- Numairical Values -

Illustration Competition in Turkey

2011-09-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

(Click to enlarge)

Job Opportunities at Numairicals

2011-02-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

A plethora of job vacancies to grow our fantastic team! Click on the image to see zoomed up.

PLEASE NOTE: Applications are now closed... If you would still like to apply for a position, you can send your applications and portfolio samples to the same address and we will get back to you whenever soonest possible.

Numairical Toons - Job Opportunities

2010-05-03T04:42:00.000-07:00

Pakistan’s First Fully Animated Cartoon Show
A Traditional Cartoon TV show? Made in Pakistan? Islamabad?? Can you deal with it? How about you become a part of it too?

We are officially producing a fully animated television show on the likes of The Simpsons, Family Guy and South Park - for Pakistan. We’re looking for concept artists, painters, sculptors, 3d animators, character animators, compositors, editors, directors, project coordinators, public relations officers, research and development, administration, management and most of all, comic writers who can write FUNNY for a cartoon show. Comedic gags are where it’s at for a cartoon show and if you think you can conjure some up, you might be someone who can really contribute. Also, if you are adept at using vectors you can be especially valuable and will have great potential to our team.

We want to make the funniest animated show to really start a standard of locally produced cartoons. Ambitious? Want to join the excitement of a start up company with nothing but potential from the scratch ground up? Grow with us and lets initiate an entirely new industry in the process.

Skills that are needed from all applicants are the following:
Artistic Ability - Creative thinking, understanding composition and the ability to draw.
Storytelling Ability - This includes a good sense of timing, pacing and a sense of what is entertaining.
Technical Skill/Software Knowledge – Ability to work with Flash and TVPaint amongst other software. Further training and classes may be available on the job and in the studio.
Teamwork – ability to work well with others.

Specific requirements are the following for each given position. The figures next to each position are for monthly payments in Pakistan Rupees negotiable on skillset and value to the production pipeline. Figures do not include potential bonuses. All positions are extendable from contract to permanent:

DIRECTORS – 75,000/- to 110,000/-
(3-4 contract)
Responsibilities: Lead a team of artists and technical expertise in order to complete given stories as television episodes. Should be able to oversee technical issues as well as balance aesthetic issues of production in order to create the best possible episodes in the given times. Must show the work of his or her team in the form of dailies to the Project Director at the end of every day. Must have own transportation.
Contract or Permanent: Contract . Can consider for permanent.
Qualifications: Any education background. Preferably education in film related subjects. Preferably Intermediate pass.
Experience: Must have some past experience in film, preferably in directing film.
Extendable: Yes

ART DIRECTOR – 60,000/- to 100,000/-
(1 permanent)
Responsibilities: Must oversee and guide the direction of what everything will look like in coordination with the concept artists. Define the workflow. Correct things and always be on standby to help, assist or guide the production pipeline as well as lead the artwork production him/herself.
Contract or Permanent: Permanent
Qualifications: Preferably Intermediate pass.
Experience: 1-5 years as Art Director or related senior position in which concept art and/or illustration played a major part of projects. Graphic Design background is appreciated.
Extendable: Yes

SCREEN WRITER – 20,000/- to 65,000/-
(3-4 contract. 1-2 permanent)
Responsibilities: Develop and write comedic scripts and screenplays for episodes of the show.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Any education background. Preferably education in either writing or comedy related subjects.
Experience: Comedy or writing experience preferred.
Extendable: Yes

CONCEPT ARTIST/STORYBOARDS – 20,000/- to 55,000/-
(2 permanent. 3-4 contract concept artists. 3-4 storyboard artists)
Responsibilities: Must have good to great drawing/illustration skills. Design models, backgrounds, sets, characters, objects and the animation environment. Draw finished illustrations in order to develop ideas for characters, environments, stories, overall stylistic approach, as well as art material for future promotions and advertising of the show itself. Preferably the ability to draw sequential art (like comics/storyboards) to present stories for every episode to the animators. Background in Fine Arts recommended.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Any education background. Preferably education in fine arts or illustration related subjects. Graphic Design background is appreciated.
Experience: No experience required if artwork / portfolio is relevantly impressive.
Extendable: Yes

CHARACTER ANIMATOR – 22,000/- to 65,000/-
(2 permanent. 12-16 contract)
Responsibilities: Develop timing and pacing for animated characters movements. Must be able to animate characters performances, movements, lip sync with sound etc in Flash or TVPaint software in limited given times. Traditional animation skills necessary. Further training may be available for potential animators.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Good drawing abilities required. Background in arts related field, preferably Animation, Film or Fine Arts. Skills in vectors (Freehand, Illustrator, Corel Draw) a BIG plus.
Experience: Experience in traditional animation preferred.
Extendable: Yes

MATTE PAINTER – 20,000/- to 30,000/-
(6-8 contract)
Responsibilities: Must have good to great drawing/illustration skills. Draw and paint finished cartoony backgrounds to be used in the completed animation itself. Background in Fine Arts recommended.
Contract or Permanent: Contract. Can consider for permanent.
Qualifications: Fine Arts educational background preferred.
Experience: Experience in painting or digital painting preferred.
Extendable: Yes

LAYOUT ARTIST – 20,000/- to 45,000/-
(3-4 contract. 1 permanent)
Responsibilities: Must have good to great drawing/illustration skills. Draw finished storyboards to be used in the completed animation itself. The ability to draw sequential art (like comics/storyboards) to present stories for every episode to the animators preferred. Background in Fine Arts recommended.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Fine Arts or Sequential Art (comics) background preferred. Graphic Design background is appreciated.
Experience: Art related experience preferred. Comics, Sequential Art, Photography, Cinematography, Painting, or any other art that incorporates visual compositions preferred.
Extendable: Yes

IN-BETWEEN ANIMATOR – 20,000/- to 30,000/-
(6-8 contract)
Responsibilities: Complete animation of character animators by completing in-between drawings. Good drawing skills and an understanding of animation are necessary. Further training may be available for potential animators.
Contract or Permanent: Contract. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Drawing background preferred. Ability to draw and understand movement in drawing. Skills in vectors (Freehand, Illustrator, Corel Draw) a BIG plus.
Experience: Experience in animation preferred.
Extendable: Yes

COMPOSITOR – 20,000/- to 45,000/-
(3-4 contract)
Responsibilities: Composite layers of production such as 3D environments, backgrounds, character animation and sound into finished scenes. Knowledge of compositing software required.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Computer Science/Computer Arts background preferred.
Experience: Past work in industry preferred.
Extendable: Yes

EDITOR – 25,000/- to 55,000/-
(1 permanent)
Responsibilities: Edit completed animation scenes into finished episodes. Knowledge of editting software as well hardware required.
Contract or Permanent: Permanent. May consider for contract.
Qualifications: Education in Film or similar subjects preferred.
Experience: Past work in industry preferred.
Extendable: Yes

VOICE ACTOR – 15,000/-
(At least 4 on contract)
Responsibilities: Develop voices for cartoon characters and act/perform in them for every episode of the show.
Contract or Permanent: Permanent. But may work in similar manner to contractors – i.e. retainership.
Qualifications: Any education background. Preferably education in acting related subjects.
Experience: Preferably experience in acting, comedy or singing.
Extendable: Yes

SOUND RECORDING/MUSIC COMPOSITION – 25,000/- to 100,000/-
(1-3 contract OR 1 permanent)
Responsibilities: Compose original music, voices and other sounds such as sound effects for episodes of the show. Ability to use a Foley Studio Room in order to create original sounds preferred.
Contract or Permanent: Permanent. Can consider for contract if a regular and guaranteed retainership system can be worked out.
Qualifications: Any education background. Preferably education in either music or sound subjects.
Experience: Preference may be given to background in sound engineering or experience in sound recording and music composition.
Extendable: Yes

PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER – 35,000/- to 55,000/-
(1 permanent)
Responsibilities: Teamworking as part of a broader production network, which might include liaising with printers, copywriters, photographers, designers, account executives, website designers or marketing specialists. Dealing with diverse business cultures, delivering presentations and finding funding. Much of the work involves pitching and being proactive in selling ideas and work to prospective customers and clients.
Contract or Permanent: Permanent.
Qualifications: Education in related field preferred.
Experience: Past work in industry preferred.
Extendable: Yes

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT - 25,000/- to 50,000/-
(1-2 permanent)
Responsibilities: Research and develop stylistic, aesthetic and conceptual choices for the show. Develop methods to use art direction and direct Concept Artists and Writers to follow developed techniques.
Contract or Permanent: Permanent. Can consider for contract.
Qualifications: A strong desire to make the show successful aesthetically, visually and otherwise.
Experience: Past work in industry preferred.
Extendable: Yes

STUDIO MANAGER – 50,000/- to 90,000/-
(1 contract)
Responsibilities: Manage employees working at the studio, deal with technical problems. Ensure a level of content within the studio as well as ensure work is being done according to schedule.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Education in related field preferred. MBA preferred.
Experience: Experience dealing with artists preferred.
Extendable: Yes

STUDIO ASSISTANT – 15,000/- to 30,000/-
(1-2 contract)
Responsibilities: Assist Studio Manager working at the studio, deal with technical problems. Ensure a level of content within the studio as well as ensure work is being done according to schedule.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Education in related field preferred.
Experience: Experience dealing with artists preferred.
Extendable: Yes

PROJECT COORDINATOR – 60,000/- to 85,000/-
(1-2 contract)
Responsibilities: Manage workflow of the team to make sure all work is being completed on schedule. Should be able to solve problems technical or otherwise to keep workflow smooth.
Contract or Permanent: Contract (but must work on location.)
Qualifications: Background in animation or film production and/or management preferred. CAPM or other equivalent Project Management certification and above is a plus. Must be familiar with art asset version controlling techniques.
Experience: Familiar with agile techniques and 2 years experience with art or production cycles.
Extendable: Yes

ADMINISTRATION – 20,000/- to 30,000/-
(3-4 contract)
Responsibilities: Manage internal workings of the studio.
Contract or Permanent: Contract and Permanent. Can consider contract for permanent.
Qualifications: Education in related field preferred.
Experience: Experience dealing with artists preferred.
Extendable: Yes

Due date for applications is Monday 24th May, 2010. PLEASE NOTE: THIS ADVERT HAS NOW EXPIRED. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST JOB VACANCIES FLIER ABOVE THIS POST.

If you still want to apply, please send an email with your CV and past work samples (at least 3 separate pieces, at most 12 separate pieces) to: jobs@numairicals.com, but do not expect a speedy reply.

You can also snail mail CD's or DVD's at #4, Block 6, Street 9, G-7/2, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. Please make sure that they don't have any viruses or similar otherwise we won't be permitted to review the work.

American and Japanese Studios Join Forces

2010-02-01T00:20:00.001-08:00

Rhythm & Hues Studios and Brosta TV LLC, Tokyo have entered into a co-producing relationship with the goal of creating original intellectual properties for the global market. Both parties aim to conceive and produce cutting edge entertainment blending eastern and western cultures designed to appeal to audiences and consumers worldwide. The initial focus of the alliance is on the development of animated characters and ancillaries for mobile platforms, starting in early 2010, with potential for partnerships in other media, including books, manga (graphic novels), games and eventually films or TV series.

To the right is an image from an upcoming co-production as a consequence of this deal.

For more information read the AnimationExpress, an Indian online newsfeed for animators.

A Peek into the History of Pixar

2009-11-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

A fantastic article talking about the history of Pixar. More than just putting events on a timeline, the article attempts to explain what was going on in their heads, with a what, why and how. Definitely worth a read:

PART 1
PART 2
(Part 3 is due on Nov 18th)

Hypnotizing Animation

2009-11-04T02:29:00.000-08:00

Let animation hypnotize you while I come back and get some proper updates to upload. Click HERE NOW...

News - Disney + Marvel

2009-08-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Remember when Disney bought Pixar? Like Disney wasn't big enough already (in scale), it is now going to purchase Marvel Entertainment. That means they own the rights to at least 5000 characters from the Marvel lineup. Disney will now compete with Hollywood (and in particular, Warner Bros. the owner of DC Comics) by purchasing the entity for $4 billion dollars, according to Variety.

Learning Animation - James Sugrue

2009-08-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

Here’s how James Sugrue makes cartoons in flash. WATCH IT!

Competition - Aniboom / Marvel

2009-08-26T03:51:00.000-07:00

Another Aniboom competition! I think I'll stop linking more Aniboom competitions here for a while after this. You get the point - they've got many competitions going on especially for animators and people who like drawings. So here it is: Aniboom’s Marvel Motion Comics Competition

Download pages of select Marvel Comics and bring the stories to life using motion and sound

Total Prizes include 50 free Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscriptions, work featured on Marvel.com, and cash prizes totaling $20,000

Check it out here...

Competition - United Nations

2009-08-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

The United Nations 'RANAN LURIE POLITICAL CARTOON' competition guidelines. First prize of $10,000. Submissions due by September 15th, 2009.

Competition - 9th Tehran International Cartoon Biennial

2009-08-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Mr. Massoud Tabatabai from Iran, one of the board members of the AYACC (Chinese convention) asked to spread word of this cartoon competition in Iran. "We need submissions from Pakistan. Please distribute them to as many interested Pakistani's as possible", he said. I have many hard copies of this brochure. If anyone is interested in taking one, please contact me on my email address (my email address is available on the main 'profile' page). Click on the following images to see them at a readable scale:

The form

Tags to attach with your artwork

Local Update - White Rice

2009-08-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

White Rice (Islamabad,Pakistan) is lately working on an animated education series for Sahil. The concept teaches children the methods for social and financial savings. The product will have a combination of modules, games, songs etc.

Competition - Aniboom

2009-08-24T00:57:00.000-07:00

Aniboom is having its regular Aniboom's History Channel Competition. There are FIVE first prizes of US$5000. The first stage submissions period ends in less than two weeks and they are still looking for the top five "Rough Cuts" (early-stage works ranging anywhere from basic sketches, storyboards, animatics to partial or full animations), which can synch up to the free audio provided exclusively at Aniboom.com/History.

The top five are awarded an automatic $5,000 so that they may be further developed into final animations. Those final animations then go on to compete for a $25,000 development deal and national television exposure in the United States.

Hurry - the first stage of this competition ends August 31^st! Make it rough, but make it quick!

Link HERE for more competition details.

Rant - My Inspirations

2009-08-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Every time I think about it, the history of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe I'm inspired to produce my own animated television series. By today's standards the cartoon is not that great, but for it's time it was unlike anything else on television. And to me as a little child it was simply the best. It didn't have the fluidity of Inspector Gadget. And it didn't have the humor of Danger Mouse. But it inspired me more than any other cartoon could. It made me want to draw (muscles).

So what comes first? The toys or the show? The egg or the chicken? Read THIS article.

And before cartoonbrew removes their 'quote of the month', I'll repeat it here:
"It’s also worth noting that (Wall Street) analysts are always bullish about any studios whose production slates are loaded with sequels, remakes, and “re-boots”. This particular poverty of imagination is absolutely mainstream thinking when it comes to businessmen, who are all about recognizing patterns of success that they assume are repeatable… no matter how often that very approach fails. They always try to copy the original THING rather than the CONDITIONS that allowed the original thing to come into being." – Brad Bird

Learning Animation - Animation Mentor

2009-08-22T04:58:00.000-07:00

Animation Mentor is giving a free eBook online on how to get going in learning animation. Download it and check it out -> here .

Report - APACA Convention, CHINA (Guiyang) 4th - 10th August

2009-08-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

The Board Members Meeting, APACA 2009

Last night I finally caught my last flight to my present 'home base', Islamabad. China does not allow blogging so I have only been able to update this today.

I had been invited as a VIP to represent Animation from Pakistan at the APACA (AYACC) Convention/Conference in Guiyang (pron. Qooie-Yang), 2009. I had the honor of being on the jury to judge from the short listed animation entries from all around the world for their annual competition. The grand prize winner for Animation was from Japan, titled, “Rebun” by Koya Takahashi. There were several other prizes in both Animation and Cartoons.

“Rebun” by Koya Takahashi

No doubt the Chinese like to do everything BIG. But what was most impressive about the whole 6 day activity was the conclusion that the Chinese government truly acknowledges cartooning and animation not only as a powerful medium but as a revenue generating industry. It goes without saying that it will connect China to the world. There were at least 13 government organizations supporting the event and two government organizations hosting the APACA and AYACC event.

Guests from overseas included senior professionals in the field of cartooning and animation. It was an eye opener to learn that there are so many other usages of cartooning and animation than even we had hitherto been aware of. It is being used worldwide in scientific education vis a vis understanding the research, discoveries and new information in medical science. It is also being used as a training tool when precise calculated movements need to be shown to masses of people such as in the training of the performers in the Beijing Olympics. It is also being used to teach so called ‘boring’ subjects such as history in schools where once students had a low attention span now they read their books as they would any other entertaining comic book or graphic novel.

One BIG step up on music videos - Animated film with choreographed live orchestra.

With the vision of the Chinese government to support this industry there will no doubt be future Chinese cartoonists and animators to trail blaze the globe with their excellence in this powerful medium and generate revenues for their country. By meeting accomplished professionals in this field from all around the globe I realized that, whereas other countries may not always have as enterprising governments with foresight, animators worldwide make their own paths and figure out a way to create their own markets regardless. By taking courage and lessons from our neighboring friends, animation is not such a big mountain to climb in our own country as well. It will require direction, focus and above all, pure and simple desire.

- Numair Abbas

P.S.
Any interested cartoonist/animator may register for membership in CAAP (Cartoonists and Animators Association of Pakistan) by accessing the Gogi Studios website in order to avail the facilities of APACA and AYACC.

Music Video Review - "Dharti" by Usman Khalid

2009-08-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

I received a link to the 'much-requested', anti-terrorism music video "Dharti" by Usman Khalid in my mailbox today. The story is told quite clearly; a terrorist walks through his community recalling all the moments, good and bad through his life, and finally comes to a mosque - his 'final' destination - where he must make his 'final' decision.
As the video started, I thought I was watching a regular live action music video but further in I realized there is a bit more experimentation going on. A lot of green screened effects, post effects (like smudges and splatters) on the screen, selective color, 3D environments mixed with the live action in compositing. Sometimes there is a little over-usage of the mixed media but it is all to an overall good effect and the singer melds with the background smoother than I have seen in other Pakistani green screen attempts. Good job on a semi-animated music video on a powerful and current theme!
The singer's choice of dress on the other hand; maybe best left for another critique some other day!

Gogimation - Rock

2009-07-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Historical. Some of the awesomest band members came to my Gogimation studio to talk sound and music and the System that will be. It felt like a comfortable chunk of the Rock Jam from last night had come, which was pretty damn rocking by the way.

Magimals - Toadily

2009-07-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

Spot the additions

Magimals - Toadily

2009-07-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

name: toadily
personality: perverted toad
super power: creates any liquid

Gogi Studios - Studio Space Development - Red Carpet Theater

2009-07-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

The set up of the dailies room is what I have been up to for the past while. The actual name for this working space is still undecided. Some ideas are: Red Room, Red Carpet, Red Alert. The concept of this space is that, since we are creating cartoons for film (cinema), it should feel like the artists are sitting in a cinema as they're making them.

Nothing is instant. So even though the idea was decided, everything has taken a long long time to materialize. Here's a fast forward through the process so far...

... if only the actual process had been this quick. Just a few more phases left now; the box panels need to be painted, I'm considering one more coat for the walls (depending on many factors), one more coat for the golden beading (depending on many factors), the cables need to be neatened up and put into the system cabinet, the main door needs sound proofing, the back walls need picture frames for our posters and last but definitely not the least - a neon Gogi Studios sign on the large wall facing the studio entrance. Phew! (And 'yawn' for 99% of everyone reading this)

Gogi Banner - Books and Bags Distribution

2009-07-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Painted (digital) a large sized banner for an event (in conjuncture with the Ministry of Environment) in which we gave schoolbags, stationery and our books to IDP schoolchildren, Girl Guides and Boy Scouts for free.

The banner. The Urdu on top is translated in English at the bottom.

Here's the original sketch

If you've been to the National Convention Center, you'll know how large this banner is.

The place was packed.

Here's a shot of some of the boys checking out the goodies we put in the bags on their way back to their buses.

PTC - 11 second test

2009-07-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

A small test to show PTC for their upcoming internally run channel. They wanted to see something with extremely minimal animation - so this is purposely lip sync only. They want our studio to handle content for the entire channel and create 1 hour of material per week.

I took the sound clip from a past 11 second club post. It's a clip from the movie, 'My Man Godfrey' (1936).

Books - In Distribution

2009-07-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

We've been producing quite a lot of books lately. These ones are out ready to be distributed...

Gogi Studios - Garbage Monster Photochop Work

2009-06-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I showed our latest additions to the ever growing Gogi Studios library. The Garbage Monster, now translated in Urdu and Pashto, will now be distributed in respective areas. Having a look through the book, we realized there were two pages with a semi naked mermaid in them that might not be looked favorably upon. The following is my photochop work...

Before

After

Before

After

Gogi Studios - Our Latest Book Publications

2009-06-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

Gogi has a new book! Going Gogi - a compilation of selected cartoons.

The 'Garbage Monster'. Now available in Urdu!

...And Pashto!

Story of Younus - Color Boards

2009-06-29T03:35:00.000-07:00

Color boards for the film, 'The Story of Younus' (commissioned by the World Bank) made together with Sabah Ingvarsson (Sweden).

Story of Younus - Character and Background Development

2009-06-29T02:54:00.000-07:00

Commissioned by The World Bank to produce a 5 minute film on Open Defecation in backward regions around the country, I worked with my virtual team to deliver the film within the very very limited time given (less than a single month). My virtual team is spread out over various continents: Sweden, United States, Australia, Pakistan. Almost all the collaboration was done over the internet.

These are my notes over backgrounds made by Sabah Ingvarsson made over my sketches made over her color boards made over my doodles. *cough*

I tried to make the water girl sexy yet indigenously accurate. It wasn't easy.

Which is the friendliest looking 'Younus' available?

The final 'Younus' character.

Gogi Studios - Studio Space Development

2009-06-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Our Creative Room now has an accurate directional star on the ceiling!

I had to draw the compass star after a whole load of calculations while bending backwards at the top of a step ladder under the ceiling to get it right but I think it came out ok. Its very light right now because this is meant to be only an undercoat. We can now have fun with it and draw a face on it, a-la compass stars on treasure maps in shades of red or orange. As you can slightly tell, the rest of the walls have also been painted. The four walls are; purple, yellow, pink and green.

So far, the concept of this room is to break perceptions. To do that, I'm not having anything that lets you sit on the same level as you would on a chair in an office. You can stand, you can jump, you can lie down.

These are development sketches for the takht - a bed/table/stage like piece of furniture we are getting made customized for this room. Butt Bhai, Gogi, and the rest of the Gogi character line up, will be carved in relief around the edges of this takht.

I'm going to bring in a small trampoline. And a midi keyboard set up. And a surround sound music/dvd/images/etc. system (i.e. small tv, wireless dvd player, surround sound speaker system). Also need some white boards on the walls and maybe some more mirrors.

I still want to do much more with this room and would appreciate your ideas or opinions.
1. What should this room be called?
2. What else can I have in here to make it more 'creative'?

If you have any suggestions please leave some ideas in the comments link under this post...

Logo Design - YOUTHINK

2009-06-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

Inspired by an illustration of her by Chanya Hetayothin, Nosheen commissioned me to make her logo for her news articles printing in the distinguished and international 'Dawn' newspaper.

I love the word play in the title so I think its good that the image is also intelligently playful.

This is the illustration of Nosheen by Chanya Hetayothin.

Sketches - Doodles

2009-06-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

I'm too lazy to clean these up and post them properly. But one day you might see these removed and in their place beautiful colored versions of the same images. In the meantime if you have the patience (and if you dare), you can click on the images to see them larger and skim through to attempt to distinguish my thought process in these chaotic doodles. I've actually got a litle bit going on in these. Like a game of 'wheres Wally', I've got character development for my Magimals TV show idea, development of our Gogi Studios work space and some little sketches I tried to impress a girl with - who has a cooking show on a local television channel. I thought it might be cool if her opening credits were animated. Unfortunately we never really talked again since. Someone has to remind me not to make drawings to try to impress people.

Gogi Studios - Paperclip

2009-06-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm Director/Lead Animator at Gogi Studios, I need to start thinking 'Gogi'. Here's a design I spun up for novel Gogi merchandising - paperclips!

TV Show - Preliminary Development Sketches

2009-06-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

(click on the images to see them properly)

I've decided a TV show would be the best way to start animation on a large scale in Pakistan. I know it'll take time, but why wait til tomorrow what you can start developing today...

These are sketches from one of my TV show ideas, "A Boy and his Hair". It features a band of rockers of which theres an apathetic and lazy boy who's hair is alive and has the complete opposite personality than that of the boy. It also features his grandmother, who is a rock guitarist/drummer and may have been an evil super villain in her younger years.

Logo Design - Bilours Family Crest

2009-06-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

To make a little pocket money on the side, I agreed to go back to my Graphic Designing roots and make the family crest for a friend's friend.

Moleskine - Random Selected Moleskine Sketches

2009-06-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Saw the theatrical play, "Dinner with an Idiot" adapted and directed by my good friend Faheem Azam and I was blown away to say the least. The story was a highly artistic adaptation of the French movie (of the same name) perfectly catered to the Islamabadi/Pakistani sense of humor - and in the Urdu language for once(!) Every actor was phenomenal and maintained full control over the stage. There wasn't a pause in laughing until the show was over. If there were any errors, they were all covered flawlessly.

The best part was that they didn't turn the lights down as they normally might in a play like this, so I had a great time quick sketching the awesome animated poses and expressions each strong character moved in.

An evening at the popular "Paper Microphone" and the ex tempo artist performances were great. I love places like these. I get to meet like minded strangers.

Just playing around with character development while thinking of how Gogi might be redesigned too.

The left side was sketched while at 'Hot Spot', a popular ice cream joint in Islamabad. The rest were scribbled while in a meeting at the Environment Ministry with the Minister of Environment (and a whole bunch of other high position people).

It's so much fun sketching at Jam sessions; looking at these sketches again reminds me that I want to go more often. Pretty good guy and getting to know friend, Uzair Jaswal is in these sketches too. I think it would be great to make an animated music video for him. I just feel like the songs I've heard of his so far aren't a perfect reflection of my impression of his personality and it would just be so much more fun to make a video with the ideas I have in my head instead of making a formulaic video without any feel.

After Effects Exercise - The Queen... in Vegas

2009-06-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Since this was an exercise in compositing images in motion using still images to practice on, I didn't 'allow' myself to use anything more than the pen tool to lasso images together.

Margalla Hills Signage

2009-06-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Time to crash course through the passed six months or so. I was working on a lot of projects in this time; I just didn't have time to post them here.

These were suggestions for signage along the Margalla Hills. I thought it would be good to add a little humor while I was at it. ...But why haven't they made these yet?

Graphic Novel - 'The Tinboxed Tiger' Development

2008-12-06T05:29:00.000-08:00

This isn't much to show but I have finally begun work on painting my graphic novel!! 'The Tinboxed Tiger'. I am expecting my first painting to take the longest since I will be learning plenty as I go along. The first stage was thumbnailing, the second stage was to prepare the wooden board with emulsion. It is now at the beginning of the third stage - applying the first layers of medium (lining and color). It was as far as I could go amidst one very busy day.

I would like to figure out a way to paint a complete page every day but that might be quite difficult seeing as Eid and new years are around the corner, Gogi Studios is shifting location and there are innumerable 'mandatory' events in between. Good luck to me!

Digital Paint - Coffee

2008-12-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here's my promised coffee. I had a lot of difficulty with this one and it still doesn't look right.

Gogi Studios Move Out

2008-12-04T10:03:00.000-08:00

Gogi Studios (along with my animation division, Gogimation) is finally moving into its new premises. Ever since properly investing in the studios we have wanted to make Gogi Studios a bigger and better place and a place where people want to work, and not have to work.

Tomorrow will mark the first day of emptying the apartment floor from its previous tenants to make way for the studios. In the meantime, enjoy this lonely tequila. I'm going to need coffee pretty soon after all this alcohol...

p.s. scroll down to see photos updated on the 'Seminar At Hunerkada' post.

Foreign Animation Update - 99

2008-12-03T09:03:00.001-08:00

Animation is thriving around the world. 'Freej', the highly popular animated TV series produced and directed by Mohammad Harib in the UAE for the entire Arab world was a pleasant discovery for me. I had also been hearing a lot about an up and coming animated series called The 99 - with a concept and name in reference to the 99 names of Allah. My AWN newspaper came in the mail today and wallah - the news about this project has finally reached the general animation audience.

I had heard rumors that Mohammad Harib is not only involved but is the person heading the animation team for this project. However I didn't notice his name anywhere in the article - credit is given to Dr. Naif Al Mutawa. Also, there is no mention of the concept of '99' being derived from the 99 names of Allah. It is not mentioned in this article and probably wisely so. Instead, focus is given on the execution of the concept of 99 'global values' (global values??) in the form of superheroes. Yerks! I hope they do it well.

I can't wait to see glimpses of the animation. It looks like it is being done with a huge budget and support. The comic clearly has connections with artists from Marvel and DC Comics both in the writing aspects and art. According to the article, the comics are distributed widely throughout the Middle East, Indonesia and South Asia. I personally haven't seen anything of the sort, although I have heard people buzzing a bit. The 99 will soon make its debut on millions of water bottles (?) licensed by Nestle Waters. To top this all, the first of six 'The 99' theme parks is due to open in Kuwait early 2009. Man. If only Pakistan had Arab money to invest in something as big as this.

Feel free to add whatever you know or have heard about the 99 in the comments of this post.

You can read the entire article online HERE. The official website for the 99 is HERE.

Painting Digital Alcohol - Further 'Deliberation'

2008-12-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

I didn't work on my graphic novel today either. Instead, I fixed up Santa and painted alcoholic beverages.

My First Digital Paint - Santa

2008-12-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

I wanted to paint (acrylics and mixed media) the first page of my graphic novel: 'The Tinboxed Tiger' today. Instead I digital painted Santa for a friends friend. I've never really painted before so this is a first for me.

E Card - Last Eid Mubarak

2008-12-01T00:33:00.000-08:00

I made this quick little ecard last Eid. I hope I'm able to make something fun for Eid-Ul-Azha (Bakra (Goat) Eid). It's right around the corner and should be theoretically easier to make into a funny cartoon. If anyone else is making ecards, I'd love to see them.

Seminar at Hunerkada

2008-11-30T05:40:00.000-08:00

The seminar yesterday went quite well and the turnout was inspiring! Halfway through my presentation, I noticed the organizers squeezing in more chairs and there were still people who had to stand. Click on the images below if you'd like to read the article that came in the paper today. Thank you Saadia Khalid for your pleasant article:

Errors I must point out:
- My last name is spelled 'Abbas'.
- I was slightly misquoted. No single film to date, including animated ones, have been able to bring in a billion dollars. Shrek is an animated movie series with which episodes 1 and 2 together, along with their merchandising and everything that goes with, have been able to pull in 8 billion dollars by Dec. 2007 for the Dreamworks studio.

Update: Photos! (Click on each to see larger)

Sorry about the blur. I wasn't the camera-person.

This is at the very beginning of the presentation. Double the number turned up halfway through.

Hunerkada Seminar - 29th November

2008-11-22T04:14:00.001-08:00

The 'finished' poster jpg has finally been sent to me with final amendments made at the Hunerkada end. Drop the flyers from planes, attach as a virus to computers, distribute to beggars to hand out at traffic signals! Well, do what you must, but tell interested people to come anyway.

PLEASE NOTE: Time is 11:00am - 1:00pm (10:30am for people who like to take their time)

Moleskine - Event: Writers Guild Annual Meeting 2008

2008-11-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

I went looking to meet creative writers, humorous writers, fiction writers at the fearfully literary sounding: 'Halqa-e-Arbab-e-Zauq'. Yep. That's the official name in Urdu. It roughly translates to - the 'circle of members of taste'. I had my trusty moleskine with me as usual and observed some entertaining faces.

Moleskine - Mehndi Sketches

2008-11-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

I went to a Mehndi (the official party thrown by the brides friends before the actual wedding) last night. I got bored for a lot of the time before the dances started so I took out my trusty moleskine and had fun drawing people.

By the time the dances began I had lost all inhibition and went right to the front to draw their movements in clear view. One of the dancers clearly had no inhibitions either and I'm sure a parent or two took their children out of the room for the while she had her 3 minutes on stage.

Oh and a girl next to me told me 'your drawings are amazing'. Wow. Now thats a compliment! ^_^

Coming Soon - Seminar at Hunerkada

2008-11-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

As part of my initiative to do my part in spreading animation as an art and career choice in my country that is quite devoid of it, I am signing up with several universities/colleges near and around Islamabad to teach the subject as a regular course. It's quite an endeavor in itself but if I take all these things step by step I hope it'll be worth my efforts.

The course at Hunerkada will be starting very soon. In the meantime I've prepared a flyer to be sent advertising a 2 hour seminar presentation in which I will introduce the subject. It will most probably be held on the 29th of this month at Hunerkada (the address on the flyers above is incorrect) As far as my observation has been, I feel that animation is a lesser known subject here still. So most of my seminar will be an attempt to explain what it is and why it is so exciting to me. If I manage to interest students, they can register for the upcoming course right there.

These are the two designs. I like the flat white design but since this is an introduction of animation to a lot of people who might not be completely acquainted with film, I'm wondering if the more obvious one is the better choice. Anyone want to help me choose?

I'll be looking forward to teaching at NCA (Pindi) and FJWU starting somewhere around January.

p.s. If there is anything anyone would like me to talk about in the seminar, please do let me know in the comments section of this post. I want to do my best to inspire more people to extract as much knowledge of Animation and what I learned living in Hollywood from my brain.

Meeting With An Old Friend In Animation - Taqi

2008-11-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

Taqi Shaheen, an old friend from NCA and talented film-making animator came over to my place yesterday and we caught up on things. He is teaching stop motion animation (they call it 'Table Top Animation' there) regularly at the Fatima Jinnah Women University in Pindi. I was excited to get his updates. We talked for hours!

Eventually I asked to see his students work if he had any with him. I got to see the above films, 12 of them in all. These are the first attempts at animation for these students. I think they are a good start and show promise. It seems that these are exercises rather than attempts at complete films, so I appreciated that some did try to present a legible storyline. I particularly liked Jojo's Adventures by Sidra Iftekhar. It had a reasonable sense of story, the characters were nicely designed and it showed plenty of attention to detail (like the face on the door). Duddoo Mian by Anoshia Hamid and Hammad was cute although it seemed to drag a little bit for me. But once again, there was a cute story to follow and was well designed. All of them were cute to watch and showed enthusiasm and the energy to create animation using whatever is available. Good luck girls and I would love to see more from you!

Progress of Animation in Bollywood

2008-10-30T03:05:00.000-07:00

Remember the time when Indian movies copied Hollywood movies? I'm pretty sure they still do. Ever since Disney joined forces with Yash Raj Films there are a few movies 'coming soon' that remind me of a few other internationally acclaimed movies. I'll be brash and point out which ones...

Roadside Romeo - (Lady and the Tramp)
Ali Baba - (Aladdin)
Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang - (Antz (name from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang))
Jumbo - (Dumbo)

here are some articles for you to read to keep in touch with animation this side of the planet: http://www.thenews.com.pk/instep_today.asp (scroll down to the bollywood buzz section) and http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/10/04/disney-discovers-bollywood/

a long time coming (back)

2008-10-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Good lord! It's been more than a year since I posted anything on my blog. Even though I would like to say that its been because I've been doing a lot since then, that's only half the truth. I have been very busy doing a lot of art and animation related things, but I've also been busy with a lot of other things in life too. For one I've finished my thesis and have moved to Pakistan for a while.

Anyway, I only intend this blog to be about art and animation and I'll stick by that. I did do a lot of it since the last post and so will also attempt to update this blog with most of that as well. Do keep watching this space, I'll be giving updates about my progress in getting animation, especially traditional animation, started in Pakistan, if not the Subcontinent.

Thief Film - Concept Art for Thief Character

2007-05-07T04:58:00.000-07:00

I might not be able to make my animated character have these type of cut-out shadows but I do like how it looks. I think I'm pretty close to a final look for the thief that I'm satisfied with. He's not always going to be just happy anymore, he's somewhat resembling a vulture and his body will be completely seen now - no more gaps because of the stripes in his clothes. There are still unresolved issues but they'll heal with time. Now I need to start placing the design with different backgrounds and getting him to move to see which combination of character over background is readable but still pretty.

p.s. I like that this pose makes my thief take the form of a question mark, which was actually an accident. He is a bit of a mystery to me and I still don't know when he's going to settle down into a design! Hurry up Numair, get with it!

Thief Film - Background Stylistic Choices

2007-05-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

Ok anyone checking these out is definitely going to have to click each one to see them properly. The black base color makes all the detail vanish so fast. Hmm.. I'm going to have to keep that in mind for the film too.

I'm trying to experiment with as many styles of brush strokes for the backgrounds before I decide on the final look for this thief film. In the process I'm able to test out possible techniques for the characters too. I'm not sure I can make any concrete decisions with these experiments alone just yet. Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to lay out all my options once I feel like I can't come up with any more/get tired and then mix and match with the options of the animated thief. I only know the feelings I'd like to provoke in the viewers so I'm going to have to use that to make my decision. Errr... I might need to hurry soon if I want to have something viewable in time for the Prom!!

These illustrations above are all made with vectors in Freehand. The textures are scans. I don't know if that would make it easier to animate with. That's to be thought of later on anyway. Right now I need to focus on a nice look.

And these two are the same as above but in day situations. Somehow I like how they look in day situation more than night. They're just so much more readable. I can't change that in the story though so I'll just have to be happy looking at them here in the meantime.

TV Show - brainstorming

2007-04-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

I'm developing some ideas for a tv show to be sold in Pakistan.

Above is some development. Scanned in paper, illustrated in photochop.

And this above is having made some (deceptive) progress. i.e. none at all. I feel like I'm still undecided which design is best.

So I'm really confused which character looks better (see: more appropriate) than the others and I'm scared to ask for opinions ...because right now I have almost no real opinion of my own!!

I've also posted a little test animation with one of these characters to see how it might end up looking in (not so) glorious 'tv series' limited motion HERE (ON YOUTUBE).

Thief Film - Rich Magnate Design

2007-04-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Here's some development of the rich magnate the thief bumps into on his way out. I'm sorry about the ugly untextured 3d designs. On top are sketches of the final design. I haven't finished modelling the 3d character but I'd say he's pretty much 85% done except for the body and ears. Oops yeah I seem to have forgotten to add those but they're going to be tiny anyway.

I'll try to post some development sketches of this guy later. My scanner/computer isnt really loving me back these days.

Thief Film - Development

2007-04-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Some stylistic experimentation with the look for the backgrounds. I think this would look very jarring on the big screen unfortunately even though I do like the stark graphic design feel of it. It would be nice to use some of my past graphic design experience in my film.
This is a style I could use for the thief / animation itself. It's inspired from urdu/arabic calligraphy and would be nice to show the 'beauty' in his dance.

Btw, I'm trying to think of names for this film now and I've thought 'Possession Dance' might be somewhat explanatory. I'm using this line to explain what my film is about for the Spotlight Show at UCLA - "What's more important? Values or things? A thief and a magnate help figure it out. ". I'm finally doing a film that has meaning but still focuses more on the entertainment values! Hooray!

Thief - Fan Art

2007-04-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

Megan made me this Fanart. I love it! And I really like the way she's connected the head with the arms. I think I might actually use that, Megan ...is that ok with you? :)

Bill Plympton at UCLA

2007-04-19T23:12:00.000-07:00

Oh did I mention Bill Plympton had come to the lab to give us a talk and presentation with some of his films? :D I've uploaded a video on YouTube HERE. It's not so great but still watchable.

Thief Designs

2007-04-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it hard to get the particular look for the thief so I thought I'd refer to my inspiration of the character - a vulture. That got me thinking maybe I could try other birds too.
Nope. Vulture suits it best. These are most of the designs I've gone through so far most just modifications of its predecessor. The hardest part is going to be the neck joining the rigid head to the overly flowing torso.
I like strokes for arms and legs. Details like fingers can appear only when he needs them. He's an efficient thief after all and he loves his job to the point where it's an art he enjoys.
I just thought that design modification in the bottom right corner was funny so I added this page in too. Right now I'm thinking; what is it that makes the UPA style so beautiful to me?
Yeah this might be pushing the vulture thing a bit too far. That neck thing really just won't work. He has to stay an 'inspiration' from the vulture design and not an 'imitation'. I don't really think it's that super important in the film as long as the audience feels a slight connection I'll be happy.

Inspirational Animators

2007-03-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

Paul Driessen, an amazing Dutch animator gave us a presentation at UCLA today. In the afternoon we had a personal discussion session with him and our animation department and then in the evening the official screening was presented with his fascinating films.

Finals are around and I wasnt able to attend the whole presentation. So unfortunately I don't have footage to upload on YouTube. But I took some notes!

Firstly, I think he's such a humble guy! He's got so much experience and his films are so clear and powerful. His animation style is so unique and the amount of work and care he puts into his work is so obviously more than most mortal animators these days. Anyway, you can see I was inspired. He said unfortunately theres not much money to be made as short film animators. Friends and I talked to him afterwards to suggest some ideas that maybe would work with his high quality work and relationship with the rest of the industry. He took our suggestions in stride and said we might have some good ideas there. Damn, did I mention he's humble?

Quick notes since I'm taking a lot of space here... I like that he does'nt get influenced by other animators; he gets inspired. As animators we should find our own way of storytelling. When asked about style, he pointed that not only do you show your visual style in your films, you also have sensibilities which show in your time and pacing and come from your personal feelings. For his unique sound effects, he often uses stale boiled macaroni...! Now thats ingenious!

Here are some stills I took from the Glen Keane presentation on March 4th. In the top photo Glen is showing samples of art from his portfolio. The bottom photo was when he was demonstrating straight lines and curves and how they look great when youre able to balance them together. Check out the videos I uploaded to hear a bit more about that. One of them got linked on a whole bunch of awesome sites including CartoonBrew, Seward Street and CookedArt !!!

So anyway, some quick notes of what struck me most from what Glen Keane talked about in his presentation... "Don't be afraid to shock. Learn the principles of animation, and then put them at the back of your head when you actually go in to animate - live it... don't formulise it. Don't do 'animation' things - do 'real' things. Find the 'golden poses' in your animation and build the animation around that. Animate the forces in the animation. Art is not age or color (or any other prejudice)".

Thief Film - mansion sketches in vectors

2007-03-05T00:04:00.000-08:00

Ok so getting back to my Thief film, here I've tried sketching the mansion in vectors to see if it could be an artistic approach I could take. I know it would be easier to draw whatever within the computer if I want to turn it into a 3 dimensional environment in Maya but somehow I'm just not satisfied with these at all. Its looking more like Fosters than UPA and no matter how good I am at managing vectors, I just really like that coarse feel of hand drawn of UPA. I dont want to be imitating it tho - I mean, its just for inspiration really. Or so I'd like to say. So anyway, I wish people would leave comments on what they think of this stuff and my direction. I know people are viewing this page but no comments! Animation so far is a lonely art *sob*. Hmm.. I might have to post on Devart again now. hehe.

p.s. I know these sketches are incomplete. (e.g. the upper windows are just rectangles right now). These were meant just to be sketches anyway. But if I ever polish them up I'll replace them here.

Storytelling in Photographs - Stalking

2007-03-04T22:46:00.000-08:00

Stalking:

Here's a question for everyone... which photos do you think I can take out without harming the story?

p.s. Ofcourse damned auto-focus made the trees beauuutifully sharp in the second last shot. Sorry bout that. :p

Storytelling in Photographs - Lost

2007-03-04T01:57:00.000-08:00

Lost:Chanya had some great facial expressions for my stories. Click on each picture to appreciate them better.

Just a little hectic...

2007-02-22T02:11:00.000-08:00

I've got some really good work coming up soon... my schedule's just gotten even tighter than normal as of late but I'll upload as soon as I'm able. For the time being, here's a little something I made today.Lasting Impressions
(click to see larger)

Flower Film screen tests

2007-02-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a few tests of what my 'Flower Love' (working title) film might look like. The flower isnt rigged yet so thats why it looks all rigid and stuff here. The story is of a flower professing his love for the sun. She is far away from him, but she's the reason he lives. Kind of like my own story. It ends badly.

a little paid work

2007-02-17T01:24:00.000-08:00

I know this is weird. But I got paid for it so I suppose I should upload what I can. I designed the layout and illustration of a soda pop for a cell phone game. Anyway, Im not allowed to show the layout etc right now so I'll just upload the glass and bubbles illustration here. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm gearing up for a lot of shooting for my film classes (live action) and also for some serious heavy duty work on my animated films as well as weelll as looking for a place to move into. Please find me something someone! I need to find a room to rent within 700 bucks. I can stretch to 750 or so for a good place that I can still get to UCLA somewhat easily. Anyway, lets see how things go down, I've got to be super careful about time management now. Skateboard don't fail me.

Thief Film Development

2007-02-16T02:25:00.000-08:00

Ok so finally I can start uploading development of the films I'm working on right now...

These are sketches of the interior of my 'mansion' where the thief will prance about stealing everything around him. I want this look for my backgrounds but am still working on how to achieve it with the way I'm imagining I'll be animating it. Look about the sketches (click on them to see them much larger) and you'll see I've got a lot of other things developing there too. I'm sorry I've got a pretty messy way of developing my ideas.

photography samples

2007-02-16T02:17:00.000-08:00

I did some photography around Los Angeles especially toward the end of last year which I should post before I get into my films development. So these five examples should be good enough samples I hope...

shelved film - Lunch Monkey

2007-02-16T00:23:00.000-08:00

This is work from a film I was going to make in 3d but decided to shelf because I'm doing so much else these days I don't have the time to complete 3 films right now. I'm just going to stick to doing 2 for the time being. Click on the images to see them properly. No offence to anyone with the character design but it was meant to add to the film. If anyone has any complaints I'm willing to replace it with my censored version.

some Archie redesigns

2007-02-15T01:46:00.000-08:00

Some time back there was a lot of talk going around about on how the Archie comics were going to be drawn in a new (really really ugly) style. As a bit of constructive reaction, I heard people were designing their own versions of the Archie gang. I did a couple but I can only show these because um.. my scanner stopped working ever since I moved house and these are already in the computer. (Damn I've got to stop making everything in vectors now. Its about time I moved on to something else...)

vormator dot com project

2007-02-15T01:31:00.000-08:00

vormator.com was having some sort of design/illustration competition where you had to make an illustration using only these elements:

The winners will be featured in a compilation book so I thought I'd give it a shot and I sent them these two options.
I call them 'Scaredy Catch' and 'Alien Invitation' respectively. I dont know whats going on with those vormator guys tho... I mean, it looks like they're still trying to figure out who's going to publish their book...??
Dated: Dec 25th 2006

hand made 2007 new years cards

2007-02-15T01:14:00.000-08:00

I made new year cards for friends and family based on this awesome art:I know; mine are nowhere near as good as the original but I needed an idea I could do quickly. All my other ideas were taking waaay too long. ;-(

I also made custom cards...

newspaper comic strip

2007-02-14T23:23:00.000-08:00

I wanted to start a comic strip for the newspaper when I was back home. A little local humor not everyone will get. These are two of a lot I never got to send them. Click on them to read them properly.
Dated: Sept. 2005

not communicating

2007-02-14T01:34:00.000-08:00

a blog begins...

2007-02-12T14:46:00.001-08:00

As a friend of mine says, when its crunch time you want to do anything but work. I don't know how true that is though, because I'm working harder than ever before! Not only that, but I just broke up with my girlfriend, who I was almost going to get married to. (Or rather, she broke up with me. Or rather still, her mom broke her up with me.) So this is my way of forgetting her forever. Here I am.. start a blog!

I'd like this to be a sketchblog in accordance with what all the awesome Cal Arts students do, but I'm also a storyteller and definitely an ideas guy so I just know I'm going to end up throwing a lot of text about on this blog too. Anyone and everyone is more than welcome to advise or criticize. Thats what blogs are for.

So I'm going to upload old work first because I'd like to look back on it one day and see if I'd been moving forward or backwards along time. No worries, I'll try to date it all as accurately as possible. Here goes...

dating further backwards...

2007-02-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

If you want to see any of my work even older than whats on this blog, check out http://nimer.deviantart.com . I am blown away by the talent thats on that site/forum/whatever and one day I'll get back to uploading my work there too.