Change is inevitable. In my case, it also seems to be happening all at once!
I have transitioned back to freelance work these past two weeks, I’ll be storyboarding at Trick 3d next week through September and continuing work on a Bruce Hampton documentary. This is keeping me busy on the work front. Next, my rental house in Grant Park is undergoing some updates in hopeful anticipation of new renters this Fall, and finally- the ASIFA figure drawing class is moving to a new location!
I’ll have more information on the possible new location(s) for the figure class soon. In the meantime, if you have any ideas for a great location please let me know!
Here is some history of the ASIFA figure class:
I started the figure drawing class in 1998 at Primal Screen, for the animators that worked with me at the original Monroe Drive address (next to the Park Tavern near Tenth Street). Owner Doug Grimmett graciously opened the sessions to outside artists as well, and the weekly classes attracted a regular following.
Yep, it was just about a year ago I was included in the lay-offs at Turner Studios, where I had worked in the animation department as Senior Animation Director. I had been there for about eight-and-a-half years, and suddenly found myself back in the freelance world. Fortunately, I was able to find work and it didn’t seem as bleak as I’d heard, until I got stiffed for about $4,000 on a freelance job. I was finally able to collect some of it (still trying to get the rest) but the ordeal reminded me of the downside of self-employment. I did have some positive experiences working with new clients and some contacts from the past that I enjoyed collaborating with again. It was also great working from home in my studio across the hall from my girlfriend Rebecca’s office. We enjoyed being able to take breaks in the back yard with the chickens and hiking over to the Village for tacos. It was a good time for me to work on a variety of jobs, and pursue some different creative outlets. Finally, I visited the folks at “Floyd County Productions”, creators of the “Archer” series on FX. I had met them originally at an ASIFA “Blowin’ Smoke” event, where I first saw their show “Frisky Dingo” (Under their old moniker: “70/30 Productions”). I loved the look of the show, and it was hilarious. At the time I remember thinking I would like to work with them at some point. Well, the opportunity arose when they earned a second season for Archer. They hired me on to help storyboard the new episodes, and after a month we both agreed it was a good fit. They need the help with a very tight schedule and thirteen new shows to produce. I am happy to be drawing again every day, though I must admit I had become rusty doing this particular type of drawing. I’m working hard to recover my chops, and inspired every day by the extremely talented crew around me. It’s good to be a part of a fun loving, hard working team; and there seems to be a genuine affection among everyone involved in the production. I look forward to improving my skills every day. Oh- I’m also a reference model for the the main character! Actually, just the body (killer suit). So I get to play dress-up from time to time. Look for my action poses when the new season starts- I’ll keep you posted… http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/archer/
“Julie” from February’s 
Come on out tonight and enjoy some quality drawing time at the Clermont Lounge! 8-11pm, bring a friend! www.drsketchysatlanta.com
April 3rd, 2007- The first ever Boozer Doodle!
(Continued from previous post- click on “Events” to the right and scroll down to find Part One)… I called my friend Ashley Zeltzer, who had been doing promotional material for the Dames Aflame burlesque group. Ashley is crazy talented,
(click below for the rest of the story)
Dione modeled in July ’09, eight months pregnant. She came back to pose in January with her beautiful baby Ruby!
A collaboration drawing from 11/04/09- Election Night!
- Shockaboom Election
The idea for Boozer Doodle started with an e-mail
from one of the artists at my weekly figure drawing class, James Burns. He sent me a link to the Dr. Sketchy’s website and suggested I try something like that with our class. I had been tinkering with some ideas, once even had the class form an “in the round” seating arrangement and do sequential drawings that I later compiled with fellow artist Raquel Asturias. I’ve lost her file but was able to put together a Flash file from the original scans.
About a dozen artists sat in a circle around the model. We all numbered our drawings in the sequence that we were seated, then each drew three sequential poses from model Ana Balka. I later scanned in all the drawings and re-sized and positioned them in Photoshop, then created the final transition movie in Flash:
This was a fun experiment, and I had been thinking about trying some different approaches with the models. One idea was to have them act out a blind script pose by pose, and reveal a story through the final drawings.
When I saw the Dr. Sketchy’s website, I saw the possibility of something apart from the regular figure class- something fun, and more in the tradition of the Moulin Rouge and the bawdy night life drawings of Toulouse-Lautrec!
After reading several of Dr. Sketchy’s creator Molly Crabapple’s ideas for using a bar setting and hiring performers for models, I quickly thought of the Vortex in Midtown, with its separate back showroom for the burlesque group Dames Aflame.
NEXT POST: DAMES AFLAME!
Another fun night at the Clermont Lounge! Click on the individual images for descriptions, or just let the slideshow play to see all the images.
Don’t miss it! 8-11pm at the Clermont Lounge.
Drinking, Drawing, Debauchery
http://drsketchysatlanta.com
Here are some drawings from the December event at the Clermont Lounge. If you haven’t been to a Dr. Sketchy’s event, you owe it to yourself to come check it out this Monday, January 11th.
Even if you don’t want to draw and are just curious, come and watch as a group of talented artists do what comes naturally- drinking and drawing!
The models are beautiful and have great costumes to keep the poses interesting. And if you haven’t been to the Clermont Lounge- you are missing one of Atlanta’s great institutions!
