November 2008 Archives

Here’s how to make your own photography studio out of an extra bedroom. This room has more light than anywhere in the house, considering it has three windows and a back door with a window. My mom suggested I go buy black felt to cover the windows so I could control the light better for a still life. It beats only working at night, although I tend to do that anyway.So here’s the thing. I blew off photography early on because I couldn’t control the light like I could in a real studio, so I decided to paint a few still lifes instead, thinking what I couldn’t do in real life with light, I could do with paint. Well, maybe ... more

I’ve been wanting to get this shot for a long time. This is the house next door, and the light is coming from their greenhouse. It would make a really cool painting but I don’t have time for that right now, so maybe I can put this photo on my reel along with some other photos and the paintings I’ll do over Thanksgiving.I may not have set up the lights myself, but I know good lighting when I see it. Call it a reference shot. There’s some great texture in the car too. I particularly like the green glow coming through the car windows — there’s a street light in the distance. ... more

So the still life has been put off due to illness. The day after I set it up, I caught a cold. I spent this past weekend making up sick time that I took during the week. I’ve just gotten over it and now I’m faced with the holidays and a desperate need to clean my house. The good news though is that I’ll have Thanksgiving to myself (eating turkey with Dad a week early), which gives me four solid days to crank out some new work. My mom is sending me some creepy dolls she picked up while antiquing in Kansas and that should give me more than four days of painting (and lighting) material. Apparently one is a ... more

It’s my first weird still life. I’ve been wondering what to do with that phone for a long time.Pixar has a Lighting TD position open. The listing asks for personal work in addition to cg. I know what they’re looking for — the ability to light. 3 point studio lighting, creative lighting, lighting for mood — paintings, digital photos, you name it. Now I wouldn’t send this photo in a million years, but I just might paint it. I can have a lot more control over lights in a painting than I can in the back bedroom with a few standard bulbs and some bounce off the semi-gloss. And a flashlight. I highlighted the doll’s face with a flashlight. It ... more

It’s been about a month since my last post, but not a lot has happened. I’ve had two phone interviews with ILM. I believe I did better on the first one, which was with one person, than I did on the second one, which was with three people. But these things are never perfect. I’ve decided I don’t like phone interviews as much as the in-person kind. I feel a lot of pressure to fill dead space. They can’t see me thinking. So I come off as a rambling idiot because I start answering their questions too quickly, before I’ve really thought it through. Bummer. Certainly not my best interview work, although I’m not calling it a disaster.My last phone ... more