CTN Animation Expo Recap

This past weekend I attended the first annual CTN Animation Expo in Burbank. What a fantastic weekend! Hundreds of animation artists descended on the Burbank Marriott for three days of workshops, seminars, networking, and hanging out. There were dozens of artists exhibiting their work and some top people in the biz giving incredible lectures and [...]

Ostrich Concept Sketches

A few months ago I was hired by an independent film studio in Hollywood to work on some concept sketches for an animated feature film they are developing. They had brought in an artist to do some concept work but that artist was no longer available. I was asked to do some sketches of one [...]

Animator Phil Nibbelink

A few weeks ago I attended the Motion ‘09 animation conference in New Mexico where I gave two presentations on character design. One of the mainstays of the conference is animator Phil Nibbelink. Last year he taught at least three sessions relating to animation and this year I think he gave about a half-dozen presentations [...]

CTN Animation Expo Just Around The Corner

I’ve been looking forward to this for months. The CTN Animation Expo starts Friday in Burbank, CA. To my knowledge this is the first-ever event of its kind. Artists and creatives from all over the Hollywood animation scene will be gathered under one roof for three days of inspiring seminars, workshops, and networking. Lots of [...]

PlaySkool Animation for Hasbro

Last summer I was hired by PUNY Entertainment in Minneapolis to assist a team of animators working on a new website for Hasbro’s “PlaySkool” brand. The website was created by Popular Front, also out of Minneapolis. My job was to animate a few dozen clips of Tubby the Turtle, one of four new Hasbro characters. [...]

VeggieTales Creator Partners With Focus On The Family For New DVD Series

Some exciting news about an upcoming project I’ll be working on:
Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales (the best-selling direct-to-video series of all time) and of the kids’ media website JellyTelly.com has just announced a partnership with Focus on the Family to create a 13-volume educational DVD series called “What’s In The Bible?” The DVD’s will [...]

Illustration for Great River Energy Kid’s Club

A few weeks ago I was hired by a local agency to create some artwork for a new interactive website for Great River Energy, a Minnesota company that provides electricity to a large part of the state. The site is promoting their “Brighter Kid’s Club” campaign designed to help kids learn about saving energy.
I was [...]

2-Part Character Design Seminar

Just a reminder that I’ll be giving a 2-part seminar on character design at the Motion ‘09 animation conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 11-14. It’s a real honor. Last year’s conference was packed with great speakers and seminars and this year the conference has even more to offer.
I’ll be part of a new “late [...]

I’m Speaking At The Motion09 Conference

I’ve been invited to give two presentations on character design this fall at the Motion ‘09 animation conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 11-14. It’s a real honor.
I attended last year’s Motion ‘08 conference and it was one of the most fun and informative conferences I had been to in a while. I attended seminars [...]

Mascot Contest 2

(EDIT: Contest is now closed. Winner and correct answers here.)
As a character designer I’m fascinated with product mascots. A good mascot, when combined with a strong ad campaign, can be an enormous benefit when promoting a product or service. My favorite freelance projects are when clients hire me to design a mascot or character, either [...]