It’s been way too long since I’ve updated this blog, but this past year was probably the busiest yet. I seem to spend more time editing my coopNotes blog, but I have some personal projects I’m starting up again and will start posting again soon.

The big news is that after 2.5 years at Sega, I’m now working at Lucas Arts and having a really amazing time here. Other than the perk of being able to swim every day at lunch, I think they team I’m on has some of the brightest, talented people I’ve worked with to date.

it’s a stickup from coop on Vimeo.

There’s more to do, but other than polish it for a reel..it’s at a stopping point for now. I highly recommend Keith’s APT session to anyone who want’s to push their skills further. I learned a ton about how to make my process work better for me

More progress….a lot more polish, sharpening up arcs, timing, etc. Hoping not to build upon existing problems.

Sadly, it’s the last week of the APT session, so I’m endeavoring to get as much done as possible. Right now, I’m continuing to tighten up the weight and timing a bit, watching the fluidity and rhythms of the arcs, and starting to address the facial (super rough pass right now)…the ending is still in that awkward post-blocking phase, but my first priority will be to tighten up the timing/moving holds on that and get back to starting to refine the motion.

This month I’m taking Keith Lango’s APT session, working on the above dialogue piece..Here’s week 2 of my blocking. So far it’s been invaluable in looking at my working process and not being lazy about posing!

at around the?  7:20 mark or so, you can see me,?  studiously working away.

In any case, more of the Golden Axe publicity machine working its wonders

MORE HERE - you can see me working away at around 7:20 or so, as well as see some nifty animations that were cut from the game a while back..

Now that my?  project is over and I have a little time, I’ll be updating the above link periodically as I try to finish this anim…feedback is always welcome!

I got to a point in this animation where a friend suggested I rethink it, as I swapped in the chef rig halfway through. Above is my initial sketch of the idea. I changed it from a table situation to someone tying a tie, then turning around….I was given the suggestion of making the chef do something that a chef might be doing, to strengthen the character, so after a bunch of sketches, I ended up with the situation below..

After listening to the clip a bit more and talking to fellow animators, I think it’s time to move on from this one…I think it will never get beyond just being a dialogue fragment, now matter how much context I try to add.

I put together a quick showreel of the work done this term in class at the academy of art. Congrats to Joseph Lee who nabbed himself an internship at Pixar!

I just heard Stormfront Studios closed it’s doors. Best of luck to all the talented people turned out on the street. If any former SFers read this blog, email me and I’ll do my part to pass names around. With the demands of next gen teams and hardware, this business is more volatile than ever.

Interesting interview/article about it all.?