Jumbo Pictures Reunion...

Last week I went to the Jumbo Pictures reunion, the studio that i worked at back in 1996, right before I left for Indonesia. It was an amazing studio, situated in a massive loft in the heart of Soho, and filled with some of the best people I've ever worked with. I met my studio mate Tony Curanaj there, as well as good friends like Jack Spillum, Don Poynter, Jonathan Royce, and Otis Brayboy. The show we did was called "Doug", it was my first job as a storyboard artist, which was a segway into directing. I can still remember hanging out in the "pit" with all the other artists, or going to drawing classes across the street during lunch break. It was one of the best times of my life.Above: Jonathan Royce, Chris McCulloch, Patrick Smith, and John Schnall. The talent that was assembled at Jumbo back then was really impressive.

"Puppet" two years on....

Puppet has won several recent awards lately, since it's premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006. Most recently, it won Best animation at Arizona Underground Film Festival, and also at Naperville Independent Film Festival. Awards are fun to get.. it's always nice to get recognized for your work. It wasn't too long ago when i swore that i just COULDN'T win anything. my first film "Drink" screened for over a year with not a single prize.
Best Animation, Northampton Independent Film Festival, 2006.
Best Animation, Action on Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2006.
Best Animation, Griffin International Film Festival, 2006.
Best Animation, Grand Festival Award, Berkeley Film Festival, 2006.
Best Animation, Phoenix Film Festival, 2007.
Best Animation, Backseat Film Festival, 2008.
Best Animation, Arizona Underground Film Festival, 2008.
Best Animation, Naperville Independent Film Festival, 2008.
Honorable Mention, Signals International Film Festival, UK, 2006.
Honorable Mention, Smogdance Film Festival, 2007.
Third Place, First Glance Film Festival, Los Angeles, 2006.
Runner Up, Asheville Film Festival, 2006.
Third Place, Lake Havasu Film Festival,AZ, 2007.
Second Place, ASIFA-East (Association Internationale du Film d'Animation), 2007.

Sketchbook: Girl Studies...

The female character offers specific challenges for me. I've been drawing a lot of designs of girls for an upcoming project, and I'm starting to really enjoy it. I've always struggled with girls (artistically and otherwise), but I'm really starting to understand the subtleties of their form more.. especially facial features. enjoy these scans. I always draw in ink.. it's something i started to do a long time ago.. the logic was that it forced me to commit to the lines, and it speeds up your drawing quite a bit. Matter of fact.. i just may be the quickest sketcher i know.. not sure if that's a good or bad thing. my previous sketchbook was stolen... well.. actually, i left it at a bar in my bag. still can't understand why someone wouldn't return a sketchbook.