Just do it

"Just do it" I can't tell you guys how often in my life at gnomon I had some one in front of me who's a new student, or wanting to become a student or just wants to do something that they scream from the roof tops that there pationet about. Its true when you walk around gnomon your suroinded by people who are driven by the love of there craft day in and day out to make each of there dreams come true. It almost sounds romantic right? Like hey I am really in love with games so I want to be a game designer! Or another good one is "Hey I love sculpting all day so I want to be a character modeler!" or "Hey I really, really, really love the disney movie x - y - z so I want to be a character animator!" OR "Hey I love the DESIGN of x y z so I want to do x y z."

 After you asked enough questions and talked to enough students you start to hear the same thing over and over again. Not to sound board or even jaded but man you and every one ells has a dream its those amazing dreams that push us to the brink of insanity. Its those dreams that I see when I am looking over LA at night on the parking structure watching the city pulse with life and seeing all the people milling about. When I walk through the labs and its so quite that you could drop a pin and sware you could hear it. This is a place of pation. This is a place of love. But most of all this is a place were people are suroinded by other people wanting to create amazing things.

So just do it. Don't cry to your self saying your not good enough that wont get you any were in life. Don't look at ArtStation going "Well shit that person is way beyond me how will I ever get there?." Get on close to your monitors folks because here is the answer to the big question your looking for "Just do it".

I watch movies all the time. I have them playing in the background all the time. I make a screen savor of the 12 principles of animation then try to daily write them down speaking of:

12 principles of animation are:
1) Ease in ease out
2) timing
3) follow through
4) over lapping action
5) staging
6) appeal
7) good drawings
8) spacing
9) strait ahead and pose to pose
10) secondary action
11) overlap
12) sqwash and stretch

Sweet lets see if I was write! * checks agents background real quick * Nope messed up here is the correct one:

12 principles of animation are:
1) Ease in ease out (correct ya!)
2) timing (correct ya!)
3) follow through  (wrong - overlapping action and follow through)
4) over lapping action  (wrong - overlapping action and follow through)
5) staging (correct ya!)
6) appeal (correct ya!)
7) good drawings (correct ya!)
8) spacing (wrong -  this is not a principle at all >.<)
9) strait ahead and pose to pose (correct ya!)
10) secondary action (correct ya!)
11) overlap (wrong - overlapping action and follow through)
12) squash and stretch (correct ya!)

Ok so I missed some and spread some out here is the correct list:
1) ease in ease out
2) timing
3) over lapping action and follow through
4) staging
5) appeal
6) good drawings
7) arcs
8) strait ahead and pose to pose
9) secondary action
10) secondary action
11) squash and stretch
12) exaggeration

The point of that exercise guys was to say that I did it I did not talk about it I did it. So now go do it. Draw a 100 cubes in perspective fill a page. Go sculpt a 100 figures. Go re design a toaster in 100 different styles. Go design 100 grey box games. Go create 100 stories. Go animates 100 bouncing balls. Go do it. Just do it. Stop talking about it and do it. The only person standing in your way is you. So just do it.

How time Flys when your having fun

It's been to long I admit sense my last post. I guess I am not a vary good blogger as one of my friends told me while I TA his class. "Mark I love how you said on your blog that you would be consistent then you rarely post" well life happens and we don't always get what we want sorry guys and gals it's just a busy life here in LA.

So Gnomon has been going well I almost had a mental break down in term 10 of the 3 year program. I admit I tried to do what is commonly not done at Gnomon and that's try and stick to all my classes. I'm sorry there is somthing wrong when you are told by most your peers to drop half your classes so you can survive term 10 and not go insane. I made it to week 7 before considering one night to just walk into traffic and be done with it. I wanted to believe that Gnomon would not of made a cariculome that was imposible to achieve but I was wrong.

Well I did not do this but went to Brian and asked if I could swap my term to a half term and re take the 3 classes so I did get the content I paid for. To say the least Gnomon will work with you for your health. I always been amazed how much this schools faculty puts your health and well being first over there money. The teachers care about you and the staff strive to always help you. From a person who came from a college mill background like Westwood this is really a spetiol school that cares about its students your not just a number to them. Max / Moe / Andrea / Pauline / Tom / Misty / Charly and so many more members of the staff have put my health first and always gave me words of wisdom to live by.

I remember Max coming out during one break in his intro to maya class when I was beating my self up for being to technical and a poor excuse for a artist and he sat down next to me. My teacher who got up on his soap box every time his machine booted up for class and was a force onto him self was willing to talk to me. I used to be vary scared of this man. But he said somthing that always sticks with me: "Mark your a technical guy don't forsake your IT background it does not mean you can't be a artist embrace it. Not a lot of artist care like you do about the techical stuff. I can see you working hard don't beat your self up you'll get there."

Those words will always mean a lot to me and were a pivotal turning point to me at Gnomon. Ya I am vary techical but that's ok I will always be a artist.

Next term I was asked to pick my track and was thinking of being a TA (teacher assistent) Max threw a off hand comment to Pauline about how he would reccomend me as a hard worker and helpful student. I was vary proud to be recognised by Max that day. I also was seeked out by Skot who used to run the lab monitor program and asked if I be interested. After being hired I got to know my two bosses well Misty and Skot. They always backed me up and stood by my side when students would get angry with me. A support team that cared about there employs is a rare thing to find these days. Once again proving to me how much Gnomon staff even support each other. I really loved my time as a TA and hope some day to come back to Gnomon to teach a class as a teacher.

I also recently started to work at DreamWorks and Gnomon did it again. They pulled together to make sure I could compleat my Gnomon program and helped go out of there way to make a schedule that would fit to my 40 hour work week and it was amazing. Andrea and Moe put there names on the dotted line sticking there necks out to say I could handle this and make it happen. I will always be in their debt as well as Shannon and Pauline who made sure it would work with my scedule no matter what.

Gnomon will always have a spetiol place in my heart because it's a school that cares about there students not a pay check at the end of the day. I met with one of the higher ups at gnomon and she told me she wanted to do everything in her power to help me finish. I think by the time I'm done with gnomon I'll have been here for 4 years of my life. From doing a half term to taking a term off for DreamWorks job this school will always be a second home to me.

I still remember the nights at Northrup Grumman fantasizing on how amazing it would be to have gone to Gnomon and how lucky people were to get that chance to even enter the doors of this school. To say the least Gnomon has not disappointed me at all. Thank you Gnomon for the great work and the love you show your students. You will always be my second home in my life.