First person gaming and the story telling arc...

At the start of every new class each year, we begin with a short module on story telling. That means making sure students understand the simple concepts of 3 part narrative, what genre and theme are and of course the different ways in which stories are delivered (including classic old 1950's style radio plays, comics, written, etc). One issue I've always run into is that the materials I've been working with never really take in the current trends...

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Attention to detail...

The number one thing that I've found while teaching over the years is that student projects (well, 99% of them) suffer from this - lack of attention to detail.  And that is exactly what makes them look like student work. Attention to detail is important - we see it everywhere - in cooking, music, cars, software, movies, cellphones, etc.  If it wasn't there, we'd have music that was flat and simple.  We'd have food that was bland,...

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Inspiration on the desktop... If you have space...

Ok, so I'm no spring chicken these days, but I'm just as much a kid at heart as I've always been.  Over the years, I have amassed a good collection of inspiring toys of characters from my favorite shows and comics.  Unfortunately though, many are still in boxes, or in storage purely because I just don't have space to set them all up... Recently I did buy this guy - Wheel Jack - from the show Transformers:Prime.  I have to say,...

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Tools or Skills? Time for a quick vent...

This has always been a pet peeve for me... The one thing I've noticed a lot here in New Zealand is that animation college graduates that I meet at events have formed the perception that knowing how to operate an advanced software application is the skill that makes them a professional artist.  This isn't just a one-off, it appears to be a trend that is common. imho, mastering software is more something that makes for an employable artist.  Professionalism is built through experience and practise.  Having both is definitely even...

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About time I blogged...

I used to be very active on forums and post up work frequently, but having been full-time teaching for almost a decade (steady work, steady income - the way the bank loves you to be when you are paying for a house) really takes it out of you over the years.  When I was working in an animation studio, it was always fresh and exciting - no matter what job came through, there were always challenges that would pop up and keep the old brain cells ticking over. But hey - Most industry jobs tend to be contracts, and not long terms ones at that. ...

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