Dubai city living
- At November 30, 2015
- By Adam
- In Sketchbook, Travel, Updates
0
I’m currently visiting my friends Luke and Claire in Dubai (have a look at Luke’s ace sunglasses company, wildwoodme.com) so doing a bit of sketch journaling whilst experiencing this city living.
I’ve never been to Dubai or the UAE before, but it’s a pretty interesting place. Past the fact that there’s this futuristic city in the middle of a desert, the whole culture is full of contrasts. The most interesting being the mix of a strict Muslim social bedrock right next to the liberal expat lifestyle.
A sketchbook page from Luke’s dining table, looking out over the rooftop gardens.
This is the view from one of the many high rises that have popped up in the past 10 years. Smudges of green in a sandy coloured landscape, with tiny spots of human colour. Going camping in Oman for a few days too, looking forward to that one!
Your kick up the arse inspiration
- At November 23, 2015
- By Adam
- In inspiration, videos
- 0
Saying kick up the arse inspiration might sound a bit crass, but I challenge anyone to find a video that inspires an animator, filmmaker or storyteller better than these precious few minutes of Ralph Bakshi.
Ralph Bakshi back in the day, getting it done with no regard for fire safety
Some people love him, some not so much, but you can’t fault his plain simple approach to getting something done and the ‘what’s stopping you’ mentality. I’m guilty of this too! I think it’s the fear you have deep down of something not living up to your expectations.
With the internet showing you the best of the best, highlights of the creative world if you will, it’s easy to feel like everyone else is better than you, and…well what’s the point of making something if no one will notice? But then that’s the side effect of wanting affirmation and fame…whereas most people do actually enjoy telling a story, they just forget it in the whirlwind of ‘inspiration’.
This video works for me because it speaks to the core creative being that is the 7-year-old version of myself, watching films and just wanting to entertain and have fun doing it. Making up your own worlds, where pretty much anything can happen! Recent shows like Adventure Time SuperJail show that even ‘mainstream’ animation can still attract a huge audience.
Everyone wants a commission for a series or a feature contract…but maybe we’d be better just getting stuck in and focusing on the hard yet cheaper stuff (like character and story development) and just….well getting it done!
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/WApcUBcVMos?t=31s” align=”center” title=”Bakshi” description=”Bakshi dishes out the advice” maxwidth=”550″ /]New site – the skinny
- At November 22, 2015
- By Adam
- In Updates
- 0
Finally I’m back!
I took the site down to refresh it earlier this year, but life got in the way and there’s always these growing ambitions about what your website should look like when you start digging. I had a think about what I wanted from it and decided just to get something simple up for now and customise as I need to. My ‘online presence’ has changed in the past few years, so this new site will reflect that.
- A place for my show/demo reel from my day job.
- Somewhere to share the best bits of my sketchbook.
- An online journal for tracking the making of films or progress of projects.
- Anything else I find interesting around my career and work life balance.
The main thing is I’m a bit older now, and with a bit of perspective, I’ve not got the narrower purpose my website had 10 years ago (to get me a job!) although keeping my profile ticking over doesn’t hurt.
Sketchbooks help me remember things vividly and it’s kind of like meditation too. I just have to remember to not let my own expectations get the better of me..!
If anyone reading this is looking for advice or feedback on their career in animation, just drop me a line and I’ll do my best to help. Although I don’t work for a big Hollywood studio, I’ve had some great guidance during my career so far, some of which will be useful for those starting out or changing paths.