Wacom 15x PL 550 LCD tablet
working on Germs in 2015
todays update is about a Wacom tablet I used to have. It was a gift from a very good friend from the post art school days. A buddy of mine was running his own animation studio out of his apartment and could pay for help from time to time on his projects. I would go for the day and help him animate and composite stuff. His home studio was and still is impressive. One of the first real hustlers I met on the freelance scene.
His set up was three work stations in a tiny tiny room. Three because it was that tiny, call it a half room. He built his studio over the years and did it all with used tech. I was impressed by his philosophy which was, “you dont need all the new stuff, old stuff is cheap and it works just fine” this was such a impressionable moment for me, I knew this already but I never really thought much about it and this was the first time I say it being applied in the real world. Seeing his builds and his dedicationI was really humbling.
This leads to the post, he gave me my first drawing table. I had a wacom bamboo that i had used since about 2009 but this was my first LCD screen. I went on to create two short cartoons “GERMS & APC’S Space Show” while using it in 2014-2017 and many doodles and other animation things. I have since moved on from this tech for over 2 years now, I am now working with a friends Wacom 13in Cintiq. It is used and works just fine.
I just want to say thank you to my friends Berdian and Elmer, my work is possible in part because of you guys support, I appreciate you both! RIP to the tablet it served me very well but it was time to let go, making room for the next gen in my home studio.
Graphic design ads
todays update is a few beautiful ads from a book at my art schools library. one of the pros of attending art school is the abundance of art books. I dont remember the name of the book.
Travel log #11
some city pics of my 1st time in Barcelona. My favorite city besides NY of course
Travel log #10
A few photos from the 1st time in Paris France. it was okay, only spent 3 days there.
a new yorker in paris, culture shock
paris hall way gardens
view was so nice but it was really foggy, couldn’t see very far
embracing the culture…HARD
just a new yorker leaving his mark in paris
really old dead people
squad on a long walk
squad
My art #1
i want to start a new branch of posting. it will focus on my art and thing i have created.
Travel log #9
photo dump of me around the world and just chilling
amsterdam
barcelona
brooklyn
home
queens
queens
miami
paris
miami
Miami
Manhatten
NY a story behind this picture
home
colorado
stuart davis
Travel log #8
todays photo dump is from a trip i took to Barcelona in 2017
life drawing or figure drawing
below are many figure drawings all from a class i take at the league for many years now.some are from 2016 and some are from right before covid. not my best work i personally feel.but some i really enjoyed drawing
drawings by Steven Gafney
Travel log #7
I spent 8 hours in Oslo, Norway in 2016. This was the first stop on the Eurotrip. It was cold but super cool to see after 8 hours of being on a plane trying to sleep. All images where shot on an iphone 4s. great phone, miss when phones use to fit comfortably in pockets.
Norway, first sight of land
down town
royal palace
Travel log #6
In 2016 I took my first trip to Europe with friends. We spent a few days in Amsterdam. The culture shock was intense but in the best of ways. Below are a few pictures, I have many more which I hope to upload in time.
animation as performance
cool article from JJ Sedelmaier
JJ Sedelmaier advertisement #2
some more pretty pictures to look at from a time not so long ago
Hey Tubby comic page
A funny comic from JJ Sedelmaier
JJ Sedelmaier advertisements
Travel log #5
More spain photos from last Novembers trip
Ambiguously Gay Duo comic
today post is a short and hilarious comic. I found it while going through some old stuff. There are a lot of really cool illustration and a few interesting articles I will be sharing within the coming post. So enjoy this short comic….i sure did!
Travel log #4
Photo dump from barcelona
I met director Sotoshi Kon at a Paprika premiere
Paprika directed by Sotoshi Kon.
Around 07-08 I had the privilege of meeting one of the best directors of Japanese cinema. Paprika had just been released in the united states. I had seen the film on DVD but when the opportunity of seeing it on the big screen with director Q&A presented it self I jumped to it. I bought tickets for one of the New York screenings (which there was only two dates). I got to see the film in Japanese with english subtitles, which is usually the way to go when it comes to foreign films.
If you haven’t seen Paprika I highly recommend it. Paprika is one of those film you just gotta own and rewatch from time to time. It’s director Sotoshi Kon is, was, and will always be a legendary man when it come’s to story telling through animation. I am beyond grateful to have met the man.
Above is a autographed original drawing done by Sotoshi Kon. It was a gift I received personally after the premiere. When the Q&A started my hand was the first one up. I don’t remember exactly what I asked him, in hindsight it probably wasn’t a great question, but I was young and I have always enjoyed asking questions so it doesn’t really matter I suppose. After the question he asked me up to the stage and handed me this piece of paper It was very surreal and still feels that way now. He said since I was the first person to raise my hand this was a reward. I’ve had this for more the a decade, and Im sure I will have it for the rest of my life. I wonder how many other’s there are in the world, can’t be to many of that i’m sure off.
If you are not familiar with any of Sotoshi Kon’s films you MUST educate yourself and go watch them. They are ALL amazing films. There is a great video easy about his editing style. Watch it for a quick synopsis about this legend. This is a great channel about film making, support if you like it
My mentor Tsukasa
When I was in art school I had a mentor named Tsukasa. He was about 10 years older then me, grew up on 90's hiphop lived in Brooklyn and was from Tokyo Japan. I was very drawn to the man for several reasons. His artistic voice and abilities as a draft men and animator where some of the best I'ed ever seen. His key poses where something unlike anything I’ed seen. They contained so much movement and power, I would study his drawing in awe.
Unfortunately while he was working on his final project the Tsunami hit Japan and he ended up leaving to help his fellow country men rebuild forcing him to pause his thesis project. Before this occurrence I was helping him with his project. I would clean up some of his scenes and scan them, preparing them for compositing. He was an upper classmate and as tradition goes they usually enlist the under classmates to help. After his return I was knee deep in my own thesis and didn’t have much time to help him, I tired my best but as is usually the case with thesis projects it was a huge undertaking and he just didn’t have enough time to polish his.
However he did manage to complete the majority of his rough animation and a few cleaned up scene. Long story short I ended up storing a few boxes of his during one of his moves. These boxes contained his thesis drawing, I have recently re discovered them after about a decade in my basement closet. There is a lot of animation and the majority is beautiful worth studying and sharing.
So this lead me to the purpose of this post, within the coming weeks I will be re scanning some of his drawing. I will try and composite some of the scene’s and I will share them on this site. I don’t know exactly how long that will take, I am knee deep with my own animation project so it will be an on going restoration project, but believe me when I say it will be worth it. I also don’t know the timing of his scene so I will be using my judgement and opinion when the time comes.
Final note about mentors, I have had two mentors since my journey as an animator started in 2007. Both have influenced me in different ways, I have fallen out of contact with both but I still feel like I will carry their teachings with me for the rest of my years. Do you have a mentor story? How have they helped you grow?
These are some key poses from the project. As you can tell…AMAZING!!
