[Throw Back to 2016] Day 7 of the “Seven Day Challenge” which I am taking you through my animation journey. So it turns out jumping from VFX to feature is really tough, but in 2012 Reel FX decided to take a chance on me and that brought me down to Dallas. I had a wonderful time animating on Free Birds, then Book of Life, each film giving me huge opportunities, worked with some really wonderful and talented people, and learned so much. It was a hard decision, but decided to move on and head up to Blue Sky for Peanuts, Ice Age 5 and currently Ferdinand. Another amazing studio to be at! I chose this shot to share because this was the first shot on this film where the rigs finally became secondary to the acting, of course it was my second to last shot :P I think it’s an important thing to learn not to get caught up in the tech side of animation and keep the artistry as much as you can. It’s hard to do when animating on the computer! I give a lot of credit to finally doing a SKETCH PASS. Something I have known about, but too intimidated to try up until this shot. This pass really allows you to feel out your shot; push poses without rig restraints, easily play with the timing, and also try out different ideas much faster than in maya. I also love that it brings me right back to that feeling that I got at the very beginning of this whole journey :) .………… Wow! It’s been quite a ride so far! Glad to see improvements over the years, heh. I feel so dang lucky to have a job that doesn’t feel like work and that I get to hang out with my friends while doing it. Thanks for sticking with me for the seven days of reminiscing, it would be great to see you all do something like this! I nominate YOU! .………… And I also nominate the talented @welcome_to_louieville to post a painting/drawing/awesome creation once a day for 7 days :) Because I know you have so much awesome work you have yet to share with the world!