3 Days to Go till the Best CGTweetUP ever!! Click the banner for details

Hope to see you all there.

Anthony

CGTweetUP is BACK! and I’ve joined forces with the Super Talented Glen Southern

Glen Southern and I have decided to team up with the guys behind Drawtheonline, to deliver a super cool and fun event.

What is CGTweetUP?

1. CGTweetUP is a really cool CG community which has attracted the skills of traditional artists as well, this is why we decided to create a joint event.
2. CGTweetUP is an event which gives artists of disciplines the opportunity to step away from their PC’s, Laptops, or office and better connect with their fellow professionals to share their Ideas, Passions and their Creativity.
3. CGTweetUP is beneficial to artists who want to form mastermind groups, network with other artists, share ideas, leverage other peoples skills, or just connect with others and build their contacts list.

Every artists should attend their local CGTweetUP to put themselves within the art community.

What can I expect if I attend CGTweetUP?

[1] Loads of talented CG and traditional artist, Aspiring Artists to Industry Well Known Industry professionals (Gaming, Film, independent companies and Freelancers).

To get anywhere in the creative industry you need to work hard…but you also need CONTACTS, CGTweetUP is the PERFECT place to start mingling and better connect with your fellow professionals and establish good relationships.
[2] Drawing tables…yes Drawing tables!

(Get your doodles on the table as you chat and enjoy the night…cool huh? The guys from Drawtheonline have been doing this for ages and I have attended the last two and it’s extremely fun and relaxing to be in a bar and drawing at the same time, we had to had it at ours.)

[3] Great Location Circo of Liverpool is the perfect venue for CGTweetUP, it’s the quirkiest and coolest bar in Liverpool and that’s why we keep going back.

[4] Cool giveaways [TBA] and much more…
This is going to be a brilliant event, so don’t miss out!!!

Register here and simply reply YES.

We can’t wait to meet you all in person.

see you there

Anthony
If you would like to contact either me or Glen, you can use the following;

Twitter: AnthonyFilice
Email: CGArtistDaily@googlemail.com

or

Twitter: Southerngfx
Email: glen.southern@southerngfx.co.uk

This just came in from Simon @ Vision and Media and it’s an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in an exciting career in the games industry, speciafically as a Character Animator.

New Concept Gaming, winners of a 2009 Big Chip award, are a rapidly growing Birkenhead-based company serving the games industry. They design and manufacture innovative motion controllers for current and next-generation gaming across a number of platforms, creating a unique combination of gaming and exercise. Their “jOG” peripheral for the Nintendo Wii was named the best toy of 2009 by Channel Five’s Gadget Show.

We’re pleased to be working with them and are currently seeking applications for a Trainee Character Animator to join the company for a 12-week paid Plug-In placement. As part of their ongoing R&D, New Concept require an individual to design and animate characters that can accept and display motion inputs from their existing and forthcoming products. This is a great opportunity for a recently trained 3D animator to build on their skills with a company directly related to the games industry. The company will be using the Unity engine in their games simulations, so candidates can be skilled in any of the best-known industry standard animation packages.

To Apply CLICK HERE

Deadline for applications is 12 noon on Friday the 23rd of October, submitted in the first instance by email to Simon Knight via simonk@visionandmedia.co.uk . If you have any queries Simon can be contacted on 0161 244 4636, but please ensure you have read all of the information provided before getting in touch.

To be eligible for this opportunity, please keep in mind that you must:

Be over 18
Live in the Northwest of England: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside
NOT currently be in full-time education
Possess LESS than 12 months’ paid prior experience in the industry
Be able to demonstrate an appropriate level of skill, knowledge and motivation for a career in this area

To Apply CLICK HERE

                                                         DOODLING FUN FOR EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a CG Artist, VFX Artist or Concpept Artist - If you’re an Artist you love to draw, right?

This is why I’m telling you about a Fantastic site called Twisketch.

So…do you doodle all the time? Do you aimlessly sketch when in meetings? Do you deface napkins in your local cafe? Well now you can focus all your latent talent with Twitsketch!

Follow the simple steps below and join the Twitsketchers by following @southerngfx and getting the daily sketch topic.

OR visit www.twitsketch.com and look at the most recent Twitter post for the latest topic

As you come across time in your day when your scribble hand gets twitchy then draw that theme and upload it with Twitpic or Twitfire and share with all the other daily doodlers

Remember, follow @southerngfx and search for #twitsketch on twitter

Don’t forget to add #twitsketch to your twitter post or people won’t be able to see your image when they search!

CAN I SUGGEST A #twitsketch Topic?

Of course you can, most definitely! Email topic@twitsketch.co.uk
We will take on board your requests and suggestions and maybe use one in coming Twitsketches

#Twitsketch DAILY SPECIALS go live! Adding to your daily #twitsketch fun are the daily specials.

Occasionally we will post a one-off special that will be taken from a number of specialist categories including caricature, evolution, vehicle, superhero, open-ended, historical. These are not numbered twitsketches but it is important that you add the category to your post. Your Twitter post should read `#twitsketch Caricature: Obama` for example. That way we can search by category as needed.

Some examples would be:

Caricature: Quite simply you take the name supplied e.g. Obama and Google- Image-search the name. Use one of the images as a reference to do a caricature sketch of the person.
Evolution: You will be given two creatures e.g Rhino x Stag Beetle and you need to meld the two species together in some interesting way.
Superhero: The challenge here will be to create a be new superhero from the topic supplied e.g. Chicken boy or Sponge Girl. Or, they may be an existing Superhero with a twist e.g. Overweight Spiderman or Skinny Hulk
Seasonal: Haloween, Easter, Xmas, Chinese New Year etc.
Anatomy: Straight forward anatomy. You will be given a subject that includes some part of the anatomy of a human or animal and you work on that part all day or until you get bored.

Get involved in this popular past time - It’s great fun!

I also hinted in that post, that it is very easy in this day and age, to connect with others with the help of the Internet.

So why benefit from the Internet and start to connect with you fellow Artists in a different sort of way…COLLABORATE!

Every time I see inspiring CG Stills, Concept Art or a great 3D model on a forum, blog or magazine, I always think to myself, ‘I’d love to work with that guy/girl’.

Six months ago it dawned on me,  I can work with these Artists (provided they agree) whenever I want.

All it takes is an email, tweet or forum post to get you started, the important thing to remember is that you’re able to effectively sell your skills, obviously you need to have a pretty clear idea of what you want to create in order to convince the other Artist that it’s something for them worth doing.

I’m not saying the first person that you email will say yes, but I’m sure you will find another CG Artist who is willing to collaborate towards a common goal.

There are endless CG Communities and forums out there on the web, try CG Society, 3D Total, 3dm3, ImagineFX, there are literally hundreds of sites where you can find your ideal candidate.

The next time you come across a some CG Art or Designs that inspire you, why not think of a way you and the other CG Artist can collaborate on a project together, combining your specific skills with theirs to produce something fresh and new.

In my opinion it’s not always the best option to go for glory yourself, if you help others and they help you, you can collectively work on the same goal and have more of a chance of succeeding.

Yes…you have to split the glory, but that beats splitting nothing, do you agree?

Are you interested in finding another CG Artist to collaborate with?

Twitter (in my opinion) has proven to be a fantastic and effective platform for CG Artist to connect, build relationships, network, share ideas, share tips/techniques and all much more exciting stuff.

Twitter is so many things, it’s a central HUB for people to announce pointless things, such as ‘I just got in the bath’, ‘I’m picking my nose’ and other stupid stuff, but it’s also very ‘value adding’.

There are tonnes of CG Artists adding value on Twitter, sharing tutorials, CG News, looking for work…Twitteris a discussion board, a forum, a chat, it can be whatever you want it to be.

The reach Twitterhas is extraordinary, you can ask a question and expect a reply from people that aren’t even on your follow list, this is because on some occasions some of your followers spread the word by RT (Re Tweeting) your questions to ‘their’ followers, and the followers of ‘their’ followers, exponentially until the question, which (in your eyes) was only intended for a few hundred people, can be seen by thousands.

Now that’s a very powerful reach.

I personally have met some very good people (CG Artists and other) through the use of Twitter and I can say that a few of them, have opened me up to a world that has literally changed my life, Twitter has given me the chance to connect with my fellow professionals and individuals who share the same passion and outlook on life as I do.

I have grown as an artist by interacting with my followers on a level I wasn’t presented with in any ‘forum’ format, Twitter has given me a platform to create CGTweetUP, which is a CG Networking community aimed at helping  CG Artists / Digital Artists to better connect and build relationships with their fellow professionals.

For me Twitter has a very strong CG community which is thriving and one I hope to add value.

If you’re a CG Artist, Digital Artist, VFX Artist and you’re not on the Twitter Train, YOU’RE MISSING OUT!

There are some very approachable, WORLD CLASS talented Artists out there ready to connect with you, so what are you waiting for?

Sign up for an account today, introduce yourself to your fellow professional roaming Twitter and make the most out of this amazing and FREE networking TOOL.

The opportunities which will present themselves will be endless.

What Has Twitter Done For You?

Here is the Doug Hogan Video Interview I promised, CG Artist, Aspiring Compositors and anyone interested in CG Art must watch this interview.

Doug, gives some great advice about breaking into the CG Industry, he talks about his Lead Nuke Compositor role at VFX Studio Speedshape, the programs he uses and a whole bunch of other REALLY cool stuff!

Watch this Video Interview with Doug Hogan, Lead Nuke compositor working out VFX Studio Speedshape.

Check out the finished spot for Transformers 2 - enjoy!

‘Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen’ Camaro TV Spot from Doug Hogan on Vimeo.

Here is some other cool stuff Doug and VFX Studio Speedshape have created

Mustang Burnout (Part 1) from Doug Hogan on Vimeo.

Mustang Burnout (Part 2) from Doug Hogan on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed this interview.

Special thanks goes to Doug Hogan for giving up his time to be interviewed.

I apologise to my all my visitors and to Doug for not uploading his Video Interview, I’m having major problems with my FTP server tonight and I’m working hard to resolve the issue.

I aim to get the Doug Hogan Video Interview uploaded as soon as I can get the problem resolved.

again,  I apologise

Anthony Filice

I recently did a Video Interview with Nuke Compositor Doug Hogan from Speedshape and I wanted to let you know that I will be posting it on CGArtistDaily on Friday.

Doug Hogan is a really cool guy and an extremely talented Nuke Compositor, I’m grateful that he made time in his busy schedule to be interviewed.

Tune in this Friday to see the full Video Interview, where Doug talks about his role as a Nuke Compositor at Speedshape, his Childhood Passion and some cool techniques he used to create a really cool Transformers Commercial…oh, did I mention he received a cool message for it? (from Michael Bay and Stephen Spielberg) 

If you’re a CG Artist or Aspiring Compositor, this Video Interview will definately interest you…don’t miss it!

see you Friday

Anthony Filice