I taught a lecture!

I haven't been able to mention it until now, but I am very excited to share with you something I was a part of last year! Animation Mentor had a secret class in the works and they had asked me to do a lecture for it ..along with many other extremely talented animators! At first I felt beyond flattered and honored, but then the nerves settled in. I didn't feel qualified to do a LECTURE at AM! I was just WATCHING the lectures as a student! But.. they are the professionals and they must have saw something in me that they felt would be a good fit for teaching this class.

Old Animation Finished: She Hit Me!

This is one of my favorite pieces I did about three years ago while attending Animation Mentor. I always wanted to do a final render with final characters and environment. Well, here it is! It feels good to completely finish one of these pieces!

Jess Morris Animation: She Hit Me! from Jess Morris on Vimeo.

Job Advice from Nick Bruno

"Words of Advice for the Temp & Rookie Animator" By Nick Bruno

I just finished this article from the Animation Mentor Newsletter (if you are an animator sign up for this, its great info!) and I thought this article was very helpful not only for Animators, but some of the info can be applied to any job! I suggest reading the whole article, but here are some of the highlights...

Temp Animators
- Respect deadlines and most importantly DO GREAT WORK.
- Be eager to learn.
- Take your critique with a smile, don't get defensive.
- Try not to complain.
- Overtime. Do it, but don't do too much.
- STUDY STUDY STUDY.
- Don't stress.

The Rookie
- Stay humbled by the work around you.
- Think that you can learn more from others than others can learn from you.
- Respect your elders. Don't make any suggestions to their work unless they ask for it.
- Remember seniority.
- Let the veterans do the complaining.
- Keep asking questions. Keep learning from those around you.
- Don't complain about having too many good shots.
- Don't seclude yourself and don't start clicks.
- Don't act like your ideas are the best ones.
- Stay positive all the time.

Graduated from Animation Mentor!

Well I don't actually graduate until January, but I finished the program! I still remember when I first found out about it at Comic-con and hurried home to sign up. Seems like just yesterday! Time sure flies when you are having fun...and it sure was a lot of fun! I learned so much more then I ever imagined and made so many amazing friends. It was definitely an experience of a life time and I recommend this program for anyone that wants to take their Animation skills to the next level.

So now what?

Well...I am polishing up the pieces on my Demo Reel and will be sending it out to studios as soon as I feel ready. Hopefully no longer then a month. I think it is going to get to a point where I will just have to send it out regardless of how I feel, because as some of you know...Animation is one of those things that you can't really call "done". Just finished enough to look good enough to hopefully get you a job :)

Summer of Events

My summer started out with a trip up to San Francisco for the Animation Mentor Annual BBQ. This was my first time meeting a bunch of classmates, mentors and also my first time in San Fransisco. We walked around most of San Fran and I also was privileged enough to get a tour of DreamWorks PDI!











To see some more pictures of San Fran and the AM BBQ click HERE

Then came Comic-con!!! This convention is so inspirational to go to! Not to mention really entertaining to see how all-out people go with their costumes. I met a ton of artists and got so many great sketchbooks! I did a post on this event already so I'll stop here.

To see some more pictures of the Comic-con click HERE

In August I flew back up to San Fran for the AM Fall Graduation 2008. I was so proud to see my classmates walk and it also got me excited for my Graduation coming up in January. The guest speakers were really inspirational to listen to! The graduation was followed with a nice casual food and drinks celebration. Then we all went out and partied later on that night! I also was lucky on this trip and got a tour of Pixar!































To see some more pictures of the AM Fall Grad 2008 click HERE

To see some more pictures of the Pixar click HERE

Right after flying back down to San Diego Siggraph started up in LA. This was the first year I really enjoyed Siggraph. I think its because AM got so involved and had so many great seminars, not to mention their awesome booth! I had a lot of fun volunteering at their booth with fellow students. The Frank and Ollie tribute was simply amazing and the AM party was...lets just say AM knows how to throw a party! I was lucky once again and got a tour of Dreamworks!


To see some more pictures of the Siggraph click HERE

This summer was great! Lots of travel, met and caught up with tons of people, and toured three film studios!