Two-Headed Bug

You may see life as one two-headed monster and want to run. But don't judge too quickly, you may find out that things are better than they seem.

Last week I spoke at The 2008 Art Institute of California - Los Angles Graduation as the commencement speaker. It was a lot of fun. I met a lot of talented students and teachers there.
Often, parents ask me about their kids that are interested about the arts and whether or not this is a good time for them to be pursuing an arts career. My answer is always: If someone is passionate about their art, and will work hard, there has never been a better time in human history to be an artist!

Think about it, for years and years it was only a select few who got to choose what artwork the world would see (Magazine editors, movie executives, etc.) But now those barriers are crumbling and you can create and market your art all-online. Not only can you sell your work, but also you can talk to those people that are buying it! It’s amazing. This combined with a renaissance in virtual worlds and video games, creates an environment ripe with opportunity. So congratulations to all of you graduates. I can't wait to see what you create!

Poem: Clean-Shaven Santa

There is something special that happens on Christmas morning that only happens once a year. Simultaneously everyone pauses for a moment. Now for some that moment is for faith, others it’s for family, and yet other its just because everything is closed and there is no where to go. But take a drive in LA Christmas morning and it becomes clear by the lack of traffic; People are still and with people they love. It’s an amazing thing. When people love collectively you can feel it like a single drop red dye dropped in white liquid. You can feel it swirl everywhere and create an atmosphere that is unique for that moment.

This poem does not reflect any of that. I was thinking about Santa, and it occurred to me that he wouldn’t be Santa without his beard. Think about it. If you saw a skinny guy dressed in green polka-dot spandex and he spontaneously grew a big bushy white beard, he would instantly remind you of Santa. Clearly it is his most defining attribute. I thought it would be fun to turn his beard into a character. In this case, a magical pet.

I hope this blog finds you happy, healthy and full of joy.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
David

Poem: Pin Strike

I have only been bowling about 8 times in my life. Its fun, but its not one of those activities that occurs to me to do out of the blue. But for 95 million people in the world, the art of rolling a ball and knocking down pins, is a regular hobby. Its strange, but understandable. It takes skill, it's social, and people have been doing it for around 2400 years. That's right! Its been around a long time.

Originally, the illustration for this poem was going to created in a 3D application and rendered out with beautiful shadows and reflections. This was because instead of the kids standing in fright, the original image was going to be of the pins attacking in a similar formation. 3D bowling pins with eyes would have been a fun thing to see in a realistic style. However, as I was sketching out ideas, I realized that this didn't really sell the punchline of the poem. Changing the attacking pins to scared kids made me laugh as I drew it and I knew it was the right thing to do..

Poem: Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Poem: Robotic Birthday Dread

Back in the pre-internet age, the big department stores would send out huge meaty picture catalogs. I would awkwardly flip through the gobs of pages and find the treasure map I was looking for: The toy section. There were only about a dozen pages dedicated to toys and games and so I would carefully strategize as to which toy would be the best to request. Most years I wanted G.I.Joe's. Not the old school doll Joe's but the small plastic type that was the rage in the eighties. The kind of Joe that would fall into pieces when you shot them with a pellet gun at that crucial point in the chest where the screw connects the rubber band.

One year was different. While looking through the catalog, I saw a toy of sorts that was different. It eerily looked back at me in the catalog as if it knew what I was thinking. It was a Charlie McCarthy Ventriloquist Dummy. It was the first toy I had that was completely my own. My brothers (being normal) had no interest in it. That summer, I carried Charlie everywhere and practiced. I read every book on ventriloquism the library had. We took a family photo, and I insisted that the dummy be in it. When school started up again that fall, we had to do a school project and give a presentation. I was a very shy kid that largely lived in his mind and drawings. It took a long time for me to build confidence. But once in a while, a showman inside would spring out. This was my chance! I would bring in Charlie and we would make a show of it.

I remember getting in front of the class and cracking my best jokes. Despite my anxiety, my classmates were amused at the novelty. There were no belly laughs, but no complaints or weird faces either. When I finished the presentation I thought about the while experience. I did the ventriloquism thing. I studied, got the dummy and did a show. And now...and now... I came to a realization. I was done with it. Just like that. I wasn't sad about it, or disappointed. I just knew it was time to go back to the woods and light fires, catch newts, and build forts.

There are times when I reflect on life and think that I opportunities I should have seized. I should have taken my piano lessons more seriously. I wish I had focused more in learning to speak Spanish at an early age. But in the case of Charlie McCarthy, I am glad I let that one go.

Poem: Stoolpy

Sometimes the simplest forms humor can make you laugh through the most complex of situations..

Poem: All Gucked Out

Up until I was in the seventh grade, the majority of my wardrobe consisted of hand-me-downs from my older brother, Frank. My little brother Peter, would in turn get my out grown or unwanted clothing.

Every once in a blue moon, Frank would let me borrow a shirt he still liked and for that day I would be styling! At the end of the day, no matter how careful I was, he would be upset that his shirt was now stretched or warped or smelly. We called this phenomenon "gucking it out". For example one might say "DAVID you GUCKED OUT my shirt, I'll never let you wear my clothes again!" Luckily for me, he would choose to forget in time. As we got older, I would borrow shirts from Peter as well. He would bark at me about this as well. Apparently I am the only brother who gucks things out.

I suppose there is something to be learned from all of this. Maybe its that was we live our lives make our mark in our own way. You could look at these as sweet oddities that are like a spice on life. Or I suppose you could just see a warped stinky shirt..

Poem: Space-Time

Whenever I listen to Graffiti 61, my mind goes on a trip and I'm always surprised with where creativity takes me. Dominic Massaro is the orchestrator and one of my good friends. You can check out his music here:

Just Plane Farts

Well we have sunk to the lowest depths of humor this morning. But you have to admit the title, "Just Plane Farts" is rather clever. When I was in elementary school, I had to find a poem in the library, memorize it, and recite it in front of the class. This would have been perfect..

Poem: Belly Button Chin

I think everyone should have a belly-button chin with a bug inside of it! Maybe I'll make some chin-stickers so we can pretend we have one.

Poem: A Prayer for Cauliflower

When I was a kid there were certain foods I dreaded. Black Licoorice (which I just learned to spell), canned tuna, and stew were a few of the culprits. But Cauliflower is different. It does not bad, or good. Its just like biting into a big bushy stick of nothing. I never understood why so many people serve it. Next time you go to a party, look at the vegetable platter. The cauliflower is always the vegatable of last resort..

My Poetry Website is Up and Kicking

My Poetry Website is Up and Kicking. There are ten free poems up and ready for the world:

http://www.davidchiapperino.com/poems

Here is a sample:

What are Technical Directors?

What are Technical Directors?

History
The earliest Technical Directors are in the world of stage theatre. As theatre productions got more complex, things like lights, mechanical props, and sound became a growing part of the stage experience. The directors of these shows could not focus all of their time on these new technical aspects or they wouldn’t have time to direct the performance of the actors. Thus, enters our esteemed Technical Director.
The technical Director position transitioned over from the world of stage to film and animation. When computer graphics (CG) began to enter the scene. CG directors often needed to hire technical directors to deal with the technology. Now Things have gotten so complex (especially on features) that there are sometimes dozens TD's that often work on a show. Some places have so many TD's that the title "technical director" is has been changed to technical artist, technical animator, technical lighter etc. The trend seems to be going that there is one Technical Director or Lead Technical Director and a technically trained hierarchy under them.
In general the goal of Technical Director is this: To develop creative ways artists can focus more time on developing their ideas without feeling bound by technology. TD's are problem solvers that are often the bridge between art, engineering, and programming.

Types of Technical Directors
I have heard of all sorts of TD’s. Titles range from company to company. Here are a few examples: Lighting TD, Effects TD, Character TD, Animation TD, Shading TD, etc. In my case I am an Animation Technical Director (this position is referred to as Character TD at other studios). Character and Animation Technical Directors often create and enforce pipelines. A pipeline is a flowchart of how all the computer generated models, textures, rigs, lights and animation etc. all come together. It specifies the order and methodology in which things must adhere. The better the pipeline, the faster you will get things done. If the bottleneck has to do with a person, then generally a department lead or producer will address this problem. If there is a bottleneck in production that has to do with technology, a Technical Director will often address it.

Why TD’s are Valuable
Lets pretend we're working for a production with no TD. Generally one of the animators are forced to rig (which generally they would rather not do). Say it takes 3-4 days for our savvy animator to rig a character. . If there are 30 characters...that’s 90-120 days. If we're talking work days that’s 18- 24 weeks! And what if we decide to change proportions of the characters later on? That’s a lot of waste you say. Your right! TD's tackle the problems differently. They treat the 30 characters as one character by developing scripts (or programs) that can automate most of their repetitive workload. On most realtime projects, I can rig a humanoid character from scratch including weights in about a half hour. If I already have the skin weights it takes about 1-2 minutes. Granted, it takes some research and development timeto do this, but the savings in the long run is inarguable.
TD’s allow both the creative and programming teams to stay more focused on their own disciplines. They are always finding new ways to save a production time and money. And when they have a good day, they make miracles happen. So go ahead, give your TD a hug…

Testing 1, 2..

So this is it. My blog. My first blog. Yay