Otronicon VIP Party

Posted on by Thor

On Thursday January 16th I went to sketch the Otronicon VIP Party at the Orlando Science Center, 777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL. The VIP Party gave Mayor Buddy Dyer and other politicians a platform to proclaim Orlando the center of the high tech digital universe.

Most intriguing was Sarah Anderson who in 2003 lost the use of her legs in a car accident. She was sporting an EKSO Bionics suit that used a computer and digitally balanced braces that helped her stand and walk. I had sketched Sarah Anderson one other time at a fundraiser. Oddly, her story that evening was that she lost the use of her legs in a skiing accident.  Perhaps the executives or PR department felt that an auto accident is something more people could identify with and therefor would sell more bionic suits.

The military was out in force demonstrating flight and battle simulators. The mayor delighted in telling a story about how he blew a six inch hole into a friends chest. Students demonstrated a robot they had built for a robotics competition. One student had a Frisbee, so I suspect that in competition the robot would have to throw the Frisbee. This big orange boxy robot however wasn’t yet up to the challenge. Jen Vargas and Josh Murdock, both sporting Google glass headsets stopped to say hi. They are both going to be on a panel discussion about technology. Jen will be screening a film that won the Orlando 48 hour film festival. Teams of filmmakers were given only 48 hours to write, direct, shoot and edit their films. Seth Kubersky was at the event reporting for the Orlando Weekly.

Otronicon, running every day through January 20th, is a celebration of interactive technology’s role in how we
live, learn, work and play. The event features larger-than-life video
game experiences, state-of-the-art medical and military simulators,
workshops taught by industry pros, and so much more! The event has the
opportunity to inspire a child’s interest in science and tech careers
through the appeal of video games, interactive technology and virtual
reality.

Admission
to Otronicon is $19 for adults and $13 for youth (ages 3-11). Tickets
also include access to the new traveling exhibit “Zoom Into Nano,” giant
screen and 3-D educational films, one Hollywood feature-length film,
and live programming. Science Center members can experience Otronicon
for free. It is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, January 19 and Monday, January 20.

For more information, please call 407-514-2000 or visit www.otronicon.org.

Drip 1 Year Anniversary

Posted on by Thor

On November 16th, Drip celebrated its one year anniversary of being on International Drive. Long time supporters of Drip were invited for a complimentary show. The T-shirt cutting and paint station was complimentary as was the champagne. After the 50 minute Drip show there was a desert party with the cast. Jessica Mariko the dance company’s founder was beaming as she thanked everyone. “We would not be where we are today without the help of generous people, advice from friends, cash, love and support.”

During the show, Terry and I stood near a raised platform. In one dueling dance sequence, red and Blue seduced one another in a purple strobe light glow as Yellow, Jessie Sander, tore apart her apartment in anguish and despair. Terry and I were inches away as the lovers gyrated and disrobed. Yellow as always did an incredible job of clearly showing her emotions even when not dancing.

David Travers, who composed all the music for the show made a rare cameo appearance playing guitar along with the band. The band performed in the bar for the after party. Guest singers were invited up to the mic.  I was surprised to see Melissa Kasper get up and sing her heart out. She has been the longest standing cast member of Drip working tirelessly hard in the background to keep each show on schedule. Now she stood front and center and the cast whooped and screamed for her performance.

The sketch was a struggle as heads bounced and bobbed blocking the scene. A paint drenched wench rubbed her boobs up along my left arm as she looked at what I was doing. She must not have seen the ring on my finger. Get a group of women wet and covered in paint and their inhibitions turn of as they get wild. Everyone danced and screamed to the pounding rock beat. When the music died down, Terry and I headed home.

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38th Annual Festival of the Masters

Posted on by Thor

From November 8th to November 10th, 130 artists set up tents in Downtown Disney for the 38th Annual Festival of the Masters. The parking lots in front of Downtown Disney were ripped up and fenced off due to construction. The back lot parking lot I usually park in was completely full. I had to loop around and was directed to a staff parking lot beside the cast services building. I had to drive up and down all the isles before I found what must have been the last spot in the lot.

The parking situation didn’t stop people from attending the Art Festival. The crowds were dense. I walked through the festival surveying all the art.  Behind the Circ du Soleil Circus Tent, the view opened up with a grassy knoll overlooking the lake. I relaxed on the grass and started to sketch. An artist sat in front of his tent joking with patrons and showing them prints. When another artist entered his tent, he shouted out to everyone that she was the winner of $1000. He later looked over my shoulder saying, “You’re among friends here.”

One lady had a tent full of dog paintings. Every canvas had a banner across it that said, “No photos.” I understand where she is coming from since I share my work everyday yet want people to know that the image has a copyright, which means, “don’t steal the image”. I place a 10% ghosted copyright banner across every sketch now. It is barely noticeable.  Whenever someone reproduces my work without asking, that copyright banner grows bolder. Policing image theft is difficult in the digital age. The Internet is the wild west of copyright theft. People want music, video and art for free. I love when people use my work, so long as they pay for the rights.I love it even more when people link back to this site to share my work or a particular sketch.

Much later I felt two other people standing behind me. My first thought was that they must be Disney Security intent on stopping me from sketching. It turns out they were former students of mine. This married couple had taken the 2D Animation class together and they were both stellar students. Having graduated, the couple is enjoying the tourist attractions in Orlando. Russ is planning to do an internship at Full Sail. As the sun set, the shadows grew longer. Getting off Disney property was as much of a challenge as getting on.