Crazy Busy...

A couple of months ago when I made the move to cut back my Toy Industry work to part time so that I could focus on growing my freelance business, I kinda thought it'd be a slow transition that involved me twiddling my thumbs a bit till the work came.

Boy was I mistaken. Its been crazy busy, but also exciting. Its exposed me to work involved in both the Animation and Video Game industries and provided me with whole new experiences. Its nice to be learning new skills.

The downside tho, is that I've had no time for anypersonal projects but hey, when the work's there you've gotta take it! This little rat sketch is the first bit of sketching I managed for myself in a little while. Scribbled it up last nite - obviously still seeing the carry over of the Tim Burton influence.

For today's sketch i started on this character sketch that I plan to render up as vector art...

Finally got to see Wall-E

I finally got to see Wall-E!

In a word...wow!!! I had extremely high expectations going in, and they were totally blown away. It really seems apparent to me that Pixar are in a whole other category to any other 3d filmhouse at the moment. Their ability to create memorable characters and tell a wonderful story are second to none.
Without doubt the character of Wall-E is one of the cutest, most endearing and memorable characters to come along in a long while. The design feat in itself to get such expression and personality in such a minimal character is astounding.
The story is definitely where Pixar shine though. Its a mature, almost adult theme told with a childlike magic and niavette.It really is a beautiful tale and serious kudos have to go out to Pixar for having the bravery to take a punt on the idea of having virtually no human speech dialogue for almost the first hour. It would've been a massive risk and props definitely should be given to the visionaries at pixar and also the decision makers for making such a bold decision.
I highly recommend anybody go see this film. Recapture some of that childhood wonder and open yourself up to an endearing and thoroughly enjoyable cinema experience!