Solar Eclipse

Posted on by Thor


Julie Norris Wilder the owner of of Spiral Circle Bookstore and More, hosted a solar eclipse viewing party. Spiral Circle is located at 750 North Thornton Avenue just north of Colonial in Orlando. The store is actually over 40 years old. Julie and a partner became the new owners when the couple who first ran the place decided to retire. The last time I was at the bookstore was when Julie signed the contract.

Walking up to Spiral Circle I suddenly realized I had for gotten to bring my art stool. I would have to find a seat if I was to sketch for several hours. I walked around inside the store and the place has grown exponentially. The smell of incense filled the air. I realized that I had broken my rule of always masking indoors. Rather than fumble to put it on, I walked outside. Huge vats of polished stones caught my eye. I used to be a true rock hound and used to polish such stones myself using a tumbler in the basement of my childhood home.

People were on the porch of the store looking toward the sky. The eclipse had just started. I found a small side area with several tables. Two women were seated at one table with a large brown mastiff with a black bandage on one of his front legs. He lunged and growled at me. I sat at the other table but the angle wasn’t great to draw from. In a bowl on the table was a shriveled up mass of a plant. One of the staff came out and started talking to me about the pant. He said, once it got water, it would immediately flourish and spring to live as a vibrant green plant. I hope my spirit is as resilient. The women and the huge dog left and I decided that their table had a better vantage point.

One of the staff scanned his cell phone opposite me. When I was well into the sketch a woman approached and asked if I was doing something artistic. I showed her the unfinished sketch and she explained that the eclipse was at it’s peak. I had not looked up since I started sketching. She also pointed out that there were moon shaped patterns in the shadows.

I finally decided I had to get up and look for myself. I asked if anyone could lend me a pair of solar viewing glasses. I looked up and sure enough more that half of the sun was blocked. Other than this intrepid group I don’t think most people noticed since total darkness never happened. It got cooler and the sun was less intense but most were living their back to normal lives.

Julie Wilder was on the porch and I was excited to see her. She told everyone that there would be a total lunar eclipse again in Florida in 20 years on the day after her birthday. You can be sure I am putting that date on my calendar. A friend, Rachelle Lucas, asked if I had sketched at Blog Con. I have indeed sketched at many Blog Cons. She said I had sketched her as she waited to go on stage. I think I found the sketch.

I observed from a distance the group gathered on the porch since for me COVID risk assessment permeates my every thought. It felt good to be among like minded people marveling at a truly historic cosmic event.  I saw the eclipse for the briefest of moments, but what mattered most was a brief exchange of ideas and laughter, of meeting new people. I tend to pull away from others whose risk analysis is different than my own. But a hug does have the power to heal. Has COVID eclipsed our everyday lives and moved on? I don’t know. For most it has.

COVID Dystopia: Flesh Dropped Like a Waterfall

Posted on by Thor


This shot from COVID Dystopia pans down from the boat on the surface to a large COVID mine chained to the characters ankle. He sinks fast.

I am waving on the idea of having removed all the snap zoom transitions in the film. Maybe I should add back snap zooms between the different stanzas of the lyrics. In my mind the lyrics are arranges with an introduction which this scene is a part of, then year 1, year2 and year 3 of the pandemic. Of course the pandemic is still ongoing but that is the point of the lyrics at the end… “I can’t wait for the game to end so we can start it again.” In other words the game hasn’t ended. Or if you have a darker outlook, the game of life is not yet over.

While people are busy ignoring COVID, a new threat is spreading across America in the form of H5N1 or the Bird Flu. This virus has been around for decades but mostly effected birds.

Since January 1, 2003 to February 2024 there had been a total of 254 cases of human infection. Of those cases 141 were fatal. That is a fatality rate of 56%.

In the last week America dairy cow herds in distant states are becoming infected with the H5N1 virus. Herds have been infected in Michigan, Texas, Kansas, Idaho and New Mexico. Cats have also been infected. This is a very new development. Now a man has been infected in Texas. This is a very sudden timeline for the spread of the virus. The virus found in the Texas man was found to have a unique mutation associated with adaptation to mammalian hosts. In other words the mutation developed in the man and is not from a bird or cow. It is unclear if human to human transmission is possible. Some believe the man may have been infected through his eyes but influenza is traditionally an airborne virus. If the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s response to this virus is similar to their response to COVID we can expect things to continue to escalate. If the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s response to this virus is similar to their response to COVID we can expect things to continue to escalate.

An advisory has been issued to NOT drink raw milk and be sure eggs are fully cooked.

H5Ni symptoms:

  • Fever (100+ fever and chills)
  • Cough
  • Sore Throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Eye Redness (conjunctivitis)
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Seizures

 

 

April Fools Day Move

Posted on by Thor


On March 31 much of the move was completed to get into the new studio which is south of Downtown Orlando. Across the street is a lake but I can only see it through the gaps between lakefront homes.

I put a series of lakefront paintings I had done post pandemic over the fireplace.

Three ducks were hanging out in the front yard having a conference before they waddled of across the street to get back to the lake.

The Disney desk can be taken apart in three sections. The main body of the desk has to be the heaviest piece of furniture ever created. It has some sort of evil dark matter inside of it that doubles the pull of gravity. Considering I am using it to just support a laptop and iPad, I could get away with a TV table. Once the desk was moved and reassembled I could truly feel moved in. I have tons of books I still need to unload and put on the bookshelves but that is why I am writing this article. I am procrastinating. After the desk was set up, we noticed a lizard behind the wire grating in the fireplace and I left him alone figuring he could find his way back out up the chimney.

This morning as I was working at my Disney desk, he scurried out from one of the shelves. This was clearly his new home. The place has been deserted for over a year while renovations were being done, so I guess he has been a resident longer than me. However he had to go. I got a Chinese takeout container which is the only thing I have approaching Tupperware, hoping I would catch him. And let him back outside. He was super fast. He kept scrambling behind boxes and in the end I was leaping and throwing the container hoping it might land over him. He got away and I pulled a few muscles in the effort. He is now a permanent resident. His name is Speedy Gonzales.

COVID Dystopia: Vaccine Inequality

Posted on by Thor


In this shot from COVID Dystopia, The hands animate as they flail and then sink below the surface. I like how this shot lines up with the sound effect in the music.

The woman just stays still but bobs up and down a bit on the water’s surface. It would be nice to fully animate the waves, but I don’t think I will go that far.

I am pleased with how the hand drawn splash animation turned out.

Since I went back through the whole film and took out the fast zoom transitions, there are a few glitches that I need to repair. I tried opening the Premiere Pro file this morning and got the threatening warning the the file is broken and can not be opened. I did manage to open it by going through the history of recent files however. I don’t know what that would work if the file is broken. I need to figure this out beg=fore I push forward. I have had too many instances where Adobe products cause permanent damage to a scene.

Today is actually the first day of the Cleveland International Film Festival. I am not flying up there until the end of the festival when my film COVID Dystopia will be shown during a late night screening. Ironically the festival chose to use the scene I am working on right now for the header to promote the film. I am hoping to finish refining that shot today.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ Final Poster

Posted on by Thor


The final version of the Ain’t Misbehavin’ poster for the Orlando Shakespeare Theater has the two gentlemen smiling instead of singing. Ain’t Misbehavin’ will run at the Shakes from April 10 to 28, 2024. Tickets run from $32.86 to $48.76.

I have a full run of poster designs done for next season and I know there will be some evolution to each design. I try not to fall in love with one particular design since I just know what I like and that isn’t always the image that will sell the most tickets.

With my online Elite Animation students I am always pushing them to loosen up the drawings they do to get more gesture and flow in each pose. My goal is to focus on the action or the verb of any scene. I am not drawing or painting nouns. I want to feel like things are happening and a story is about to unfold.

That is hard to relate to students and even harder to put into practice every day.

On an unrelated note, It is day 1 in the new studio and OUC cut the power before I sat down to start writing.

Several days ago, had set up service online and then spoke to 2 robots who never understood a thing I said. I shouted my responses robotically into the phone but that digital bastard don’t listen. I spoke to 2 separate robots but I assume they are of the same digital hive mind. I finally realized I have to confuse the robots right off the bat and then they are forced to put on a human to answer the call. The human took all my information and did a credit check. She said everything checked out so I was set to go.

Fast forward to this morning and the power cuts off as I am making breakfast. My landlady was shutting off her service but I figured that OUC would be smart enough to roll my service on. After dodging a robot and talking to a human for over an hour she admitted she had all my information but the computer insisted that the service could not be turned on. I was put on hold, having to listen to  horrendous call waiting music. Several service managers finally managed to bypass the computer system. Day one with OUC and I am not happy. I was better off with Duke Energy. What can I do? I have to charge my phone and summer in Florida without AC would be hell on earth.

 

Ain’t Misbehavin’ Poster First Pass

Posted on by Thor


The art for the Ain’t Misbehavin’ poster is a rare case where my first impressions were right on point. I think I had to work on the title and credits but the art itself held up. There were a whole list of instructions on how big each credit should be related to the other credits. Actually now that I am thinking back, several of the facial expressions on the men had to be changed. So the final poster is a bit different than what I first created. If I remember right one of the men’s fces looked a bit painted as he was singing. It is always a challenge to get just the right expression while someone sings.

Ain’t Misbehavin’ runs at the Orlando Shakes between April 10-28, 2024. I watched the original cast perform to get inspiration for the poster and the show is a blast.  Tickets run between $32.86 and $48.76.

This is the first post I am writing after moving into a new home/studio in Orlando. I spent the morning setting up the modem and router and this is the first time I have hit the internet. I am surrounded by mountains of boxes mostly filled with art books. I unpacked a couple of boxes because I had to find the phone and computer charging cables. I unpacked 3 boxes before I hit the power chord pay dirt.

Yesterday most of the moving was done but a few things remain, like my Disney Desk and a mattress and box spring. I was stiff as a rockk after a day of lifting. I could baily turn my head. I slept hard last night. This place has two bedrooms and one is now filled with art. The other is mostly empty but I layed out the camping mats in case I decide to sleep in there. The living room which I am using as the studio, has tons of light. I will do a sketch of the chaos tonight after I finish working with an online student between 6-8pm.

COVID Dystopia: I saw Cthulhu Break the Surface

Posted on by Thor


This scene from COVID Dystopia shows a giant octopus though the lyrics refer to Cthulhu. A single giant tentacle raises an oxygen canister. This scene was first painted when India had people dying in the streets unable to get oxygen. A religious organization took it upon themselves to offer oxygen in the street.

Cthulhu, first created by H.P. Lovecraft was a gigantic entity worshiped by cultists, in the shape of a green octopus, dragon, and a caricature of the human form. My depiction doesn’t quite live up to that description but I felt it was close enough to tie in with Andy Matchett‘s lyrics.

I picket on particular oxygen canister to animate so that it would tie in with where I wanted the audience to be looking on the next scene.

I was surprised at how well the depth map worked on this scene, the Earth actually looks like it is turning and the foreground tentacles follow that rotation.

I am satisfied with the scene. All the tentacles could be animated but then the audience would not be sure of where to look. I am following the KISS rule. Keep It Simple Sally.

COVID Dystopia: Sinking Ship

Posted on by Thor


This scene from COVID Dystopia is less than a second long.That isn’t enough time to read any of the protest signs, like, lifeboats are for sheep. Hopefully an audience has just enough time to notice that all the passengers in the life boats have masks on and the protestors on the deck do not.

The depth effect ass the camera trucks downward works well. I had to create a patch so some of the foreground passengers do not distort too much.

Of course there are plenty of opportunities to fully animate the scene. The woman in the foreground could turn and look towards the camera and or protestors could be waving their signs. The lifeboats themselves could swing as they are lowered.

With all that said, I think the simple camera move is enough to keep the scene moving. This single scene could be cut apart into a series of shots. A close up pf the protestors, the concerned look on passengers faces, another passengers leaping onto a boat. All of that would be for a much longer film.

I have already created a film that people love to hate. Do I really need to invest the time in making it longer?

COVID Dystopia: Iceberg

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The Iceberg scene in COVID Dystopia just had the whale animated.A whale moves rather slow since it is so large but the scene is just a second long. The tail only animates downward. I wish there was more time to also animate it on the upstroke.

Now that the snap zooms were cut from the film there are 6 more frames in the scene.  I might consider some added animation for an upstroke.

I had a scare this morning. When I went to open the Premiere Pro file I got a warning box that said, It appears the file is broken it can not be opened. Good God. I navigated to the file another way and managed to get it to open. I better save what I have and get it onto the one drive.

My biggest fear is that I will get the film to a finished sate and then it will completely crash. If something bad can happen, it will happen to me.

I tried to render the film with all the snap zooms removed yesterday and the render failed. I used all the same settings I used on past renders. It seemed to freeze on a scene with an asteroid about to crash into the earth. I will check that scene to day and see if there is anything that might cause the render to stop. Why can’t anything digital just work?

Empire State Demo

Posted on by Thor


This sketch was a demo for one of my online students. The class is called, “Sketching People, Places and things.” Since the class was held on Zoom we couldn’t go to a location to sketch. So I showed the student how to use Google maps and turn on street view.

I explored around Cleveland to see what the theater looks like where my film will be screened on April 12. I found the theater district and walked around until I found a good view of the Allen Theater.

My student decided to explore NYC. He wanted to draw the Empire State building. He stood directly in front of the building and looked up. From that angle you couldn’t see the top spire. So I advises him to walk around the building several blocks away and look back for the Empire States Building. He was delighted when he found this view so this became the focus of our lesson.

This became a lesson on using three point perspective. One point is at the end of the street as the road converges to the horizon. Another point is off screen to the left, and a third point is high in the sky which affects how the buildings converge and get smaller as they rise into the sky.

This is my old stomping grounds. I used to work in the empire State Building about 2/3 of the way to the top. I could open the office window and sit on the ledge looking out over the city. I vastly admired the window washers who would clean the windows from outside several times year. That is a job I could definitely not do. I clench my butt just thinking about it.

My student made a fun creative decision and he had a subway train run up the avenue. I finished this in the class, but his piece still needs work. Then again, is a sketch ever really finished? I see things I would like to change and details that could be added.