have to go and learn how to use a camera. I'm not sure how that will turn out.

I get an hour break though for lunch at noon. That should be enough time to run over to the Caf and grab something. It's going to take me half an hour in walking time. Maybe I'll need to pull the old-fashioned eat and run bit. Well, not run. That might end poorly.

Okay, time to start edititing!

February 6th

Bah, this weekend.

So I have to attend a "boot camp" for film school this weekend. I get to learn how to use the cameras and the computers. Everyone that's taken it so far has said it's a waste of time...soooo. Yeah. I have my doubts.

BUT

what is really impressive about this, is that this is going to mark the first time I've stayed at school over the weekend. I know, I know, it's kind of pathetic. Pathetic isn't the right word. Somewhere between pathetic and normal. At least for me. This could be a big breakthrough.

So it turns out I need 12 more Prismacolor markers. Not totally sure what's going on in that department. And vellum? paper. Anyone? I don't know. These classes I am in are sure needy.

You know when you are dozing off late at night, you seem to always have really brilliant ideas? But then you wake up in the morning, and it doesn't seem so brilliant. Anyways, that was me last night. But I did have a really brilliant idea. Like, really. I just don't know if I can pull it off. You know how I need to make that movie by Thursday? Well, I've been thinking about it constantly since it was assigned. Basically it had to be

1.) A place
2.) A place near Chapman since I don't have a lot of time
3.) A place where something interesting is going on
4.) A place I can bring a camera and not get in trouble.

So my first idea was the top of the parking structure. It has a pretty cool view. But it really just isn't that interesting.

Next, I considered the library. But that isn't very interesting, and I don't think they'd like the camera presence.

Basically all stores where off the list because no one lets you bring in a camera.

Dorm rooms are too overdone. And not enough risk.

Then, defeated, I decided to call it quits and go to sleep. When it hit me. So very hard.

The dish-washing facility in the cafeteria. Oh, heck yes.

I'm assuming the people in there will let me film them for a couple minutes, but if not. Well, yeah. No. That would suck. We'll see how that goes.




I heard back from that teacher I wrote the angry letter to. Here is his response:

"Hey James -
no problem. You can leave at the normal time if you have another class."

It's a silent victory. But still a victory.




ANIMATIONEDUCATION

Today's feature is kind of long. But if you have the time, I really suggest watching it. This one won the 1988 Oscar for Best Animated Short. It also won pretty much every other award for animated shorts that year, so yeah. I implore you to watch it.



This weather is pretty cool, huh? It should be like this more often.

February 5th

I was thinking what might be a fun thing I could throw into this blog, and I decided I might try and introduce you people to a couple of my favorite animated shorts here and there. Today's is probably one of the most highly-acclaimed claymation shorts out there, and my personal favorite one at that. It was up for an Oscar a couple years ago, but it was only a couple years later that it became a big thing on the interweb.

I suppose the big thing today was the quest to buy Prismacolor markers. They are incredibly expensive, so they weren't anything I was planning on buying for myself. But they are required for the class I'm taking, so tough luck. Anyways, I went to the art store at Chapman, and they were $100 for the 24 pack I needed for class.

So, yeah, I said no.

I checked online and I could get them for about $60, but then I still need to pay shipping, and I really needed them ASAP. So that didn't really pan out.

BUT THEN

I went to Michael's.

Oh, Michael's.

I can't tell you how many times that store has disappointed me. They have a knack for carrying pretty much everything I don't need or want at way-to-high of prices. But I really need these markers. So I went to Michael's.

They were selling them for $90, so while it wasn't as bad as Chapman, it still kind of stung. So instead I bought just a couple of the markers to carry me through the next couple classes until I could get it from online.

BUT THEN

I still can't believe this. Wow. Okay, so if you've been to Michael's recently, everytime you make a purchase they give you a coupon for 50% off one item, but it only becomes vaild a couple days after you recieve it. But I was like, "Wow, I really wish I could use this now so I could just get the markers I needed here." And the cashier, who we'll refer to now as AWEsome-cashier, came right back and said "Oh, it's no problem. I'll just do it for you now"

So I got the markers for $48.

Ah, man.

Thank you AWEsome-cashier.





Uh, I need to make a movie.

I'm really stuck too.

It's due on Thursday.

MADness.

Man, it's fun the CAPitalize the first three letters of a word.

Also I've found bolding the first half of a word makes it look interesting.





The first sketch of my "Look at Me" animated short.





Just another in-class sketch from Junior year



Fro fish. I might just do something with that later..



Something I've been working on. Then stopped. Still looks kind of cool.




Night before the big event!!!






IT JUST STARTED RAINING REALLY LOUDLY. WOW.

February 4th

I found the picture on the left in my photo album. I didn't know what it was from at first, but I eventually pieced it together.

When we last left off, I was heading out for my last class on Tuesday. This was the class that would make or break my life until the end of May, and happily I can announce that not only is the class itself awesome, but also that I was the recipient of an impressive quantity of lucky occurances. Okay, right, so I lost this form--No, actually let's rewind. The class I had last night is an upper division class that Freshman can only get into if they obtain three signatures.

1.) The signature of their Advisor
2.) The signature of the head of the faculty department
3.) The signature of the teacher.

I got #2 first, as it was the most daunting and the one that I figured that would take the most time to acquire. I was then planning on getting #1 and #3 last night. Now, I had had a nightmare a couple days back that I lost this form with the head of the faculty's signature on it, and that it was just minutes before class and that I would fail to get into the class as a result. And then it happened. Minutes before the class I could not, for the life of me, find the form. It's so creepy when bad dreams come true like that. Like, part of you just knows, and there's nothing you can do to change it. I took a new form to the class so I could get #1 and #3, but I was still just not looking forward to getting #2. Again. But as I was walking into class I saw a woman sitting in the back. And that part of me that knew I was going to lose the form knew she was the head of the faculty department, the one person I wanted to see the most but had never met in person, Ms. Janell Shearer. So I got her signature. And then she was like "Hey, I'll sign for the teacher too." So in thirty seconds I recieved #2 and #3. And then I forgot who my advisor was, so I just started exploring Dodge college looking for familiar names on the office doors. And I found her too. So #1, #2, #3. All squared away nicely.

The teacher for the class is named Bill Kroyer. I suppose his most famous thing is directing the animated film FernGully: The Last Rainforest. It's one of those film's everyone has seen, but just might not remember. As a kid, I loved that film. But then I never saw it again, and I eventually forgot the name. When he started showing his reel though, I was just stunned. I recogonized everything. And I'm pretty sure everyone else in the class did too. It was funny, at one point he was talking about how an ex-army man worked his way up through the animation industry quickly and landed a job at Blur Studio. And everyone in the class gasped. Only a bunch of animation dorks would know and really appreciate something like that, and, I don't know. It was just kind of nice to be in similar company.

We had a professional advertisement photographer come in today as a guest speaker. Talk about talent. Jeez, seriously some people were just made to do what they do. He's been out of college for just over a year, and already he's making more than enough money to support himself. He talked about all the magazines his photos have been in, and the list just went on and on. And he was half-British. So that always helps.

Speaking of professional photography, here are some recent snapshots, camera-phone style.











I have a floor meeting pretty soon where we meet the new transfer students. Last time there were animal crackers, this time, I can only hope so much.

February 3rd

Wow.

So this semester is going to suck.

I still have one more class to go to before I've made my full first loop for classes.

But wow.

I cannot believe it.

I don't know, I'd say Tuesday is slightly better than Monday. But it's almost too close to call.




I sent an angry letter to my Visual Storytelling teacher today. Because he thinks he can let us out 15 minutes late everyday. Which would be fine if I didn't have a class directly after that one. Who takes attendance and lowers your grade everytime you are late. So I sent him an email saying stuff about respecting student schedules and other teachers.

We'll see how that goes.

I have a pretty rough time on Tuesday though.

My class starts at 11:30 and then I'm in class straight until 4:00.

So I miss lunch.

My favorite meal...

I have a headache.

But I think that's normal.

Okay I'm going to make a list of how I think I'm going to like my teachers by the end of the year. Ranked from best to worst.

1.) Visual Perspective
2.) E.A. Forum
3.) China/Japanese Art
4.) Visual Storytelling
5.) Macroeconomics
6.) Intro to Design

What? Intro to Design is going to be worse than Macroeconomics? Yeah, I just have a feeling.

February 2nd

Groundhogs day just might be the least noticed holiday in February. I remember when I was a kid, it was a big thing. Even as a tween, it was still kind of fun. Now I don't even notice it unless someone explicitly tells me 'Wow, it's Groundhogs Day.' Not that it's a bad thing. I guess it is kind of a weird ritual.

Today was the first day of spring classes.

Let's not talk about it.

Hey want to know something CRAZY?! Yeah, so I turned my computer off when it was charging, and then I came back on a couple of hours later and the battery was at 10%!! YEAH! ..yeah..I didn't plug it in.

Today was kind of cruddy.

School..not so much right now.

But we're not talking about it.

I have another class tonight too. But I'm counting on that one being the fun time of the day. So let's hope.



First day at Chapman. Seems like so long ago now..


I think wearing a yellow shirt might have made a bad impression though.


Oh, so guess what.

My homepage is Yahoo France.

So all of my headline news now is French current events.

Which usually has to do fancy sports cars and French sports.

Katie and I have been watching Man on Wire. That just might be one of the most fun documentaries I've seen. The main guy is so crazy, but he's such a good storyteller that you really don't mind.




I don't know if anyone else likes this kind of stuff but

http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/

has all of the foreign country code extensions for websites. So like

http://www.google.de/

is German Google.

Because I always wondered how other people searched the internet if it wasn't it their language. Or why foreign websites never come up when I search something on Yahoo. Anyways, there you go. You can now learn how to say "I feel lucky" in oh-so-many ways.

I am le tired aujourd'hui.

February 1st

Argnhg. I have something in my eye. I've been trying to get it out for the past ten minutes, and so far, no dice. Ow. But then I was like, "what am I possibly going to write in my blog?! I haven't done anything today." And that's when it all came together. Oh yes, I'd write about the thing in my eye.


Spring semester starts tomorrow. Joy. I have 8 hours of class tomorrow. 8!!! It's absurd! 8?! Surely, you must be kidding. I'm not, and don't call me Shirley. Oh, man. I've been watching too much of The Office. THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.

Yeah, no.

For those of you who don't know...

http://mixturtle.com/

You'll thank me later.

I had to remove this long, tangled copper wire from my mom's garden today and a spider family had apparently made their home in it. But I didn't realize it until I started shaking the wire to loosen it up. And then they all poured out of their hanging homes and started coming after me on the wire. And I got stuck, so I just tried to shake them off the wire. But they all had their safety lines of silk in case they fall. So they were all just hanging there, and I thought it might be a good tactic to try and karate chop their silk lines, so they would fall down. But instead when I hit them, the lines stuck to my hand. So I was carrying around these spiders like little poisonous puppets, but they started climbing back up, closer and closer to my hand. So I freaked out started shaking my hand furiously, but they are surprisingly agile, those spiders. They kept holding on, and I managed to get them back onto their wire homes.

So I guess something did happen today.