My Little CrockPot of News and Thoughts

Well, it's here. Almost. The DVD project that I've been working on at Ignite for the past several months is almost finished. To bring you all up to speed on the project, Ignite is releasing a series of nine DVDs. Each disc will cover a different Science related topic and will contain animated media (or animated shorts depending on who you ask) about that topic. For example, Disc 2 is about the Earth, Moon, and Sun and it contains pieces about Earth's seasons, solar storms, phases of the moon, etc. As of last week, the Squibs website is up and running, but not quite ready to take orders. The last six discs will be added in the coming weeks. I'm excited to see the project finished and hold the DVDs in my hands. Having an actual product in hand makes it easier for people to grasp what it is an animator does. I know it doesn't seem like it would be a difficult concept to understand, but when answering the question of what it is that I do, I am still met with blank stares or comments like "Well, you draw me something real nice to read in the Sunday Funnies".

*sigh*

Update: After reading Brandon's nice comment, it occurred to me that I should mention that I am only building things that pertain to the actual DVD... such as the menu, robot characters, animated openings to the DVD menu, etc. The individual media pieces were put together for Ignite by a studio outside of the US. Though I have done a few media pieces myself, some of which are included in the DVD series, I am too ashamed to admit which ones they are. Hope I cleared up any confusion you probably didn't have to begin with.

It was a great weekend. There was much celebrating as I welcomed in my 25th year on this Earth... Amanda and I did all kinds of stuff around town. Needless to say we are all recovering (the city of Austin included). Many, many thanks to Elisa for this great gift! Yesterday evening I did this illustration for my aunt. It's supposed to go with the caption "Suppertime", but I like to think of it as a glimpse into my future. Click on the illustration for a larger view.

... and we're back from our trip to the beach. *whew* What a week! To recap the weeks events, I did a lot of nothing. It was wonderful! I was able to check off several things from the "to do" list in my last post... except the jellyfish task... I was never able to find one... Several pages in the sketchbook were filled, the above image being one of them. For some reason I saw a lot of stuff this trip that I have never seen before on any of my other trips to the beach. Besides seeing a bunch of dolphins playing (which I had seen before), I saw fish jumping out of the water, seven sand sharks chasing schools of small fish, a water spout, a giant, full rainbow, and my mom rocking out to music of my choice. While I was seeing all of those things, I never once thought to grab my camera and document any of them... I'd make a horrible detective, I just know it.

Yes everyone, as of today I am out of here for a week. Amanda and I will meeting up with the family and hitting the beach. Here are a list of things I hope to get accomplished while I'm away: 1. Not wear shoes 2. Draw 3. Continue drawing 4. Hit my brother in the face with the unhappy end of a jellyfish Hopefully when we get back and I'll have some drawings to share. Keep your fingers crossed.