Whats New With Your New Years?

A New Year is coming, and with a new year comes new plans. I'll have new challenges at Pixar, new ideas to flush out, and new goals. I'll talk about them. And of course here is a new sketch I'll reveal from my high-school years.

     This is a pencil sketch of a feeling everyone feels, some say it is the best feeling there is out there: Butterflies in your stomach. It's a feeling that happens when your getting into something good and new. A new part in your life? A new person you like? New Justin Bieber tickets..?  ..eh..  whatever floats your boat I guess. In my experience it mostly happens when you talk (or txt) to the person you like. 

My new plans for the New Year: 

     Do more of my own art on the side. Working on a movie is great, but it's not MY MOVIE, not my ideas, not the choices I would make, and not the freedom of expression that an artist is used to when working on his own work. I love collaborating and working with others, but that urge to create something that is yours is always eating at you. 

    So I will let you in on a little secret, a little grassroots movement some of the guys and me are doing are doing over at Pixar. A group of us thought it was a good idea to work on our own work on the side. (To keep our skills sharp and also our minds fresh) Every Month we will get together and agree on a concept. At the end of the month it MUST be finished. Simple as that. This is to happen every month. Our first month doing this will be January. 

     -we are not collaborating on a short film. Each animator is to do his OWN piece and as long as it is relatable to the concept that was agreed upon, then it's cool. (a concept can be: zombies, goodbyes, explosions, elephants, Eric's mom... you get the point?)

     -

      - Any body can choose the medium they want to work in (2D, 3D, stop motion, etc)

      - 5 to 20 seconds long (so that we won't try to do something epic and not finish)

      - the sky is the limit, as long as you can relate it some how to the concept

So that's that. if you want to join our little grassroots thingy, our concept for January is 'Versus'. I'll post our animations here at the end of the month. stay tuned.

Apart from that, my goals is just to continue to develop and grow. to never stop. :) and to enjoy life in the process. To make a blend of the two, my art and life, we'll see. It's pretty vague. 

So send me some animations at the end of the month and or just do your own thing and let that be that. 

Happy New Years,
-Daniel Gonzales