I Just Flew In From Berlin and Boy are My Arms Tired

Heya! We just got back on Sat from our gigantic European roadtrip. Europe sure is a big country. No, really, we hit Austria, Switzerland, France and loads of Germany. It was really great seeing all that stuff. I wouldn't have thought it before I went, but I was most surprised by the fact that it seems like they just finished last week rebuilding Germany from the mess there was there in WWII. Really, they're putting back up all the monuments and churches and citys, alot of them exactly as they were.

I'll post some photos when Fabri gets around to getting them to me... in the meantime here was our route:


VIEW THE ROUTE IN GOOGLE MAPS

Weeks 3&4 - Bouncing Balls

Heya! So much has happened since I started AM. For the last 2 weeks we've been working on our bouncing balls assignments, but I've been away on my summer holiday and getting the work done in the wee hours of the morning via the laptop and oftenly overpriced wireless connections.

So we had to submit 2 bouncing balls yesterday... One being heavy and the other light. I think my downstairs neighbours were beginning to freak out cause of all the golf balls, softballs and gummy balls bouncing on their heads, but they didn't come up to yell at me so that's great! Anyways, I found out that even doing the video reference is fun.

Week 2 - Shawn Kelly & Live Q&A

Had a Q&A with Shawn Kelly today and it was totally cool. What a cool cool guy. The Q&A started at 6:30am, and was supposed to run an hour, but in the end he talked with us until 9am... man... that's dedication! he even gave us a tour of the stuff that surrounds his desk. Neat!

Biggest piece of advice was to make sure we learn how to take and give critique, and develop a tough outer skin. Oh, and to have lots of fun!

My assignment for the week is to go out to a public place and to draw people. I then have to pose the stu character in one of the poses I got from the observation drawings. I was looking at the syllabus and am a bit nervous cause later on in the term we have to finds a pose for EXHAUSTION, DEVESTATION, EXCITEMENT etc. and when i try to think of poses that represent those feelings I start to feel overwhelmed and confused. I'm sure I need to work more on my understanding of body language and acting. It'll come in time though.

I think I'm going to head off to the gym for that and get 2 things done at once. That way I can observe really active poses for the assignment as well as getting in a workout. It's all about balance right?

Updates & New Blogs

Have a look at the new Animation Mentor related blog by going to http://qwertyjuiceam.blogspot.com I decided to open up a new blog for that stuff cause maybe it's not as interesting to alot of people. (of course, what'0s here isn't interesting either, but on a different level of disinterest.

I've also created a wedding planning blog, but I'm only going to be giving out the URL to that one to people I know. If you want that URL, let me know and I'll decide if I know you.

We're off for a secret holiday destination for my birthday tomorrow. It's a surprise from Fabri and I have no idea where we're going! So exciting, but I have no idea what to pack!

Week 1 at Animation Mentor

Animation Mentor started Monday and I'm already feeling great about it.

My mentor is CHRIS CHUA. He used to work for PDI, Rough Draft, Rhythm and Hues, and Dreamworks Animation and studied animation at CalArts. He worked on Shark's Tale and Flushed Away while at Dreamworks. I met with him for the first time in the weekly Q&A on Wednsday. There were quite a few technical he still got our hears churning.

I went out and bought a new sketchbook (and a vintage 2nd-hand leather bag to carry it in) in honour of the start of classes. Chris said that we chould be drawing all the time. The drawings don't ahve to even be good, but that we should just practice practice practice. I managed to get some rough sketches in while on the tram yesterday, but nothing which stands out too strongly. This one here is a woman reading the paper.

No assignment for this first week except to introduce ourselves to the rest of the class and Chris, fill in the profile, upload a video diary entry (mine is pathetic I should change it), and participate in the scavenger hunt.

I've been watching everything the site has to offer. Tons of info and alot of help. I especially liked the segment on 2D animation. Everything is starting to make sense. And I'm also learning why my attempts at learning this stuff went so badly in the past.

I'm almost half-way throogh Disney's Illusion of Life. It's fascinating. WALT DISNEY is now almost my greatest hero.

I Guess You Want to Know What Happened

Okay, the thesis went badly. Yes, that's right, it went badly. Here's the story:

I was really really tired. Really really bored and really really frustrated witht he way things were going. I didn't care anymore and couldn't possibly do any more work on what was already taking up 20 hours of my days. There was work at Biagetti's, the problems with my permesso di soggiorno, and struggling with a team that didn't have the same self-expectations that I do. I didn't do my best, I let myself down.

Now, in the end the project was finished. Self-critique set off it's alarm a long while ago so I can tell you what i knew didn't work: The soundtrack, the animation, the entire character of Amy, the colours of the park scene, the ambient occlusion, the presentation of the work, the errors in rendering, Amy's skirt-... the list goes on and on. I can also tell you where it began to go wrong: At the very beginning. In my gut I knew I wanted to work alone for this project and twice i invited partners that weren't suited to my vision. More than a few times I let myself be convinced that what I was doing was 'okay' or 'good enough' when in fact I knew it wasn't. I lost respect for the work as a whole.

I learnt alot. I learnt a hell of alot about 3D, XSI and all technical aspects, but I learnt even more about myself. I'm made a certain way. I'm me and there's no reason to try to bend myself into another shape to seem nice or something. I'm certain that in this case the project would have gone better if I had had the confidence to speak my mind.

The comission of the school gave me 25/30. I'll post the project when i finish organising myself for animation mentor which starts next week.

First Bouncing Ball

Accepted into Animation Mnetor

Really, like clockwork my life flips up and round and back again. This morning I recieved my acceptance letter into Animation Mentor, the online animation school.

Man, am I excited... so so so so so very excited.

Y'see I quit my job at Biagetti studios a few weeks back cause I felt overworked and underpaid and I knew there must be some better direction for me to twist in, I made the application to AM and I'm in! Crazy!

So here's plans for the next 4 weeks: Finish Thesis, present thesis, start AM. Wow.

New System

Okay, maybe it goes against natural human chemistry or something, but I've decided to take back control of my life by changing my sleeping habits. Yes, i know it might seems strange, but as they say:

'If what you're doing isn't working, do something else'

and

'The definition of crazy is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results'

and

'Do or do not do, there is no try'

(that's my favorite, cause it comes from yoga, who is green in colour, and so is Kermit the frog... and as we all know, it's not easy being green... so if that's the case, and their still optimists at heart then they must be some really tough four-foot characters.)

My new system is comprised of optimisation of the 'rest' period of the day... Instead of 4 hours in front of the tv, exhausted and then sleep for 8. I've decided to sleep for 4, wake up refreshed, work for 4 and return to bed to sleep for the remaining 4. Last night was my first of the experiment. I'll keep you posted as to how it progresses.

By the way, the work that came out of it was good, clean and efficient.

Nespola

It's been a long long long long time since the last time I was enthused or bedazzled by anything, so I think it deserves an announcement. I have descovered a fruit I never had before and I really really like it!

It's skin is pretty ugly, but you peel it away before you eat it and though it seems pretty banged up and bruised most of the time from the outside, looks can be decieving. The flavor is a bit difficult to describe. It's sour and sweet, but not in a drippy, peach like way. It's not very moist, but has the texture of a melon, or pumpkin. When you reach the centre of the nespola you're rewarded with a precious looking pit. Super smooth, glossy and shiny, the pits (1-3 per fruit from what I've found) of this fruit are 30% of it's fun.

In ancient times the nespola was a symbol for a virtuous woman. It was even given as a gift. It's plant is part of the rose family and was brought to ancient greece from the orient. Now it can grow in any temperate climate which doesn't have a humid or chalky soil. It's full of fibre, fructose, mineral salts, organic acids and vitamin A.

Apparently you can make a pretty great liquer from the fruit and their pits as well.

Goodbye Lindsey Puppy

Yesterday, after 16 years of loyal friendship, Lindsey the dog passed away and left this world. She was a good doggy. She didn't complain, she always made everyone around her happy. She pulled too much on her leash. She liked to eat chicken livers and the parts of a sunnyside up egg that I won't eat. As a puppy she let me dress her up in doll's clothes. She was my dad's best friend. She looked after my mom after he'd gone.

Last night I went to sleep thinking of her and my dad sitting on the shore of a cold mountain lake, fog billowing over the slate grey, matte surface. They seemed happy and calm being together again.

I remember the moment I first saw her. My family had hid her in a wicker basket which had a door that closed with a golden latch. The basket shook and rocked on the laundry room floor and out popped this black and white furry ball of love and cuddles. She was all kisses and wagging tail.

It's hard when a pet dies. Pets don't hurt anyone. They aren't needy. Lindsey was the best of that kind of pet. I hope we did a good job giving her a nice life.

Goodbye puppy, ralphy, lindsey, baby, linds-linds, popcorn paws. I love you.

Too long...

It's insane that I haven't written in so long. I just don't have the time. They say that you need to make the time. make the time to do the things that you need to do to feel good, to get things done, to be okay.

I'm aiming for okay at the moment. I'm pretty sure I'm approaching things all wrong, but I'm finding it hard to find the time to go back over the project plan and start again. What's the project exactly? Who knows. I feel like I'm falling down a staircase... every day is a new bump, but eventually i'm going to get to the bottom and then I'll be able to pick myself up, dust myself off and get on with getting better again.

Nice metaphor. But it's only feelings right?

Okay, here's what the next 4-6 weeks look like: Finish the thesis, go to work, make sure that nobody gets too disappointed in me.

But on the lighter side of things, work's going great. I'm good at my job and I get things done on time. I impress people with my bravado, speed and attention to detail. I'm good at my job.

On other light sides, I've got alot of good stuff to look forward to. I've got the engagement party, the wedding, the summer holiday, the time to relax, the exciting prospect of learning animation (like a pro), heck, I'm even excited about presenting the thesis afterall, oh, and let's not forget picnics.

So what else?

I was traumetized on the tram this morning when the ticket officers hopped on and started demanding violently people's tickets or identity cards. I have to make a mental note to never ever forget my ticket when i no longer have my student visa. I actually saw them push a lady carrying 2 babies and a man with a cane. Presumably they feel it's justified because the lady was from eastern europe and the man was old... both people who couldn't possibly have the same rights to non violence as everyoen else right?

I'm going to try to do better with the writing.

Welcome to my Circus!

And it's weird cause I actually don't even like the circus!

I'll be working on FrouFrou's rig this week.
She's so pretty!

Doggy and Frou Frou

Hey there! Sorry I haven't posted in so long, there's so much to catch up on!

First, the big news: Fabri and I got engaged! We're so excited and happy and nervous and stuff! yippeee!!

Work's going well though I'm still not completely settled in yet. I'm still going only 3 days a week though it looks like they need more of me. I got an imaged published in a design magazine (Made05) a few weeks ago, so that was cool. I'm also getting to know the girls I work with a it better and so far I like them all.

In thesis news, I've just finished modelling Doggy and Frou Frou so here's your first peek! I guess she's a little too Pink, and he's a little too brown, but so far so good!

Basically everything's GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEAAATTT!

No more pencils no more books!!

So I had my last exam yesterday. Man, am I glad it's done with now. That school was trying to kill me or drive me insane with disorganisation and apathy towards its students. Wow. I'm not going to post any of the work I did for the exams this year as I'm not the proudest of any of it. This year has been more about learning as much as I could for the thesis project rather than producing pretty artwork or something. I'm really hoping that I didn't do too badly on any of the exams, but I'm not too sure. I was a bit shaky for Virtual Ambients and Maya Dynamics for a while... and nobody knows for sure what's going to happen to my Motion Builder results...

I started work some time ago, I guess about 4 weeks now. I'm in the studio that handles all the design for YOOX (www.yoox.com) amongst other things. So far it's going great. I get in there in the mornings, 3 days a week, plug in my laptop and get to it. Presently I'm working on the YOOX cover for the month of April... no sneak previews for you though... I'll upload a direct link to it when it's done.

Right now I'm waiting for the landlord and a makeshift plummer. There hasn't been hot water from the faucet in my kitchen since I've lived here and seeing how she wants to raise the rent I have a few demands, hot water for dishwashing being one of them. I've spent my spare time in the last few weeks rearranging the house and furniture and things and this past weekend it was the kitchen. I moved and cleaned under the fridge, fixed the legs on the cabinets (here kitchen cabinets are not built in, hence wobbly after a few years), and rearranged the pantry. I really don't know what's gotten into me.

Anyhow, I should go twiddle my thumbs in a productive manner now as I've discovered this great website for video tutorials www.3dBuzz.com , they're all a bit dated, but the concepts are clear. After the plummer jobby I've got a billion other things to do too. So laters!

Things to do While Waiting for an Exam to Render

1. Update Blog
2. Take a Bath
3. Use a facial mask (Deep Cleansing Emergency Mask - Clinique)
4. Moisturise arms and legs
5. Listen to Supertramp and Neil Diamond
6. Pincurl Hair
7. Wonder why they don't make 'em like they used to
8. Feel alienated
9. Get over feeling alienated
10. Have a cuppa tea
11. Play online games

... oh no! I've run out of ideas of things to do while waiting.

I stated work at Biagetti Studio the other day. It's going well, though I must remember to use my undereye cream. So tired.

Fabri's Diner Complete!

Finally finished the work for4 one exam. Fabri's Diner is done and I don't want to look at it again even if the exam was moved and I have another class before they reschedule.

Now I only have to finish Virtual Ambients (real-time), Maya, Shake, Motion Builder and Animation exams before my 3 year course is finished. Yay for me!!!

One of Those Days

I don't feel like working today.

I tried to complain to Ate, but he made me realise that his job is about 1000 times worse than anything I'm ever going to have to do. He's busy writing forecasts or something. I didn't know he was a weather man!

Today we had Virtual Ambients class. Basically, 3D for games, realtime. I hate it. Every time I think of doing something nice in that environment I can't. No reflections, no refractions, no glows etc. No way to get to photorealism, so you might as well just come up with something completely different. Bleh.

I don't feel like working. I could think about how to control the trampoline for the dog's tale, but I don't know how well it's going to come out.

I could play Sims, but I'd probably just end up feeling guilty for wasting an afternoon.

Anyhow, here's a composite of the work for the diner that I put together yesterday. It's too dark. I have to work on the lighting... and the shadows and specularity are missing. Ho-hum. I guess I could work on that.

But I don't want to. But I guess I will.

Fabri's Diner

I'm working on a rendering for my XSI advanced course. It's a burger on a table at 'Fabri's Diner'. Here are some shots of the progress. I've divided it in passes for better rendering and control in post.




This is another project I'm working in... It's for a real-time application. It's a hotel of sorts, and the hallway that goes with it. Neither of these are near finished yet.

Happy 2007!

Hey! Happy New Year! It's been ages since I've updated anything. Anyhow, here's the newer news.

Fabri and I went to Taranto for Christmas and new years. It was nice, but slow as I didn't have very much to do while there. I've been reading Moby Dick by Hermann Melville and it's been making me have dreams about whales. I've also relaised how limited my vocabulary in English has become. I've got to keep the wheels turning up there or my brain is going to rust over completely. New years' eve itself was probably the tamest I've ever had outside of Montreal and in the past 10 years, btu i didn't mind at all... I'm done with new years' eve. Not in a bah-humbug kind of a way, but in a mature, sophisticated kind of way.

I think I need to get a laptop.

Mario and Lucrezia's wedding is this Friday and I'm excited for it. I got a brown dress and brown shoes and a brown bag and a brown shawl and a brown coat for it. Hee hee hee. Lucrezia got all teary-eyed at the movie theatre yesterday when we were saying goodbye cause we started joking and saying 'see you at the church' and I guess it's the first time it sunk in for her. (I got teary-eyed too a bit... shhhh) I'll try to post some photos when I get them. That reminds me I should charge my camera.