Free Birds!

About a year and a half ago Louie and I picked up and moved to Dallas to work on Free Birds at Reel FX. Though everyone was excited for us, quite a few thought we were crazy... and trust me, I wasn't sure we weren't. Well, I can tell you with certainty it was a good decision! We miss Cali and our friends/family there more than they'll ever know, but moving to Dallas brought us so much more than we ever imagined! It was such a unique experience working first hand with director, Jimmy Hayward, and producer, Scott Mosier! We learned tons from their experience's and talent (both super awesome and down to earth guys too!)! Opportunities presented themselves that never have before, challenging us in a way that gave us no choice but to grow and get better. Louie and I are surrounded by so many talented artists that inspire us everyday and we feel lucky we can call many of them friends. And today... finally... after all of our hard work and dedication... Free Birds hits the big screen!

This is Reel FX's first feature, most of the artists first feature and many artists first film EVER! Pretty special!

We hope you and your kids enjoy this silly holiday movie!

(This is a still from one of my shots! I'll post up my reel soon so you can see what other shots I did on this film!)

Showreel Updates!

I have been working on some awesome shows and I would like to share some of the shots I animated! (click the titles to see showreel)

Ted
I think we all were swearing more than usual after working on this show, ha! And not because we were angry, but because Ted is contagious! This show was a blast to work on and I am so glad for the response it is getting!

Breaking Dawn Part 1
Wolves are one of my favorite animals, so I had a blast studding up on them and trying to make them look realistic as possible in my shots.

Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
I only got to work on this show for a little over a month after Pirates, but it was a lot of fun!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The mermaids brought on a whole new challenge that I hadn't encountered before.


See my other showreels in my Animation section. Thanks for checking my work out!

Update!

It's been a while since I have done an 'Update' post and this one was due a couple months ago. But things have been crazy Y'ALL. YEEHAAW... that was a little foreshadowing to my news.:P

Earlier this year, Louie and I both accepted positions at Reel FX in Dallas TX to help the studio develop their first animated feature film TURKEYS. This was a very bittersweet decision, but we're incredibly excited about it and that we get to do it together! It was hard to leave Tippett (again).. the place that took a chance on me when no one else would... The place that taught me so much not only about how to animate better and more efficiently, but how to be a good animator to work with... The place where I met the love of my life...  The place that taught me how to continue working after downing four pints of beer at lunch. I owe these guys for a lot of great memories and helping be become the person I am. Those guys will always feel like family to Louie and I, no matter where we are.

After dealing with uptight movers, a nonstop 30 hour drive with two cats and a dog, fear of our car breaking down in the desert, fear of our moving truck getting swept away in a tornado... we made it! And Reel FX has done an amazing job welcoming us into their family! Everyone has been extremely helpful with things around the studio and also things in the area. It's been a lot of fun getting to know the animation team and also working with other fellow bay area animators that moved down here for the same project... one of who actually told us about this opportunity (thanks Travis!)! The excitement and energy in this studio is contagious and its been amazing being a part of the early stages of a project. We have been doing rig testing, and also character tests - different tests showing how a character might act or do something in certain situations. I absolutely love it! Character and emotion is what drove me to animation when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It feels so good to be exploring these area's more with my work again. And yes, its fun to make a turkey act!

We got down here at the perfect time!  Our first week at work yielded a pretty awesome surprise for anyone in the animation world - Glen Keane was in town to be presented with the Tex Avery Animation Award, AND give a talk at the studio on his career and approach to animation, AND give a Q&A joined with an anniversary screening of Aladdin AAAAAANNND invited the Reel FX animation team to a small sit down lunch/conversation. I still can't believe this happened! He is very inspiring to listen to and meet, and we can't wait to see what is next in store for him.

Dallas has been great to us so far - a lot different that we were expecting (barely any cowboy hats/boots). We live in Deep Ellum; where there are a lot of restaurants, shops and music venues. Not enough cafe's though! Great thing is we are an eight minute walk to work which has been wonderful! Except.. its getting HOT here. We'll adapt though. And by adapt I mean run from one air conditioned place to the next :P We are really close to being fully unpacked and settled and can finally get back to things like drawing and staring at my guitar wishing I could play it better. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my update!

TED Trailer!

The first TED trailer is out! (warning: not for kids). Everyday working on this film was full of laughs and I can't wait to see this in the theater filled with an audience that has no idea what they are in for! Enjoy!

Get ready for Ted!

Mutant Land

I didn't get the pleasure of working on this short film, but check out this masterpiece by my fellow Tippetteers.. 

Munny

I had a blast at the holiday work party with Tippett last saturday night! One of the main highlights was being involved in the munny competition. What is this you might ask? Well, you get one of these...

Work Update and Road Trip

I haven't posted in a while... but things have been going great! I am still at Tippett, just finished up Breaking Dawn Pt 1 and am now working on Seth MacFarlane's first film 'Ted'. Imagine Family Guy humor rated R.. it's going to be great! There isn't too much out there right now on it, but as it pops up I'll post some things up.

In between projects my boyfriend and I were finally able to go on our very first trip together! We took a road trip down hwy 1 from SF to SD... camping, great food, amazing views, caught up with friends, disneyland.. it was incredible and so many memories were made! Here is a video I put together trying to tell the story of our trip:

Work Update!

My time at ILM oh Pirates 4 and Transformers 3 was a lot of fun and now I am back at Tippett working on Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1! We are working on the wolves.. the best part! ..and its really a lot of fun! We study a ton of wolf reference for how they move and interact, but since the wolves are so huge we have to study the timing of horses to get a convincing feel. It's a really neat process and I have been learning a lot!

Work Update!

Pirates 4 is wrapping up and I thought I was going to have some time off to relax, but I got an offer to help Transformers 3 finish up! It's going to be an exhausting couple of weeks (going from one crunch to another), but I am excited to be part of one of the big robot movies!

But back to Pirates... you guys are in for a treat! This one is going to be a a fun ride and has a more solid story then the third. And there will be mermaids! Animating mermaids was definitely one of the more challenging characters I have ever animated! Tails are tough in general, but to have to make one feel like it is forcefully pushing the creature through water and space- without the floatiness feeling- is a whole new challenge! I have learned so much in the process and I can't wait to see the film in theaters!

8 Tips for Dealing Calmly with Cricicism.

Dealing with criticism is tough. ...especially in the film/animation industry! We spend so much time coming up with the best ideas we can, hour after hour fleshing out that idea, then present it, putting our hearts and souls on the line ..only to have someone smash it to pieces. This sounds horrible, but its not! And it doesn't have to be! Criticism is how we learn and make our work better! Your superiors are in their position for a reason and they also have a better idea of the bigger picture. So learn from them and try to understand where the direction is coming from! And don't forget to get critiques from the people around you. Animation is a lot more fun and always turns out better as a team effort!

Rango Behind the Scenes Trailer

Work Update

A couple new things work things have happened that I haven't posted about yet.. After Rango I had some well needed time off before going back to Tippett for a month to work on a rush project: Season of the Witch. It turned out to be a fun project with lots of crazy demon shots! And it was great to be back at Tippett working with that crew again. So many good times!

After that project I then had some more time off and have been working on finishing up my student short film: Maid To Haunt. I also found a guy to do the music/sound effects along with another guy who is doing the lighting and re-modeling my set! I am extremely excited about these two guys because they are super talented and are going to make my film sound and look amazing!

Tomorrow will be my first day back at ILM to work on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides! I am a HUGE fan of the pirates movies so I am honored to be working on this film!

Have you heard about the Rango?

Rango Trailer is Public!!!

Put a face to the name...

click.

First Look at Rango!

(click on the image to read the whole article!!)

Rango has a website!

Rango, the film I am animating on at ILM, has a website! Not much on it yet, but more will be released soon!

Teaser Trailer

Iron Man 2 Comes out tomorrow!!!

Iron Man 2 comes out tomorrow!! I had an amazing time working on this film at ILM. Everyone worked so hard to make it the film it is. I loved the first one and I think this one is even better! Let me know what you think once you see it!!

*note: this is not my first film, but its IS my very first credit that is hitting the big screen. How cool is that! ..Just eight years ago I was sitting in my high school art room with paint all over my clothes and charcoal on my face.. I never thought in a million years I would be sitting where I am right now..*

Update: Work

I just finished working on Iron Man 2 and OH BOY you all are in for a treat! I can not wait until this movie is released in theaters! I LOVED the first one and I think this one is even better! I am so honored to have worked on this film. It was a big challenge for me with all of the fighting and flying and..whips.. oh, eww, whips. Haha! I love the challenge though, keeps me on my toes and am constantly learning! Here is a link to the second trailer if you haven't seen it yet:

So whats next for me??

I am staying at ILM and working on Rango! There is practically nothing out there about it, so... I can say pretty much nothing about it. Except... its AWESOME!!! The character designs are so different from anything else I have seen and the story is really entertaining and solid! AND one of my all time favorite actors is the voice of the main character! Johnny Depp! I truly love watching this man act. I love the way he speaks - all the way from his expressions to the pauses and pacing of his speech. His hands are so fun to watch along with the way he moves. He is so entertaining! Now... working with his voice is going to be a lot of fun! I hope to get some of his flare into any shot I might have with him! Fun fun!