Obviously there were classes:
I did a Teaching Internship with Shawn Crystal for Visual Story Telling 1 (you learn a lot while you are teaching). More on this later.
My other class was Graduate Studio: Shawn was also my professor for this one. He let me get away with being a bit of an academic this quarter, which I started by reading 8 new books and reread several more on story telling for sequential art. Books on things like screenwriting, cinematography and concept art. I did a massive presentation in class that they liked so much that they asked me to do it for two more classes. I'm also planning to write up my research into a web friendly format to put on my site and the blog of the SCAD-Atlanta Sequential Art Blog called the Temple of Cartoon Mojo. Shawn also let me get away with doing a massive photo shoot of Atlanta for a story I was working on. I'll be adding a photo section to my art gallery soon and I'll have a selection of those photos there. The rest of the quarter was spent doing a massive amount of concept work and illustrations for an art tryout I did for Oni Press (more on that later).
Scott McCloud
Early in September, Renee and I met a few friends at Agnes Scott College to hear the amazing Scott McCloud give a lecture/presentation. For those of you who may not know, Scott McCloud is the author of 3 major books on the theory and craft of Sequential Art and a bit of a rock star of the medium. I had heard from a few friends how amazing his presentations were, and I wasn't disappointed. The man is brilliant as well as highly entertaining and warm. It was totally worth the evening. Click on the images below to find his books on Amazon.com.
SkaterAid 2008
On Sept 21, 2008 Renee and I drove over to Decatur to support and enjoy the 2008 Skateraid. What is that, you say? Their website says it best:
"SkaterAid is an annual skateboard and music festival in Decatur, Georgia. Proceeds from Skateraid are used to assist families of children who are battling cancer. Featuring: Skateboard Demos, Live Music, Deck Art Auction and more."
I've never been a skater, but I've always been able to appreciate it. There was some great skating going on, a few contests, and my favorite was the "Deck Art" which is painting and even sculpture done on skateboard decks and put up for auction to support the cause. I wish I had taken some photos of the boards that were hanging up. They were awesome! But here are some skater photos taken during one of the trick contests instead:
The Editor's Day at SCAD-Atlanta:
Axel Alonso of Marvel Comics, James Lucas Jones (head Editor of Oni Press ), and Chris Starros (Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of Top Shelf Publications) all graciously spent the last weekend in October giving talks, Q&A, and reviewing portfolios for Sequential Art students at SCAD-Atlanta. I have to admit that I was originally NOT going to attend. I was swamped with work, and the truth is that I've been privy to editor's panels in Savannah before. They normally put several editors from a variety of companies in a single panel in a room of several hundred students and you get to listen to them argue (light heartedly) and give the absolute basics about what they are looking for in an artist or writer. Its useful and fun indeed, but I'd heard it all... or so I'd thought. Thankfully, in a conversation with professor Nolan Woodard he convinced me that this event would be different. Each editor would be speaking separately to a MUCH smaller group of students who would have more individual access to them for direct Q&A. I attended two Q&A's and got a TON of new info and lots of great anecdotes that the editors normally just don't have time for in the big panel discussions. It was Great. This type of direct access to the professional world is another reason that I tend to rave about SCAD these days.
I Voted:
I would have voted for Ron Paul if he had gone for the Libertarian ticket, but since he didn't I voted my conscience in his absence. For everything else I voted Libertarian. I'm proud that I did my homework on this one and took part in the process.
NCN Convention
I'm a proud member of the International Society of Caricature Artists formerly known as the National Caricaturists Network. They still haven't changed their website to reflect the new name yet, but they recently changed it at the Annual NCN convention which took place this year in Raleigh, NC from November 2nd - Nov 8th. I've wanted to attend one of these things for years but one thing or the other always got in the way. This year I was able to attend only part of the con, but got an amazing experience for the few days I was there. I learned a ton from the old pros and the new, about technique as well as business ideas. Most importantly I made a lot of great new friends and connections. I love doing caricature and its important to me to stay in tune with that wonderful segment of the art world. More on this (with photos and art) later.
I turned 37!
Yep! I'm gettin older. Slowing down in some ways, but speeding up in other ways. Over all I'm doing great and I'm exactly where I want to be in life. That day was spent like any other really, except that my lovely girlfriend baked me a delicious, albeit lopsided, cake. She rocks!
Adobe lecture for CS4
I attended a presentation by an Adobe rep at SCAD-Atlanta who demoed all the changes and features of the new software package, Adobe Creative Suite 4. There are lots of changes to the software, some of which I had hoped for in the last addition of the package (CS3), but not enough to make me rush out and buy it.
And there's probably more that I can't think of right now. I'll be posting more over the next few weeks as I gather my thoughts. I'll also be posting a ton of new art as I get it scanned out of my sketchbooks. Stay tuned.
3 comments :
Hey, Pat. Thanks for the notification on my e-mail. I seems like you enjoyed last quarter, which is great. You have a gift of writing, man, you made it interesting enough for me to read without few pictures and no art(don't worry, you showed your work already, I know). I hope your break is productive and peaceful. God bless and talk to you soon.
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Olu - Thanks for commenting. I often see that I've had a ton of views on my hit tracker, but don't know who is looking. I'm having a great break. Hope you're doing the same.
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