For those with the password, my 2013 Previs Reel is now available. Click here to go to the demo reel page.

For those in the LA area that love art and the artists that make it, I will have all three "8 Bit Legends" pieces, framed and for sale, in the "Shifting Mayas" art show next month (Fri/Sat May 10th-11th). It will be held at the Atwater Crossing restaurant and art space in the Los Feliz/Glendale area. It will be much more than a gallery show; there will be live performances and painting, appetizers, and the full dinner menu and bar of the restaurant will be available. I hope to see you there on Friday night (May 10th). Click here for the Facebook Event page, and check out the flyer below for more information:

It's awards season, and two of the projects I've worked on at The Third Floor have been nominated and even won some awards. Here is a summary so far:

-Academy Awards (Nomination): "Best Visual Effects" The Avengers (ILM)
-VES Awards:  "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project" Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (Awarded to Illumination Entertainment)
-Annie Awards: "Best Animated Special Production" Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem (Awarded to Illumination Entertainment)
-Annie Awards: "Best Visual Effects in a Live Action Production" The Avengers (Awarded to ILM)

Congratulations to the teams who saw our previs through to a successful end and received these awards.

2012 ended up being the best year of my life to date, and I'm hoping to keep that momentum rolling into 2013, starting with a new digital painting I made. It's a Star Wars Episode VII mashup poster, and it can be found on the Artwork page. I hope you enjoy it. Many new things are coming this year, including more blog posts than 2012.

Over Comic-Con weekend this year, there was a video game art show put on by my good friend Ben (aka "Mister Benja" of the 8-Bit Cubist.com. The venue was the top floor of the theater that featured Gam3rcon.Two of my 8-Bit Legends prints were among the awesome artwork displayed. More pictures of the event are on the 8-Bit Cubist Facebook page.

"Minion Mayhem," theDespicable Me 3D ride at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, is the latest project I worked on through The Third Floor, and it opened earlier this month. 

NBC's Today Show recently visited the theme park to see the ride in person, and here is the video segment they made about it (you can catch glimpses of the parts I helped animate at 0:46, 1:16, and 1:21). The final animation did a great job of matching the very particular timing and blocking we established, and including dynamic background elements and detailed sets. For the readers of this blog who are able to see the ride, I hope you enjoy it.

Earlier this week I was able to attend one of the cast and crew screenings of The Avengers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The film came out incredibly well: funny, well-paced, and the visual effects are top-notch. It is truly a blockbuster in every sense of the word, and I feel very fortunate to have been involved with it. I hope those reading this blog check it out (preferably in 3D, which adds another level of immersion and fun) and enjoy it as much as I did. Remember to stay for the Easter egg at the very end, too. While you wait, be sure to look for the 'Previsualization by The Third Floor' credits (you'll see me as Joshua Lange on the left side of the screen).

This week the site was updated with some cosmetic improvements,such as the Facebook "Like" button in the top of the Blog Sidebar, as well as an updated Store page. Visitors now have the option to buy my art prints and comics directly through this site, with the help of the secure Paypal system. To do so, visit the Store page, and click the "Buy Now" button on the item you like, and you will be brought to the Paypal website to complete the transaction. You can pay with most major credit cards or by depositing to my Paypal account.

The new trailer for Marvel's The Avengers went live today, and a few more shots of mine are featured in it. The shots I did previs for are:
1:54 Hulk catching a falling Iron Man and scraping against a building
2:15 Non-CG shot of Thor and Cap looking up
2:19 Monster chasing Iron Man around corner of building

This one is the best trailer yet, in my opinion, and I couldn't be more excited to see this one when it comes out on May 4. For those interested, there is also a gallery of hi-res stills from the trailer here.