Michelangelo once remarked near the end of his life “Ancora Imparo” – which translated from Italian meant “I’m still learning”.

What am I still learning and how does this apply to this blog?

What am I going to do with this blog? Simple: This is a story. The main character is an animator. A wandering animator, so to speak. Why He is wandering? Because technically He’s a generalist. He’s doing or learning to do everything himself with the possibility of helping as many people as possible. A Jack Of All Trades. They say some of the best animators are the ones who actually go out and live life. I consider the Looney Tunes animator Ken Harris in this case, whose passions were Tennis and Cars (according to the Animator’s Survival Kit). Despite this, He started animating at 38 and became among the best to do it outside of the Walt Disney Company.

The blogs themselves for the most part, will come in the form of Arcs or Seasons. The focus will be on the development of a story, its audio visual qualities, and eventually an animation. Which will count as an Arc or Season. This will include research. Such as the gathering of references, the choices of inspiration, the abundance of ideas, and the decisions on what to take out, because that’s going to be very important. It will also include the creative process, such as storyboards, animatics, sound, and all stages of production. All while keeping the ending spoiler-free. The plan is also to present this through video-outlets, including Youtube, of which links will be created in the posts.

The purpose of this is not only to create an animation by the end of the Arc, that could be shown anywhere from Youtube, to Vimeo, to Film Festivals, and so on. It is also for educational purposes; for myself, and anybody interested in doing animation for themselves.

With that said, AI will be given its place Here, as a realistic use of the tool, rather than a crutch or something of an overreliance. Time and money will always be a factor – and You will have to do what ever it takes to finish the job.

So take heart. Somehow, this could involve anybody.