Morph

    This week has been rather hard, but also very good. Last week Wednesday I finished a huge curving perspective pan, and after coming down from off that high I sort of burnt out a bit, compounded by complications to my animations. Sunday gave me a new personal responsibility , and on Tuesday this week my Grandmother passed on, which also depressed me further. That lack of energy outstayed its welcome a bit, but even with that I managed to get my assignments finished, as God helped me and gave me courage and strength. So yeah, this week I was lethargic, but I got the things I needed to do done through it all. And I am looking forward to a productive weekend, now that I have a bit more of my concentration back.

    I have a lot of assignments to post on here, as we have done a lot in the past two months. (It really doesn't feel like only two months have passed. It feels like way more.) So I will start with this morph project, the first creative assignment we did, and one of the most fun. It was also one of my longest, using up a ton of animation paper (at least it felt that heavy) and clocking in total at over 40 seconds by the class. My part was the teddy bear with the laser cannon at the beginning. I really enjoyed doing that.

Yeti Farm Creative

    Last Friday our class was visited by Ashley Ramsay of Yeti Farm Creative, an animation studio in town. She came in to talk to us about what to expect from the industry that we're entering, and to correct any misconceptions or fantasies we had about it. It was extremely enjoyable, and was rather enlightening.

    I had sort of guessed at the long work hours and effort put into this industry. During my research about the comics industry it was the thing that most creators poked fun at, besides their procrastination, so I was expecting the things she had said. I also expected the admonitions about expectations and entitlement, and the qualifications of dedication and work ethic as well, as they are always necessary for being successful in work.

    I really appreciated her comments about how hard it is to actually produce your own stories in this industry. I had known that it would be extremely hard, nigh impossible, and it has not changed my desire to create my own works, but the reminder was very useful. Especially for bringing me down to earth more often, as my head seems to have a permanent residence in the clouds.

    What I found most intriguing was the explanation she gave of the workflow of a project. I was not aware of just how many positions need to be filled at any given time for a single project. Looking back on it, it is something I should have expected, but still. The lecture was very enlightening in that regard. Getting a picture of the workflow allows me to think ahead and focus my studies to what I will need to be prepared for.

    What Yeti Farm creative was doing on their own, branching off of their contract work was really interesting, and it was very nice to see the industry here expanding. I can't really see myself living anywhere other than here or near my extended family, so it is really nice that for the foreseeable future I can stay with family and with a job I enjoy.

   I really liked the presentation by Mrs. Ramsay. It was informative and enjoyable. I do wish that we had seen the schedule of a single person, and their schedule over a bunch of projects, and not just the flow of a single project. Otherwise, though, it was a very informative and useful lecture. Many thanks to Ashley Ramsay and Yeti Farm Creative!

Introduction

    Hi there. I'm Samuel Streit. I am a student at the Center for Arts and Technology, taking a course in traditional animation. I aspire to be a comic and graphic novel author/artist, and also to be an animator. I enjoy storytelling in general, and you will often see even the basic assignments of mine that I post on this blog have a bit extra that I put in so that they can tell a story.

    This blog is to showcase my progress during my animation course at the Center for Arts and Technology. It is my aim to post my work throughout each term, and to give myself the personal habit of operating on a weekly schedule. It is also a way for me to begin to journal my activities and thoughts, both of my finished pieces and the process it took to get there. It is also a way for me to look back on my work in the future, and to remember "Why on earth did I do that?" 'Cause that can often use remembering.

    I hope whoever will read this will enjoy my showcase and my thoughts. See you!