This is a charming Disney short called “Off His Rockers”. I remember seeing this in front of “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid”. It’s one of the more successful early attempts of blending CG and traditional animation. To help put the technology in perspective, this was released 3 years before Toy Story. The CG might be a bit simplistic (by today’s standards) but that didn’t prevent Disney from instilling a believable and wonderfully captivating personality in the rocking horse. Just click on the image.

Wow, it’s been over a year since my last update. In short, I’ve shifted gears and have just finished up teaching my first year at Ringling. It felt, as has been accurately described by my fellow faculty, like I’ve been hit by a bus. I knew going in, the dedication the Ringling faculty have to their students, as I was proudly one of those who benefited from a Ringling education. However, I don’t know that I could ever have been prepared for the sheer amount of work required. It’s pretty much nonstop communication with the students. When I wasn’t in class teaching, I was usually answering questions in e-mails or giving critiques. In the lulls, I would prepare for upcoming classes. This summer I got some much needed rest. As crazy as it was, I’m excited to be returning for another year. I must be nuts!

Click the image above for a look at a compilation of some of my latest work, including animation from "The Wild" and "Boz". You can see a supersize version here and a reel breakdown (pdf file) here. Enjoy!

No it wasn’t Jurassic Park. It was Beauty & the Beast, the film that truly inspired me to pursue animation. I was working at the movie theater at the time and during some time off just wanted to kill a couple of hours. It was the only movie I hadn’t seen yet that was playing at our little six-plex. I went in with little expectation and walked out blown away. I couldn’t imagine how a cartoon, for Pete’s sake, could carry me on such an emotional ride. A hopeful, wanna-be Disney animator was born.

Fast forward a decade. Under realization that my draughtsmanship just wasn’t up to par, I enrolled in the Computer Animation program at Ringling, still hopeful for one day becoming a Disney animator. Ringling exposed me to not only the animation side of things but to the whole process of filmmaking. I loved every aspect of it (well, except for the incredibly painful and ego-destroying story crits). Because of that exposure, another dream was born, to one day have my own studio.

Upon graduation, I was fortunate to have several employment offers as many studios were ramping up for big productions. However, I went with a little guy at the time, Reel FX Creative Studios. It was small enough that I could get my hands dirty in more than just animation. After putting in a few years, learning all that I could in a production environment, it was time to follow up on that second dream. By the way, even though I never worked at Disney, I have had the extreme pleasure and honor of working with Disney veteran, Ken Duncan (Beauty & the Beast, Hercules, Tarzan, Shark Tale) on the prologue for the Disney film, “The Wild”. In some small roundabout way, God has granted my first dream and I’m extremely grateful. The second dream, having my own studio, has also been granted. Lasso the Moon Animation is open for business.

I've got some new animations going up soon. I don't want to show anything that hasn't been publicly released so it's going to be a slow trickle. "Boz" is coming in March and "The Wild" is coming in April. In the meantime, I've added a very short clip from "Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty", the short film included on the "Robot's" DVD. I've included a link to a hi-res version for those who want to look at the clip outside me head. I've also added blurbs to each animation - not as artsy looking as before - but will hopefully give more context.

3 years with one company, while common in the traditional workplace, seems to be rather unique in the field of animation where contract work is often the norm. Reel FX has been good to me but it’s time to explore some other options. I’m still trying to figure out what exactly those options are. However, in the meantime, I’m hoping to secure some remote freelance work to help keep the boat afloat while I try to cement the path ahead. If you need an animator, feel free to give me a holler.

Just a follow up to my previous post. Bozthebear.com is now up and running. You can even request a free preview DVD!