back to PA

So school just ended Tuesday, moved back in with Lindsey yesterday, and today I'm heading back to PA for a brief visit (4 or 5 days). I should have said something earlier, but with finals and moving, I really haven't had a breather in weeks to let anyone know. So if you're in the 717 area, let me know and we will rock out.. or hang out.

Lots and Lots to Do

One more month of school. Crazzy thought I know.

Here's some catch up with work I've been doing as of late:

I'm almost done with my sit stand project thats been about 3 months in the making. Here's how the above scene compares to the original concept art. I still need to add some little gritty details, fix the reflectivity of the floor build the chair which is represented by a cube right now.

These two characters are for my Concept class. We're making 30 sec. comercials and I'm doing a Purina Dog Chow ad where the slightly crazy dog character drags Lenny all over town just to get a bag og Purina dog chow. I'll post th video soon.

I stated working on a Marquette model over spring break in my spare time. I haven't had much (any) time to work on it lately, but I'm happy to be doing some sculpture that doesn't involve the computer. He's based off my turtle character I animated last year Link to animationHe's still in the very early stages. He barely has any sculpy on right now, but I look forward to working on him in my (non-existent) spare time.


On to another subject, I really want to get back to writing for the sake of writing for Smell Like Art School. This blog has kinda turned into a bare bones art blog with no real substance or soul anymore. I miss writing about live shows, movies, current events and things that I deal with as a 24/7 art student. I have a few ideas of topics I want to discuss and hopefully I'll have the drive to write those soon. Maybe some topics to start a few debates eh?

Valentine Update

I've been pretty swamped over the last couple weeks since coming back from the Sex:Tech conference. Since then, I've been working on 2 commissions I got through the conference as well as my animation homework. One is for the Sex, Etc website that I mentioned previously. They launched their new blog, "Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Sex Ed for the Next Generation" on Valentine's Day and asked me to design the header image. I was trying to go for something that was a modern twist on the old theme of "birds and the bees" I decided to use the idea of Instant Messaging and emoticons to relate it to today's youth. I'm really happy how it came out and excited to see a piece of my work on a reputable site for once :)
My other commission was for the South Carolina Emergency Contraceptive Initiative and their 4 newspaper ads. They wanted me to design 4 different "morning afters," with 3 being the "best case scenarios" (breakfast in bed, both checking mail on their laptops, and sleeping in) and one being the "worst case scenario" (regretting not using protection and the chance of being pregnant). I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best cartoonist, but I like how they came out, given the fact that I didn't have a lot of time to work on it. You can see the work starting on Valentine's Day in South Carolina newspapers (not sure which one).

Here's a quick run through of things I'm excited about:

• Barack Obama's book: The Audacity of Hope is awesome and you should read it right now.
• Juno was an amazing film that showed that a girl can make adult decisions about havuing a child and the film has an great handmade aesthetic to it. The dialouge is intelligent, the soundtrack is awesome. Plus, the movie is hilarious!
• We went to see Girl Talk a couple weeks ago and got our minds blown. The way he combined a seemingly random collection of songs was incredible. First he would lay down a beat, or in some cases a snippit of a lyric. Then he would pile sample after sample of recognizable music until he created something entirely new and lots of fun to dance to!
  
• Valentine's Day was a lot of hard work this year trying to top last year's effort and having a tight schedule to work in. I ended up getting Lindsey 2 dozen tulips (her fav., plus roses are overdone). A heart box of chocolates, a handmade card, balloons, etc. and she loved it. :-D
  

"He's no good to me dead"

Lindsey came back from Philly the other day and got me a chubby little Boba Fett. He's pretty amazing and is protecting my desk from Rebel scum.

The Midwest Teen Sex Show

While I was at the Sex:Tech conference in San Francisco this past week, I got to meet and hang out with Nicol and Guy from the Midwest Teen Sex Show. If you never have seen their "podcast" (its more like a vlog, I suppose), drop what you're doing and go to their site and watch one of their videos. While it sounds like some sort of Wisconsin porn site, The Midwest Show takes a fresh approach to sexual education. Instead of diagrams, grotesque images of stds, and abstinence-only lectures; the guys and gals at the Midwest Show inject tons of humor, insight, and refreshing (and sometimes brutal) honesty into their sex ed videos. The topics range from the anything from "gym class," "homosexuality","female masturbation", and everything in between. High School sex ed classes should take a page from their book or better yet, make the videos recommended viewing for class. This is a giant step in the right direction of where our sex ed programs should be heading.

Its really hard for me to pick just one video to feature, so if you like this one, go to their site and watch a few more. This one's about Gym Class. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMh4Rc2AN78
Check out the rest of them here:
http://midwestteensexshow.com/

Sex Sex Sex:tech

So I'm blogging from the Sex:Tech conference in San Francisco and its been a busy past couple days. I can finally let everyone know that I've won 3rd place in the Fresh Focus Video Contest. I get to take home a Nintendo Wii and a lot of great contacts.

The sex:tech Conference itself was a great gathering of health professionals, web site designers, youth organizers, and among others. I've been going to a ton of meetings on everything from how to reach youth through facebook and myspace, to how to ways to utilize young people as resources to get a youth perspective for sex education.

Here are a few of the great sites I've found out about:

This site is great resource for youth to learn about about anything sex related. The site is almost completely run by teens too.


RH Reality check is a very forward thinking site that reports on sexual issues, health issues, gay rights, among other things in the news. Very informative.

I'm going to San Francisco!

So I just found out that on Monday the 21st, I'm going to San Francisco!!!

I still have no idea if I got 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, which is maddening, but I'll find out at the conference on the 22.
The woman I spoke with said they're flying the 3 finalists plus a few other "noteworthy contestants." That means that there's still a chance that I didn't win anything, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. An all expense paid trip to San Francisco is a great prize already.

I want to give a giant thank you to everyone who took a moment of their time to vote, tell a friend, or gave me encouragement. As obvious as it sounds, I really couldn't have gotten this far without your support. Every vote mattered and I was really touched by the the support I got for this competition. I also want to give a special thank you to Ringling College of Art and Design, Susquehannock High School, and York Arts for publicly supporting me in the contest.

Thanks again!

You can find out on the 22nd what place I got on this site: http://www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest/

Voting Ends soon for my animation!

I just found out that you can keep voting till 2 or 3 am on the 17th!
And don't forget you can vote as many times as you want.

VOTE VOTE VOTE

From what I've heard, its getting pretty close, so if you have a few minutes to spare please go here and vote number 10:
http://www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest/IsisVoting.aspx
Thanks guys!

Please Vote For My Entry For The Fresh Focus Video Contest Entry

So I'm currently in the final round for the Fresh Focus Video Contest and I need your help.

DoGooderTV's Fresh Focus Video contest asked students to create a video answering the question: "how would you change the Sex Ed programs in high school?" Over 50 videos were entered and a panel of judges selected the final 10.

If I get the most votes, I get sent out to San Francisco for Sex::Tech, the first ever conference focused on youth sexual health and technology and my video gets played for the event and $3000 in cash. Second place isn't too bad either. I get the choice of a wii or iphone. :)

I've made it too the final round, but I can't win without your help.
http://www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest/IsisVoting.aspx
Please take a minute and vote, my video titled "Sketching out a better sex ed program"
(it's the very last video on the list, #10)
This Just In: YOU CAN VOTE AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE!!!
so if you could just refresh the page as many times as you like and click away.
Thank you very much!!!
http://www.dogooder.tv/freshfocusvideocontest/IsisVoting.aspx

Here's my facebook group, you can join and get your friends to join.
http://rsad.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6796337301
If you use Digg.com, go here and upvote my video, so more people can see it:
http://digg.com/comics_animation/Please_Vote_for_My_Animation_For_a_Sex_Ed_Vid_Contest_SFW

Happy Christmas! This Just In: War is Over! (If you want it)

I think nothing is more fitting of the Christmas season than John and Yoko's message in their song Happy Christmas! (War is Over) if you want it. Its seems to be just as relevant today as it ever was.







Here's a great music video for the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVcz3MSexwU

Happy Christmas Everyone!
-Jeremy

Seasons Greetings!

So I made it back to PA safely, and for free! (my mom works for the airline now). I managed to make it down with all of my wrapped gifts intact and safe. Here's a lip sync animation I did of Luke Skywalker when he hearing for the first time that Darth Vader is his father.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DOmZCnDHCI

Here's the final environment for the sit/stand project where a fast food fry cook gets startled by something catching fire.

Too Much Egg Nog: A Christmas Mix

Now that finals are almost done, I can start to enjoy the Christmas season. Here's the special mix I made last year called the "Too Much Egg Nog. Its got some really great finds to get you and your loved ones in the Christmas spirit. Happy Christmas!







Click Here to download the .zip file

1.Belle and Sebastian - Christmas Time is Here
2.Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!
3.Alvin & th Chipmunks-Deck The Halls - We Wish You A Merry Christmas
4.Weezer - Christmas Celebration
5.Sufjan Stevens - We're Goin' To the Country!
6.The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
7.Sufjan Stevens - Put The Lights On The Tree
8.Sufjan Stevens - That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!
9.Arab Strap - Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
10.Sufjan Stevens - What Child Is This Anyway?
11.Bright Eyes - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
12.Sufjan Stevens - Ding! Dong!
13.John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
14.Sujan Stevens - Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming
15.Bright Eyes - Blue Christmas
16.Sujan Stevens - O Holy Night
17.Belle & Sebastian - O Come, O Come Emmanuel

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4XHB-Rci8E
Thought this was pretty appropriate.

After overeating we're gonna stay up late and wait in line for Black Friday! Yay!

New Concept Art

Here is some concept art for 2 new projects in my CA class and Concept class.

This is the original concept design for my monster. We're working on creating a character for a simple walk cycle and jump.
Right now I'm at the modeling and rigging stage.

In my concept class, we're creating characters that will later be used for a sit/stand exercise.
This is my fast food serving teen character:

And here's a color study for the character:
Still working on finalizing a lot of it.

Turkey Day is almost here!

It seems like ages since the last post. Every time I thought about writing something, I got distracted. I have been quite busy with my classes though. Lots of animations. Here's a few:


This one was for my Traditional 2 class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgFVGWNx8KQ
I was pretty happy with my Maya project that was due 2 days after the traditional project( lots of sleepless nights). We had to make simple characters and some kind of interaction.



Mine involved two blob characters meeting in a dark alleyway and are unable to get past each other.

I was slightly disappointed this year with Halloween. We did get to go see a midnight showing of Rocky Horror, but we were the only ones who dressed for the occasion. We went as Victorian vampires. The make up wasn't as gory as last year's zombies, but they were quite scary. We even won 3rd place at the schools costume contest. There was no time for us to decorate Lindsey's apartment, and we ended up watching The Descent on Halloween and carving pumpkins.

Lindsey and I went to Jacksonville last weekend to the Tallyrand Music and Art festival. We actually were featured artists at the event which was pretty awesome. They gave us a little spot to set up our work to sell with other artists while bands like The Bravery, The Format, The Polyphonic Spree, among others, played on three stages.

We only made about 80 dollars altogether, but it was exciting for people to take notice of our work. We handed out a ton of business cards too. I only got to see a few songs by The Polyphonic Spree, but they were incredible. I want to see them again soon.


It appears that I will be staying in Sarasota with Lindsey for Thanksgiving. I kinda miss spending Turkey Day with the family, but everyone is doing something different, and most of my friends are off in distant lands...

We'll make it nice though.

New Animations

Here's my latest animation for my traditional 2 class. Using the same turtle character, I made a more stylized walk. His head bobs with every step and you can really feel the weight of the character (hopefully). Took me roughly 50 frames and lots of sleepless nights to complete. Enjoy!


If you're reading this on Facebook, go to the original post, or click here

Here's the older finished version of the basic turtle walk without any stylization to the motion.

I'ma Soph-o-more

Sorry its been so long since my last post. I've been getting settled down in my new living arrangements and getting used to my new schedule. Speaking of which, I LOVE my new schedule!
Here's whats been happening:

• Lindsey and I celebrated our one year anniversary!

• Went to an awesome "paint party" hosted by Axel, where we ate cupcakes and took turns modeling while everyone else drew. Thats me above posing with the raincoat. Thats how art students party. For real-zies.
  

• Got in a minor accident with Lindsey's car. Sideswiped an suv. Had a terrible time dealing with MetLife (Read previous post for the details...)

• Been working as a mural painter with Ringling and the new-student orientation kids. We painted the pediatric ward of the local hospital with a jungle theme.

• Classes have been pretty tough so far, but I'm still loving it.

• I've started learning Maya, its going to be like pulling teeth for at least a month I think.

• I live in a 4 person dorm now with a living room and kitchen. Its really nice getting your own space I've realized. Nobody really is using the living area though.
  

Here's a few recent drawings I've done at Ringling that I'm quite proud of.

The first one was a character assignment for my Concept Class where we had to draw people in a public setting and then design a character around that. I designed this librarian character off of a woman I saw at the mall.The second drawing was for my Traditional Animation II class. We're starting off where we left off last year with walk cycles. We were told to design whatever type of character we wanted to make a walk for. I'm not sure how it turned into an old tortoise...but I'm pretty happy with it.

Here's what I have so far. I'm trying to finish the arms and head for Thursday. (wait for it to load so it isn't choppy)

The third was a assignment where we had to draw an environment and then design something else out of it. My original drawing (bottom left of the first image) was of the bayou apartments where I live, and I took the shapes of the architecture and designed something completely different.

Right now I'm trying to figure out what Lindsey and I should dress as for Halloween. We want to do something as a couple. Maybe we'll go as zombies again.

Complaints: MetLife "Accidentally" Drops Insurance Right Before Car Accident - Consumerist

Here's a letter that I wrote that just got published on the consumer advocacy site, consumerist.com. You can see the entire article here about our headaches dealing with MetLife:
Complaints: MetLife "Accidentally" Drops Insurance Right Before Car Accident - Consumerist

Summer Movie Review Wrap Up

Having seen a ton of movies this summer, here's a quick rundown of the good, the "eh," and the "oh my god, I can't believe I just payed money to see that."

The Good:
Transformers
I was quite worried about what Michael Bay would do to the Transformers franchise. After seeing the Core, I figured it would be pretty easy to screw up a movie about toys that transform from vehicles to robots. Luckily Spielberg produced it, and all ended well. Sure, it had some of Bay's fall backs, ie: giant mind-numbing action and flat, stereotyped characters. But it managed to be a lot of fun, and you can actually feel for the characters and their autobot friends (especially Bumblebee).

The Simpsons Movie
"Spider Pig. Spider Pig. Does whatever a Spider Pig does." This could have easily have been just an extra long episode, but Groening and Co. take full advantage of the big screen. Full of blink-and-you-miss-it jokes and a great story. Look out for the jabs at Fox.




Knocked Up
Seth Rogan was one of my favorite characters in 40 Year Old Virgin. Awesome hysterical laughs, good story too. Rogan is a believable "dork who knocks up a hot girl." The best parts had to be the dialog between Rogan and his roommates/best friends.



The Eh
also know as the "-3s":
Spider Man 3
Loved the first 2 movies. This one could have worked if they had shortened it way down and taken out one of the villains. Why does Peter Parker need to turn emo-brat and a snappy dancer when he gets the alien stuff on him??



Pirates of the Carribean 3
This franchise should have ended after the first one. Bloated, confusing story line. Way too long as well. Best part was seeing Keith Richards play Jack's dad. I was so confused by the end of it as to why everything was taking place.




Shrek The Third
Cute storyline, animation and character designs were boring. Another case of unnecessary sequel. Good message for the kids.





The Oh My God, I Can't Believe I Just Payed Money To See That:
The Number 23
Jim Carey needs to stop with trying to show off his talent by starring in serious roles. Plot was ridiculous. Carey tried his best, but can't save this steaming pile of crap. Twist ending does not work with Plot. What was with all the sex scenes??




300
Probably the most disappointing of all the movies I've seen this summer. Everyone raved about how amazing the visuals were and quoting from it like it was a classic. The movie turned the history lesson into a "whose got the biggest balls" flick. As there are "chick-flicks," this was a "macho guy flick" with homo-erotic tendencies to boot. Reminded me of a high school wrestling match. The whole movie could be an allusion to Bush and the war in Iraq, but I might be looking to far into it.

The Search for the Golden Job (part 3)

So after applying to about 4 more places including Target, Wal-mart, Office Max, and a comedy theatre (calling people and offering free tickets to shows), I've gotten one call back so far from Target. I went in for the interview on Saturday and I'm pretty sure I lost the job because of the crazy questions she threw at me, but I still have my fingers crossed on a call back.


Here's a painting I did with Lindsey recently of Pele. Its for her brother who's a great soccer player and was injured skateboarding. It was fun getting back into painting with her. First time I've done a painting cooperatively too!