home
demo reel
journal
biography
contact
links

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Every Journey Has a First Step...

Hey everyone! Wow, what an incredible month this has been. You might have noticed that my blog has had a lack of updates lately, and that is mostly because I had to keep things kind of quiet. But no more! This weekend I accepted an offer with Lucas Arts in San Francisco California, and I couldn't be more excited! I fly out this Thursday and start on the 17th as a full time animator. (also please excuse me for the cheesey blog title, but the folder my contract arrived in had it written on the front)

However I would first like to thank the great folks at THQ's, Kaos Studios. They also made a great offer and it was a VERY difficult decision not to join them. They were nothing but a joy to work with and I can't thank them enough. As small as this industry, it is my sincere hope that our paths will cross again in the future. All the best to them!

Right now I feel incredibly blessed. If two months ago you told me no more then two weeks out of school I would have a job in San Francisco, let alone Lucas Arts, I wouldn't of believed you. Of course need to thank my parents who made these last four years not only possible, but never stopped believing I could accomplish this even when I wasn't sure of myself, and they got a few panic stricken phone calls late at night to prove it. I also need to take a moment to thank some professors at SCAD who over the last year I had the opportunity to work very closely with. Cheryl Cabrera, Larry Lauria, Jeremy and Debra Mooreshead, and Phil Young. You all have been immensely supportive of me while at SCAD. Finally all of my friends and fellow students at SCAD who are too many to possibly name but all contributed worked with me at the Monty until 5am on most nights. You'll find a lot of them on my links list. They are a great group of guys and gals and look forward to working with them in the future.

So what exactly have I been doing the last few weeks? Well the last week of school I left for NYC for an interview with THQ's Kaos Studio. I also got to meet up with a couple of friends and had a great time in the city. From NYC I flew to Reno Nevada to compete in the fencing NAC with my school team. Long story short I competed in Div II and Div III Epee and mostly got my butt kicked, but had a great time doing so and learned a lot. I then returned to SCAD to finish up my last two days of school and then proceeded to San Francisco to interview with Factor 5 studio. I stayed a few extra days with my buddy Ian Jones and had a great time with him and his roommates. I also met up with my cousin David Ornstein who I hadn't seen in over 12 years! I'm really looking forward to being able to spend more time with him when I get out there. (If you hadn't noticed yet the theme for this blog entry is "looking forward"). From there I came back to Savannah, spent a few days there and came back to Gainesville. Last Wednesday I went back to Savannah to pack up my apartment and move it all back to Gainesville. Which brings to now.

And to top it all off my Florida Gators are going to the NCAA final game tomorrow night! Graduation, job, and basketball glory, what else could I possibly ask for?

photo journal entries