Finally doing it!

Well, I've been pretty busy these past few weeks and getting things cleaned up, throwing out a lot of unwanted stuff and packing up what remains to prepare for leaving this place once and for all. Don't get me wrong, Dallas is fun. I really just can't wait to make that move to the next step in my life and to see things unfold as they have in the past month.

Wow! It's only been a month. It really seems like so much longer than that. I've considered moving to Ft. Worth and have been keeping in mind a REALLY beautiful place downtown Dallas. ( Corinthian Bed and Breakfast ) I've had plans for this place for quite some time and although I know what I would love to do, I just have to be patient. I don't know, my mind has been all over the place recently and in a good way. Just feeling my heart and spirits lift when I see her. Since I know that there's a chance she'll read this I can't say the things that I've been thinking really. ;) Suffice it to say that every time I see her I never want it to end.

A lot of people have asked me too "Do you believe that this is the right one?" Well, to that all I can say is the times we're together I feel like everything stops around us. I'm oblivious to anyone and anything else while I'm with her. The ideals we share are very much the same, our music tastes, movies (Ok, so it doesn't include the really good horror flicks LOL!) I think that being two very artistic people we share a deep passion for our varieties in self-expression and that's a huge plus! We're both very passionate, affectionate, loving and I feel as if we've known each other for years. What more can I say?

Everything couldn't be better and feel more right. I wish the best for all of those who are looking for the right one for them and hope you find that one as I was able to.

First post for the New Year of 2010

Hey, hey!!! I know it's been quite a while, but so many things have been going on that I haven't had time to blog really at all. Sooooo... LOL, let's get started on this roller-coaster and see what's been going on.

Well, most of you know that I've been working pretty hard and keeping things going great. I can't complain in the least with how things have worked out. I've learned a great deal about myself in the past few months (Awsome! SAW is on Syfy!) and I've been slowly chipping away at my animation / film short. Along the way I've wandered from the film / animation due to real life events, but I have hopes that I can get the animation going again once I get settled in to the new apartment. Yes, I've finally found that living in the place that I'm at isn't really isn't going to be a place of creativity as I had once thought. So what about this new place?

The new apartment is really quite nice and more spacious than the one I'm in with almost 400 sq ft more while almost $20.00 cheaper. It doesn't sound like much, but the new place has a fireplace and washer / dryer connections. Finally no more runs to the public laundromat and listening to strange people asking me if I know that Satan is going to steal my sole (yep, live in an awsome area LOL!)

Short of the apartment, I've also met one of the most amazing ladies that I've ever had the chance of getting to know. *sigh* I don't know what to say and that's pretty rare for me LOL.... I was getting pretty settled in for the long haul of just me, my kids and work when all of a sudden I met the most intense, passionate, giving, talented and beautiful lady. I never thought that two people could have this much in common, nor have the same level of love for art, family and friends.

Yes, I'm sitting here smiling just thinking about all the various emotions and  how I feel like everything stops when she's there. It's the most amazing feeling to be so in love with someone and still want to be consumed with every breath and touch. I'm a very lucky person to have met such a person and I'm doing my best to take it slow so we can enjoy our time together. Perhaps this is the best way to build a great friendship / relationship... LOL, I know I'm no expert on that subject by any means, but I believe that she's the best person for me.

I'll try to post after the move and see how things go!

The Asylum of The East...

What can I say? Finally there is finally a version of Ivan out! I know it's taken some time (and countless hours of tinkering), but I have finally created the little guy. Many of you will (of course) notice the influence from the Tim Burton characters. I've thought of doing at least one character in this style, but this is simply because there are so many people doing this, that it's become really absurd to do another standardized model. So, this is really done for kicks.

The current model was created with the box modeling technique in Maya 2008 and converted to Sub-D. I'll update with the poly count later, but currently the model is rigged and the normals are corrected within the skeleton. IK handles are in place for the legs and reverse foot controls are next on the list.

To-Do List

1. Add controls for feet, hips upper body and knees.
2. Model head separate and add head rig.
3. Combine head to body rig.
4. Texture model.
5. Add hair to character and eyebrows.

Keep visiting back often for updates to Ivan and the animation.

Killing time...

Well, I created some more 3D stuff and been kind of bored and withdrawn recently. I'm just trying to find some inspiration to get some things going. So far it's been wondering about creating liquids in 3D space to make some of my renders more realistic. Course, when everything except the liquid looks real, it's kind of frustrating. :) So, I'm not sure what else to do. The options have pretty much been sitting on the couch and watching tv, working on the computer or sleeping. Not sure, but it just seems that nothing is interesting anymore.

Dallas is good from what I've seen of it. Course with the way money is tight all over, there is really a limit on what we're able to do. Eh... I wish I could write something a little more upbeat, but maybe the next few months with provide that. Who knows?

I've entered a couple competitions out there and I'll see what happens with those too. One is for the Mountain Dew Bottle Design and the other is for some liquor (not sure if I'm going to do that one yet.)

I've also posted some pics of the updated render though and if you'd like to give some crits they would be welcome. The image below is the recent render...



That's about it for now. The new job rocks and doing the same old stuff other than that.

Until next time...

A new career path

Well, we spent a good amount of time looking for a good job and like everyone, we have experienced a number of setbacks. What do you do? We did the head hunters thing and then from there we tried direct hire situations. Nothing was coming up and better still, money was getting as short as our tempers. As the old saying goes, "Money isn't everything" it really makes you sit and look at the people in your life that you have and let's you see what's the most important priorities. I'm really happy to say that I have two amazing daughters and a little boy who mean the world to me. Most of all, I have someone that I love very much and although things are bumpy from time to time; it's being able to know that with each rough spot we learn more about the other and can grow from it. Are we perfect? Hell no! I believe that we're perfect for each other though, but like anything in life nothing is for certain.

I recall what my grandmother used to say... "You're the luckiest SOB that I know. You can fall in a pile of crap and come up smelling like a rose just about every time." You know, I thought that she was just saying it, but the older I get the more I understand that I do have a good amount of luck on my side and I have to really embrace that. Case and point, just as Jeanette and I thought we would be out of money all together, we end up getting a phone call the very next day. The call was from RJ Byrd recruiting agency informing me that I would be getting a call from HR Smart in Richardson, TX. HR Smart heard the situation and agreed to take me on as a web developer! The most amazing part is that the people that I work with are amazing! Not to mention that the salary is more than I've ever made too! The client list as well are top name companies that led me to be a little intimidated at first, but really it's a great feeling to work on some of the big company sites. I haven't as of yet, but I can see that it's going to be very VERY soon.

So what does the future hold? Who the hell knows! I have a great life and I'm willing to take all the pot holes that come with it (that's why they make filler right, LOL?) Just need to take it one day at a time and as the late great George Carlin once said "There is no such thing as living in the 'present', you live in the immediate future and the immediate past!"

I finally found an old picture from about 6 years ago of my old 1967 Camaro. I have a few that are in a scrap book, but this was definitely one of my most prized cars ever. You can see a closer look of the car with my daughter in the drivers seat on my other pages though. I thought I would share since I know a few of you enjoy the muscle car scene. :)

Effects Corner

For those interested in learning about VFX have a look at http://effectscorner.blogspot.com/ for some great information from one of the great VFX artists Scott Squires. I'll add more here later, but please feel free to jump over and take a look at some of his work and podcasts on such techniques as rotoscoping.