OrangeHeart

My Demo Reel

2007-04-22T22:43:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to posting my demo on Youtube, and there is a link on the side under 'Links'.
Or, click here.

Art for Sale

2007-03-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

I have a number of paintings for sale if anybody is interested. I haven't had a chance to display these for a few years and if they can find a new home where someone will be able to display and appreciate them, then that would be great. The square ones are all 4 by 4 feet, and the shaped one is approximately 4 by 5 feet. They are all done on finished plywood and then sealed to protect the surface. Some need very minor touch ups which I would complete. They all have a hanging setup on the back. Price negotiable.

What's new

2007-03-03T14:02:00.000-05:00

Not much to be honest. Work is good and we are making good progress. I think people will be surprised by what we've been able to accomplish.
Also, here's a render of the car I submitted to the Peugeot design competition, but it didn't get selected. Oh well. It was fun to try it...

Changes

2006-11-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

So I haven't updated in a long time... life got busy. I left IDT a month ago and accepted a job at Spin Productions to work on an Effects film called Outlander. It's a new experience working on a film integrating the animation into live action. Long ago I worked on a TV series called Ace Lightning where we did the same kind of thing, but this is a whole new level of detail.
I'm also entering a design into the Online Peugeot Car design contest. Those who know me know I've got a bit of an interest in cars and Formula 1... so the design was an attempt to integrate the two interests. Peugeot does have a bit of a background in Formula 1 supplying engines. My design is the first even remotely complicated object I've tried to model on the computer, but it's turning out fairly well. I'll post some pics if I get a chance after the contest closes.

The Wild

2006-04-12T22:09:00.000-04:00

So..... we had our Toronto staff preview on April 11th. It was the first chance I had to watch the film with all the final bells and whistles, and the first time I had seen anything for over six months! Pretty crazy. I animated on the film for two years. I'm not one to get all sentimental about it.... working on The Wild was a lot of fun, and we had some crazy talented people working with us. It was my first feature, and the friends I made are now all over the place. So what did I think of the movie? It went by fast. It looked better than I expected, and there was all kinds of new dialogue I don't remember. We're getting our work next week after the film comes out and if I figure out how, I'll put some clips up of stuff I did. Some of the shots I animated include the squirrel slapping his butt (that's in the trailer), the shots of Benny the Squirrel getting stuck in Samson's nostril and trying to get out, Nigel the Koala going crazy on the boat ride to Africa, some of the gazelle stampede stuff, and lots more that I forget. Anyway, I hope people give it a chance and don't just write it off as a Madagascar ripoff, and just sit back and enjoy themselves for an hour and a half.

Another plug

2006-03-31T10:42:00.000-05:00

For Surly Squirrel..... it's on the Siggraph '05 Animation Festival DVD. It's been racking up more awards all over the place. Yay Peter!

So much for the news...

2006-03-29T18:32:00.000-05:00

Having a family changes a lot of things. One of those things is that you are only one person in a group. I had another offer from a big animation studio in California and this time I thought 'This is it! I'm going for it!". The previous offers were always 'we need you here yesterday!' or the timing was bad. There's more to life than work. We live right beside a great school, our house is feeling more like home, and we've saved up a bit to do something fun, and we're near family. Plus the stuff I'm working is fun anyway! Why give that up? It looks like we're settling in Toronto for the foreseeable future. I won't rule it out down the road, but right now I just need a place to settle with the family.

the kids:

big news soon....

2006-03-02T23:18:00.000-05:00

I'll spill when it's official...

another...

2005-12-08T21:58:00.000-05:00

here's another painting from a while ago

More Art

2005-11-12T21:38:00.000-05:00

Here's the last painting I finished... a bit different. It's hanging in my Dining room. My daughters toys are sitting on a table in front of it...ignore those... It's called The Starfruit Tree, and it started as an unfinished painting that I din't know what to do with. I had grown a starfuit tree on a window ledge from a seed (one of my few successes at gardening), and just got inspired one day. I plugged away at this painting for months off and on and it was one of the most enjoyable paintings I've ever done.

New Job

2005-11-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

So, I finished at Core, and am starting at IDT Toronto this Monday. It was a great experience at Core, but IDT will be a very nice change. Lots of old friends are there, and it will be a new challenge which is always a good thing! My three week vacation felt like it lasted 3 days. Dammit.

Baby!

2005-11-02T22:32:00.000-05:00

Well, we had another girl! Isabel Johnston, born Oct. 23rd at 9:58 am. Mom and baby are feeling great and we can say goodbye to sleeping in, but it's worth it.

Another painting....

2005-10-03T22:18:00.000-04:00

Painting

2005-10-03T22:12:00.001-04:00

I have about 15 or 20 of these things sitting in my basement... all 4 x 4 feet on sanded plywood.

current music....

2005-10-02T23:13:00.000-04:00

Death From Above 1979. Wow. Pick up the EP called Heads Up if you can find it.
Hard-Fi : Stars of the CCTV
Sebadoh : Bakesale (oldie but a goodie)
Arcade Fire (of course)

Another....

2005-10-02T22:08:00.000-04:00

Just a sketch....

2005-09-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

Surly Squirrel

2005-09-29T23:19:00.000-04:00

So Surly Squirrel is kicking ass out there on the festival circuit. 5 awards in 7 festivals! Congratulations to my friend Peter Lepeniotis on a super job! I hope you all get a chance to see it. It's on the Siggraph Animation Festival reel for 2005. Check it out!

Mount St. Helens

2005-08-22T15:26:00.000-04:00

I've always had an interest in volcanoes and natural phenomena, and ever since Mount St. Helens erutpted I've been watching as the lava dome within the crater has grown over the last year, but it looks like it's slowing down quite a bit. Less earthquakes, and slower lava extrusion.

Here's a link to the VolcanoCam where you can track what's happening right now.

Joe Ranft

2005-08-20T00:18:00.000-04:00

I've neglected to update this with anything lately. Life got busy, my wife and I are having another baby, we're renovating the house, the job is coming to an end soon.... but hearing the news of Joe Ranft's passing hit me really hard.

We all love to be told a good story.

Joe Ranft told great stories.

Stories are told for so many different reasons, but lately most of the seemingly important stories we are told are to create fear in us to forward a cause, like in politics.

I used to be a pretty negative person, but since the birth of my daughter I've done everything possible to be more positive and set a good example for her, and listen to stories with a positive heart and life, and they've been difficult to find. The stories that Joe Ranft told were all included in that goal. It's not about putting blinders on, it's about looking at the postive side of things.

As an animator I try in some small way to be a story teller as well, and... when somebody who has told so many great stories and had so many more to tell is taken away at such a young age it is just heartbreaking. I had never met him, but as stupid as it sounds, when I saw him in all the DVD's and interviews, it almost felt like I did know him. I wish I could have known him. He told stories to make people happy, and unfortunately that seems to be a rarity these days. What a terrible, terrible loss. But the stories will live on.

And they are a treasure.

ROTS

2005-05-29T20:04:00.000-04:00

So I watched Return of the Sith last night, and I have to say I liked it more than I expected. You know, you hear this and that before you watch a movie and you try to prepare yourself.... but it was pretty good! The audience I watched it with didn't laugh too much at the corny bits so maybe that helped...

New Music: Stephen Malkmus - Face the Truth

Well, uh.... first post?

2005-05-24T21:19:00.000-04:00

So here it is. I'm on the web.