Friday, February 27, 2009

The Return of Mosters Inc.?

Blue Sky Disney are reporting that the rumors are true and Pete Docter’s next project is a much anticipated sequel to Monster’s, Inc.

BSD reports that he has been working on this for a while and Pixar is eying a 2013 release date for the film.

Are you keen to see Pixar return to Monstropolis? How does the prospect of more sequels from Pixar sit with you? Leave your thoughts and comments below in the comments section.

Thanks Upcoming Pixar for the heads up!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Looking To Win A Contest?

Check it out!

http://www.dwell.com/services/contests/innovate_it.html

Flash Character Animation: Breeze Presentation


I happened to come across this Breeze presentation about Flash character animation by Chris Georgenes, Team Macromedia Member, on the Adobe-Developer Center website. His presentation is quite informative and a great springboard for anyone who would like to get into Flash Animation. Click the link below to go the site:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/adv_char_anima.html

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I'm A Designer And...

http://www.dotdotdotspot.com/

10 Tips To Successful Freelancing

01: Nice guys finish first

“First of all,” says Miika Saksi, “make lot of friends in different fields. Get to know people. But don’t be pushy, be a nice guy.” And if your folio is light, make some projects up. “Make posters, company identities and flyers for both imaginary companies and potential clients. But don’t call them ‘personal work’. Call them proposals or pitches.”

02: Think it through
Make sure you know what you’re doing, says Ravi Vasavan. “Think again, talk to freelancers you know of – and if you come out of this feeling confident, then you ought to be okay to dip into these waters.” And, ready or not, prepare yourself for the unexpected, “such as a client bailing, or running away with your pay cheque!”

03: Diversify
“I have a couple of different timescales,” says Mike Perry. “First, there are long-term projects, some of which are self-initiated. Then there’s medium scale projects that are maybe a month in advance.” And finally, there’s illustration, “where they say, ‘Hey, we need this next Tuesday’.” Try to have a range of work on the go, as this will help you avoid a calamity if one source goes into meltdown.

04: Partner up
Two heads are better than one. “But,” says Dominic Prévost, “if you want to start freelancing, it’s cool to have someone with you who’s different enough that you can make the best of each other’s skills; perhaps someone who’s particularly good at handling the clients or the money.”

05: Be pragmatic
A dash of pragmatism can’t hurt, says Janine Rewell. “Make sure that you have a plan B, in case it turns out that you’re not as talented as you thought and you’re not getting any work.” And if you have the talent but don’t enjoy fronting it up, get an agent: “It’s nice to have someone to do all that dirty money-talk with the clients for you.”

06: See opportunity everywhere
Even if there is a global economic meltdown, you still have stuff to be getting on with, says Dominic Prévost. “If everything crumbles, it’ll give us time to experiment. I’ll make indie movies and publish them myself.”

07: Be creative
One of the undoubted benefits of freelance life is the chance to explore your own creativity. “I would say that what’s really worked out for me is constantly making new work for myself,” says Mike Perry. This, he explains, is where he really pushes himself and the work, showing the breadth of what he can do. “Clients often end up hiring me for the work I’ve already done,” he says.

08: Don’t be swayed
You’ve got to stand up for yourself, as not every client has your best interests at heart. “I really believe in what I’m doing,” says Mike Perry. “It’s about fighting for your right to do what you feel you should be doing. If you believe in your work, then you should be able to stand up for it.”

09: Keep your finger on the pulse
“Companies want unique styles and street credibility,” explains Miika Saksi. “They’re trying to get on the same level with consumers, the young adults especially.” It’s your job to facilitate that, says Saksi: “I guess it’s been like that for a long time, but now it’s stronger than ever. And agencies like to buy that knowledge from freelancers who are in the scene and live the same life as their target group.”

10: Hire a professional
“I should have hired a book keeper right away,” laments Janine Rewell. “I tried to save money by doing all my taxation myself, but actually I lost so many valuable working hours by filling out those forms that it wasn’t worthwhile.” Remember, you are a designer, not an entire studio rolled into one.

Thanks to Computer Arts for the wonderful link.



Important Student Exhbition Information

SIGGRAPHers,

Listen up! I want you to do something for me, right now. Get up from your computer and find the nearest mirror, stand in front of it, and take a look at yourself. Take a good long look and ask yourself, "Do I have what it takes to be in the Student Exhibition? Am I prepared? Do I want to start my career this year?"

Chances are, you answered the questions as many at our level would. You need to start thinking about what it takes to land that internship or job you've been dreaming of because not long from now, you will have that opportunity!

Us officers wanted to take this time to remind you of the process you should be aware of in order to hold you position in the Student Exhibition. You must be a paid member of. You must be registered for the event via the SIGGRAPH IUPUI website. You must submit your portfolios in prior to the event (deadline still tentative, but it will be around the end of March). From submitting your portfolio, it will go through a screening consisted of IUPUI Computer Graphics and New Media professors. You must pass that screening in order to have a booth at the Student Exhibition.

Now, if you don't pass the screening, that doesn't mean you cannot show up to the event. We will be needing many volunteers to help organize and pull off the event, run the tables, and answer any questions employers may have. That will also mean that you can mingle with the employers, even being a volunteer!

Yes, that was a long message, but now you must take this time to really focus and get your work ready. This event is going to happen and you need to be prepared! There will be one additional portfolio review on March 26 consisting of industry professionals. It sounds like the screening process will take place right after that, so plan on the deadline being less than a week after that date.

Have a great weekend everyone and, if you have any questions, feel free to direct them to myself or any other officer.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Faculty Portfolio Review A Success

Last night hosted the first ever SIGGRAPH IUPUI Faculty Portfolio Review, where 5 faculty and about 30 members were in attendance. With roughly 20 of these students showing off their hard work, the students and even faculty learned about building your portfolio, keeping it simple, what to include, and many other tools of the trade for presenting yourself to potential employers.

The room was packed, but that didn't stop us from having fun. The critiques were very constructive and watching the other reviews (not just my own) allowed me to learn so much about what I needed to improve on and how to build my portfolio. If you had to miss this event, you may want to make it a priority to make it to our SIGGRAPH Professional Portfolio Review on March 26, 2009.

Thank you for all who were in attendance and a special thanks to the amazing faculty who made this event a true SIGGRAPH success!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Faculty Portfolio Review

Just a reminder, our next event is the Faculty Panel Review:

February 19th
6-9pm
Cavanaugh 233.

The sign-in sheet outside the door will be used for who is reviewed first, second, etc...

This event is still open to all members, but this event is primarily for those who have registered for the Student Exhibition. (you should probably register-hint, hint) You can register for the Student Exhibition by clicking on the Exhibition link on our website (www.siggraph.iupui.edu) and filling out the form.

See you all this Thursday!

Coraline Production Focus from CGTalk

If you are not a member of CG talk and you are into 2D or 3D art... SHAME on you!

Here is their latest production focus article detailing Laika's premiere achievement Coraline!

Stop Motion has a new face in Henry Selick’s Coraline, a story based on the award winning book by Neil Gaiman about a little girl who finds a secret door to an “Other World” much like her own, but better… or so it seems. The first stop motion filmed in stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) during production, Selick wanted to tackle an even bigger accomplishment: creating a true stop motion film with the smooth facial transitions of CG animation in a hands-on medium.

The answer to this quest was to use replacement animation, where one stop motion puppet face is progressively swapped for another slightly different expression with the needed smile, frown, or appropriate eyebrow position. This method is not new, but the effect is a bit choppy- often desirable for a hand made look, but has never before had all the in-betweens that Selick wanted. However, sculpting those thousands of expressions by hand would have taken years to complete. To keep the budget and timeline intact while creating stop motion animation so smooth you could read Coraline’s lips, production studio Laika creating blend shape CG face models that were output through rapid prototyping (RP).


Like? Rest of Article:

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Expose Yourself in Public!

As representative of SIGGRAPH for the Student Government I stumbled across a position in the USG's communication committee. I'm currently turning out posters and advertisements for all USG events and a handful of student organizations. It may not pay well (or at all for that matter) but the fact of the matter is my work is going to be shown all over campus and possibly around Indianapolis if I'm lucky. I figured if any other toodee graphic designers wanted some free exposure this would be an easy way to do it. I mean, I've already received five requests in one weekend and the work isn't that bad. Check it out:





So you see, nothing too intense. You have complete freedom over art direction, all you need to do is provide all information for the event. Drop me a line (koompa17@gmail.com) if you want some work and if there's anything available I'll send it your way.

Disclaimer: Do not make this your magnus opus! Finish the poster and send a digital copy to me within no more than two or three days, I get these at very short notice.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Video On Getting Hired At Pixar

Edutopia (The George Lucas Education Foundation) shares a video featuring Pixar University Dean, Randy S. Nelson talking about what the Studio looks for in hiring new employees.

The lecture took place at the Apple Education Summit in the Spring of last year and is a must watch for anyone looking into a career at Pixar. Mr. Nelson gives great advice and points out that Pixar recruits people with a strong understanding and mastery of their skill; breadth, and collaboration skills. Watch the speech from Pixar’s in-house university dean here. You’ll see they are useful tips for any career!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

An Interview With Walt Disney

Walt just being himself, answering questions about his career, being candid about the failure of Fantasia, the success of Disneyland and his own Canadian roots.

Take a watch here!

Thanks to Anirudh for the wonderful link!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

LEGO New York

Something I found pretty interesting. Simple, yet extremely creative!

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/