Wednesday, February 13, 2008

yet another update...


I have come to a conclusion… I am a terrible blogger! Since I first posted my blog, nearly six months ago, I have only posted three entries. In person, I talk a lot. Some people might even say too much;) But, for some reason, I have a really hard time sitting down and updating this site. So, I apologize to those that continue to stop by and see what I have going on.

However, I’m sure that 99% of those that stop by are wondering about Basic Guy v3.0 (and could care less about what I have to “say”). I get emails from all over the world asking “yo Tim, we’re waiting man!!!! What gives man?!?!”. Trust me, I want him done as much, if not more so, than the rest of you. Unfortunately, finding the time to actually sit down and work on him is REALLY hard for me these days.

Note: I’m about to go off topic;)

Recently (December of 2007), I have opened a small animation studio in Portland, Oregon. That’s the NW United States for those not familiar with the states. It is actually a satellite studio for Page 44 Studios. They are located in San Francisco, CA (I think everybody knows where California is!). I used to be the lead animator there for over four years. But, back in 2005 I moved back up to Oregon to try something new… Well, Oregon is not the place to really live if you are an animator…yet. We have a few studios here. But, it’s nothing like Cali though.

After struggling to find steady animation work, I decided to try a different route. Why not get something of my own going? I have always loved leading a team. So starting a studio was something that really spoke to me. While Portland isn’t saturated with tons of studios, we have a pretty large pool of talent. At first the studio was going to be 100% me. However, I have very little business training and figuring out where to start was a bit scary.

But, then I started talking to Page 44 again and they suggested the idea of me opening a branch up here. Needless to say, it is a dream come (coming) true! Sure the studio isn’t exactly “mine”, but I get to more or less run it however I want.

I have recently hired three talented animators to help me get things going. We are currently working on a very high profile video game title (I can’t really say too much about it because it hasn’t been publicly announced yet.). At this point, I have reached my limit for co-workers. I’d love to have more animators, but Page 44 already has a team of animators in San Francisco as well. Hopefully, one day I will have a team of animators, modelers, etc! Maybe next project…

By now, you’re probably skimming everything that I’ve written looking for anything about Basic Guy. Fine, I’ll get back to thatJ Basic Guy v3.0 is still being worked on… ever so slowly. If you read the part where I explained what is currently going on with my career, then you’ll understand that I have a lot going on with work right now. I also have a wife and son that I want to spend time with after working LONG hours every day.

Unfortunately, for Basic Guy, he gets ignored most days. There really isn’t a lot left to do. But, finding the time to do it is another thing. I’d love to say that I’ll have him done soon, but I can’t make that promise. But, it is something that I REALLY want to finish ASAP and release to you all. So please don’t lose faith in him! I’m also dying to animate him again as well…

Cheers and happy animating!

6 comments:

mike v. said...

i don't envy you at all tim. i'm doing a lip sync for jason's class and i'm looking for a model. i guess i'll keep looking. can't wait for basic guy. good luck with your-ish studio. maybe i'll work for you some day.

Anonymous said...

hey man, great stuff and more importantly, keep living the dream! Congrats on moving up, up, up!

Anonymous said...

ahhhhhhhh! hurry up!

just kidding.

great rigg

Daniel M.C. Alvite said...

Hey tim, keep it reel off course we will wait as long it takes, we all want the best you can do,,,I'm sure you will find some time, no worries,
here a link of an animation I did with your flour sacks, I love that rig,,,
http://www.dmca.com.br/anima/FSLineUpNet.mov

I hope you enjoy it.

btz said...

THE BEST RIG FOR MAYA =D

we keep the faith on him!!!

(i´m sorry for my bad english)

Eduardo Komaba
from Brazil!!

Anonymous said...

Hey all,
Thanks for all the kind words and patience! Basic Guy v3.0 is SO close now. I've slowly worked on him for a long time and am now trying to tidy everything up for a full release! I think that you'll all like the facial controls (I've rigged the face a ton of times now and am happy with the latest version). I can't wait to animate him too...

Hey Daniel,
Awesome flour sack animation (easily one of the best I've seen done with my rig)! Thanks for sharing!


Thanks once again for all the nice words and support! It shouldn't be much longer until you all get to take v3.0 for a ride.

Cheers!
Tim