News
I just started teaching a class at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco (it’s a graduate class on texture creation). It’s only one class a week on Thursday evenings, and I’ll see if I can get some illustration or sequential art classes to teach as well, as that interests me more.
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I did some contract work for an upcoming CG feature animation that Sony Pictures Imageworks is doing titled “Surf’s Up.” You can see the official website here. I can’t show anything yet though–you know, NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) and all that stuff. I’m told that my next contract will be another Sony Pictures Imageworks film–in fact, a gigantic blockbuster sequel (since I haven’t started on it yet, I don’t want to say what it is until it actually happens. If you’re a smart cookie you probably have a good idea what it is).
Weblog
My old co-worker from Z-Axis, Todd Robinson, is the head of the game department at the Academy of Art University, and it’s been over five years since I last saw him. When he asked me if I wanted to teach at the Academy, I said yes right away. I was quite impressed by the school’s facilities when he showed me around–the school is definitely doing very well financially. I mean, these students are working on computers that are on the bleeding edge–most studios don’t even have computers that fast. The students at the Academy are noticeably more quiet and introverted compared to the students at the Art Institute (at least based on the classes I’ve taught at both schools), and one of the tech support guys there confirmed that it wasn’t just me–that’s just how it is over there.
A lot of the instructors are veterans that’s worked on high profile film/game/animation projects for big studios, and decided that they no longer want to deal with all the negative aspects that production work involves and prefer to take it easy and teach for a while. I don’t think I’m at that point at–I still have quite a bit of room for growth, so I guess I’ll have to fight some more battles in the frontlines for a while.
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Did you know that if you’re over the age twenty, you won’t be able to hear certain frequencies that people under twenty could? It’s because as we age, our hearing degrades–it’s something that just happens, and you can’t do a thing about it. Want to test how that works? Get people you know who are over and under age twenty to try this out.
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Since I’m on the topic of hearing and sound, I should mention that Sonar 6 is finally unveiled! Click on the pic and take a look at all the kickass new features:
The new feature that’s got me the most excited is the Active Controller Technology. Cakewalk couldn’t have implemented it at a better time, because I was *this* close to buying one of the Novation Remote SL’s (click on pic to find out more about it):
To be honest, the Remote SL series isn’t exactly sexy looking, and my only reason for getting it was for the automapping feature, which I won’t need anymore since Sonar 6 has the ACT feature now. I suppose if I worked with other sequencers a lot, I’d want automap still, but Sonar is pretty much my main host and I try not to use other softwares unless I have no choice. I just like keeping my projects all in one software because I hate dealing with exporting/importing stuff, or memorizing hotkeys for a bunch of different apps.
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I came across an awesome website that catalogs all the software emulations of hardware synths ever made. I was surprised by how comprehensive the list is. Check it out.
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The rearview mirror of my car keeps falling off–I’ve used industrial strength glue on it twice already, and I decided to use something else that’s not specifically made for auto parts and see if it works. Strange thing is, it didn’t just fall off–the original factory adhesive actually took off about 1/4″ of glass with it! There’s a crater in the glass where the rearview mirror used to be, leaving a thinner layer of glass left. I know the best thing to do is to just go to the auto shop and have them replace the entire front windshield, but I just want to make sure I’ve given it a shot on my own first. Seriously, why pay for a whole front windshield when you can just glue the damn thing back on yourself?
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I’ve noticed that every dentist I go to, they never listen to me when I tell them a new filling or crown needs to be filed down more because it sticks out too much. They always tell me “why don’t you try getting used to it for a while first, and if it really sticks out too much, we can file it down later.” Well, every single time I let them talk me into it, I’ve never magically “gotten used” something sticking out too much in my mouth–everytime I bite down I can feel it. So why don’t dentists listen to me when I tell them that? It happened again today, and I’m going to have to go back and get that sucker filed down. Man, what is it with me and doctors recently?
Yeah, my wisdom teeth have been coming in for past few years, I should go to the dentist because one side of my mouth the tooth has not come up all the way. I have more gum than tooth sticking out and food gets stuck in there way too much.
Hope I didn’t gross you out!
What you need is to get one of those syringe blasters–it’s like a needle syringe, except there’s no needle at the end, ust a curved long snout. You simply load it with water, point the snout at the spot where food is stuck, and blast that sucker out. Dentists’ offices should have them, and maybe drugstores too.
I’ve been using them ever since my wisdom teeth started causing me problems around 19. They really saved my ass many times, because stuck food leads to infection, and blasting them out at the first sign of pain will immediately put a stop to it.