Friday, January 25, 2013

Regrets?


Six months ago yesterday -- July 24, 2012 -- was my last day of full-time employment.

Six months ago today was the beginning of my full-time pursuit of my passions: primarily acting and voiceover, but not forgetting programming, as I still like to get my geek on.

I mentioned this to my wife yesterday, and her first question was, "Do you regret it?"

As I stood there and thought about everything that's happened in the past six months, I really didn't know how to answer that question. In an odd way, it feels like it's too soon to tell yet. I've definitely enjoyed the many new experiences that I've had during that time -- things that I never could have done if I still had a day job -- but there have been plenty of times when I've gone to bed a total mental and emotional mess because I had no idea how we were going to pay for the next big bill that was due in just a few days. So far, though, we've been blessed with lots of little miracles in those moments of madness...

  • a friend would pay us to watch their dog while they're on a trip
  • a long-awaited check from a previous job would finally arrive in the mail
  • my wife would pick up a new piano student
  • I'd pick up some extra hours at a seasonal job

...and the list goes on.

Thinking about possible regrets, there's only one that comes to mind readily: I regret not setting aside more funds before making the leap. The first couple months weren't so bad, but it's been getting progressively scarier since then, even with the little miracles that still pop up to save the day.

Do I regret it?

Let me get back to you on that. I've got work to do.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

"Animate a Face" now online!


Wow!  It's been a while since I've written anything in this blog.  Not terribly surprising considering my career shift, but anyway, I've got some awesome news to share...

My "Animate a Face" tutorial videos are now available online!

For those who may not have heard of this product, the original was released in 2004, and was a 2 CD-ROM set containing 15 videos -- nearly 4 hours of fully-narrated screen-captured material -- all about the wonderful world of facial animation, including a couple detailed lip sync demonstrations.  As I was reviewing the videos to get them ready for uploading to MindBites, it was a little weird seeing such outdated animation software (I used Animation:Master v10.5, per my contract with Anzovin Studio).  However, as I've said numerous times about this product, it was created with a focus on principles over programs.  The core material is all about animation, and is just as useful now as it was then.  And now, it's a heckuvalot cheaper!  The original CD set made its debut at about $50 if I remember correctly, but on MindBites you can buy individual lessons for a buck or two, or the whole collection for less than $15!

If you want to really dig into facial animation, check out this material.  Happy animating!