September 30th, 2004 - thursday

Last night, I went to the Frank Thomas Memorial Tribute. Sadly, the legendary animator passed away a few weeks ago. Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston (his partner in crime and fellow member of Disney's Nine Old Men) will continue to be an inspiration for many of us. It's so rare to find people like him... you can tell from everything he did, from his work to his personal life, he was a genuinely fine human being. As Ollie Johnston was leaving the theater last night, he waved to a bunch of us with a look on his face that exuded an incredibly heartfelt appreciation for the folks in attendance to pay tribute to his good friend. "Honest" and "sincere" were two words used frequently throughout the program and they seem to describe both of these men pretty well.

I was also lucky enough to be at the Frank and Ollie tribute at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences building over a year ago. It was probably the single-most inspiring night of my life. If anyone else reading this was there, you know what I'm talking about. It was incredible. I'm so happy to know that he was able to see all that before he passed away. What a wonderful thing to know you're appreciated so much while you are still walking on this planet. Farewell Mr. Thomas... And thanks for leaving us with such wonderful work... :)

Crazy Kutter...

17 pages of DK Chapter 3 complete and cranking through another handful of pages as I write this. I am painting 40 pages of comics in one week, after having done all the linework in a single week as well. It is seriously not advisable for anyone to do this. I can feel the strain now, and it's really taxing my health. Khang and Chris even came over to laugh at me as I lay shaking and curled up in a fetal position in the middle of the day.

It's always interesting, however, to see how far I can push my abilities. These intense work sessions come few and far between, and I learn a ton about myself as a creator. It's also important for me to see what the limitations are since I'm relatively new at doing this, at least on this scale. I just hope that I can get all of this stuff done soon enough so I can reward myself with a hammock for the patio. That's gonna be sweeeet. :)

music...

French Kicks - "The Trial of the Century" (website - buy the CD)

cool animation...

Prowlies at the River by Adam Phillips (link via Wira)