Yuki 7

Here is my work for Kevin's Yuki 7 project. I'm excited and honored to be part of the book/show. When Kevin first told me about the project, I thought it would be fun to see what merchandise for the Yuki 7 franchise might look like.

I sculpted a tiny Yuki 7 figurine out of wood, using a cordless Dremel that Santa gave me for Christmas. This is the first time I've really entered into the realm of wood carving. It was a little nerve wracking when occasionally I started to notice the smell of burning, and the noise takes a little getting used to, but I had a lot of fun. Now I just need a workshop space, it got a little messy trying to do woodcarving in the kitchen...

The second thing I made using my new tools, was a Yuki 7 feather duster. This was also made using the Dremel. I had to manage some clever piecing together of different wooden pieces that I had lying around from craft-project ideas of yore, but in the end I was pleased with the result. The feathers were also something that were lying around, I think at some point I had intended to use them as hair for a puppet. It was difficult to figure out how to get the mass of them to stick in the bottom, but eventually I came up with a sturdy solution. Both the figure and the duster are painted with Cel Vinyl, and then treated with an acrylic gloss coat.

Here is a picture of Kevin, and my photo studio setup. For Christmas, Santa also gave me a kit, specially designed for shooting small objects. It worked perfectly for my Yuki pieces, and I imagine that it will work pretty dang well for future toy shoots. Exciting!

I also like being able to see the relative scale of everything. It's pretty funny seeing that tiny figure standing around in a huge, white, fashion model tent.

The Yuki 7 project is certainly producing some great work from some great artists... be sure to keep checking Kevin's site for updates.

While You Were Out...

In case you were curious, I wasn't spending the last month in New York. This picture was taken in a walkway at Grand Central Station. The week-long trip was really fun, and I was looking forward to getting back and sharing all the awesome adventures I had, leisurely posting pictures from my trip, etc... but...

When I landed in Los Angeles on Saturday night, I was greeted by the news that I shouldn't come into work on Monday, because Imagi wouldn't be able to pay me. The news wasn't delivered with any kind of alarm, and at first I wasn't too worried, I guess part of my brain was still on vacation in New York. Details were kind of vague, and it seemed that it might be just a short term problem... But after the first week went by, and there was nothing new for HR and Imagi to say to reassure me that I would be back at my desk anytime soon, all free time went towards figuring out a plan of action so I can keep my health coverage, and so I don't starve. I was still a bit hopeful, but now into week three... well... what would you think? They were still marketing Astroboy at the New York Comicon, so they still must be pushing forward somehow...

Imagi... I don't know what the heck happened, and while I have feelings about it all, I'm gonna leave it alone for now. I hope for the best, but am prepared for anything... In case you are interested in more of the details about what happened with Imagi, and what their future might be- for now it's best to check the Animation Guild blog. They know what's what, much more than me about all this... the posts regarding Imagi can be found here and here.

Thankfully things are back on track for me personally, and shortly I'll be sharing my pics from the trip, as well as my pieces for some upcoming shows... Thanks for still checkin' back here, even though I disappeared for a bit...