Esteban Valdez

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Hello, my name is Esteban (Steven) Valdez.  As for what I do… Anywhere from mail clerk to director jerk, janitor to animator… janimator?

 What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I plead the 5th.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
None of them.  Loved the places and people I’ve worked with, but when it comes to my work I always feel like I could do better.

How did you become interested in animation?
Well… from graffiti-ing my mom’s womb as a fetus to the atrocities I do now, I’ve always been drawing.  Originally, I did not intend to get into animation; I was interested in Continue reading

List of Apple Product Event Highlights

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Since so many artists use Apple hardware and software, I thought you might all like to see a list of the updates and new things Apple announced at their event yesterday. You can watch the entire thing via this link as well.

  • Apple Watch:
  • Adding Facebook Messenger.
  • iTranslate — speak into the mic and hear translations in over 90 languages.
  • Physician app AirStrip can monitor vitals.
  • New band options, two new finishes gold and rose gold.
  • Watch OS 2 comes out September 16.
  • iPad:
  • iPad Pro announced: Screen is 12.9 inches, 5.6m pixels, A9X chip, with 2x memory bandwidth, storage and graphics performance, 10-hour battery life, 8MP camera, 802.11ac with MIMO, 150Mbps LTE modem, TouchID, 6.9mm thick and 1.57 pounds.
  • Smart Keyboard connects magnetically.
  • The Apple Pencil stylus: “Highly responsive sensors built into the tip of Apple Pencil sensor pressure, tilt, and stroke.”
  • Corporate VP from MS Office, Kirk Koenigsbauer talks Microsoft Office for iPad.
  • New suite of Adobe apps.
  • Apple Pencil is $99 and Smart Keyboard is $169, all available in November.
  • New iPad mini 4 $399.
  • Apple TV:
  • New remote with glass touch surface. 10mm tall, A8 chip, Bluetooth 4.0. Built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, 3 months per charge, charges over lightning. 32GB for $149, 64GB for $199.
  • iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Showtime are searchable.
  • New cleaner looking UI with Siri integration.
  • New OS: TV OS.
  • new games and game collections for the family, using your iPhone or iPod Touch as a controller.
  • MLB app, NHL Game Center live in 2016.
  • tvOS developer beta available today, available to consumers in late October.
  • iPhone:
  • iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, Silver, gold, space grey, and new Rose Gold. 4.7-inch 6S and 5.5-inch 6S+.
  • 3rd-generation A9 chip 70% faster CPU than A8, 90% faster GPU than A8.
  • New pressure-sensitive 3D Touch.
  • New Taptic Engine
  • New Siri feature allows you to speak to your iPhone whether you’re powered on or not.
  • New 12 megapixel iSight camera. 50% more pixels and 50% more focus pixels for faster autofocus.
  • 4K video
  • 5MP FaceTime HD Camera.
  • Retina Flash, display can light up 3X brighter than usual to be a flash for the front-facing camera.
  • Live Photos: Press with 3D Touch and pictures will move.
  • iPhone 6 $199-$399, iPhone 6 Plus $299-$499 all on two-year contracts.
  • New iPhone Upgrade Program for a new iPhone every year, choose your carrier, unlocked phones, 24-month installment plan starting at $32/month.
  • preorder Saturday, Sept 12. Available September 25th.
  • iOS 9 available September 16th.
  • New iCloud storage pricing: 50GB for 99 cents a month, 200GB for $2.99/mo, 1TB for $9.99/mo.

Luca Mari

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What is your name and your current occupation?
I’m Luca Mari, cut-out animator, motion graphics and 3D generalist. I’m also a co-founder of StudioASC, a creative team specialized in pre-visualization and illustration for advertising, film and TV commercial, located in Milan, Italy.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I did a lot of jobs before landing in this Studio, like working for an assurance office or as a Graphic and video editor in a small TV company. I’ve been even a barman and radio station director… I can’t tell you which was the craziest job… but what’s sure is that I always had a lot of fun and met plenty of strange people!

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Well… I don’t know… every week it’s a new adventure, and I try to do every work with my maximum effort. In the past, founding and starting a new radio station was really a wonderful experience in my life.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I ‘ve changed many works, and the most of them didn’t have much to do with the animation business. But the course of my professional life has a thread: Continue reading

Simon Piniel

http://www.animationinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/reel.mov

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Simon Piniel and I’m the owner, creative director and everything else in my company Spin Animation. Me and my team are doing all sorts of animation for all sorts of stuff, predominantly TV commercials, banner ads, info movies and mobile apps.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing too crazy… My first job during Summer break when I was 16(?): garbage man in my home town in Switzerland. A team of two standing on the back of the truck, tossing bags in and hauling containers. I loved it! During art school I sold concert tickets on the phone and did interviews for a polling company.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There’s a few commercials here and there that I had the opportunity to basically realize from start to finish, and it’s always very fulfilling being able to take full credit in one or more departments. When it comes to bigger, team effort style projects that in return more people are familiar with: the Vancouver Winter Olympics (for which I did a animated projections for the closing ceremony, among others), the latest Swiss inflight safety movie (storyboard) and the Ed, Edd & Eddy Cartoon TV series (for which I spent 3 years storyboarding).

How did you become interested in animation?
I drew some flipbooks as a youngster, but that was just part of drawing a lot. My mom had the idea to Continue reading

Jon Suzuki

What is your name and your current occupation?
Jon Suzuki/ character designer

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Not so sure I have ever had a job that would be considered ‘crazy,’ though I did manage to survive working at Toys R Us during Christmas rush.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Working on Teen Titans was a thrill. It remains one of my favorite working experiences to this day. I feel like i learned a lot under Glen Murakami and working alongside great talents like Derrick Wyatt, Hakjoon Kang, Ben Jones and Norm Ryang. It was a tight knit special group. Great chemistry- something that is Continue reading