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Here there and everywhere, I'm all over the Europe, but at least not in Edinburgh where they currently drown in forced enthusiasm and sea of flyers. Working on a new music video and many little things like I'm an animator or something.

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Hedgehog is a project that's not happening for now, but I still doodle on it when I don't have commissioned stuff to work on. Sometimes even when I do, but don't tell anyone. 

And that's not news, but here's some .gifs from Seven Angels music video I worked on some time ago. I love .gif in case you didn't notice, the way computer distorts image bringing it down to however many colours is mysteriously terrific. 

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Flipping through my very old skeetchbooks, back from the times when I thought I'd be a scientist and I tried to study for A levels. What a joke that was. Even tho that's my own writing, I have no idea what it all mean anymore, other than it's some kind of electricity/voltage stuff. I used to be smart, before I realised it wasn't really worth it. Still, I like all my old notes from physics and chemistry, they look cool, like some magical formulas. And I doodle my classmates while doing all this. My notebooks are full of portraits of my classmates and my teachers.

R was explaining to me things about his exciting automatic rig or whatever the other day, so maybe knowing this stuff is worth something after all.

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It's my nameday today. I forgot, my mum reminded me. It used to be such a big celebration - second Christmas -  for my family in Zamosc, because it is my granny's nameday too. It was warm, children would climb trees, and we'd stay out in the gardens and plait wreaths, a long time ago in the enchanted middle of nowhere's midsummer night's dream.

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I'm away.
I'm doing lots of flying, and I hate flying. I'm listening to McCartney's 'Ram' and I love it. I heard it on LP, but it'd good to have a CD on iPod too so he and Wainwright can hush me to sleep on the plane.

In the meantime, for few days it was Zwierzyniec lager outside on the abandoned railway station where lying in the tall grass one can see so many stars. Now it's red wine. We'll see what the next week brings.

And in the meantime of meantimes, I am also growing old, but I'm not really good at this.

Don't have much to show for myself just now. I re-watched 'Avatar' cartoon, thanks to Kri. I needed to skip through some more embarrassing bits (when each of those teenager had some trauma to sort out, please…), but overall, as an animator, I love watching all the fights. I like the way you move it!
(Funny, some time ago I've been to see 'Avengers' and I said it was ok, but the fighting was so long and so boring. Not nearly as sexy, smooth and energetic as in 'Avatar'. I guess that's something live action can't do as well as 2D cartoon).

Right, I'll be back after Annecy and then I'll rumble on...

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been to London. Too busy down there. Not bad, but Edinburgh's much nicer. You can read about it HERE, to be honest, I haven't read it myself. I scrolled through it and there's a picture of me.

I'm generally confused about things happening around me these days.

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I like things old-fashioned. I don't know what's so appealing about them.
I'm spending evenings watching films about and in a way, from the past. Like Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes.

But I must admit, I prefer modern Jude Law as Watson. Funny detail I noticed watching the old series: Jude Law features in one of the episodes, as a servant/stable boy. In 20 year time he has made it into the Watson.

As for the preoccupying every day life, I'm still in gainful and sweet employment at film/animation studio, only that in past few weeks I've been moved from model-making into storyboarding and animating. It's generally great. Sometimes the routine of Monday-Friday job leaves me drained, as if would any "artist" (even a piss artist like myself). Sometimes, on the other hand, I remember all these years at school, being scolded for stupid doodling when there were far more important things to concentrate on: reptiles' digestive system, Shakespeare in algebra or organic chemistry. And, oh irony, what do I end up doing for living if not doodling? I should have been doodling more intensely, maybe I'd do better.

On all the other matters, Edinburgh's still as beautiful as it has always been, and the autumn surely is my favourite season. I have one unfortunate busker under my window, he appears there much too often, and the only thing to admire is his sheer persistence, to keep singing without any talent at all: surely not one person must have told him to shut up already. If you happen to know the busker guy (sometimes accompanied by some friend) singing on the corner of Rose and Castle St in Edinburgh, oh please tell him to shut up. On some occasions I have considered giving him money so he'd go away…

I'm combing unhealthy thoughts, drinking tea, or wine, baking some stuff and living meaninglessly, just the usual. My films are getting into various festivals, but I don't even have time to keep track of that, not to mention, to go and attend anything. I'll try to look into it. God bless busy live.

nocturnal in August part 2

Absolutely exhausted working till 6am in the bar way too often. It doesn't leave one much time for being depressed, so I need to catch up on this.

Check this out. They got the title wrong (I guess it's my fault for making too many films), but it's the thought that counts.

I also have just watched the last Harry Potter. I was delaying

it, because I don't like crowds, and even all the love for Alan Rickman's way of speaking without moving his upper lip couldn't make me get over the fear of ending up in a cinema full of loud teenagers. I love Snape so. Sketchy drawing I made before going to work last time:

From now on I'm going to be doing some model-making, which should make me busy like hell, but also pay my bills.

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that's how it is. Another stop-motion commission to work on next week. I'm running here and there, not really fitting anywhere.

yes, life's funny. One can become a hypocrite stop motion animator just like that. Ok, I guess you need to be an animation graduate to get the "joke", and I can't afford to explain it now. It's rolling. I'm sleepy.

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Back in the bar, flat and job hunting still. Freelance life - things get turned around from day to day. I can't tell the up from down. Or maybe it's that vodka. Oh yeah, did I mention I was back in the bar I used to work before? It's not bad.


a sketch of Cat Bruce, my classmate. I drew that like two months ago, but never got around to scan it.



here you can watch the video I was working on recently. Sorry for youtube quality. Considering it took me two days to make, I'm quite happy with it. Bright colours, everything happy and sparkling.

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going back to college tomorrow. no, please, no...
the train project/film is almost finished, there are like three scenes that need some work, I think. Should be animated this time next week, then it's sound, and credits, and rederings, and all that fun that I won't be able to enjoy that much: I need to start working on my degree film properly now.
Yes, I do ask myself sometimes, why the hell am I making so many films.
No, I don't know either.


I'm not sure if I should be putting any more stills from that project here, or just wait till it's all done. That's The Last Frame of the film. It's not the last frame drawn, there is still one scene I left myself as a dessert. It's the last frame chronologically.

More updates on another film coming here then. I started that blog for the degree film, but I don't feel like using it much. Lazy.

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I've just put some "work in progress" material online: it's one of the scenes, from the animatic up to the final version stage. I like when people are sharing their pencil tests, and to compare them with the finished animation, so I hope it's interesting:

Also, I have started a separate blog for my degree film progress documentation. Yep, that's another film. There's not much there yet, but just to let you know: degreeetude.blogspot.com.

And, here's a drawing I did this evening, feeling down, so I though I should do something cheery and disneyish.

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dying, but not dead yet,

on the road to El Dorado,

in love, but not fallen

keeping it balanced on this roller-coaster,

I'm fine, thank you.

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a lot had happened. i'll probably skip some important at the time bits.

so, first Krakow, OFAFA - animation festival in Poland. it was so much fun, I have learned so much about Polish animation and I'll absolutely try to get there next year as well.

then BAFTAs in Glasgow - I did not win, but it was a valuable experience in a charming company.

I have the voices for the train project and i'm pressing on with animating. I was up north in Highlands recently visiting my friend - Cat, whom I sometimes make to animate for me as well. The time there only passes at something like 2 frames a second, but still looks so smooth.

Right now i'm in the process of switching from the pc to mac, i've been using both since i started uni, but now i'm biding farewell to pc. it's also a jump from CS2 to CS4, and it takes me a while to get used to. i only realised to what great extend i customised my old CS2 - it'll take me a while to get all the settings right. so there will be a bunch of odd frames in the sequence I'm colouring right now…

In the summer, I may get to work in my hometown's youth cultural centre teaching basic animation. that should be so much fun! But first I've got the film to finish. and the essay for Jonny Murray, due in 3 weeks, i'll start at some point next week…

there is some festival action going on as well, but my mind's not in it.