Graduated!

Click for more 2009 Graduation Pictures

Well that’s it! This is a picture with the people who made my graduation possible. Without them I wouldn’t be where I am today and I owe them much more than I can ever give them. If I ever find my way back up to the bay area, I will be sure to knock on their door and see if they need my teaching services so I can give back to the students some of what I was able to get from them. Thank you to all my professors and peers throughout my college career. Fire it up!

It’s Official!

So I know it’s the worst kept secret out there, but I can officially say that I got a job at DreamWorks Animation!!! I don’t think it’s totally sunk in yet. It’s a truly amazing opportunity and I’m more than excited to be starting a new path in my life. Along with it, I will be moving to Glendale, CA to start the new job. I will keep everyone updated as things get underway!

Last Day of School

Hangin' them up

Part way through my college career at San Jose State, I told my friend Januel that when I was done I would hang up my shoes in the lab. Today that became reality. The shoes I hung up were well loved and well worn and proudly bore the Shrunkenheadman logo. Before I hung them up I inscribed some words of wisdom that I want to pass on to future generations of Shrunkenheadman. On the left shoe, it says “Expect the best, but don’t expect it to come easy” and “Remember to have fun and sleep!”. On the right shoe it says “It’s all about the mileage”, “Squint!”, and “Remember your audience!” I should add one more, but we all know this one...Fire it up!

AWESOME

I didn’t know how my “awesometastic” day could be topped, but it just was by today. Details to follow. All I can say is AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 :)

“Awesometastic” Day

In a term coined by my friend, Scott “Guy” LaFleur, I had an “awesometastic” day. Just to be discrete about it, I had an interview with a major animation studio today and it went really well! In the end it amounted to three interviews with 7 amazing artists. This would be an “awesometastic” opportunity. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Hippie Test Starting on Curves

I’m just getting into curves now and I’ve been focusing on the timing of hippie’s entrance. I’d like to give the whole test a little more texture, and the entrance contrasting with the moment of pause will help with that.

I also want to make sure my hand poses and facial expressions are nailed down by this point, and those still need work before I get too far ahead.

The businessman has some minor but important tweaks giving him more focus during the test.

Revised Blocking Hippie Test

So I spent yesterday reshooting some reference for the businessman because from others’ notes, he was attracting too much attention. The idea now is to get him offstage quickly and keep him within a single though process during that time. Before I was trying to add several changes in thought and it was killing the overall flow. Now I think it works better, but there’s still work to be done! I also roughed in the lip sync on the hippie, which I tried to play up since it’s quite small on the screen. I think it will be fun to play with the mouthshapes of this hippie as they will be very “surfer-bum like” with very exaggerated and relaxed shapes.

I also added the same test but with a photo background. I wanted to know how that would look or if it would be too distracting. I personally like the park background, but we’ll see what others say.

Star Trek AWESOMENESS (SPOILERS!)

That’s right, I dressed up.

I can’t get over how entertaining this movie was! From the opening scene which had me close to tears, to the Enterprise blazing phasers coming out of hyperspace, it was an all around blast!! The casting was great, and I especially loved the way Karl Urban interpreted McCoy...“Are you our of your Vulcan mind?!” The integration of the alternate timeline into the plot did not seem manufactured at all, and it left the franchise open for interpretation down the road. And how cool is Red Matter?!

As you can see I wore my Spock costume that I had lying around from a few halloweens ago. I ended up being the only one dressed up! (yeah I know, nerdy!) But it’s ok, despite being made fun of by high school kids, it was worth it to spend time with friends and have a great time!

Amazing Acting Moment

I love hockey. And I love animation. So when I happened across this clip I couldn’t help but smile. I smile every time I play it. The acting is so genuine and amazing, and the contrast set up by the hockey players and their actions is just inherently funny. I love all the little moments throughout this piece and I would love to get this honesty out of my acting and animation. It makes me wonder “why didn’t I think of that!” Enjoy!

I’m in the Paper!

I found out I was in the paper the other day. It was part of an article for D-Day and this was the teaser photo they put on the front page! Good times with Spock ears. Now I’m debating whether to wear the costume for Thursday :)

Good News at the BFA Gallery Show!

Too many smiles: Paul Abadilla, Don Ta, Rebbaz Royee, Corey Tom

The BFA Gallery Show this year looks amazing. Not only is the work amazing from all the students, but my good buddies Rebbaz Royee and Chris Palmer really put together a great show. While I was at the Gallery Opening night, I received some fantastic news! I don’t want to jinx anything, so I’ll share if and when the time is right...but trust me it’s good news :)

My New Website

andrewharkins.com

I started a new web site with my newest 3D animation reel on it. It's still a work in progress, but please check it out. I won't be updating this blog anymore, so all my newest stuff should be on my new site.

Update (2009.09.02): I've decided to start the slow process of bringing all my new blog posts back to this blogspot. My other work and website will still be up and running, but the blog portion will stay here.

Sarcastic Surgeon Revision

So I took a break from the hippie test, and I went back to my “Sarcastic Surgeon” dialogue piece. It’s one of the tests that I think needs the most work to get it to polish. My main goal this time around was to get a better sense of mass and weight in the the movements, and to clean up actions. I think it’s getting better, but like any test, it still needs work.

D-Day

photo by Anne Utter

Another year, another D-Day. This will be my last though, but it’s been fun. This year, I was Spock in Star Trek vs. Darth Vader. I recycled my Halloween costume from two years ago. Of course I cut my hair and wore the ears! I even did some last minute makeup in the setup room. Here’s a rundown of the D-Day skits I’ve been in:

2009 Star Trek Crew vs. Darth Vader

Kirk - Steve Hirt

Spock - Me

McCoy - Colin King-Bailey

Uhura - Renee Carty

Sulu - Michael Fong

Scotty - Craig Kitzman

Red Shirts - Jake Panian, Paul Nguyen, Jake Baker

Darth Vader - Phil Wanardi

2008 My Futurama Head vs Micah Sibert;s Futurama Head

2007 My Muppet Self and Januel Mercado’s Muppet Self vs. Jennifer Corker and Lauren Andrews’ Muppet Selves

2006 Brokeback Mountain with Januel Mercado vs. Andrea Rhodes (country girlfriend/wife) and Paul Abadilla (cow)

2005 Magician vs. Rabbit (Fumi Nakamura)

Professional Project Finished!

We finished the opening sequence for the “Imagination Station” PBS Show today. It still needs some minor tweaks, but for all intents and purposes, it’s done! It was such an amazing experience getting to work on a professional project before even leaving school, and it was a truly special experience getting to direct my first project. I learned a lot about management and I hope to apply it to future projects. All of this couldn’t have been done without a lot of hard work from my classmates. My friend and fellow animator extraordinaire, Corey Tom, was a trooper in getting all the animation done, and stayed up countless nights making sure it all went smoothly during the many, many renders. I wish I could show you the work, but for now, you’ll have to catch it on your local PBS station when it airs!