"Worry"

This week's Illustration Friday subject is "worry". Worry is so appropriate for freelance artists - who in one month might be worried about how to get everything done, and the next month worried they might never have any work again. This illustration depicts the"might never work again" phase (in case anybody is wondering).

(Not sure if that Illustration Friday link is working. If it isn't, check out www.illustrationfriday.com to see some neat stuff.)

Keepsake

The late Al Chiaritto animated many of my projects during the 1980s. We first worked together in MInneapolis at Bajus Jones Film Corporation, and later as freelancers FedExing artwork back and forth when Al moved to Fawn Grove Pennsylvania. Al began his animation career at Terrytoons studio working on MIghty Mouse and Tom Terrific. One day I got a package of animation from Al with this drawing on the top of the pile. I thought "Qh no, Al sent the wrong stuff!" But my initial concern disappeared when I looked through and everything was all there and in order. Al was the most efficient animator I ever worked with and astounded me how quickly he could take layouts and organize things and plow through the animation. I think his time working in a big production studio like Terrytoons trained him quite throughly in organizing and although I never achieved his level of organization he gave me something to strive for. There are lots of "Al" stories from that time, and stories of other characters to as interesting characters were always coming through and it was a lot of fun (and hard work and long hours too).

Corporate video

Here's a recently completed corporate video done for a new client. They wanted something simple because simple=fast and the animation needed to be finished in 4 weeks. Mark M. taught me how to do Photoshop actions which saved a lot of time. The simple stuff like this is fun because it's not so exhausting. So the cool things about this are: finally knowing photoshop actions, incorporating the speedy scanning process I learned working in a studio last winter, working with a great new client who's very happy, and figuring out how to convert and upload a movie today.