alexiss dawn

I have a new blog. It’s not replacing this one as this will remain up to focus on animation and to continue keeping the history of my journey from know-nothing about animation to now as I continue as a working animator. But this new blog is for everything else….but rather than explaining it here, go check out the explanation on the first post. =)

Every year I get brought back to a commencement speech Steve Jobs gave in 2005. In all of the videos that provide inspiration for me, this is probably my favorite. I can’t wait to tell our story and what has been going on. I’m blessed to work with some pretty dang amazing people. Listening to this speech again tonight is perfect. Listen and learn — it has a zillion excellent points.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Two quotes from Walt Disney. They sum up the moment more than anything I could say.

“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.”

“When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.”

Just got back from spending the weekend out in the San Francisco area with a ton of Animation Mentor students, alumni, and mentors. It was time for the annual BBQ, as well as graduation and job fair. It was a incredibly great time to catch up with people and just enjoy being together. This was my third BBQ and may have been the best yet.

I met up for lunches and dinners with people, saw IA3 with a large group of AMers, partied way too late (or early in the morning…), got a killer sunburn, slept very little, dealt with massive group checks, and had an absolutely amazing time.

I also got to meet a few of my former springboard students in person. They did amazingly well in my class and are now working their way through class 1 at Animation Mentor. Good times to meet them and get to chat a bit.

Major kudos to the AM staff for putting on a good time. It’s always an incredible experience to get together with the AM family. With such a strong shared passion amongst everyone, the weekend always turns out great.

Michael J. Fox wrote a book called Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. This last week he had a special on ABC centering around the book’s theme: optimism. Nothing I can say could do it justice. Just go watch it. It’ll be well worth the 40 minutes.

Click here to watch. It’s the first link on Hulu.

A snippet:

The purpose that you wish to find in life, like the cure you seek, is not going to fall from the sky. It requires the faith to take risks, and the rejection of the bonds of fear…

…Optimists are open to alternatives in the face of adversity. And deal with reality head on. That hope flourishes in groups and resonates when people are doing what they love. And that happiness is contagious — you can give it out like newspapers, and feel it in everything you do.”

This week marks the last week for the temps up at Blue Sky Studios working on Ice Age 3! A big congrats to all of them for making it through and working their butts off to help make a great movie. I can’t wait to see it all put together. It was a blast being able to work with these guys — late nights galore. They are extremely talented individuals.

Treehouse Studios’ latest episode pays tribute as they finish up animation up there:

A big congrats to the entire team there as they finish up. And another huge congrats to Fast Tony Bonilla, Garrett Shikuma, Rich Fournier, Stewart Shaw, and Brian Larson on their upgrade from temp to staff at Blue Sky as well!! You guys earned it!

Just thought I’d throw that out to the world. I do indeed love my job. Lumenas Animation Studios is an amazing place. I’ve never worked at a place with so many people so dedicated to a project and doing all that they can to see it succeed. And for everyone on all levels to be open, honest and friendly with everyone else is incredible. There’s an amazing kind of energy that comes from that type of environment and I’m pretty dang lucky to get to be a part of it. The Lumenas family is awesome.

Two weeks in! I’ve been having a great time getting going at Lumenas. We’re testing out the main character rig and getting amped up to start on the very first sequence to come to animation for the film! We have an awesome team and it’s great how well we’ve been meshing. There’s magic at Lumenas.

Animation World Network did a little write up on the studio a week and a half ago or so. Head over there to check it out and learn a little more about The Legend of Santa Claus and our studio!

Well folks, it’s time for some updates. So grab some hot cocoa and get ready for some reading!

We’ve been incredibly busy at Blue Sky, working to get Ice Age 3 done. It’s looking absolutely amazing and the rendered shots we’ve seen are gorgeous. It’s going to be a great film. It has been crunch time and that’s the reason you don’t see most of us blogging as much anymore.

As for some news, last week was my last week at Blue Sky. I received another job offer for a staff position at another studio and couldn’t pass it up. It was tough to choose to leave Blue Sky and the amazing people and great friends there. The last six months have felt so much longer and I’ve learned a TON and became close to so many people. Every studio has its quirks, but it’s the people that make up for those, and Blue Sky has some of the best people!

My time at Blue Sky was an incredible experience that taught me a lot about animation as well as life, and it will always remain a very, very special part of my life. I cannot say thank you enough to the people there for…EVERYTHING.

So what now? The new job. I’ve accepted a position at Lumenas Animation Studios in Salt Lake City and I start tomorrow! We’ll be working on The Legend of Santa Claus which will have a theatrical release next year.

Can’t say much right now, but check out the website, there’s a lot of cool info on there. Mike Belzer is our animation director and the team they’ve been rounding up sounds pretty awesome! Many AMers and a couple of guys from Blue Sky, including one of my mentors from Animation Mentor as well as coworkers at Blue Sky, Dave Gallagher!

I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to get the opportunity to have the best of both worlds — getting to animate on a film and be close to friends and family. The studio has incredible potential and I can’t wait to see what we do as a team!

Outside of animation, life is good. I made the move cross country again this last week, from New York to Utah, and have spent the last few days getting settled, and spending time with friends and family. Lots of catching up to do and I can’t wait to start this next part of my life and see what it has to teach me.

After a two week trip back home, I’m back in New York and back into crunch. It was a great break… GREAT.

We’re in the new studio now in Greenwich, CT. Blue Sky moved right before the holidays. It’s a great area and it’s bringing a brand new, awesome vibe with it. This week has been full of animating, singing, applause, and walking miles around the studio. I’m excited for the studio to have taken this step and bring everyone even more together.

A new year, and it’s going to be a good one. A LOT happened last year. I started and finished my student short film, graduated from Animation Mentor, and moved to New York to work at Blue Sky Studios. Quite the year. So far I’ve learned a TON while being at the studio — about animation and even moreso about life.

But more on that later. I just wanted to wish you all a happy (late) 2009! Apologies for the lack of posts lately but I have a lot to tell — more news to come soon!