Get into the Groove

Established a residency in Chico... Never thought I would find myself back her and more inspired. I'm in the perfect situation now to work on a production, save up my money, be with people that I love, and even get the ball rolling for Animation Mentor again. I may not be able to qualify by Spring, but at least I'll be able to build my credit back up, maybe even pay for tuition myself? and finally start working on the portfolio pieces I want. Maybe even get a work out routine in there somewhere and learn acoustic guitar! The possibilities seem endless right now. LA isn't far from my mind, but I feel like if I stay here a little longer and REALLY focus on getting my portfolio perfected, not just full of projects that I produced, I can really go somewhere in the next year or so.

Kitchen of Terror started today. A production I've been trying to work on for about a year now has finally fallen into the hands of the right people and is snowballing into a full-on production set to release in March. I'll be Animation Lead, which is new for me. Now sure where I stand on leadership. I love it, I'm good at it... but, I never get to the fun part that is animation. I spend too much time getting stuff ready for other people to animate. Maybe all of this leadership will set me up for the perfect position to be a follower at a major studio? Who knows! I'll be posting some of my 11 Second Club stuff here for critiques later this month. Hope everyone is doing well and loving life like I am!!!

The Official Release!

Labor of Love is finally done and sent off to the CSU Media Arts Festival! It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders now and I feel like I can breathe again until the next project starts. Well, without further ado, please feel free to enjoy this animation I directed and created/ animated with a team of 6 other students. Feel free to critique, as well!

I'm excited for Taxes!

It occurred to me that with graduation already over with and my soon to be (hopefully) income approaching, I would be utterly useless when it came to filing my taxes. Never done, don't understand it, and frankly, it just plain scares me that the government plans on taking money away from me every year. So since my mom is an accountant, I talked to her about it and asked her to advise me on these things before I leave for CA. It turns out, if you do everything strategically, the government can actually OWE YOU MONEY and will cut you a check after tax season. Awesome right?! I'm sure most of you already know this, but I was quite inspired. For about 3 hours we discussed everything I had done recently that would qualify as a tax deduction because I am "running my own business" aka myself. My trip to LA for SIGGRAPH- Tax Deduction. All the meals and coffee I had to meet with people in the industry- Tax Deduction. Even something like buying a USB drive, DVDs, office equipment, rent on your room that houses your computer, car insurance (helps me run my business), new business clothes- All of these things I can file and will likely get you money back at the end of the tax season! I'm pretty excited.


Since I'm weird, I got SO excited that I decided when I get back to Chico, I'm going to do a presentation on Tax Deductions as a Freelance Artist. I am by no means an expert (and I will make that perfectly clear in the workshop), but if everyone in our department starts having this mentality of "I'm running my own business and the government should pay me for it", "I'm making sacrifices and it will pay off in the end", etc., you could actually have INCOME from these tax deductions that could help you out if you're between contracts. You can almost DEPEND on having these checks delivered to you within a few months of getting your 1099's. I would recommend (even to myself) having someone like H & R block do them for the first couple years just to get a feel for what works and what doesn't, and what the process of filing entails, but honestly, $50 to maximize your tax deductions for the rest of your life is not that bad of a bargain.

Now, most of these deductions only apply for when you are unemployed or not working for a company (don't quote me on this, I'm still learning). So that means if you perfect it early, you can keep HUGE records and keep all the receipts for these events and deductions that count and just total them up at the end of the year while you are between contracts. My mom recommended not only saving all your receipts (and to be thorough maybe even add side notes as to who was with you, etc.), keep a log book of mileage in your car (or gas receipts, but $.50/mile make more sense for how I would personally do it), keep a register on Quick Books/ Quicken to keep track of all your income and bills you had to pay (Comcast bills count, you need internet and phone to run your business!), even making a photocopy of everything for that year and storing it in a box for 7 years (they can't audit you after 7 years) will help you prove to the government that you are working your ass off and need these deductions. The more proof and relevancy you have, the better.

So anyways, I hope that inspired some people as much as it did me :)  Now, I don't have to worry so much about it because we have an edge over all those uneducated taxpayers- we are running our own business and now we KNOW to look for loopholes in the system. I look forward to discussing all of these things with people in Chico, and I hope I somewhat educated people on this subject (I know I learned a lot!)

Cheers.

Cupid Scene 2

Just looking for feedback. Don't mind the textures, I'm still getting the shading networks sorted out. Thanks!

Cupid update

Finished a scene and need some critique. I may or may not get to it before it's time to render them all, but if you notice anything that's absolutely bugging you, feel free to post. Hopefully, we'll make our deadline of November and finally be done! To see the trailer, you can view it on my website or here.

Finished Painting

So i never really considered myself to be an artist when I first started taking classes to become an animator. But, I have to say, art has inspired me a lot and I'm really excited about this painting I did. Mostly what I tried to incorporate was this concept of color temperature that I never really understood. I kind of understand it now, but I feel it takes a long time to perfect these things. I never really cared for details in my work either, but I didn't want to downplay my passion and cut myself short of work. I also focused on showing where the light is coming from (the light source in the sky and Aphrodite herself).

So here's the final. I learned a hell of a lot and I hope I become inspired to paint more! Cheers!

New Plan

My loan got denied for AM, so it looks like I'm on my own for portfolio work. Not to worry, though, after a few days of moping, I realized working from the bottom isn't as bad as I thought. It will give me a chance to get a feel for a real pipeline since I probably won't get a job as an animator right away. Should be moving to LA by the end of this year (and probably stopping to see my Chico State people on the way) and working on my portfolio until then. On the agenda? Finishing Cupid and hauling ass on Kitchen of Terror. I do believe we are bringing it back and working on it until it's done this time! In addition to animation scenes for my portfolio, I've been exploring other mediums. ZBrush 4 just came out and I got a trial and decided to replicate a pose of Basil of Baker Street from Disney's "The Great Mouse Detective". It's weird getting back into ZBrush since I haven't touched it after I learned how to use it... but it should be fun. Another side project which I should be finishing up soon will be a digital painting. I've been in love with the idea of painting/ sculpting the Greek Gods and Goddesses and interpreting their story into the composition. I just finished the shading on Aphrodite and I posted it below. Since the legend is that she was formed from the seafom, and I haven't really done landscapes before, I decided on the composition below. I also started an idea bank for animations to create WAY later on down the road, and one of them includes an well-known story by Euripides with a twist. Lastly, it's always good to do the 11 Second Club when you are jobless :)

So I hope everyone is doing well, and feedback is always appreciated!

ANIMATION MENTOR!!!

So after being in LA for a few weeks, it occurred to me that I may have the drive, but not the portfolio to necessarily get a job in the industry as an animator. I may be able to work my way up, but that usually means taking a step backwards and starting from the very bottom (maybe not even working on a computer, just PA or janitor). Nothing wrong with that, but I considered other options and decided to apply to AnimationMentor.Com . If you haven't heard, it's one of the top ten schools in the world for Animation, and it's online which means I can virtually do it from anywhere. They also have an 85% hiring rate right after graduation (considerably more than my department I have a degree from). I didn't plan on getting accepted, I just figured I'd try since it was so near the deadline for Fall, and lo and behold, I got accepted within a week or two! I was shocked at first because I was expecting to move to LA within a few months of saving up money in the Fall. So I discussed it with my parents and hopefully the loan will go through and I will start my endeavors on Sept. 27! I plan on posting my progress, just to get used to more frequently blogging, and hopefully get feedback from the 4 of you who decided to follow me :) I am also planning on documenting some of the side projects I'm doing, just so I can build up my art practice. So stay tuned! There's more exciting things to come!

SIGGRAPH 2010

I'm here to update everyone on my exciting adventure to So Cal for SIGGRAPH! Feel free to skip through it because I'm going over ALL OF IT!

So I arrive Thursday night before the orientation on Saturday. I got accepted to be a Student Volunteer and needed to be there before the actual conference started. Alec Vaughan (a friend from CSU Chico who let me stay for the week) picked me up from the airport and the next day we went to Raleigh Studios for a screening. I recently got some freelance work from a small production company in the LA area and they invited me to see their release. We were in the Charlie Chaplin Theater in the back (we had to be on the VIP list and everything!) and I finally got to meet the producer/ important people. After some amazing tacos and free margaritas, I met with some of the others and we went back to Santa Clarita to get ready for my departure for the rest of the week.

We arrived at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA before noon so I can be on time for the orientation. My new room mates that I met on FB and split the room with met with me in the lobby. It was weird, I had never met them before but because we had conversed for weeks online, I immediately knew it was them! John drove us to the Convention Center, ESPN was setting up for the X-Games outside. The Orientation was relatively interesting, although I knew what to expect considering I volunteered for GDC this Spring. Afterward, the Committee set-up a CGW panel with Craig Ring ( Visual effects supervisor on How to Train Your Dragon), Rob Powers (Animation technical director and virtual art department supervisor for Avatar), Les Ekker (Creative director and VFX supervisor at Zoic Studios), and Paul Amer (A senior technical art director at Microsoft Games). They went over a lot of their personal work and recommended a few things for students for how to get into the industry. It was really insightful and I'm glad the Committee put it on for us. I think one of the most interesting things that I learned was when Rob Powers explained how instead of creating the environment and then recording the mo-cap and cleaning it up based on the environment, they programmed the environment to form around where the characters moved in the mo-cap. AMAZING!

So next was Sunday, where we started our shifts. I worked two shifts and attended a SV Session beforehand (all the days are running together so as I don't really remember what I saw, I'm sure it was entertaining). Monday night was the ACM Chapters party, which was honestly exciting that we got in free, however the $8 Bud Lights have convinced me that I need to make some money before I can move to LA. Alec and his friend met us and I ended up dancing on stage with DJ Dirty Draws. Most of the people there were in the industry and really drunk so it was relatively fun!. Tuesday we were planning on attending the Houdini Release Party, however, I got off my shift too late and we just decided to chill at the hotel instead.

Wednesday was actually one of the most exciting days. Autodesk announced that if you wear their bandanna and post pictures of you wearing it on Twitter, they will give away a pair of Blur tickets (a studio famous for commercials and TV series). I did not have a Twitter Account, however, I created one and posted the hell out of those pictures and eventually won the tickets. They told me 1 guy and 2 girls per ticket, so I tried to get as many people to go as possible. After driving to Hollywood in a cab following the Reception at our hotel, all of my 21-and-over room mates and my guests made it to The Music Box. Trevor Tuttle, Sarah Delucchi, and David Hyatt met us there and we got in line. The club was absolutely amazing and there was huge lines for the free drinks. After what seemed like forever, we got our drinks and found the center couch to see Crystal Method perform. Eventually it was time to go home after Trevor introduced me to Kevin Bailey and I found my room mates and we grabbed a cab and went back to the hotel. Thursday, I finally had time to go to the Exhibition Hall and Job Fair before I caught the shuttle for the Dreamworks Studio Tour. Taylor Alread was on the shuttle, so I saw a familiar face thankfully! The Dreamworks Studio was so beautiful, anyone would be lucky to work there. They even had a hedge in the shape of the boy on the moon (their logo)! The lunch was really good because they have their own cafeteria and chefs! Jim Conrads showed us around and I recognized him from the Redwood City tour so all the info was familiar. We later met with Angela Lepito whom I met at the CSU Media Arts Festival from the Dreamworks talk she gave regarding the Outreach Program. After visiting the gift shop and seeing the awesome conference room, we hopped on the shuttle and headed back. We ended the raffle and said our good-byes to all the SVs and decided to have a last dinner at Wolf-gang Pucks outside of the Convention Center. The Crab Cakes and Sweet Potato Fries are TO DIE FOR (apparently I defy the laws of the world because I had them twice!)

Saturday night Alec and I left toward Orange to visit Jeff Clifton and Renzo D. We went to a restaurant called The Crosby where Renzo's cousin was the chef. Absolutely amazing appetizers (including the Italian Chips and Salsa!)and the Duck Tostadas were sooooo good! We went to bed after a few drinks, woke up, and drove to San Diego to see Eugene Chung whom I had worked with in Summer Arts 2 years back. He gave us some great insight to the industry and showed us some of his portfolio before we went to PF Changs for a bite. After talking for a while more, Alec and I headed back to Valencia to chill for the rest of my stay. We got to go in the hot tub and watch movies which was a great ending to my busy week. Eventually, I packed my stuff and got on my flight home.

So what did we learn from these past 2 weeks?
1) There's no way I can have an industry job while not living in So Cal- especially if the entertainment biz is slowly following the economy on its decline.

2) I'm gonna try to get better at a lot of different things so that when I'm down south, I can be as versatile as possible.

3) Mo-cap and Motionbuilder is unavoidable and I need to stop being stubborn! I'm gonna do some tutorials!

4) If I happen to be a student and apply to be an SV next year, I am signing up for 18 hours for the sake of networking with people who aren't in school still. If I'm not, I'll volunteer anyways because I love helping out with events.

5) Not all dinner plates in LA over $20 are worth that much.

Alright! So that's the scoop on SIGGRAPH 2010! Feel free to IMDB any of the aforementioned people if you want to know more about them. And if you have never volunteered, been to a conference, or just want to have a good time, make sure you check out SIGGRAPH!

Scary Summer

I've been on the look-out for jobs lately, and I'm starting to get back into being productive. I really hit a wall after graduation, seeing as so many people expected so many different things out of me. I'm kind of used to it by now, being on the verge of a breakdown at the end of every semester. However, this one came with more of a relief. Now I can do the things I've been wanting to do all throughout college: do gesture drawings without someone hovering over my shoulder, read books that aren't required of me, work on a part of my website that isn't due next week, etc. It's quite refreshing.

The next step is to get ready for Siggraph, since I have to be there for the full week to work as a Student Volunteer. I just ordered my plane tickets, as well as business cards. This time I can afford the indestructible cardstock, which makes me feel somewhat more accomplished. I arranged to stay a few extra days to not only take advantage of this summer thing that is non-existent in the North West, but also to visit some studios in LA and San Diego. I'm trying to finish my senior project ("Labor of Love") in order to push my portfolio to another level before I leave, as well. In addition to this, I'm adding my blog to my website, which also entails a new design. I want it to be a little more cohesive switching between my posts and my professional portfolio. I'm not quite sure if it's possible, but I'm pretty crafty with taking something that already exists and changing things around to make it my own. I wouldn't call myself a "webmaster", rather a "web-improviser" might be more fitting.

So, next step? I'm molding my resume into several versions to fit certain companies, types of jobs, and level of detail for my industry skills so that I can at least make some money while I figure out what I'm doing up here in Seattle. I have also begun the application process for Animation Mentor in order to fully grasp what it is to be an animator. I'm not sure if I can afford it, even if I were accepted, but at least I am attempting to make my future fall into place, right?

Until next time, enjoy your summer. I know I'm looking forward to mine :)

Last Semester of College

My last semester of college is about to start. I'm directing a 3 minute animation that is due at the end of the semester. I think we are off on the right foot and I'm really excited to see what we come up with. I'll post some sketches and test cell shading renders to give you an idea, but it's about Cupid in the modern world. During the semester, I will be focusing on theater directing (I finished my theater minor, but I wanted to keep taking classes!), MEL scripting, and peer mentoring for 3D animation. Of course, there's some random General classes I have to finish before the big grad day, but they aren't worth mentioning. All in all, it will be a hardcore semester and I think I'll appreciate the break. Well, it's time to rig. Later.

End of the semester

Finished with my second to last semester of my college career! Yay! I got bored after my last final so I decided to work on my website since I got a new host (godaddy.com) now. I'm super stoked that I actually have relevant work experience to put on my resume now :) . I'm officially becoming a professional and I love it! So I have a lot to do at work tomorrow and my animation is premiering in class on Friday, so hopefully it goes well. I will post the final edit on my website and put a link in here. Wish me luck! I spent the entire semester animating it ;)

Welcome!

Hey. I've never had a blog before. It's more facebook and (in the olden days) myspace and me making observations about the world. However this is going to be specific to my discoveries as an animator and artist. So be patient, I'll be rearranging a few things, and hopefully I'll have it up in a timely manner. Who knows. I'm currently working on getting www.sonyaballas.com up again (my host sucked and lost my faith...) and getting it organized with all of my work. You can visit it anytime, however if it doesn't work, blame Dotster.com. I paid my fees and did my time and it still doesn't work...

I'm not sure if blogs allow comments or feedback, but if it does, I'm always in need of a good opinion. However, if it doesn't I can always set up a comment section in my website. Happy tidings and I hope you enjoy my blog!