Geeks #2

Here's the 2nd! I know this is quite the trekkie joke, so don't worry if you don't get it. It made me laugh though, and since this comic is the outlet for my purely selfish artistic desires, what the heck? Actually that might be the theme of this strip in particular. I did a lot of experimenting with the color because I wasn't happy with my choices in the last one. I also said "what the heck" to slightly redesigning the characters to be (hopefully) better, more appealing, and easier to draw. Last year I had a lot of fun drawing a Christmas card and rediscovering how to draw like a kid. Kids experiment a lot and just draw what they like to see. This is sometimes the opposite of what we're asked to do at work every day as animators, and it sure feels good to just make something for the fun of it.

BUCK!

As it gets closer to the release date, I'm seeing more clips and trailers online and on TV. Somehow a few of my shots managed to make it into some of them! Here's a clip of the scene that introduces Buck, and has some great animation and character gags in it. A bit of my work is in there as well, Manny, Ellie, and Diego in the first shot are mine (when they stand up and Diego has the leaf collar around his neck). Nathan Engelhardt animated the main (and awesome) Crash and Eddie stuff in that shot.

"Geeks" worldwide premiere!

Not to over-hype it or anything ;) Recently on my search for a personal project I came up with an idea for a comic strip. I find it's a really nice change of pace, and a great outlet for personal creativity because I'm not constrained by the CG process...just my own drawing ability! Lately I've been sketching in Union Square again and getting back into drawing, so I think a comic is a good way to keep practicing my drawing. I also hope to apply as much of what I've learned from animation since the last time I drew a strip. More than anything, it's really fun to finally have something of my own that I'm excited to do again.

So join me for strip 1, and let's see how this goes! "Geeks" follows 3 roommates in New York, who confront the sometimes humorous divide between the 'geek' and 'non-geek' personality.

Mark Behm, "Nightwork"

To start off on what might be a few more posts revolving around inspiration, here's an interview of Mark Behm on Strut Your Reel, about his new art book. Since one of my main goals is to keep drawing and keep improving on what is ultimately my first passion, this stuff just blows me away.

We all need inspiration to keep the creative juices flowing, especially during or after times of extreme hours and work. It's so easy to lose yourself at work, and not nurture your personal art in some way or another (especially when you have no time to do anything but go to work and sleep), but it's even easier to just be too lazy to do something. Hence, I plan on posting some more on inspiration, which is so critical to being motivated. Maybe these posts will not only lend some inspiration to anyone reading this, but also to myself when I need a kick in the pants!

Website updates

I've done a few minor updates on my website, updated my demo reel with a couple of new shots, updated resume, updated animation page. Go check it out! If you like what you see and are looking for an animator, feel free to shoot me an email!

www.kylemohr.com

Psyop: UPS Store Ad

Check out this awesome ad by Psyop! (watch it in "HD" for a much better picture)

Freelancer's Guide: "Working Remotely" by Dana Boadway

http://www.animationmentor.com/newsletter/0409/feature_geek.html#tipTrick

My friend Dana Boadway has written an awesome article on freelancing for Animation Mentor's newsletter. I worked with Dana at Framestore when she was in New York, she is one of the many people I've worked with in this city who I really learned a lot from. I think I'd been in New York for maybe a year at the time, so I was even greener than I am now, heh. During my first jobs, I was fortunate to work with some people who were more experienced than me, and who approached working in animation from a much more mature, life-oriented standpoint. Your perspective changes and matures after working a few jobs, but it really helps to have a few people around who've already made that transition to learn from. They are the people who know that life is more than work, and have made it through a lot of the headaches and challenges of working in this industry. I will be forever grateful that I learned some of those important lessons early on, and that I learned them before working in the very challenging realm of feature animation.

Lately Dana has found success working remote freelance jobs from home, so it's really great to hear her perspective on it in this article. I've been pretty comfortable with freelancing, but when it came to remote freelance jobs I've been a little more timid. Part of the reason I love working in animation is the people that I work with, and learn from on the job. But having already gotten past the fears of working freelance in general, if I ever need to take the next step to working remotely I think I could do it. It would be a challenge, but one I feel like I could take if the work has dried up and the opportunity arises. I think she makes a good point in the article--studios who do remote freelancing on a larger scale need to have someone in charge that is very organized about it.

Here's the reason to stay open to remote freelancing. If you're still a student or are just starting out, you may feel like working in features is what you want to do the rest of your life. Here's the thing though--you haven't done it yet, haha. It may be, you may love it and do it for years as some people do. But I think even the ones that do have found some way to draw their personal line that balances work and life, and maybe have found the right studio for themselves to be comfortable in. It's harder than it sounds. If working remote freelance helps you to find your balanced life, then I think it is well worth your time to pursue it. You won't know what works for you until you gather many more experiences at many places. Right now you may only want to work on something that's on the big screen, no matter how many hours you have to work and how many months you have to work them. For now, that might work for you, but eventually you might want sleep too.

Another person I've been fortunate to work with, Jason Taylor, has found his own success working remotely from home, and occasionally working on site somewhere. I have a lot of respect for both Dana and Jason...for knowing what they want in their life, and blazing their own career path into the unknown.