Pixels

Keeping with the theme from yesterday of great videos that are short and sweet, but still show what a person can really do, here is another video. This one plays up the nerd factor more so than yesterday's, but is still really well made. Maybe even more so than yesterday's.

Panic Attack

My hope for when I graduate is to be able to produce something like this video. It's nothing extraordinarily amazing, but it shows what someone can do without a big studio. If I can produce something short and sweet like this, I won't have to worry about finding a job. My work will speak for itself and get me hired.

Rendering Sucks: The Final Result

So, I figured after all the whining I did about how horrible rendering is, the least I could do is share with you what all the fuss was about. Here is my final project for my Materials & Lighting class:



The assignment was to simply texture a scene using multiple methods and light it. I decided to take a short animation I had previously made, with no textures or lighting whatsoever, and take it to the next level. Hands down the worse experience I've had with any final. However, I finally got it finished and to a point where I can be happy with it. Still not quite what I wanted, but good enough.

I Am the Greatest Lover in All the World!

For the next 24 hours, this man is my idol:


OK, so he's not really a man, but he's still my idol. Tomorrow, I have to perform a monologue for my Theater midterm; mine being from the play, Don Juan. Don Juan, for those who are not familiar with the character, is a womanizer whom believes himself to be the greatest lover in all the world. In deciding how to perform my monologue, I decided to base my performance on Puss In Boots, from Shrek 2. Puss In Boots has that perfect blend of theatrics, arrogance, honor, and humor.

So, tomorrow, I will be Don Juan, by way of Puss In Boots. Prepare to be amazed.

Pixar vs. Dreamworks

For all my fellow animators.

Feeling Old, Part II

The fact that there has to be a Part II to last night's entry is just plain sad, but two more incidents happened today that were the final nails in the coffin of me feeling old.

The first occurred immediately when I woke up this morning; my body was sore. Now, it wasn't me being sore that made me feel old, it was the fact that I had no idea why I was sore. I get sore all the time, but I know it's because I did some sort of physical activity the day before; maybe I ran or spent the entire night tearing it up on the dance floor. Today I woke up and could not think of a single reason why I should be sore. Isn't that what happens when you get old? Doesn't your body hurt for no reason? I spent half the day trying to think of why I'd be sore... with no success. This was it; I truly was turning into an old man. Luckily, my sister came to my rescue and reminded me that I went bowling last night. Eureka! My soreness had its cause. Still, being sore because of bowling doesn't make me feel much better, and not being able to remember going bowling only the night before makes me feel like my memory is fading.

However, that wasn't the worse deciding factor today. The thing that really made me feel old, but in a sort of good, nostalgic way, was when I played Disc 1 of Season 4 of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon for my little sister. She had never seen watched it, so I thought it'd be good if I schooled her a bit in classic cartoons. We didn't even get through a full episode before she thought it was ridiculous. Even the opening theme song sounded old to her. I looked at her and couldn't help but laugh at the fact that she thought a cartoon I used to worship as a kid was now a relic. I have to admit, that cartoon has not held up kindly to the tests of time. As I watched the jumpy animation and heard the dated slang being spoken, I saw my childhood float away on the television screen.

It's official: I'm getting old.

Major Lazer's "Keep It Goin' Louder"

I love cartoons. I have to; I'm an animator. I'm almost positive that it's some sort of an animator law. And as an adult that loves cartoon, I of course watch the shows on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. That's a no brainer.

Well, most of them, anyway. There are some shows on Adult Swim that I find so mind-numbingly dumb, that they're like torture to watch all the way through. At the top of that list is Tom and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! I think that show is just ridiculous and I have never been able to watch an entire episode. Some people love it, and I can respect that, but I think it's just stupid.

That said, I have to admit that I think the music video for Major Lazer's "Keep It Goin' Louder" is kind of funny, considering that it's directed by Eric Wareheim; one half of the comedy duo responsible for Tom and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!

It's the same sort of humor and graphics as the show, but somehow it works a lot better as a singular music video than it does as an actual TV series. Check it out and let me know what you think.