Mother and Child

Some pics of my progress on a new project. I'm making this for a friend at my office. The subject matter is difficult, and I really don't have much time to work, but I'm making slow progress.

My Very First Animation

My very first 3d animation, using Blender. It looks pretty simple, but I had to learn how to model a mesh, apply materials and textures to it; do some basic sculpting on it, build, rig and skin an armature for it; animate the armature, and render the animation. Also a million other little things-- it took many hours and weeks of reading and watching tutorials and experimenting. Hope you guys like it.

Challenger Approaching

More Words?

As I've probably mentioned, because the purpose of this site is to show my work to my friends and family, I don't usually do much writing. I kind of miss the regular updates, though, so I thought I'd post some words in lieu of actual work. Here are those words:

I've been spending many hours trying to figure out Blender. My first major piece is finally nearing completion, so I will post that when I've made the final corrections and rendered it.

I've been thinking about my artist's statement. Despite having a degree in Literature, I'm not that big into pretentious or complicated symbolism. I understand that sometimes when artists start to talk like that it isn't because they are trying to sound intelligent or mysterious or anything, but just that they are trying to explain something that can only be known through experience or can't be fully communicated through words. And then, sometimes they are just trying to sound intelligent or mysterious.
With that in mind, I have two versions of my statement, the long and the short. Here they are:

Long- "To learn about the world and about myself, not through the separation and interaction of symbols, but directly through my hands. I want to know the world in how it feels, in how it reacts to pressure, and in its plasticity. I want to reciprocally shape it, be shaped by it, and let it shape itself."
Short- "I want to create something beautiful before I die."

Finally, a quote to leave off with:
"Perhaps the best any of us can do is to shape something, and throw it into the void as a final tribute to the life-force"
-Ernest Becker, Denial of Death

Edit- It occurs to me, after writing it out, that my artist's statement is very self-centered. This blog is evidence enough that sharing my work with other people is really important. Most things in life are more meaningful when they are shared anyway. I'm going to think about how to incorporate this.

Sketches 4

Back from California, and with some sketches. All of these but the still life I drew in San Fransisco. I've started to really enjoy learning to draw. Currently working on some complicated stuff in Blender, so more on that when I get around to it.

Posting Hiatus

It seems that my posts have gone from once a day, to once every few days, to once every few weeks, to whenever the hell I feel like it. As of now, I'm pretty much on hiatus from the blog. Its been really enjoyable, and I will still post when I have something neat to share, but it will be less frequent. I don't doubt that I will get back to posting regularly at some point.

For now, check out my friend's blogs, displayed on the right side the page--->
Ironically my friend's blogs are written better than mine (and I'm the one with a degree in literature). All of them are really interesting as well.

I've added a new one-- my old friend David's blog about personal finance. You'll learn how to better manage your money. You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll notice the logo that I made in Photoshop.

Sketches 3

The last two are from the Basic Drawing class at the Torpedo Factory. I'm really enjoying starting from the basics and learning to draw from the ground up.

The way I see things is-- most often when you want to learn something, you need to put yourself out of your comfort zone. This will quickly expand your horizons. In any case, most things aren't as hard as they look, and once you've done something once it is much easier to do again. Things that seem undoable become less intimidating.

On the other hand, sometimes you need to go back to the basics and be patient and humble enough to pay close attention to

things you have known for a long time. Taking this drawing class, and re-learning things like value and perspective, has been a great experience. There is always more to learn, even on

the most basic level.