Mongadillo Blog

ZDAY seems to be well received

2012-01-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

After only 3 days in the App Store, ZDAY: Survival Simulator has done better than i expected in terms of sales. I think I am going to put off the Android deployment until I get the first major update released. Some of the richer features and interactivity that we had to prune from the original concept need to be added, now that we have a good looking and stable build.

I would like to add the ability to use found items, start tracking injuries, and add the possibility of survivor revolt back into the design. I would also like to add conditional encounters, which will open up a world of possibilities, including the ability to allow the player to move freely through the encounters, and even BACKTRACK if they need to. This will add a whole new dimension to the game, and a new dimension to gameplay which I am very excited to have back.

Stay tuned ZDAY fans, there is so much more to come...

This is the image we will be using in the upcoming patch, it will allow you to post the shameful fact that you were eaten.

ZDAY version 1 is LIVE!

2012-01-09T09:23:00.001-08:00

Hooray!
ZDAY is up on the App Store

http://www.zdaynow.com

Adventures in Game Development

2011-11-09T15:11:00.001-08:00

The last few months have been extremely busy for me. Between working for a year and a half on a iOS project called "Toonies" for iPad, I have also undertaken a project that is very close to my heart called "Z-Day" that I am developing for iOS and Android OS. In addition to that, I am also developing a mobile app based on the Television property "Wilbur" for my friends at Mercury Filmworks in Ottawa.

Now it can't be overstated that I am not a programmer. For each of these projects I have contracted out the development work, and I am doing the game design, concept, and a lot of the artwork. I also contract out a bit of the art and animation, I hired out musicians, sound designers, background artists, and even voice talent.

I have learned a lot this year about developing games in the mobile market. I have learned about software development platforms first hand, like Torque 3D by Garage Games, Unity 3D, and Corona SDK. I think my favorite may be Corona, but I'll let you know when that project is over.

Here is an image from my upcoming game "ZDay", it's a zombie survival simulator that rigorously tests the player's ability to survive a zombie apocalypse. it is going to be very very cool.

Shark found dead in woods of New Hampshire

2011-08-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

An approximately 7 foot shark was found mysteriously dead in the woods of New Hampshire today.

The news media chose to laugh about it, and speculate about fishermen, pranksters, etc. But we know what really happened.

That's right, he must have really messed up, and he paid the price. The Shark equivalent of cement shoes, the "dry land treatment"

Mac mini SSD

2011-06-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a brief update on my latest desktop build. Its not a build per se, but an upgrade.
I picked up a Mac Mini 2.26GHZ, stripped the S L O W stock 5400 RPM hard drive out, as well as the stock 2GB RAM, and added 8GB or RAM, and an Intel 320 series SSD drive.

The box came apart and went back together really easily. Took about half an hour, and I've never taken a Mini apart before, so that tells you how easy it is.

This things screams. Starts from powered down to useable desktop in under 20 seconds. Restarts in 22. Competes with my Quad Core Zeon in terms of performance.

Really happy with it. I highly recommend it to anyone who has one of these things and wants a little more pep.

Toonies Goes live - sort of

2011-06-10T12:03:00.000-07:00

Super Toonies of the Forever is live on the App Store. Tons to do, you can feed Sasquatch a Squirrel, give him a bunny, or make the skunk spray him. Try to figure out how to make a Squirrel Dance party, a bunny attack, or a Frog Party.

But...the best is yet to come.

We are "re-releasing" it in about a month with a brand new 3D game engine under the hood, as well as a new pod, which will include a new scene and new toonie. In addition, I am planning to support Toonies with updates for the next 12-15 months, each month adding a new toonie and new scene, which you can collect for FREE! once you have them all, you will really have a great and diverse collection of toonies.

So grab your free version of Toonies now, because when we release, there will be several awesome new features, new animations, and much more robust performance.

**Only for iPad 1 or 2.

Screenshot:

Make your own Wacom Cintiq 15 USB cable

2011-06-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

This is the saga of me trying to save a few (hundred) bucks on setting up an additional animation workstation with a Mac and a Cintiq Monitor while saving as much dough as possible (the economy sucks right?)

So instead of taking the "easy route" and buying a 12x Cintiq new ($999USD) and an iMac or Mac Mini to connect it to ($1399-$999) for a total of between $2000-$2400 total for the hardware.

I thought I'd try to keep the total cost for hardware under $1000. Sounds impossible right? Well it almost was.

I first had to decide what Mac I was going to use as the base, and I was drawn pretty quickly to the venerable Mini. I know that Apple has deemed them obsolete this year, except for the server configuration (no disc drive, two HDDs) But I didnt want new anyway, so I set out to find a good Mini from the past.

Minis have been through many iterations over the last five years, and the differences between models are subtle but important. First of all, I only considered the Intel processors, the PowerPC are no longer supported by OSX, and that just doesn't make sense going forward, although they are dirt cheap as a result of that being the common sentiment among buyers.

So I narrowed my search to Intel Minis, but I noticed quickly that the Core2Duo gives measurable performance boosts over the previous Core Duo models, so I narrowed the search to include only Core2Duo and later, which date back to 2007. The first Core2Duo is the 1.83GHZ model from 2007. Both the 2007 models have two real difference that sets them apart from the 2009 and later models; and that is RAM and Front Side Bus Speed. The RAM issue is that the motherboard can only support a maximum of 4GB, even after Apple updated the Firmware. The 2007 Minis previously only supported a max of 2GB. But Minis made in 2009 and later came from the factory able to support 4GB, and with the new Firmware they can be boosted to 8GB. Now that's a respectable number.

So I narrowed my search again, to only include 2009 and later Minis. The processor options are; 2.0GHZ, 2.26, 2.53, and 2.66 (rare custom factory upgrade).

Now this next part is kind of silly, but it's my way of looking at things, so bear with me, it's not for the squeamish:

I started on eBay, now I know, the deals aren't as plentiful as they used to be, but if you're patient, you'll find them. Well I found not one, but two Minis all at a very good price. And I was also scanning Craigslist, and found a good deal there too. So I bought all three.

What I did next required even more patience and a little bravado:
I found a New in box, lightly used 2010 Mini 2.53GHZ for $500 on Craigslist, drive across town, and bought it.
I bought a 2007 2.0GHZ Mini for $310 incl. shipping (I know what I said before but this one was too good to pass up)
I bought a third 2.26 GHZ 2010 Mini for $490 incl. shipping.

I then sold the $500 Mini For $618 to the highest bidder for a small profit after eBay/PayPal fees
I then sold the $310 2.0GHZ Mini for $450 on Craigslist for $140 profit.
Making my total out of pocket on the third system a meager $320.

Very cool, got the system, my plan was to make the Mini perform like a beast by upgrading the RAM to 8GB ($98) and the SUPER SLOW hard drive to a 40GB Intel 320 Series SSD drive ($85) for the system drive. I plan to use an external drive to store work and files, etc.

So that puts me at $520 for the upgraded system.

The Cintiq was a real challenge. I scoured the earth for a month before a good looking candidate came up. I had pretty quickly figured the Cintiq 15X would fit the bill nicely, not as much pressure sensitivity as the UX models, but 512 is plenty for my ham-fisted drawing style. ;)

I zeroed in on a few, but they always seemed to go to $600 or so, and I always backed off. But I eventually got one for $330 shipped.
But I soon found out why it was so cheap: it included no power supply, no pen, and no USB cable. The power supply was easy, $30 shipped, had it in 2 days. Wacom still sells the Grip Pen for the Cintiq 15X, but OUCH! its $60. No avoiding that though.

But the USB cable was no easy task. You might think it would be, but Wacom used a proprietary sort of USB cable, which looks like a 4 pin analog S-Video Cable on the monitor end, and a regular 4 pin USB cable on the other. They no longer sell them, and neither does anyone else.

I searched the web for days, and eventually I stumbled upon an obscure link for someone else who had this problem, and discovered you can splice two cables together if you know the pin-mapping on both.

I contacted Wacom support and they confirmed this, and even sent me a diagram. (see below)

Well that didn't make much sense to me, so I carved my way through an s-video cable and eye-balled the pin mapping.

I came up with this:

Now in the S-Video cable I used, there were two wires, one red and one White, but each one also contained a small grey coated wire. Those are indicated above with a circle/dot in front of the color.

I mapped these and it works perfectly.

I am now the happy owner of a Screaming Mac Mini with an SSD drive, 8GB of RAM running a Cintiq 15X and a 17" LCD monitor as a 2nd display ($30).

Total cost: (drumroll......)

Mini (incl upgrades) - $520

Cintiq 15X - Incl power supply - $420

2nd display - $30

Grande Total - $990!! And you should see this thing perform, it's fast, boots in 23 seconds from off to desktop, and launches apps like Sketchbook pro and Photoshop in seconds. I dare say much faster than any Mini on the block.

So there you go, I hope this helps anyone else out there who has a Cintiq 15X and needs a cable, or just wants a few tips on how to spend several hours in order to save hundreds of dollars.

E3

2011-06-03T09:56:00.001-07:00

I am getting ready to attend E3 next week, taking a few apps with me, and doing some recon on the independent game industry. Meeting the Cerulean guys in person for the first time. Stay tuned for daily posts about this fantastic event.

Toonies - The next big thing

2010-11-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Yea, I'll go ahead and go out on a limb here and point at the fences. I think "Toonies" is going to be the best iPad/iPhone game ever.

Main reason, it's like nothing else out there. Yea, that's what everybody says about their game. But I think this time it's true.

Here are some images from production.

These are early character designs for the Sasquatch character.

A color test

We are hoping to submit binary in a month, and with any luck, release by Dec 20.

"Seal the Border" - Really?

2010-08-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

So I can't help but here all the political schmucks on TV and otherwise banging on the political hot button of Border Security/Immigration. Not the least of which, Mrs. Jan Brewer, Gov. of AZ seemed more or less silent or at least much less shrill on the subject when G-Dub was in office, but she now chooses to sign racially insensitive and highly unrealistic legislation into law in her state to do nothing more than bring attention to the fact that the President can't do anything about the approximately 2.5 million people who illegally cross the US/Mexican border each year. She doesn't say anything about how Ronald Reagan also couldn't do anything about it, nor could GHW Bush, nor could Clinton. It wouldn't be a very good Republican rallying call if she said the truth; "You cannot seal the US/Mexico border, but let's blame Obama for it being so porous!" The fact is that there is no easy way to "fix" immigration, but the fact is that the argument of "closing the border" isn't even the same as the immigration reform argument, and here's why:

What Jan Brewer loves to say about immigration reform every time a news camera points at her wrinkled, sun bleached mug is that "The current administration isn't doing it's job". Well that sounds like quite a damnation, but it's not true. As a side note in fact, with 26 days of vacation time taken during his first year in office (compared to 77 days during GW's first year on the job - see factcheck.org) I'd say he's working more than his Republican counterpart, and remember, GW didn't fix the border problem either.

So when asked how they would go about fixing "the border problem" Republicans like Mrs. brewer tend to state that first you have to "seal the border". This argument tells me something I already knew; that Republicans lack imagination and love to throw around inflammatory statements that get the less intellectual elements of their base fired up. But they don't have any ideas as to HOW to go about this magic task, and if asked directly, they might fall back on the "let's build a fence" idea. Again, this proves they not only have no imagination, it may even suggest that they are in fact out of touch with reality. The US/Mexico border is not a screen door that some kid forgot to close when he ran outside to chase the ice cream truck. it is almost 2000 miles of mostly desert terrain that is at best, impossible to monitor. When asked for a solution to the immigration issue by Rick Sanchez of CNN, Dan Stein of the organization called "F.A.I.R." (Federation for American Immigration Reform). [read: racist white supremacists] He suggested that the US Government has lost the ability to regulate immigration in this country. I would like to ask this gentleman WHEN did the US government ever have the ability to regulate immigration?

The US border with Mexico is 1920 miles long. Thats almost 10.5 million feet if you want to build a fence. 8 foot chain link fence costs about $4 a foot to install. I'm sure the US Government could award one of it's famously shrewd government contracts that would cost not more than $400 a foot. But let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they could get it for the same price I could. You better get out your checkbook, it will run you upwards of 40 million dollars, oh and don't forget you're going to need to pay to have it installed, thats another 40 million if you're thrifty, and about 100,000 people to effectively guard it. Before you do lock the fence however, you also better find the trillions of tax dollars that the "illegal" migrants pay in taxes (both sales tax and income taxes) as well as revenues spent in the private sector on rent, gas, food, tequila ;) and everything else from baby clothes to tickets to baseball games. And after that money has been taken out of the equation, you might need to find around 3 million Americans willing to work for less than $11K a year to pick those delicious strawberries that are priced so fairly in the local super market, PS - wear a hat and some sunscreen, it's hot out there.

The US needs Immigrant labor, and the Immigrant laborers need to be given a chance to make their lives better. The border cannot be closed. Illegal aliens in this country can't get good jobs, they can only get the kinds of jobs we don't want. When is the last time you were waiting for your interview at that software company and you had a guy in a sombrero waiting for his chance to interview? I have had many jobs (all of which paid a damned sight better than $11K/year) and at all of them I had to go through great lengths to prove my citizenship. These people aren't stealing any jobs, they are taking jobs that we need them to do, and they are working incredibly hard, just to take care of their families.

The border violence argument: I have also heard the scare tactics that come from folks who feel like the illegal immigrants are placed into too forgiving a light, they claim that they are gun running and cutting people's heads off in the desert. Yes, there is drug related border violence, agreed. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with immigration law. Mexican drug cartels are competing for one thing only; money. This money comes from every college student, high school kid and movie star who buys pot and cocaine from their local drug dealer who happened to buy his stuff from a drug cartel, either directly or through many hands. Start reforming drug laws in this country, the war on drugs and US drug policy is failed, and it feeds money to the cartels by creating a black market for pot that should be decriminalized while failing to do a damn thing about demand. While you're at it, take a look at reforming gun laws, I'm sure there is a reason millions of dollars in weapons and explosives from the US end up in the hands of murderous gangs every year, and I have a sneaking suspicion it has a lot to do with the 2nd amendment.

There, I feel a bit better.

Shawks Voice Casting

2010-05-18T15:48:00.001-07:00

Well I heard the voice actors read through some of the new scripts today, and passed notes on which ones I liked, etc. It's weird to hear new actors in some of the roles that have always been voiced by friends of mine, but in general they sound pretty good. I think with some coaching they will all get to where we need them to be. I think the toughest one of all for me to hear was Randy. All of the actors really seemed to be trying too hard. Some of it was enough to make me want to jam a pencil in my ear.

Kickoff with Cerulean games

2010-05-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well today I signed a contract with Dave Calabrese (Cerulean games) to start development of the iPhone/iPod game that I have long suffered over. Now that I'm throwing a sufficient amount of money at it, it will finally come to something. I have really high hopes, and the best intentions of making something really special out of this. This project is going to move very fast, and with hard work and some luck it should be in the Apple store by late July. I will post updates and progress reports as I have them.

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

As usual, I'm confused by Easter.

My iPad Review

2010-04-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

I was on the fence about getting an iPad at first. I just didn't feel like I needed it. I have my Mac Pro, with which I do all my video and animation work. I also have (had) a Macbook Pro, which I bought in 2007 to aid me in my working trips. While it was never perfect showing films and images on my laptop, it was really the only alternative to making people crowd around my iPhone to watch video. But soon my tech-lust managed to weave a story in my head, "what if you sold the macbook?" it whispered. The rationalization was easy: since I don't do too much traveling, and the only thing I do when I travel is show my work, (ie. films, images, and maybe a script or pitch, all of which are visual presentations) I also do email, the odd online airport check-in, etc. but really nothing that demands a full blown Macbook Pro. My rationalizing also thought about practical reasons; "it's cheaper, its smaller, lighter. Think of the money you would save!" That was enough, I pre-ordered two days after Macworld.

So I sold off the Macbook Pro, and easily had the dough to pick up this fantastic little toy with a few hundred left over for my pocket. yea, straight of the box it's slick, and with it I will present my ridiculous cartoons to unsuspecting executives all over the globe.

My configuration; 64 GB WiFi only. I think the 3G thing is a pretty good deal, $15/mo. with no contract, but the idea for me was that this device would fit the same niche as the Laptop did, and WiFi is sufficient for Hotels, Airports, and coffee shops. I have had the iPad (still hate the name) for 72 hours, and my review is that this is what I needed all along for travel and light work. Obviously no heavy lifting needed on the road, I can create and edit documents using "pages" ($9.99) and the rest is super easy and fun stuff.
Mail is a bit better than on the iPhone, with a large preview pane on the right, and stacks of messages if you choose multiple messages at once. ITunes and iPod apps are also more Robust, as well as the Photos App, which has a few different ways to view your image library.

The thing I like the most isn't really tangible, I tend to early adopt when i like the direction something is going. I consider it an affirmative vote for the product family, rather than a complete acceptance of the product itself. I like this direction, it's getting people excited again about mobile computing, and thats always good. I'm most excited about the sheer number of apps that will be available for this thing in a year. Don't get me wrong, it's already a great device with amazing capabilities, it makes every game and app I already have look 2x as good.
I should mention the battery life is amazing. I have had the thing for three days, off and on, the kids have played with it, and it still has 50% battery left, and that was straight out of the box, I have yet to even plug it in once! The screen rez. is amazing, I can't wait to see my iPhone game on this thing!

The one small complaint is the thing is weird to type on when its laid flat, either on a table or your lap. You want at least a 20 degree angle for it to feel normal. I have ordered the case that Apple makes, that should take care of that complaint. oh, and the way the screen shows off fingerprints looks a little yucky when its turned off, ick.

So for the money, yea, its what I needed, and a really beautiful thing. Go get one.

Shawks development

2010-01-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I first blogged that "Shawks" was being developed into a television series. I figure its about time to update the blog.
So without giving away any secrets or spoiling anything, I will say that things are going well. Mercury has hired Alex Galatis, who has been working most recently on "Jimmy Two Shoes". I like Alex a lot, and thankfully he takes my notes and criticisms without taking them personally. I sometimes have a hard time expressing an idea or suggesting changes without them sounding critical. Disney XD has so far been pretty enthusiastic, and although they have asked for some pretty major changes to the show's structure and format, I still really believe the show has most of its original integrity. I look forward to more character design in the coming weeks, and soon scripts are going to start being written. So for now I'm staying busy, helping with notes and ideas, and keeping my fingers crossed for that green light, hopefully by Summer. I'm cautiously optimistic, but I really think this show has legs, I always have. Fish On!

TAC 2009 Retrospective

2009-10-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

My 3rd trip to the TAC in Ottawa concluded the 18th of October this year. This was the first year I have attended the OIAF as well as the TAC, the Animation Festival is a great place to see new animation from independents as well as larger studios. I enjoyed the energy and vitality of the young animators and fans that attended. I wish I could somehow suck just some of the youth out of them, they wouldn't miss it, and they don't know how lucky they are. But in truth, I was young once, and I really enjoyed it, so I can't say I didn't have my turn. Besides, I'm not even 40 yet, and I feel pretty great considering what I've done (and had done) to my body over the last 30 years.
So back to speaking of the TAC, sorry for the digression. I was pitching two new show concepts this year, one is a preschool show that Brian L and I created, which I really hoped would hit the mark with PBS. Linda Simensky said she liked it, which is encouraging, but we won't know how it will go until we go farther with talking and explaining our concept. The other show I was pitching was a sketch comedy variety show. I really wish I could do a show like this, but I didn't pin a lot of hope to it, pitching animated variety show is like selling real estate on the Moon, anyone can sell it, but nobody's buying. The Shawks project is moving along, although very slowly, I'm glad to say I am happy with the team thats involved. I hung out with Mike from Disney and Brian Larson from RIT couple of nights, Mike's one of only a few that have the constitution to go out drinking with me these days, it take a pro, and he's a pro, it was just good fun. So here's to another year of working on shows and throwing things at the wall to se what sticks.

Microsoft introduces a Phone too!

2009-10-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Not to be outdone, the geniuses at Microsoft have decided that a Phone with a touch screen that can run a bunch of useful applications would be a great idea. Although the new phone has a touch screen, and useful icons as well as a soft keypad like that of the iPhone, they deny that there is any similarity between their phone and the iPhone.
Microsoft Phones have a lot of features that the iPhone will not. For instance, the new Microsoft phone, currently code named "the Catch-Up", has only three buttons, "control", "alt", and "delete", for when the phone freezes up on a crash. It also has a power button, which users will be able to use when the control+alt+delete doesn't unfreeze the crash. In addition, the Phone will have a separate processor to handle phone calls, so that you can still send and receive phone calls while hung up on a crash, or waiting for a restart on a crash. Personally, I think its great, I just hope they have a really great icon for when you crash.

Microsoft, you are so funny. You're like the really rich but unpopular girl at the party that buys coke for all her friends, and then gets ditched in the bathroom at the biker bar. Good Luck with your next failure.

BMW Shirt

2009-09-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get a cool T-Shirt, something that reflected the spirit of a vintage airhead BMW. Fact is, there's just nothing cool out there. Yea, there's a lot of stupid looking junk on Cafe press, but I wouldn't wear it, much less pay for it.

So I made my own. My apologies to the BMW folks, as I have infringed on your copyright, but I do it in your name, so please forgive those who trespass.

Now available on Amazon.com

2009-08-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

iPhone apps coming along nicely, just this week I licensed iTGB from Garage Games, which will hopefully make designing and creating games easier and the games more robust. I am also doing some work for a few clients that need animation and design for their iPhone apps. It's an exciting time to be in the application biz, I find it quite refreshing to be able to conceive an idea, create and execute it, and then take it to market all without having to get approval from anyone (other than going through the process of Apple approval that is, but thats easy relative to what I've been through in TV).

So it's back to the wild West for me, just like back in the 90's when we were doing anything that we wanted, and getting paid (although not much), it sure is fun. I hope to mark a great deal of progress on my own apps in the next month or two, I have hired a programmer named Ken Baer to help with the heavy lifting on the coding end of things, that should help quite a bit.

Stay tuned for updates, and if you don;t have an iPhone or iPod touch, what are you waiting for? Go get one!

iPod Touch - The new GameBoy

2009-07-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Watch out Sony PSP, I'm going out on a limb and making a BOLD prediction for this Christmas. I predict that parents will be buying iPod Touch instead of Sony's PSP, the cost is about the same, $229 for the 8GB iPod, and $249 for the new PSPgo system thats slated for the Fall.

So try to set aside your PSP or Mac bias for a moment, and try and think about it from the consumer perspective. In this case, the consumer is the parents, not the end user. For younger kids, ages 5 to 9, its a great choice for parents, and the reason is simple, the games. iPhone games cost anywhere from $0 to $5 for the high end games, and there are thousands to choose from. PSP games cost $30-$50, and there are dozens to choose from.

If you were a parent, would you rather your child have a game system with 500 games thats cost a total of $100, or a system with 5 games that ran you over $200? They both go online, play music and movies. And although peer to peer gaming is not currently supported on Ipod Touch, I don't think its a deal killer.

So watch for the trends Christmas 2009, I'm betting iPod Touch will bring the hand held gaming industry a new competitor.

Drawing

2009-07-09T15:52:00.000-07:00

Having a good day today. Drawing more. I enjoy drawing. Sometimes I think I should impose a rule that I draw at least a little every day. But then I remember that as a general rule, I don't like rules, I guess that settles that. But today I drew, and I enjoyed it.

iPhone Apps in the forefront

2009-07-06T11:51:00.001-07:00

For the last few months I have been working almost exclusively toward getting going with the iPhone applications. Mark and I have made some headway into figuring out the best framework to use, and the best way to proceed, while I have been creating and conceiving game concepts. I am excited as I can be about all of this, I feel the same rush of excitement that I felt back in the mid 1990's around the .com bubble and the huge demand for online content. This however, has the added advantage of a built in monetization scheme, so the worry of "how do we make money" is a little less daunting. Its an exciting time. I look forward to the summer.

The development of the TV Show has been slow to get started, but I'm also looking forward to working on that, its a genius concept, and someday will be a smash hit I know. Provided it gets done that is ;)

New Bike

2009-06-06T09:28:00.001-07:00

I got another bike the other day, I love my BMW, and its still my favorite ride. But this Honda was just too rare and special to pass up. It's a 1978 CB750F "SuperSport". I have always had a soft spot for superbikes of the 1970's, because they had so much style, (and so little exhaust restriction).
This CB was so clean, so pristine, I had to add it to my collection, which I didn't really have until I bought this one, but if any bike is worthy of starting a collection with, it's this one. Last year of the Single Overhead Cam engine, the "F2" is a 9.2:1 compression four cylinder which has disc brakes all around, "pumper" carbs, and is finished in "Candy Alpha Red" and Orange, my favorite of the two color schemes available in '78. It's absolutely 99.9% perfect, and other than the Kerker exhaust it's completely original. I have the original header, and may re-chrome it and replace the factory exhaust, haven't decided, I prefer the performance of the Kerker, but the look of the original. The bike had been stored in a climate controlled garage for 18 years. It has a mere 5400 or so miles on it, and is so new that the clutch needs to be adjusted, from just being broken in!
I'm excited, this bike is an important piece of motorcycle history, and a real thrill to ride.
I have to get tires, and one side cover is cracked. I found a guy who does plastic welding, and can match the paint, then, it's perfect.

2009-05-06T10:25:00.001-07:00

Motoring

2009-02-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

2008 turned out largely uneventful in the way of animation. Plenty got underway, but not much got done. I have to start thinking in terms of decades if I want to keep from losing my patience with things. I'm moving on to new endeavors. Brian is joining me and we're discussing lots of new projects, which excites me. I got a motorbike, some days I just want to jump on it and ride until I run out of road. I'm going to stay put though, and see what I can get going in '09. I have a feeling that despite all the economic doom and gloom that its going to be an interesting year. I feel like I may be embarking on something good, at least toward something good.
I resolve to draw more, I'm really rusty. Mongadillo Studios is starting to look interesting to me again, which is nice, and I'm starting to get excited about working there again for the first time in a while.
Brian and I will be starting a festival piece this year, which I look forward to, it will be good to something just for the sake of doing it.

Animation in Ottawa 2008

2008-09-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Just got back Saturday from another great week in Ottawa at the TAC and the OIAF. I will tell you what, my liver's glad I'm back, boy that was a lot of boozin. Not so much in terms of quantity, just frequency. I met a lot of great people, and hooked up again with some familiar faces. Shawks is moving along down the tracks into development, with some luck and the cooperation of all parties involved, this show will be on the air before I'm too old to give a crap.
Will write more later, sorry for the lame post, was waiting for a render, it's done now. Here are some Capt. Carabel revisions I was working on recently.

Sarah Palin is a psychopath

2008-09-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Forgive how political my blogs have been , but I know nobody reads it, so who am I really apologizing to? Myself? OK, well it's a good thing because I am about to let loose with some tirade-style opinion and foul language that might make any reader sorry they stumbled onto this particular page. If you have a weak heart or low tolerance to profanity, leave now.
I've been watching the news about this Sarah Palin person, and at first I thought, "well that's great, McCain is nuts and he's selected a woman because he thinks she will bring in all the Crazy Clinton losers who claim they would rather vote for him than Obama. Super, she has no experience beyond two years as Alaska Governor (Smallest population in lower 48 US States) and was mayor of an Alaska town of 9000 for a few years. Typical McCain, quick to make a choice, slow to think, and stubborn as hell to admit he's wrong. (Sound Familiar George?)
But then upon further inspection, and after her first "National TV Interview" she reveals that she is not JUST inexperienced, she's a hatchet-faced, Evangelist Neo-Con Hawk who is obviously the bastard child of the devil himself and Paul Wolfowitz. She's smart, but not the kind of smart you want in the Oval office, she's smart like the kind of smart you expect from a ego-driven power hungry politician. So what's the big deal? Why do people seem to like her so much? Because she has kids? Big Fucking deal? I know barefoot teenagers who have kids?(Palin's Daughter is one). That's not a fucking achievement that is worthy of the presidency (And yes McCain is likely to die in office before his first terms out, not a threat, just biology) She cranks out five puppies, OK, fine, Hockey Mom? Now there's a qualification we should look at. Wait Hockey? Who the fuck plays Hockey in the god damn South? What the fuck do they like aboot that? (Not a typo, meant to type "aboot") I don't buy it, if America has become so fucking sentimental and soft-headed that they will elect a fucking "Mom" to be our God Damned Vice president, then why the Fuck wouldn't they just choose Hillary to the President? At least she would know what the fuck she was doing!? Don't get me wrong, I didn't vote for Hillary, but shit man, I mean, let's make a choice, if you want a woman up there, how about trying not to be sexist and judge based on qualifications, education, and experience instead of how she looks or how many god damned kids she's squeezed out?? - And on a side note, her husband looks a lot like Fred Ward, which is weird.
This woman is a disaster in sensible shoes people, and if you elect that old bastard McCain and this Fucking trollop into the highest office in the land, I will move my family to Canada and hope the fallout from the clusterfuck doesn't reach us up there.

Jesus Christ, I say I can;t be surprised by what the Republican party is capable of, and then they go and surprise me.

Fred Seibert

2008-05-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I had drinks with Fred Seibert. That is to say, I had drinks, he had tea, he was coming down with a cold and has obviously never heard of my "booze training" theory that supports the notion that an immune system constantly challenged by alcohol consumption becomes like a well trained prize fighter, able to stave off even the toughest viruses.
So Catherine Branscome suggested the meeting, I wanted to speak with Fred at last years Platform film Festival, but never got a chance to as he was always engaged with a group of people, and I never like to push my way in to make introductions. Once I know a person, I have no problem pushing in, but I don't like to do it with introductions, call me old-fashioned.
Fred is just full of good advice. He is so gregarious and funny I could have talked with him all night, and no I'm not kissing up, he really is amusing. He''s also full of insightful wisdom and funny stories. The kind of wisdom I speak of isn't television industry 'tricks & tips' stuff, it's more the kind of wisdom you might get from a wise old sage, it's the kind of wisdom that makes you feel dumb when you hear it, because it's so simple. I am greedy with my Fred wisdom and will give only one example: "Say "yes" to EVERYTHING." This was one of Fred's pearls to me. At first I thought, "He's crazy", this industry is full of sharks and cheaters and scumbags, if I say yes to everything soon I'll end up in the trunk of a Cadillac in some back alley with my pants around my ankles."
But he goes on to explain the wisdom of saying yes, and I understand that he's talking about the power of forward momentum, and of progress. Seeing things on a time line, I can see how saying yes opens more doors and more opportunities than saying no, and this makes sense in a larger, karmic sense. It also happens to make sense from a business perspective. As he went on to elaborate, saying yes isn't the same as SIGNING something, and as he so eloquently put it, "So what if you sign, you're a creative, they can't MAKE you create!"

Fred, you're pure genius, thanks for the drinks, feel better.

Murphy Table

2008-05-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

Today I made an animation table for a new project I'm starting. I want to do it on paper, and needed a new animation table as I had given my old one away. It seems even though I am capable of being "paperless" I also miss drawing on paper, so this way, I can do both, or either!
I got a piece of scrap bamboo from Endura Wood here in Portland for a mere $15. Add to that about $19 worth of hinges and screws, and a few scraps of Oak I had laying about from another project and viola! A "Murphy Table" as Brian Larson called it.

Love it, very simple and clean, and solid too, a good space saver solution for my ever-shrinking office/studio.

Sharks on the brain

2008-04-28T13:25:00.001-07:00

Recent shark attack in San Diego has me thinking.

Game Geeks for Obama

2008-04-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

I made this "Yes Wii Can" T-shirt, because I thought this was funny, you see, it's a play on words, "We" is spelled differently...

You're McCain me crazy

2008-03-18T16:10:00.001-07:00

OK, just a rant, and if I offend anyone's politics or sense of "patriotism", so be it, but can i just ask, John mcCain for President? - really? I mean, this guy is older than dirt, loves war, and wants to bomb Iran. I mean, he is certifiably NUTS! Has anyone considered the fact that he is crazy and has PTSD and needs medication, and the only access to any "buttons" that he needs is the "nurse call" and maybe the Morphine drip.

And one more thing, I'm sure we will hear a lot of this kind of talk in the upcoming elections, no matter who McCrazy-head runs against, this line about "Surrendering" in Iraq. My question is this; if leaving Iraq is "surrendering", who exactly are we surrendering to? Is it the thousands of so-called terrorists that are scurrying around in the dark hiding bombs under ladies skirts and next to the road? How do we go about getting them to identify themselves long enough for us to wave a white flag at them? Get real, technically this war was over in two weeks, at least the war GW originally bargained for, the one against IRAQ, we soundly and quickly defeated the Iraqi Army, big deal, they practically surrendered before we got there. But in so doing, we also destroyed what little infrastructure the country had, then we fired all the professional soldiers, completely dismantled the government, and made the entire country completely dependent on the US for absolutely everything except guns and oil, which they have lots of. So here we are, five years later, stuck with the biggest, shittiest babysitting job ever, right smack in the middle of the what Muslims consider the holiest part of the entire Middle East. (Hey I didnt say the war was a GOOD idea, but it was as far along as GW and his buddies really planned) So no, as far as "surrendering", we simply can't, not because it wouldn't be right, or it wouldn't honor our fallen soldiers, but simply because we won the war, five years ago. Yes, the fighting hasn't stopped, but its not the same as a war, it's more like, a carnival came to town, and we're it. Our continued presence there has invited every religious fanatic that ever wanted to fire an AK-47 at a 'real person' feel excited about coming on over to take a shot. What we need to do is different than surrender, it's called withdrawing, and then we can say, hasta luego to what is basically the Middle Eastern equivalent of a bunch of rednecks. (Just imagine the trouble any occupying force in the world would have in say - West Virginia, if they ever decided to try and take up residency and "keep the peace" with an occupying force? I imagine it would be a real free-for-all and a heck of lot of fun for the local sportsmen and hunters alike, - think about it, the NRA would wet themselves, finally a real reason to own an automatic weapon!!)

So get a grip America, or at least the 4 people that read this blog for no reason at all, if you're prepared to let your fear of dark skinned people run you into electing another lunatic, I am moving to Canada, and this time I mean it. And you'll miss me when I'm gone, I know you will.

Peace.

A TV series? For me? You shouldn't have!

2007-12-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

Thats right kids, sometimes dreams do come true. Or least at some point they start to look like they really could. I have been working on this particular cartoon series on and off for about 8 years now, but it looks like I FINALLY may get what I've been wanting pretty much since I was old enough to watch cartoons, and that is, my own series. I won't name the series, or the networks at this point, it's too early, and lawyers get weird about that kind of thing. But I will say that its real at this point. I have had several very high level meetings with Networks in the US, Canada and Europe, I'm having some more next week, and it really looks like my show will be going into the series development phase in early 2008. it has always been my hope to own a small studio that only made funny, original cartoons. No commercial work for hire stuff, just original entertainment. It looks like I may be one step closer to that, and I will keep writing over the next few months to keep you informed. (whomever might read this, I have no idea who would, this feels more like a diary than anything)

So thats it dear diary, fingers crossed, we charge into the fray.

E.A.

Some Apple Product Reviews

2007-12-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

OK, this doesn't DIRECTLY relate to animation, but it's peripheral. I have a couple of recent new additions to the family, one being the Apple TV, and the other, my latest acquisition and perhaps the (THE) coolest gadget I have had my hands on in the last few years, the iPod Touch (16GB).
When i look into buying these things, I always look for reviews, CNET, some forums, and blogs are a good start. But I sometimes want a slightly different take on things than CNET can (or will) provide. In the real world, I want to know if a thing is good to own, not just if it works well. And in the case of the iPod Touch, I wanted to know about hacking it to make it do certain things that Apple should have done in the first place.
So the Apple TV, I got the 160GB model because I never thought the 40GB would be big enough. I waited about a year after they came out to make the purchase, partly because I wasn't impressed with the 40GB storage, but also because I couldn't really see a need for it. I had my old 20GB iPod with music connected to my Amp, and could play selections from my ripped CD collection from there. But the thing that pushed me over the edge were the DVDs. Thats right, Apple doesn't intend you use the Apple TV this way, (if they did they may have made them with a DVD drive built in) but I was realizing that my kids movies were out of control. I could never find the movies I was looking for, the DVDs were getting mishandled and scratched, peanut butter smeared on the disc, you name it. And, I wanted a place to back up the family photo albums. Apple TV did all of this for us. We ripped all the kids DVDs using HandBrake, and copied all the music and photos to it. I now don't have to play music from the ipod, it can be played from the Apple TV, and I know if something catastrophic happens to my Mac Pro, my photos are safe. And the best part, the Kids DVD movies are all neatly organized and available at the touch of a finger.
The iPod touch. When it first came out, I thought it was just what I was waiting for, an iPhone without the phone or the monthly fees. I could use it for email on the go, a handy calendar, and internet access in a pinch. You see I don't travel THAT much, not enough to really justify buying a laptop. In the past, I have had to take my wife's MacBook with me on business trips, leaving her without her computer in my absence. Well, upon investigating, I was disappointed to learn the "iTouch" was lacking the one key application i really wanted; Apple Mail. I knew it would only be a matter of time before it was hacked, so I waited. As soon as viable hacks were published that a person with only intermediate computer tech skills could handle, I pounced. It took an hour or so to figure it all out, and now, I hold in my hand the coolest little Mac PDA ever. I get my Apple Mail, oh yes, but also, iChat, Safari, Stock quotes, Weather, iCal (and not the hobbled version, I have the full on iPhone version that allows you to add events), and many more cool apps, including Solitaire, which I'm totally addicted to. Of and music and movies and even Google Maps. All I need is a wi-fi signal. The good news is, when i travel, I never have trouble finding a wi-fi network thats open, most hotels and airports are kind enough to oblige.

So rock on Steve Jobs, sorry I broke the license agreement, you'll cry all the way to the bank I'm sure. I hope that helps anyone who might be considering either of these purchases.

Is it me or is Romney a dick?

2007-08-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have to get this off my chest. I have a beef with almost all the Republican candidates, in fact, I don't like any of them. But Romney is at this point, easily the most reprehensible because he is basically dishonest and disingenuous. He said was pro choice back in 2002, and said he supported civil unions among same-sex couples, because he knew what he had to say to get elected in Mass. So he buys himself a Governorship with $6.4 Million of his own money, and reverses both positions. He should not have been elected, however, according to Massachusetts State law he did not meet the Residency requirements, but money can make any little old law go away, just ask G.W. and friends. I hate his opionions on Immigration, and I hate that he is likely to be the Republican nominee, because he's a smooth talking, polished Shylock.

Death to the two party system!! But if you have to pick, Vote Kucinich!!

Platform Festival

2007-06-26T20:34:00.001-07:00

Platform started yesterday, the first year of the festival here in PDX. It's cool, I didn't think I would enjoy myself. I actually expected it to be a commercial animation festival. I mean, there's a fair amount of commercial stuff in there, and it's a little bit of a turn off, the whole Cartoon Network/Laika presence is pretty heavy too, but it's fun to go to the screenings anyway. I really liked seeing the work of the other animators, it's nice to see films made by just a handful of people as opposed to a fucking army of people with tons of money and technology at their disposal, it really lets the craft of animation shine. I find inspiration in it, it has inspired me to work harder on making "corn" more special, and to take my time and really make it something I would be proud to show to me peers.

here's the latest Beastie Boys cover. Very cool new album.

Corn

2007-05-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

Some troubles getting started, mainly I'm distracted by EVERYTHING. I feel like a hyper-active Chihuahua on Crystal meth. I'm starting to settle into the story now, should be finished in a few weeks.

Heres a robot.

Cintiq Animation table

2007-04-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

I just put together a sort of "digital animation disc" using a Wacom Cintiq 21UX and a drafting table. I made a quick photo-tutorial for those of you who might want something like this. I have to say, its amazing, and I LOVE it.

Progress

2007-02-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm editing Shawks #15 "Show your Work". As I have said to Kennon and Loren this script is definitely the biggest challenge of the three new scripts.
Editing has been slow and time consuming, I just keep re-watching it and seeing more shots that either need to be changed or shots that need to be added. Hopefully it will all come together and seem cohesive when its all done.
Went to Seattle last weekend with the family. It was a little crazy with the kids, but it was nice to get out of the routine and out of town for a weekend.
I hope to finish Ep 15 this week, and to take it over to Bryan at "The Magic Closet" to score it next week. I have a lot of other things to get set up before the release, so I'm hoping for a late March release. The first day of Spring would be nice.

Here's to hope.

E

Fresh baked Ed

2007-02-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder, what the hell is Ed doing over there?

Not much, i assure you.
But..

See for yourself!

Webcam, on most of the time, and updated every ten minutes.

Now you can wonder about something more worthwhile.

Paul Simon Show

2006-10-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

We got 6th row seats thanks to our friends Jeff and Lisa, so we went to the Paul Simon show. it was a very enjoyable show, he has an amazing repertoire of music and has surrounded himself with amazing musicians. I more fun than I expected to at the Rose Garden quite frankly.

Shawks podcast 2 is out the door

2006-10-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

Posted it tonight, took longer than the first one, gotta get Episode 15 finished now, it's close but will take a lot more work to make it ready.
Whew, I'm tired, going to bed...

Le Cintiq Se Magnifique!

2006-09-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

I don't speak French. But I do like this new Cintiq Tablet I just bless my studio with. Amazing tool, I can now conquer the world, and am eager to do so.

Feeling a little dumb for not getting one years ago, but I have to believe that now is the right time.

Actually I dont think I would have liked the smaller ones that preceded this one, 21" is a minimum screen size for me these days.
Now if I can just get that voice typing tool working, I can ditch the keyboard too!!

Shawks - In Production

2006-08-07T22:41:00.000-07:00

It's been two months since we started the new Shawks episodes. The summer is almost over, but they are coming along great, unfortunately, we are a couple of weeks behind. I hired a new animator to day to help bring us back up to speed. Her name is Kasey Gifford, she seems to have what it takes, let's hope so.

I expect to get the bulk of the animation finished this month, and polish off details in the first weeks of Sept. hopefully we can push the release of Episode 15 for late August, with other to follow one per month in staggered release. I would rather that the show be great than on time.
Holiday Force is looming big on the horizon. I have a rough draft for a script that I need to pass off to Ross, and after that a couple of weeks I can concentrate on Shawks. I really hate the idea of missing the opening of the new Atomfilms website with the release of the new HF episode, but I will again sacrifice time for quality.

So the Shawks crew we have right now is as follows: Me, Loren, Kennon James, Heath Ofstead, and now Kasey Griffin. Lucas says he wants to help too, I'm just waiting for him to join in.

It's been a crazy summer with the remodel and the insane production schedule I have made for myself, I look forward to a leisurely winter. I think I will only do one film this winter, and thats...... Corn! Halleluiah!!

~

Corn on the back burner

2006-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, Summer time is upon me, and Corn is set on "simmer" for a while so I can get these other projects going.

Stay tuned for more in late summer.

Scene 1

2006-04-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

Still from scene 1. All of the scenes will not be completed in numerical order, but I wanted to start out by setting the mood.

Meet the Cast

2006-04-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

This is a color comp of some of the main characters, really getting going now, moving onto scene layouts.

Big delays - Ugh

2006-04-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

So haven't touched the Corn project since tax season ended, Petra left on vacation last week, right after I recovered from the flu, then both the kids got sick one after another. Frankly I feel like Joe Frazier in the 12th round against Ali. I have been beaten senseless by the seemingly never-ending rope-a-dope of kids, sickness, tedious household responsibilities, and the home remodel project that starts in two weeks. I can't even get my head around Corn right now, even if I found time to work on it, I am sure it would not be quality work.

Going to Carefree for a week, hope to return a new man with a head full of happy.

!E

See "V for Vendetta"!

2006-03-17T00:41:00.000-08:00

Terrific movie, see it!! See it twice. It's a bold and original screenplay and a terrific performance by Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving as "V". Awe inspiring and thought provoking. Conspicuously lacking the usual Hollywood tag lines and glorification of violence, though it is a violent film. I wish that I could strap G.W. to a chair and peel his eyelids back with tape and make him watch the whole thing three hundred times!! Unfortunately, the dialogue is so clever and well written that I'm afraid he still wouldn't understand the film's meaning.

Anyway, I don't see that many movies, and I see even fewer I would recommend, but - Bravo!!

Some character designs for "Corn"

2006-03-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

A few initial sketches, just getting started.

Storyboard Animatic

2006-03-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I have the Storyboard animatic up, its a bit slapdash, none of the design is close to final, thats the next phase. I have been thinking about the look and feel of the characters and the film in general as I scribble these little drawings out, I think I'm starting to grow comfortable with a few ideas. more exploration to follow. This animatic is close to timing, obviously it's hideous and makes me look like I draw with my feet in the dark, (which come to think of it I should try some time, I may improve) but the timing will change a frame or three here and there, but for the purpose of showing the basic narrative elements to the band for feedback, this will do.

Will I ever finish this film? Brian Larson seems doubtful. I think I can, I just hope I can finish it the way I want to. My wife Petra doesn't like the three little pigs gag I wrote in, I think it will be funnier animated, but she thinks it detracts. We'll see if it ends up in the hopper or not...

Animatic (32MB)

"Corn" Music Video started yesterday

2006-03-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

www.looseacoustictrio.com
The band linked above, Loose Acoustic Trio, recorded a great little song called "Corn". It's very catchy and fun. The Accordion player, Richie Lawrence, is my wife's uncle, and a great guy. I am going to produce an animated music video for the song, which I hope I can get the thing done before summer. Actually, my hope is do get it one by May.

I expect the storyboards to take the longest, I have to decide exactly what I'm going to do, which for me is the hard part, at least on this project. I had a sit down with Richie to discuss ideas, which was really productive, and we came up with lots of great ideas, in fact I thought we had the whole film figured out until I sat down and started the boards. I quickly realized we had too many ideas, and that we had conceived at least 4 minutes worth of story for a 2 minute film!

So my chore now is to get the best and most cohesive 2-minute story out of all of that. I will post the boards as they develop and ask for feedback that I can ignore.

Cheers.

"Mirage" is a good name for it.

2006-03-05T14:47:00.000-08:00

Just a rant here. I spent the last three days evaluating the downloadable version of Mirage. A 2D video paint tool that has mutated into what the makers like to call a "2D animation" tool. I have evaluated a lot of software, and this one is by a long shot has the worst User Interface and worst usability of any I have seen. I got into a flame-fest with some of the cronies on their forum, this was by far the most entertaining aspect of the whole experience. It started off simple enough, with me requesting a tutorial or some help on how to do a simple scan>paint>composite process using hand drawn images on paper. That was answered by a few different people, giving me different kinds of advice on "techniques" for doing this. They ranged from 20 step instructions on using a luma key to key out the white of the scanned image before I paint to using one of Mirage's custom element panels to remove what they called the "substrata". I guess thats a fancy programmer word for "white".

Anyway, the thread was hilarious, and ended with one of the guys from Bauhaus.com closing the thread down. I sent him a note saying he was a fascist for ending it (in not so many words) and I moved on.

So Mirage, I have decided, is aptly named, from a distance it looks pretty good, twinkly lights, nice price, but once you get up close, it all just turns to sand. Probably just another reason why programmers shouldn't try to animate, and why animator's shouldn't try to program.

Rant over, new film "Corn" starts Monday, tomorrow.

~E

Drawing is fun

2006-02-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

I think I will continue shooting the film, despite what I may have said before. My other projects are going to provide me plenty of time on the table, and I figure I may as well shoot them, who knows what it will end up looking like. But it will be something.

Heres a drawing, nature is a cruel mistress.

Well, I knew it would happen

2006-01-23T15:41:00.000-08:00

I am setting this project aside. I knew it would happen. I have other projects starting that are just taking me away from it. I have an idea as to how to finish it, however; I will keep the camera set up as it is, and shoot over my shoulder as I am drawing for the other projects I have to do. either way, i get the 3000 drawings right? My friend Aaron says I should just change the title to "300 drawings", I like that idea too.

We'll see.

I think I got my juices going though, and thats a good thing.

Farther along - More comfortable

2005-11-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

I'm trying not to sound overly positive, but I figured a lot out about this project in the last few weeks. Something was bugging me about it, something gnawed at the back of my brain. At first I thought it was just that what I was feeling was a strong desire to control the film and to direct the action that was being denied. I answered it by just reminding myself that sometimes I need to just let go, and not worry, and to remember that the only purpose of this project is to blow out the cobwebs, and not to try and "construct" something.

Thats easy enough to understand logically, but I kept feeling that way more and more, with each frame I would draw. Last week it came to a head and i got to where I was really repulsed by the project. It was time to figure out what was really bugging me. I finally took a few steps back, got in the tub, grabbed a pencil and paper, and set out for a little trip into my subconscious to try and find the source off this antagonism.

Turns out, it would seem, that I am in fact suffering from a strong desire to exercise some control, but it's a little different than what I originally thought, it's not commercial interest in the film, in other words, it's not who I thought it was, my internal "agent" trying to make a deal and turn the project into some kind of enterprise. It was a voice I haven't heard from in a long time. I realized that the voice I was hearing turned out to be the filthy art student that I keep locked up in my brain. (he has been in exile since the middle '90's, as he tends to turn the boat straight toward the rocks if you give him control of the keel) Anyway, that voice was actually asking me to let him have a shot at this one, to not let it go to waste.

So we talked, and I agreed to let him have some say in what direction the film goes. And he agreed not to talk to my agent, should he call.

to those of you who don't hear voices, or worry that I do, mind your own business, it's mostly a metaphor.

Day 2 - The urge to complicate

2005-11-01T16:10:00.000-08:00

Another round of tests prove that I am often my own worst enemy when it comes to getting things done. I thought I should do some tests in Shake with compositing multiple layers together, to get the effect as well as to use BG and/or multiple layers. It worked, and looks pretty good, with some tweaking still needed, but I had to go back and look at the original test footage to remind myself that I am NOT going to go down side roads on this one. Eyes on the prize, the point here is to get those ideas, but not to act on them. Focus damn you!

Anyway, here's the daily from Friday. I will likely post these a few a week, until completion.

http://www.mongadillo.com/3000/Daily1.mov
(Quicktime 7 required)

The Film Starts TODAY!

2005-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Recently recovered from a 1 and a half year stint at my brain-numbing soul-sucking corporate "creative" job, I embark on a film project today. A little background, I'm a cartoonist, all my life, always drawing silly things and trying to make other people laugh, etc. I got into animation in college, I really like it, but have been less satisfied with my work in the field as of the last few years. Corporate jobs and "work for hire" here in Portland leaves an animator to try and make something interesting out of boring Flash tutorials, commercials, or training materials. I have done some cool stuff, from 2000-2003 I was with Mongadillo Studios, and we did a lot of great web cartoons, but that ship has sailed. I'm left holding an empty bag, and mourning for the days when I just used to draw. I have decided to chuck it all and make a fresh start, but I have one little problem, a really bad case of mental constipation, otherwise known as artists block. My remedy; 3000 drawings. 6 reams of nice, white paper. Flush the system, dump it all, don't plan anything, don't conceive anything beforehand, just start drawing, and then shoot all the drawings, in order, and make a film. One thing is likely certain; I will get it all out, whatever it is, and I'm sure that it will purge the blockage. Even if it doesn't, I'm drawing. The film will likely not be very good, but that I will leave up to fate.
So here we go! Day one, stay tuned for updates.