BUFF CAT!

Hey! This week was absolutely great. The cartoon I've been working on with friends since my winter break is complete. Say hello to Buff Cat! I helped slap together things in After Effects and animated  about 19 of the animated shots. I'm so glad I have found people to do this kind of thing with. I had the most fun I've had working on a project yet. Thanks Matt, Pat, Scott and Tara - you guys rock!

Mr. Buffcat is voiced by the talented Greg, who is awesome.
Everything is awesome. Everything is cool when you're part of the team.

Next week I will have a good chunk of thesis animation to show and maybe some other projects wrapping up.
Until then, I updated my website's sketchbook collection:

This week, the internet told me:
- Why Middle School Girls Talk Like Babies
- “Putin Will Teach You How To Love”
- Lilly Allen Titles New Album Sheeus
- These Neopets Have Been Alive for 13 Years
- How To Get A Concept Artist Internship: Breaking in at Riot Games
(Hey, one of my classmates was in a Chris Oatley ArtCast! That's pretty rad!)
- At Titmouse, Animators Spend One Day a Year Creating Five Second Films

Buff Kitty Cat

Things are wrapping up with Buff Cat. I thought I wold share some smear-cats and weird inbetweens!

In the meantime, while trying to bust Buff Cat out, I have made a little progress on Space Puppy. Here's where we're I'm at for now:

Weekly fun links to share with you:

- McGruff the Crime Dog goes to jail.

- "Selick, unlike many of the people in the Character Animation Program, “liked the darker things, bits from Fantasia, and the more experimental things. I’d been exposed to a much bigger world of art and music already, and a lot of the folks in Character Animation were very insulated. I mean, it’s kind of like they were studying from Disney to do Disney."
...cool, lengthy read about the influential CalArts animators. 

- My friend Ross and his project, Unsigned Ohio released a new compilation of songs by locals.
Check it out (it's free)/support a nice chunk of the central Ohio scene!

- A shout out to my photo/illustrator combo friends, Kat Skaff and Aaron Behnk, who just put up a cool show on campus!
Kyle put up some really good stuff, too.

Not Dead/Rad Gif Party

Happy Late Christmas & Early New Year! Great news, even though I haven't been posting much - I am not dead. I have been sleeping lots, cleaning lots, and working on a cartoon for Rad Fortress. Be excited - it's about a cat. I have also been getting some thesis work done. I started a specific tumblr where I will be keeping track of my progress. I have a finished animatic SWF file, but I have to get it into After Effects so that I can upload it. Click here to follow my thesis blog! (aka, "MySpace Puppy")

I'm going to start posting resources and links toward the end of a weekly blog post. This will be a grab bag of stories I found interesting, websites my friends have updated, great animations, etc. Here we go: Something inspiring? Chris Oatley, my portfolio professor this past semester, posted a new podcast around Christmas. It's great for any creative looking for a pick-me-up. Some friends and I ran into him at Dirty Franks, and he says he's aiming to do two of these a month. A Shout-Out? My talented roommate - fashion designer Ryun Harrison - just launched his website. Fling a hit his way - we are cheap college students who try and think of creative Christmas present, including a shout-out on a blog spot blog.  Something Useful? Here's a link to some great brushes from Character Designer Shaun Bryant. Check out his work while you're at it! Something Random? One of my old favorite bands, Less Than Jake, released a music video this month which included tons of cameos from lots of other bands that they are friends with. It made me really happy and reminded me why I love this kind of stuff in the first place.

Sketch & finished New Years GIF of the 2013 meme-star, Doge.

 An elfie posing for a selfie, and an owl bear being very happy.

 Punk Couch Spaceship.