Oh boy, there has been so many amazing things to write about I hardly know where to start.
One of the recent events I am very honored to be a part of is the Metro Youth Art Exhibit going on now through April 5th at Expo New Mexico in the Fine Art Gallery. I was asked to judge the digital art entries with my dear friend Hue Walker from the ARTS Lab. We both took great encouragement from the entries we saw in that many of the clichéd topics were under represented.
This year there were few scantily clad, buxom women brandishing swords or lightening, skull, blood and gut motifs. Instead, Hue and I were pleasantly surprised by the thought, concept and skill put into many of the student entries.
Perhaps it is a sign of the times, but there seemed to be a lot more personal reflection on the state of the world and the artists place in it. Many of the pieces were very moving and thought provoking and many pieces of artwork had a definite message. All in all, it was a very good year for entries and picking our top five was difficult to say the least.
If you are in New Mexico and want to get an inspiring dose of some amazing up and coming young artists, you really should stop by the Fine Art Gallery at Expo New Mexico and see some of the fabulous art being done by students in the Albuquerque public high schools.
Another fantastic event that I attended last weekend was the New Mexico Addy Awards. Like many years in the past, this was a great evening of the best in New Mexico advertising art.
The theme this year was Mexican Wrestling, so the organizers of this event brought in professional Luchadors to entertain between award presentations. I am not entirely sure the crowd was completely embracing of the whole wrestling extravaganza, but the night's awardees were well deserved.
The Art Center Design College Albuquerque Branch took home 22 awards including the Student Best in Show, which went to the ever-inspiring senior, Zak Rutledge. Another winner for the night was Aaron Barreras, instructor at the Art Center and silver award winner for his website design for a local advertising firm.
The Addy Awards here in New Mexico are never boring and always offer ample opportunity to network and connect with the local movers and shakers in the industry. I find it particularly gratifying to see how many of the Art Center graduates have gotten fabulous careers in their field working for local ad firms and making the art that is taking home all the awards.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
AniMotion NM
For those of you who don't know me, I have the honor of being one of the founding members of AniMotion NM. My fellow co-founders are Elaine Montoya and Becky Pedilla of Zocoloco, the motion conference and NMAUG fame. The three of us host these meetings once a month mostly because we love to geek out over everything related to animation, motion graphics and VFX.
AniMotion NM was started almost exactly one year ago after a very successful panel at the Media Industries Conference where we discovered that there are a plethora of animators, motion graphics and VFX artists here in this state and a need to connect, educate, inspire and network everyone within this specialized community here in New Mexico.
The list of members who have attended meetings is really quite impressive. We have had nearly 50 people at a single meeting and many more than that are currently on our email lists.
Considering that the current economy is making it quite advantageous to do productions of all kinds in this state, New Mexico is also drawing in new talent on a consistent basis to the already phenomenal pool of creative geniuses we have here in the Land of Enchantment.
Sony Imageworks Animation and Sony Imageworks Interactive have opened their doors in downtown Albuquerque and they have added approximately 40 new animation and creative types fresh in from L.A. and Culver City. Rumors abound that other studios will also be headed this way, as the ground is fertile for animation, film and game developers to do business here. We look forward to adding these talented folks to New Mexico animation community and extend a hearty welcome to the Land of Enchantment.
Some of the presentations already featured through AniMotion NM have included Dan Haskett, who has worked for nearly 40 years as a character developer and animator extraordinaire at studios such as Disney, Dreamworks, and Warner Bros., among many others. Chris and Trish Meyers, who quite literally wrote the book on AfterEffects. Jeff LaFlamme of Flamdoodle Animation. Brad Swardson, animation instructor at UNM and lead animator at Boeing's Albuquerque facilities. Aaron Barreras, animation instructor at the Art Center Design College and art director on The Sands of Time educational animated series and Chris Kientz, co-director and co-writer of Raven Tales and member of the Creative Media Interdisciplinary Task Force at New Mexico State University.
The above list only scratches the surface of the fabulous people we have involved in making AniMotion NM your one stop for amazing things happening in the animation industry here in the state of New Mexico. I have to admit that I feel a bit like a teenager at a rock concert at these AniMotion NM events, as the talent assembled at these meetings always leaves me in awe.
So here is the shameless plug for why you should come to AniMotion NM meetings... You meet phenomenal members of the animation, motion graphics and VFX communities. You learn new and interesting techniques for creating and/or streamlining your production processes. There is always a free raffle for industry related goodies. And last but certainly not least, you can enjoy a snack while you support an organization that that has always been free to anyone with passion for watching and/or making the inanimate move.
AniMotion NM meetings are always held the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm at the ARTS Lab, located at 131 Pine St. (one block West of the corner of University and Central). Bring a friend or meet new ones. Everyone is welcome. I hope to see you all there.
AniMotion NM was started almost exactly one year ago after a very successful panel at the Media Industries Conference where we discovered that there are a plethora of animators, motion graphics and VFX artists here in this state and a need to connect, educate, inspire and network everyone within this specialized community here in New Mexico.
The list of members who have attended meetings is really quite impressive. We have had nearly 50 people at a single meeting and many more than that are currently on our email lists.
Considering that the current economy is making it quite advantageous to do productions of all kinds in this state, New Mexico is also drawing in new talent on a consistent basis to the already phenomenal pool of creative geniuses we have here in the Land of Enchantment.
Sony Imageworks Animation and Sony Imageworks Interactive have opened their doors in downtown Albuquerque and they have added approximately 40 new animation and creative types fresh in from L.A. and Culver City. Rumors abound that other studios will also be headed this way, as the ground is fertile for animation, film and game developers to do business here. We look forward to adding these talented folks to New Mexico animation community and extend a hearty welcome to the Land of Enchantment.
Some of the presentations already featured through AniMotion NM have included Dan Haskett, who has worked for nearly 40 years as a character developer and animator extraordinaire at studios such as Disney, Dreamworks, and Warner Bros., among many others. Chris and Trish Meyers, who quite literally wrote the book on AfterEffects. Jeff LaFlamme of Flamdoodle Animation. Brad Swardson, animation instructor at UNM and lead animator at Boeing's Albuquerque facilities. Aaron Barreras, animation instructor at the Art Center Design College and art director on The Sands of Time educational animated series and Chris Kientz, co-director and co-writer of Raven Tales and member of the Creative Media Interdisciplinary Task Force at New Mexico State University.
The above list only scratches the surface of the fabulous people we have involved in making AniMotion NM your one stop for amazing things happening in the animation industry here in the state of New Mexico. I have to admit that I feel a bit like a teenager at a rock concert at these AniMotion NM events, as the talent assembled at these meetings always leaves me in awe.
So here is the shameless plug for why you should come to AniMotion NM meetings... You meet phenomenal members of the animation, motion graphics and VFX communities. You learn new and interesting techniques for creating and/or streamlining your production processes. There is always a free raffle for industry related goodies. And last but certainly not least, you can enjoy a snack while you support an organization that that has always been free to anyone with passion for watching and/or making the inanimate move.
AniMotion NM meetings are always held the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm at the ARTS Lab, located at 131 Pine St. (one block West of the corner of University and Central). Bring a friend or meet new ones. Everyone is welcome. I hope to see you all there.
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