What's this?!?! A new Website?!?! Why yes it is!

It has been a while since my last post, been quite busy gardening, being a dad and hunting the Jobosaurus! So I do apologies :).

Anyhooo I have made a new website through the help of Google Sites where you will be able to see my work displayed more clearly than scrolling through this site till you pass all the rambling and find what you are looking for. I will admit the website is not perfect but its a start, I have been thinking about looking into web designing and coding to make it a lot easier to work with and hopefully design and make my own site. Please enjoy it, share it and also leave a comment, tell me what you think.

 https://sites.google.com/site/nickdanimationart/

Earlier this week I had my end of year show at UWS Paisley where a lot of employers came to see the students work spanning across audio, animation and games. It was really fun, we had a Q&A session with some of the employers, they saw some paintings and digital artwork that we had done and then we got to show them our animations that we have all made over our years of education. It was good experience to meet people who have made it into the industry and get a feel for what they are looking for and what they themselves are like. I learned a lot at the show and it has made me realise that I really need to work harder and push my self and my skills further if I have to make it in this industry.

I am really excited, just because I am so close to having a job in the creative industry and all I want to do is prove my self and give it my all and take on the work load to help.

I am also excited about the next few months for films and games! We got Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, After Earth which I believe is out now and I cant wait to see them all!! I just watched E3 Xbox and PS and the games coming out look soooo good, can't wait for HALO!! and Star Wars Battlefront!!! Finally!

Anyway enough geeking, I will see you all in the future

God Bless

Nick D.W.

On the Hunt for the Jobosaurus!

Yup that's me, I'm at that stage of my life now hunting for a job and getting my life into the best order I can. At the moment I am finishing my CV and a show reel of what I believe to be my best work. So if you start to see a lack of posting it will be because I will be sitting patiently at a pond with my CV on the other end of my fishing rod waiting for something to bite :).

Anyway check some of my other pages I posted some new stuff and some new old stuff today.

Also please leave a comment and share my blog, I'd like to hear what you think of my work.

God Bless and See You In The Future!!

Welcome to The End so Lets Make it a Good One

That is me, my year is done, over with, fin, complete, all in the past now. I was able to complete my SFX in time for yesterdays deadline and I feel I did quite well for the amount of time I had left to do it. I was really lazy around the start of the year, I mean the new year not the academical year, when it came to my work. I could have been finished most of my work by the end of March if I committed myself to it more but it was a learning curve, I have definitely improved on it though, I would have tons more to do than what I had in previous years if I had not learned from those years that it is ten times better to get started on your work once it is handed to you and complete as soon as because then you will have more time to go back and improve your animation or digital painting and so on and also more time for your friends and family, this is a habit I would like to teach Islay when she goes to school.

I made my SFX using Adobe Flash, Premier and After Effects. After Effects is an amazing software package, you can do so much with it. I recommend going onto Videocopilot.com  and checking their stuff out, it helped me a lot when doing my SFX module. I felt like a learned more from that website than my Lecturers :).

I have had an awesome time at College and University and it has helped me grow so much as a person, find and fuel my passion and love for films, cartoons and games so much more even down to the intricate details. I have also met and befriended some great people, great artists and animators who I hope to keep in touch with and really hope to meet again in the future and in the industry. I pray the best for them all on their new journey into the creative industry, many of them are bound to do great things with their skills and talents.

Here is my Final Year Animation, I was able to put it onto YouTube but here it is if you didn't know or haven't seen it yet and also here is my SFX below please enjoy, leave a comment, subscribe and just be cool cause you know you are!!!

God Bless and See You In The Future!!!!

Almost there

It's been a few hard gruelling days of just constant Uni work. Finally handed in my Animation Project and also my Artworks which consisted of three A2 sized character designs that I made in Photoshop. I don't use Photoshop enough, I'd really like to make some good artwork with it, my head is just full of ideas especially sci-fi, like aliens and environments. Anyway, I'm rambling, here is my Honours Project Animation........or not since there seems to be a problem with uploading it? I'll try later.

All I have left to do now is my SFX animation/video. I'm going to have a 2D character jump out of the screen and get something to eat as he is hungry. I have until 23:59 on Sunday night to get it done. Will Nick complete his SFX on time? Will he do well in the four years of education he has done? Will Nick make it in the Creative Industry!!?? Tune in on Monday to find out!

Meanwhile in this universe me and my girlfriend did a wee short stop-motion-y video cause I was mounting my Artwork designs onto foam board and we had some board left over so we decided to put it to good use and I also got a tripod for my camera for my SFX work. Enjoy!......Okay that didn't upload either so here is a link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKLVT-Co6YU

IT IS DONE!!!!!!!

I have finally did it, I have finished my Honours Project Animation!!! and a week before it is due might I add :), which is a personal achievement for me cause I always found myself working straight up until the deadline day and there is nothing more stressful than that. Now all I have to do is finish my 3 Artwork pieces and my Special Effects video and I am done, finito, the end......of my education that is :).

The past 4 years have been a rollercoaster for me, people have came and gone, family events left, right and center, fighting my own demons and the birth of my amazing, beautiful and insanely smart and inspiring daughter, and she is only 1 and a half. I never thought I would ever have finished my course, there have been countless times where i have just wanted to give it up and find something else, something easier but then I wouldn't be following my passion and if I gave up I would never get better, I would never learn. It wouldn't help me or my family if I did. Life is hard and the industry that I want break into is hard but I am willing to fight for it, to have that chance to make and leave my mark like the great animators and directors before me like Tex Avery, Richard Williams and John Lasseter. (if i spelt that wrong i greatly apologise)...........Again I have no idea where I am going with this, it's just how I feel and I pray that it encourages anyone else that reads this to just keep trying and follow your passion with an undying endurability.

I shall now leave you with a screenshot of the final product. Enjoy and please leave a comment I'd really like to know what you think :)

See You In The Future

and

God Bless

Good Week

It's been a good week. I actually started the animation for my Honours Project, I know shocker and i only have 3 weeks left to do that, a poster and a report, WHOO, bring it on! Oh and also 3 character designs in Photoshop and a short Special Effects animation which i need to film then animate. Got a few ideas already.

I feel my animation is already looking good. Got the keyframes done for my first character now I'm going back and adding all the inbetweens and this is the point where you can start to see your work really come together and see the magic happen :) I will admit it has not been easy but it is very exciting and I've been getting this awesome feeling of accomplishment with every frame i finish, can't wait to see the end result and let you all have a look too. I will admit it is my third....no fourth BIG animation even for thirty seconds or so, so please critique it HARSHLY!!! Because I want to be one of the best animators out there and i ain't going to improve with sugar coated comments! Although the odd "Well done" will be greatly appreciated :).

You never realise how much effort is put into an animation or a film until you step back and look and you go, "Wow! It took a lot of people just to animate those characters walking across that room." Or even when you go, "Iron Man's Armour is FAKE!!....well you fooled me." And that is our job, that is an animator, or a special effects artist or even an actor's job is to convince you that that spaceship is real, his/her emotions are real. This may seem like i have gone off in a tangent but this is just how I feel about films and cartoons, I love them and I want to be involved in them. Thats what this Blog is about, my work and my passion :)


On another note, saw Oblivion today it was really good, the special effects rocked! The gear and technology rocked! Morgan Freeman rocked as per-usual. I recommend it especially if you're into Sci-Fi.

Here's a wee snip-it of my animation for ya, and no it is not complete.

Lion Cub staring at the clearly distressed Bear

God Bless you all

See you in the Future!

Pretty hard past couple of.....well months i guess.

I know i haven't put much up in the past few days but i had a Special Effects assignment which was a high priority and also really difficult to do cause i had no clue what i was doing but eventually i got it done :) happy days.

Anyway as i have said it has been hard, mostly due to a lack of motivation, lack of a creative environment and the Christmas season is just too long, from the start of December to the start of February is too much time away from work, even though i did have work to do over the holiday period there was still family gatherings, New Years and personal issues as well that distracted me a pulled my motivation down. Not to mention my daughter Islay is a handful at times and obviously I can't just ignore her that would be wrong! This may seem like a rant or something but i'm just venting I guess. It's hard being a Dad and at Uni at the sametime, double-edge sword if you wish, if i do my work i'm not helping with Islay and if i look after her my work gets worse.

To be honest it is my own fault, there are plenty of times where I could be doing my Uni work, building my portfolio and creating a showreel but instead I play a video game or watch T.V., surf the web for too long or watch a film. I need to have more self motivation and more drive to do good and be the best at what I want to do. And its just that simple have the motivation, believe in yourself and you and I can achieve anything!

God Bless and See You In The Future!