So, I think people should stop giving George Lucas so much shit.

Look. I get the “fear of change” thing. I can understand the mentality behind a traditionalist mind. But make no mistake, Star Wars isn’t yours.

Recently, news hit the (fan?) internet about the soon to be released Star Wars Blu Ray set. With it, comes a high definition transfer of course, but there a lot of new tidbits like a fully-CG Yoda to replace the puppet in Episode I. Personally, I felt like this was a major feather in GL’s cap as far as changes go, and I think many people would agree on that. But there are other updates including a new Obi-Wan dragon call in Episode IV, and Darth Vader yelling “NOOO!” in Episode VI. Well, needless to say…

Fans. Lost. Their. Minds.

Well, I’m here to say it: George Lucas, I love you.

The fact of the matter is that GL is the rightful owner of these stories. And he should be! It belongs to the man that thought it up, found the way to fund it, scouted out the best talent, directed it, and kept it alive for 40+ years.

You don’t have to dig where Star Wars is now. You don’t have to dig the changes. But you also don’t have to buy the Blu Ray.

Consider this: Lucas isn’t unlike most artists who might go back to a canvass and change this or that. His masterpiece is a lot bigger than most, but he’s got the tools, talent, and money to add some more flavor to his wildly imaginative and deep universe. 

Fans should be a bit more thankful of the effort GL puts into these updates. He’s doing more than just shelling out the minimum cost for a high def transfer but essentially the same movie experience. We’ve seen these movies a million times. Getting a slightly newer experience adds to the novelty of these things.

I’ll close by making one last point. I have a 3 year old. He’s only seen the DVD transfer of the series. (Yes, we started with Episode IV. I’m not above doing things in the “right order”) Do you think he’s ever going to care if Han shot first according to some guy that saw it in the theater 40 years ago? Do you think he’s really missing that giant ugly black dot on the Emperor’s hood in “Jedi”? NO!

Relax, folks. And maybe think about revolutionizing the way we imagine the universe outside of our own with your own mind for a change.

Since the birth of my son 3 years ago, July has been notably crazy. Crazy in the good sense, but “crazy” all the same. Aside from adding another candle to my little tornado’s cake, July of 2011 marked the commencement for my life in another major way; I could finally call myself a graduate of Animation Mentor.

The mid-month events weekend consisted of an AM open house, graduation and after party, BBQ, and as much studio sight-seeing as possible. Every day was met with more and more genuinely friendly and amazing artists. I was so excited to finally get the chance to spend some time with friends and former classmates, AM staff, and students still working their way through the program. It was such a trip to be part of a such a huge group of kindred spirits. It seemed like everyone was on the same page, laughing about the same kind of things, and were truly interested in the direction each of us would be taking after we parted ways. 

But now that the excitement of walking on stage for the diploma, hanging out with Bobby, Shawn, and Carlos, chatting with Dean DeBlois about music and “Dragons”, touring through Pixar with Neil Blevins, and sitting 10 feet from Dennis Muren at lunchtime in the ILM café has worn down a bit (only slightly!) it’s time to get my nose back to the grindstone.

SIGGRAPH is only a week away. Studios are hiring. It’s back to planning, planning, planning, and animating, animating, animating. From here on, I hope to start keeping a pretty intense log of thoughts, insight, and maybe even struggles, as I work toward my first studio gig.

Stay tuned!

Here’s the really real reel! I really hope you rike it. I mean, like it!

-D

Well, it’s been a long time coming but I am happy (and a little sad) to say that things are finally beginning to wind down at Animation Mentor. I’m just about 2 weeks away from completing Class 6 and I’m inching closer and closer to a quality, Character Animation demo reel. Here’s the collection as it stands now, but there will further upgrades as more and more feedback presents itself and as time permits. Enjoy, my kiddies!

Oh, and for fans of Slow News Day with Derek Stewart, all 6 of you will be happy to know that I’ve got several ideas, quirks, smirks, and knee jerks in the works that shall be coming to you this summer. 

Also, I really need to get a couch. 

This is a shot that I’m currently working on for AM. Obviously it’s a work in progress, but it’s the progress thus far that I wanted to share now that I am in the polishing stages

Epiphany. Generally speaking, the difference between animation in games and animation in film (or any type of film for that matter) is the role that conflict plays within the context of the medium.

Video games: conflict obstructs the player from success and serves as a temporary, real-time obstacle.

Film: conflict carries the audience toward a resolution in the story and reveals more about the character to the audience and to him/herself.

Well, I’d like to say I’ve been staying on task, but truth be told I’ve been searching for inspiration in just about everything else but what I’ve been focusing on. Animation, I love it, but I can’t ignore my other passions. I’ve fallen in love. I’ve found blues guitar again. I’ve rediscovered my love for painting. It’s been a real Renaissance period for me over the last month and I can honestly say that I’m quite possibly the happiest I’ve been, creatively speaking, in a very long time.

I actually painted two fan-portraits in one day. Two made, mad-men favorites of mine; The Joker and Dr. Lecter. The Joker is a standby for many a doodle fair, but Anthony Hopkins’ likeness is something I’ve never attempted until this piece.

I have to reiterate that I’ve found my muse recently. It’s a great, great feeling to be in touch with all that I’ve felt for so long provides my singularity as an artist.

To my muse — I think I could stay with you.

I suppose I should start posting these here. Slow News Day. Enjoy!

So, a couple of nights ago, I got a wild hair to do some painting. Photoshop style.

Well, I’ve always found that Batman has proven to be a great motivation in many things for me personally, but the aesthetics are undeniably an addiction of mine. So, I felt inspired to recreate a great image found in the trailer for the upcoming game “Batman: Arkham City.”

Be sure to check out the video at the link for a look at the shot I’m talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYdACm1xEOY

This painting took about 3 hours (and a few glasses of wine) to complete. Had an absolute blast putting it together and hope to do a lot more in the near future.

Possibly a “Bioshock” inspired image for a friend of mine is on its way…

Stay tuned!

I realized this morning that I’ve neglected the frequent updates on my shots at AM. I apologize! I know some like to see the progression. Well, this one in particular is getting pretty close to being put on the shelf until I’m ready to polish further once the “Polish and Portfolio” class starts next term. I think it’s been around 10 weeks or something? I don’t know feels like a long time to be working on 10 seconds of animation. A lot longer than I needed, I think, but hey it’s the process.

I need coffee.