Watching Lilo and Stitch

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I used to teach at Full Sail University. I had to leave since they didn’t pay me enough to cover the cost of gas to get there.

Kathy Blackmore and Sam Ewing were in charge of the class that taught traditional animation with pencil and paper instead of computers. I helped student as they shot their scenes and answered their questions.

For the last class we always showed a movie. It was the final day students had to work on their animation assignments and you could tell who was serious about animation because they could focus in this last class to keep improving the scenes they ha created. True artists use every moment available to keep tweaking their scene since no scene and no sketch is ever perfect. I also would use the class to sketch, always hoping to catch a few students at work.

I now teach virtually for Elite Animation Academy and the great thing about that is that I get to animate right alongside of the student. Getting to animate so often let me break out of my usual illustration routine and bring a character to life. Students get to see ever step taken in creating a scene which is rare when dealing with a larger group.

FAVO Blackmore Studio

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Set in a former motel, Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO) at 221 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, Florida 32801 features 36 Studios of amazing original art. On the first Friday of each month the artists open their studios to the public for an open house. I stop out periodically to see what is new in the Orlando visual arts scene.

On this trip I was so pleased to find that Kathy and Eric Blackmore had a studio set up. Kathy uses the space as a classroom for her private art lessons with young students. She is a children’s book illustrator and creates gorgeous delicate watercolor paintings for the books. She began this career when I worked with her at Full Sail University. Her husband Eric is a wildlife and environmental photographer and some of his landscapes were on the studio walls. He is also an amazing woodworker who creates custom furniture. Because of this the small studio space is magnificently designed with storage spaces and modular shelving and table tops that can be folded into place.

It is a sweet little set up and it must bustle when Kathy’s students are busy creating. Eric is also a professor and each year he escorts students to exotic locations around the world. He and Kathy therefor get to explore and be inspired by someplace new each year. While Pam and Eric talked, I scribbled as fast as I could to document and memorialize the studio. We explored the rest of the studios, but spent most of our time in the Blackmore studio which exemplifies what is great about FAVO.

Earl’s Kitchen opened at the Millennia Mall .

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Former Disney animation artist Sam Ewing, sent me an invite to Earl’s for a preview food tasting evening at Earl’s Kitchen  (Millenia Mall, Unit 246, 4200 Conroy Road Orlando Florida.) The restaurant was offering a free evening of dining to test out the menu and service staff. Before I official opening.

Katy Bakker was there with her husband. Katy had curated all the art on the walls at Earl’s. Andrew Spear had a large mural featuring parrots on the white wall next to the kitchen. His signature cross hatched drawing could easily be seen from any table in the restaurant.

I arrived early and sketched at the bar waiting for a friend to arrive. Citrus drinks and wine flowed but they were not free, so I stuck with water. I always want to keep the cost of each sketch down to a minimum.

The wait staff was very attentive and they kept asking how things were. Kathy and Eric Backmore warned me that we would be praising the food more than chewing the food. By the end of the meal I was nodding my head like a bobble doll saying with a hint of sarcasm, “yes, yes it was veeeery gooooood.”

There was one free alcoholic drink on the menu, but I us driving so I stuck with caffeine. Service staff were all dressed in black and I spent some time trying to decide who had the most fashionable shoes. Earl’s is a sleek, upscale Canadian chain serving gourmet burgers, global comfort food, cocktails, wines and beers. It was a pleasant night out, though I don’t recall exactly what I ate. I just eat food to keep my hand twitching on the page. I would make a horrible “foodie.” I was impressed with the upscale atmosphere and would gladly return.

Take A Look, And You Will See Into Your Imagination!

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 On Third Thursday, I wandered downtown to see what art exhibits were opening up. On the drive, Terry called me to let me know there was an outdoor concert in front of the Doctor Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. I decided that DPAC therefor was my sketch opportunity for the night. I stopped quickly into City Arts Factory to see how the Square exhibit looked hung. I submitted one square print and it was nestled in neatly among many of he talented local artists. My print hung just inches from the incredibly talented Rebecca Rose, also nearby was Boy Kong, Andrew Spear, Jennifer Payne, and Scott White. I made an impulse buy and purchased a print by Plinio Pinto. It is now hanging in my living room. The curator didn’t want me to take it off the wall right a way. He suggested I return at the end of the evening. 


I started hoofing it down to DPAC to sketch the concert. On the way I ran into Joe Rosier who had grown out his white beard and had on a red Santa cap and a red shirt. His plan was to get some fish and chips at the Irish Pub before he started gallery hopping. We walked past two women smoking outside the pub. One shouted out, “Hey Santa, you should come inside, you would be the life of the party.” Joe turned to her and said, “First let check my list, I have to see if you’ve been naughty or nice.” Since I wanted to get to the concert to sketch, I left Santa as he finalized the negotiation. When I got to DPAC, the concert was over and chairs were being folded up and stacked away. Alright, change of plans there had been a trio performing at Avalon Island. That was my new sketch opportunity. 


As soon as I entered The Gallery at Avalon Island (39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL) I bumped into Kathy Blackmore. I had worked with her at Disney Feature Animation and at Full Sail University. [ miss the camaraderie, laughter and insanity of those times. The Gallery was presenting Take A Look, And You Will See Into Your Imagination! an exhibition that features children’s book artists and illustrators. Kathy’s children’s book illustrations were part of the exhibit. After a quick walkabout, I started sketching. At two tables there was brown packing tape acting as a table cloth and canvas. Colorful markers in a cup acted as the center piece. I was delighted when Tori Kelly and her two children started sketching on the brown paper. Kids sketch with such confidence, They still enjoy the simple pleasure of putting lines on a page. Children’s book illustrator, Ethan Longjoined the kids and he showed them how to draw on of his characters. The kids were mesmerized soaking in his every pencil stroke with their hungry eyes.

A gentleman and two women sat across from me. He started drawing an intricately branched tree with a purple bird perched way up high. Earlier in the day, a repairman had told me the he let his Moluccan Cockatoo climb the branches in a large tree in his yard. His bird would climb to the highest branches and then come back down when called. Zorro, our Umbrella Cockatoo had never experienced that freedom. Hawks and falcons can sometimes be seen circling overhead. As protective owners we would never risk allowing Zorro to climb beyond our reach. He might climb to the top and never look down, requiring a call tot fire department to get the hook and ladder.

 It turned out that the sketcher across from me was the husband of  Zebo Ludvicek, one of the artists whose work was on exhibit. She asked to see my sketchbook when I had finished sketching the trio. She took her time flipping through the pages, she seemed to truly like what I do.  Her husband reaffirmed her sincerity saving, ” She means it, she doesn’t usually like anything.” We chatted for quite. a while about art, both digital and traditional before I decide to get a beer with a day of the dead skill on it which was laced with Taquilla. It gave me an immediate headache.

Kathy was in a conversation with artists Anne Jewett, and Janeen Mason. Janeen said she would give me the name of a friend of hers who lives in Saint Augustine. That city has a law that make creating art in public spaces a crime punishable with a fine of $500 and or 60 days in jail. There is a demonstration in Saint Augustine on December 21st against this insanity and I plan to drive over that way to sketch the demonstration. Janeen’s friend is on the Saint Augustine historic preservation committee and she might help get me out of jail if I am caught sketching. Anne told me about a unique crowd funding source for artists called something like Patrion. People pay a small sum, like a dollar to see sketches for a project as it progresses. It is an ingenious idea and I plan to research it more. It could bring what seemed lit an impossible dream to life. I also have I say that Anne’s illustrations were magical with a old world classical glow. If you happen to be walking by Avalon check out her work in the front windows. It will amaze you.

The only other artists that I didn’t meet were, Fred Koehler,  and Loreen Leedy.The Avalon exhibit was clearly my favorite discovery for the evening. The show will be on display at the gallery until January 16th. The children’s books are available at Bookmark It (3201 Corrine Dr #109, Orlando, FL).

The Mellow Mushroom always delights.

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If I find myself on the East side of Orlando, with time to kill before sketching an event, I will often go to the Mellow Mushroom, 2015 Aloma Ave, Winter Park, FL. Kathy Blackmore, used to take the 2DAnimatio Full Sail crew to Mellow Mushroom to show her thanks and ask about suggestions for the coming year. We would usually order the Pesto Pizza Pie which had an exotic name like “Cosmic Karma.” Anytime I return, I or do the same pie. As of this December it will be a year since I left Full Sail. My new teaching gig at Elite Animation Academy is more challenging, but I’ m learning as I teach the kids. I’m teaching a course in using Photoshop to design characters and because of that, I’m using a tablet to sketch more often. The first time I used the Cintiq Companion 2, the battery died before the sketch was done. Since then I have discovered some battery saving techniques, and the battery has held on for each sketch session since. My butt usually reminds me when I’ve been sitting and sketching for too long. The battery now outlasts my butt.

Rusty Pliers shocked the crowd at Stardust Video and Coffee.

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Saw Ewing was a lead cleanup artist at Disney Feature Animation. I worked under his guidance on the character Koda in Brother Bear. After Disney closed the Florida animation studio, I started work at Full Sail University and I worked closely with Sam as we taught college students the principles of animation using traditional pencils and paper. Sam had a dream of someday becoming a writer. He left Full Sail to follow that dream. I was happy to hear that Sam started a blog titled “Rusty Pliers.”

Soon everyone referred to Sam as Rusty Pliers. I wondered what the moniker meant. My thought was that each artist that worked for Disney was a tool. For the duration we were tools with a set purpose, to create ageless films. When the studio was shut down there was little need for Animators who draw. We were discarded tools left to rust (rusty pliers) until we found new outlets for our talents. The Florida humidity has caused all the tools in my tool chest to rust. It is unavoidable with age.

This reading at Stardust Video and Coffee set the record straight. When Rusty Pliers got on the stage, he had an eye patch that made him look a bit like a pirate. He started reading tentatively at first outlining his early dreams of becoming an animator.  Half way into the reading he took a moment to adjust his eye patch. He moved it from his left eye to his right eye which caused laughter to erupt. “That’s so much better.” he said. “I didn’t realize there were so many of you out there.” It was a full house. Standing room only.

Rusty then read about his next career move into the porn industry. This is apparently a hard industry to break into. It was during the filming of a hot kitchen sex scene where rusty earned his name. He discovered some pliers on the set and he worked them into the scene in kinky ways best left to the imagination. When the scene had reached it’s climax the director shouted, “You are going to be a star!” He wasn’t referring to the actors however. He was referring to the rusty pliers.

When the reading was over, my sketch was done. Back by the bar, there was a table full of former Disney colleagues. John Pierro has been doing a painting a day of his quirky and somewhat sinister intertwining figures. Merritt Andrews has been working for Universal Studios the past few years. Pam Darley turned me on to a bar her husband loves called the Brass Tap and I hope to go there on a Drink And Draw outing soon. Darko Cesar and his wife Mirjana were there as well. Darko is discovering how to use TV Paint which is the industry standard for producing traditional animation using a digital tablet. Kathy Blacmore is still teaching art to kids and illustrating children’s books. It was awesome to see Rusty Pliers laughing with friends. I had one grapefruit flavored beer and since I’m a light weight drinker, I laughed at even the simplest jokes. I was just happy to be surrounded by so much talent.

Earth Day Celebration at Lake Eola

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April 19th was Earth Day and Orlandoans celebrated at Lake Eola Park. That day was also the 43rd World Wide Sketch Crawl, so I organized the Orlando Crawl to happen at the Earth Day Celebration. There were artist and vendor tents set up all through the park. I suggested that any artists could meet in the art vendor area, so that is where I set up to sketch. I sat right at the edge of a huge patch of Doug Rhodehamel‘s paper bag mushrooms. The mushrooms are part of his Spore Project which encourages people to be creative with the simplest of materials, a paper bag, stick and a rubber band.

Jon Glassman Gardner was set up in a tent nearby and he explained the mushrooms to people who were curious. Jon had dozens of colored glass magnets that had colorful patterns that resemble topographic maps. He discovered the pattern one day while pressing pigments between two sheets of glass. I’m the proud owner of several of these magnets that hold up sketches in the studio. He was also selling lanterns that featured his unique glass work. Between costumers, he was working on a spray can chandelier. He cut the cans open in a spiral pattern which made them look a bit like Man O War jellyfish. I believe he plans to group these together with lights to create the chandelier.

My plan to have artists meet at this event was flawed. The event was so large and crowded that it became impossible to find any other artists. One art student of Kathy Blackmore‘s introduced himself and I suggested he sketch something in the area. I should have given him my twitter handle or phone number so I could find him again in the crowd.  I assumed no one else showed up, but weeks later I was pleased to see that Plinio Pinto and Matthew Tardiff also sketched the Earth Day festivities that day. Though each artist was sketching on their own, they both found plenty of interesting subject matter to sketch. The next Sketch Crawl is July 12th. I need to get organized and learn how to bring artists together.

Sexual Harassment

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All the Full Sail staff were required to take a seminar which outlined Full Sail’s policies on Sexual Harassment. Kathy Blackmore invited her crack team of instructors from 2D Animation to meet for lunch at Mellow Mushroom on Aloma before the seminar. It’s always nice to get together as a crew to laugh, gossip and discuss ways the course might be improved over time. My Hawaiian pizza was delicious. As a crew we then arrived at Full Sail live before anyone else showed up. The back rows were the first to fill up. There was plenty of uncomfortable joking about harassment and slowly the room filled. I left the 2DA crew, thinking I might sketch from the front row. Kathy informed me that much of the presentation would be a video, so I changed my focus and decided to sketch the growing crowd.

Sexual Harassment is bad. It was defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. A lawyer went through his 29 power point slides being sure to read each of the bullet points. About 70% of women and 20% of men have experienced sexual harassment. About 15,000 charges are filed each year. The bottom line was that Full Sail employees must report all harassment if they are aware of it to the Human Resources department or a quick call to the Full Sail president.

The video showed a fictitious court case in which a female employee was filing a sexual harassment charge. She met a guy at a company picnic and they talked. She let slip that she used to work for a 900 number. The audience murmured. The guy kept asking her out and she declined. He parked outside her home one night for several hours. She contacted HR and they suggested the guy stop. He didn’t. Eventually the guy was fired, but the woman got cat calls from the rest of the shipping department. She decided she had to leave.

The Full Sail staff were asked to break up into groups of six to act as juries. The interesting thing about the video is that the case left room for interpretation about weather HR had done enough to stop the harassment. The juries all agreed that she was the victim of sexual harassment. They varied widely in the matter of how much to offer in damages. One jury offered $300 in compensatory damages, $300 in punitive damages and $300 in back pay. The video jury offered $75,000 in damages. Larry Lauria on the 2DA jury offered 10 million dollars in damages, but it was a hung jury because no one could agree on the final amount.

The Secret of Nimh

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On the last day of the 2D Animation class at Full Sail each month, Kathy Blackmore lets the students vote on an animated movie to watch. Before they voted, students asked the instructors about their experiences in the animation business. One student asked, “What was a highlight or defining moment in your career?” I described the day when I found out I was accepted into the Disney internship. “This might be way before your time, but it was a Mary Tyler Moore moment. I danced in the streets of NYC and threw my cap in the air!” Kathy described the pride she took in one particular Stitch scene where she did every drawing herself. Alex Kupersmidt the lead animator paused for the longest time when he looked at it. Such a pause usually meant he was contemplating a change or fix to the animation. He said, “It’s perfect.” He then turned and walked away. Such praise from an animation legend isn’t often offered.

The class had a split vote between Secret of Nimh and Lilo and Stitch. Dan Reibold really wanted to see the Secret of Nimh since he hadn’t seen it in a long time. Kathy’s heart warming stories about working on Stitch might just throw the voting in favor of the Disney film. Dan decided to pick up the Nimh DVD case and he made up a story about how this movie was the reason he wanted to become an animator. The students didn’t buy his story, they laughed. Kathy decided to show the movie to keep Dan from crying. Some students continued to work on their animation flip books as the movie played. This has to be the best animated feature Don Bluth produced. It is a classic.

Waiting for the rain to stop

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As the 2-D Animation class wound down, I heard thunder and the distinct sound of rain hitting the building’s flat roof. I didn’t have my umbrella. Kathy Blackmore, the Course Director, suggested I could dash out a little early but I didn’t want to get drenched. More importantly, I didn’t want my tablet PC or sketchbooks to get drenched. I lingered after class straightening up the classroom at a leisurely pace. When I finally got out to the lobby, I stopped in my tracks.

Looking out the large glass doors was a view of a cascading, torrential waterfall. I couldn’t even see the nearest cars in the parking lot. I always park at the furthest parking spot away from the building under a shady tree. I like the walk and I always know where I parked. Now that was a problem. I decided to sit on the floor and sketch. There were quite a few students who waited along with me. Occasionally a student would run in soaking wet and laughing. one particularly wet girl followed a classmate around offering a hug. Kathy decided to make a run for it.

As I finished up the sketch the rain began to slow. I walked out to my truck in the faintest drizzle just having to avoid the lake sized puddles in the parking lot.