Lucky Bunny Part 2

What I do with the Lego gift is the exciting part, and the extremely nerdy part. As an artist and animator I can't help but set up my gear on night and time lapsing the assembly of my new toy. What can I say?! Afterward I pump it into After Effects and use some of my skills in the digital realm to put it together into a pretty package, check it out below!

Enjoy!
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One lucky Bunny!

Well today just got even better, My friend Joe and his Dad Dan popped into my work this morning to drop off an unexpected gift, and check out the wicked wrap job!

We hung out at Devonian gardens last night after work and talked shop, Joe is planning on making his own science show to carry on what he begun at Beakerhead this year. I mentioned my LEGO collecting addiction cause I shook the box and I could tell what it was, the surprise was even better once I opened it!

WHAT?!?!?!?!? A Volkswagon Camper Van kit!!!!! Way too awesome, I am so stoked it is going to be difficult to get thru work not wanting to assemble this, alas I'll have to use the force.

Here is a quick After Effects project I put together today as a demo and for kicks and QAS. Check it out. I don't expect it'll get over 50,000 hits like the the video I launched last week, but I'm not counting anyway. lol.  If you want to see the AF Satori animation check it out below.

Week-end update 2, but wait there's more

On friday night I bought a ticket to the Landscape demo at Swinton's Art Supply. When I showed up the owner, Doug asked me if I liked Vodka. That was a trick question because before I knew it I had slammed back a few too many screwdrivers and thus was a screwed driver in that I couldn't drive him. lol.

Neil Patterson gave a demo and wisdom session to a full house. It was fun watching him work the crowd while working the paint. He's quick, that's what years of experience can do for a painter and not a drop on his outfit = pro. It was great hanging out with the Swinton's crew and reconnecting with Milo who gave me my first break at the Sugar Estate Gallery back in the day.

Before and after After Effects. lol. Thanks class for being awesome!

We began the advanced animation portion of the class after a brief review of the principles and functions of how after effects with key framing transform properties. I taught the students how to make their work more professional by using the 5 types of motion. In order to do this I demonstrated a variety of ways to adjust the velocity and behaviour of the keyframes using the graph editor as well as keyframe assistant etc.

We also launched the animated music video/novella I have been working at in my "spare" moments. It is done in After effects with scanned watercolour drawings. Take a look.  I am on the last week of art production for the Aboriginal Youth Animation Project and we are really behind, which is to be expected. Stress levels are rising as deadlines are quickly approaching but I am really looking forward to a long week-end so I can catch up on household chores where needed.

Week-end update

It is no secret that every moment of everyday I have something on the go. It has been an exciting week as we quickly veering toward the Holiday of love, I am looking forward to the fact that it is a long week-end and I only have quality R & R planned for once!

AYAP
It is our last week of art production Aboriginal Youth Animation Project. Now the participants are under the gun and are finally exhibiting the type of work ethic needed to be an animation artist. Fingers crossed they can keep up the pace in order to get it done. Our screening isn't until March 30th at the Globe but there is a tonne of post production to do before then, during which they are placed in job internships in a related field. It seems like the time has passed so quickly. After the screening day I'll be out of a job and onto new yet unknown creative adventures.

SNOW DAY
I took part painting kids faces for a Snow Day event.  The room was chaos, 10 ft. away was a bouncy castle I have never really seen kids line up and be so patient like they do when it is time to get their faces painted. I was to busy to snap shots of all the other kids, but I did do some really good ones. The girls got snow flake ice princess designs and my personal best the my little pony unicorn pegasus wings around the eyes like a butterfly, my most popular design. The boys got iron man, spider man, and Silas got a Lego Chimas lion guy, special request. As seen above, this is how it looked after a play session in the snow and bouncy castle and after eating and rubbing it a bit, it held up fairly good.


INTRO TO OIL PAINTING
I took over the acrylic and oil samplers at Swinton's art Supply.  It was a really good class, I am stoked to be using my Sundays at Swinton's educating future artists. I created quite extensive notes for an into to accompany my demonstrations. Hopefully the complexity and perceived expense which causes oils to seem for boding has been melted away. For first time painters the full class produced works to be proud of! I look forward to seeing what they come up with in the future, now that they are off on the right foot.

QUICKDRAW EVENING CLASSES
Both of my evening classes are running at Quickdraw Animation Society. The After Effects is full and we went over our cap!  This group has done far better on the first day than any class I have taught before. I must have honed my teaching skills enough now to really propel the students. Maybe it's not me a t all and they just all get the hang of it. either way I look forward tot eh next 11 evenings to see them transform their skill set. I have a really eager group in my Advanced Animation class who have all taken classes before and can create a walk cycle on day 1. The work load for this class is heavy and very technical but by the end they will have a short bit of finished work and a plan with with to grow their practice as animators. The pic above is Duncan our Technical Director repositioning the classroom and Chris Jones one of my students.

I'm off to get fitted for a suit during my lunch break. even when it's break time I've got something on the go. lol.

Ciao for now.

DISTRESSED SIGN PAINTING

I took a week-end workshop at Swintons Art Supply (http://www.swintonsart.com) taught by Rick Janzen of Streamline Studios (http://streamlinestudiosinc.ca)  and a wicked local sign painter in the sense of the traditional trade craft.

We started out finding about the history and Rick told many great stories about his experiences. There were many book references and lots of photos of past work to look at. He introduced us to the tools of the trade and all the materials etc. were included in the workshop fee = wicked!!

I have always wanted to learn the skills of the traditional sign painter in order to better perfect what I hope to do in my work. I've taken up many of the skills, from transferring lettering, hand painting on glass as well as learning airbrush. I've done a few murals and some signage(see earlier blog post or visit my website for reference) Brianbatista.com. 

We rolled out some poster paper and began with layout and design of hand painted signs.  I decided to make a sign that I can use at my comic expo booth or elsewhere I offer custom work.

Then I was lucky enough to get to try out his electro pouncer. This is definitely something I'd love to have in my studio, though at around $500 its a little rich for my blood. for now a luxury item I can try out. It used electricity to burn holes int he paper. How it works is you stick paper to a piece of metal using magnets. The electro pouncer has a ground wire that gets attached to this metal backing. You turn it on and use it like a pen. It pulses out a little arc which burns holes. So cool. A couple of people got shocked, which isn't that shocking, handle with care!

This paper is then put on top of the surface. Take a chalk bag and tamp the surface and the chalk will go thru the little holes and create an outline to follow that can easily be removed. This is a great way to transfer a design. here I am using white chalk but if the surface was light or white I would use crashed charcoal instead.  Once the designs transferred it makes it much easier to paint, plus I still have the pounced paper design if I need to make multiples.

Here it is mostly painted.  It takes a lot of brush skill to do this well. Something that only time and practice and bring, as in any real skill worth attaining. I ran out of time to add other colours and outlines but I do intend on working on the sign more and adding some more decorate elements and maybe some gold leafing before distressing it.

What interested me most about this particular workshop is the DISTRESSING part.  In my sacred images paintings I try to get that aged antique look. Often it is tedious and labor intensive requiring lots of techniques and time. This on the other hand was quick and effective. First we need to age the wood so that the ground doesn't look so fresh. there are so many ways I found online to do this from vinegar and steel wool to what we did, which was way easier, stain it with raw umber paint watered down.

After the initial drying we applied wallpaper paste to the surface. This will act as a resist for later when we begin removing layers. I used this heavy duty dryer to speed up the process. Aesthetically speaking, the wear on a sign would be more around the edges and more around the top due to weathering so more paste should be applied there, the middle would have much less distress. rick gave us many fine examples and ways about thinking about how to distress the work to look realistic.

 Then you put on your design. You can use a variety of transfer methods or go the old fashioned routs and draw directly on it like I did.

I created a second test panel where I painted a letter on a fully painted background whereas the first I chased in the background. I designed this letter B based on an old rosewood style font I have always admired. another transfer method is to rub the back of the paper with charcoal and then place it down and go over the lines on the front. This pushes the charcoal on the back onto the surface with the traced design.

Here they are painted in. I decreased the contrast between the off white and black to show bleaching by the sun. The colours I used are harmonious with one another and are heritage colours.  With little time I raced to paint these in, they are rough but it is not going to matter once the distressing comes into play.

Here they are after I finish with the two distressing techniques we learned. I like them really aged :D

The first method is to use a warm water soak to loosen the wallpaper paste and then using a floor brush or nail brush with short strokes to lift the paint off the surface where the wall paper paste is applied. Its wet, wild and fun and works fantastic.

I love how this lake sign turned out by one of the other participants.  Did I mention these are water based paints but it works equally as well for oil based paints. It is the messiest part of the process which is why we put down black plastic garbage bags.

We also tried block ageing which added to my tests. It is a way to make it look as though the painting is peeling off without having to life the paint, instead you add paint of the wood colour on the top. Here rick is further ageing his sign.I think the more distressed the better, as long as you can still make out what the sign says. It was a fun time and by the end of the class we had some pieces to be proud of!

Photo by Rick Janzen

I am so stoked about what I learned, I am pumped to apply it to my practice. I already have grand ideas and an extensive list of stuff I want to do so be prepared to see some major output in the coming months  after I finish all my teaching gigs and I can get back to the studio. I can't stop thinking about it, so much so I skipped past the remaining El Salvador trip inspiration. If this class comes up and this interests you I highly recommend the course.

Until next time = :D

The beach caves near El Tunco

My pal Lupe has been raving about her favourite spot and she has been wanting to visit it in years. We are finally here, and our chance to see it for ourselves….the sea carved caves at the end of the beach near El Tunco.

It is not a far walk down the beach and you get to pass all sorts of hostels, cacti and even another small settlement around another river that seeps out into the ocean like the one that we can see from the cabana at the place we are staying at.

As we get closer the caves seem to open up. There are men wading in the water nearby casting nets into the waves. I have no idea what they are trying to catch. I'm walking in the same waves and nothing seems to be hitting my shins so I really can't say how successful they are. They are there for hours, I'm not sure if they are catching anything.

The first time we go the tide is up a ways, making going into the cave more dangerous as the waves smash in and the back flow can trip you up. I have valuables and my iPhone so I am not going to risk it on this occasion.

Rosco brought his lunch and waded out to a rock to enjoy his food and the magnificent view.

The tide was rising as the sun began setting. We would have to come back another day to enjoy the sea caves more. Ray and I managed to go when the tide was out and the sun was rising the morning before we had to leave.

This is inside the same cave but this time the tide is way out and you can get thru the many caverns in the rock.

 The shapes that open out to the ocean are inspiring windows to the edge of the world.

It was hot and we sat outside on the cave on the furthest point of the outer rock and watched waves roll in. This is super natural inspiration!

Above the caves are fences and a building. I bet the view from up there is phenomenal.

 There is a long staircase that comes down to a pool carved out in the rock. During high tide we couldn't reach this point.

 Looking up form the cave are these softened sedimentary formations.

Here is the view looking back as we depart the beach caves at El Tunco and head for the rock! You really have to go there to see this amazing place in person!

El Tunco

We made our way to our new spot after a 3hr. tour. Us boys had a blast in our van. Quiet and silent looking out the window for the first hour and once the beers and rum began being passed around it got to be real fun. No beers, no talking. Beers and the boys get rowdy. The girls bus was the opposite, they started with talking and rested the last bit of the way.

Jess Lupe the pics are awesome! however, truth be told, us girls talked about sex stories and weird fetishes for half of our ride to el tunco.... if only you were a fly on that wall…

In many ways I do wish I could have heard the silly stories and giggling. Alas, I would never impose. Regardless, we arrive at El Tunco with enough time to settle in and visit the beach.

We arrived at the El Tunco however the rock is not what we saw first, first we got into our sweet pad booked on air b n b. The owner frank waited for us outside the private gated community. Our vans arrived and we opened the tall gate. For security the top of the gates have broken pieces of glass cemented to the top so no body tries to jump over. Should I be worried?

Lupe found us a pad for 12 and I paid for all of us on my visa. Peeps paid me back which is how I bought US currency for the remainder of the trip. The main house was great with kitchen and appliances, even a TV, though we weren't going to be watching any. Walking thru the house to the back to see the ice cold pool and cabana. The boys got in first so we waited patiently for the girls to allow them to have first pick of rooms. We are gentlemen, after all.

Our first night was spent in the Cabana circled around good eats and drinks overlooking where the river meets the ocean.

Okay so the river didn't really meet the ocean and I think there is a good chance they do their laundry upstream and dump their sewage. There were plenty of people down there swimming and fishing and it seemed to be teeming with life and people during the day.

I got to share this detached bunk house with an outdoor as well as an indoor bathroom with shower. It was luxury on this trip. Hot as hell inside though, an the fan didn't work and made a death metal noise.

Here is the view that I saw when I left the dark hot room. Not bad.

And here is the backyard full of coconut trees, though there weren't any coconuts for us to pilfer. Jacob High Tower hung his awesome hammock between these tall trees and Josh put up a slack line too.

Outside there were enough tables to push together so we can all share meals with each other which is what I love most about this group of travellers, we work together and share everything, well almost everything. lol.

Having our own pad made me feel a bit like I was at a beach house in Hollywood with my celebrity friends. We sat around the swim up bar one night trading embarrassing sex stories. I ran away as to not kiss and tell. My room mate has the best ones, no contest!

Mr. Dingles in his natural habitat. No matter where I've been with my boy always finds the best outdoor pee spot. Lucky dog and he does it with style!

Walking out from our gated abode there is a cool hostel on the corner where we got an amazing thai feast for 13 one night. Steps away are the crashing waves and wicked surfing swells at the beach. Accommodations are awesome and we are within walking distance of a nearby little town. This final week in El Salvador should be relaxing and an adventure!

Accommodations at La Tortuga Verde, El Cuco, El Salvador

LA TORTUGA VERDE EL CUCO

You can check it out here at Hostelworld

The sweet spot Harry carved out for us to visit is right on the beach. It has all the relaxing amenities one could hope for in a vacation spot. You don't have to carry a dime as the staff keeps perfect lists of meals, beers and ice cream, boat rides etc. and tally's it up at the end of your stay. I kept track of everything myself and they were incredibly accurate with the bill.

 The whole point of Tortuga is to help protect the beach and save the turtles whose population has been depleted due to humans eating their eggs. We were lucky enough to help birth batch of turtle eggs and aid them in their journey to the ocean.  If I were to choose one, I would definitely choose the runt of the litter, I like a good underdog. These guys can live to a hundred years and will return to the exact same beach from which they were born in order to hatch new offspring.

 The spot was at one time a coconut plantation, which is awesome if you love young coconut water as much as me, everyday I drank a few fresh ones and learned how they use a machete to release the juice for myself.

 They recently built this bar with a hidden gem, a rooftop bed. Wendy, the bartender created delicious fruit drinks called "tropicalle".  They also served hummus and Bruscetta for a late night snack.

 Here is a view from the bar roof down to the yoga room and conference centre. I did a fantastic class as the sun set, it kicked my ass in a good way. You can also take surf lessons and Spanish lessons. There is tons to do here, but mostly you'll want to hit the water or lounge in a hammock on the beach.

Here is a little friend I made, Doggy. We hung out on the beach and I gave him a rub down and Reiki and picked a few ticks out of his fur- Eeeewwwwwwe gross. Doggie waited for at the end of the road  when we were leaving to say goodbye in his doggie way.

Get a huge group of friends together and book some vans, then try to organize an exodus. We managed to cram all the people and luggage into two of these little Toyota diesels. It naturally separated into Stinky and sweet, Guys and girls respectively. I can say from being in the Guys van that is was a hell of a fun trip to our next destination - El Tunco.