Can i get those gigs of inspiration you have cataloged? J/K

Cheers,
Dan

I try to be inspired by everything, even walking down the grocery aisles at the local super market. Lately I find myself amused and inspired by the simple things, i think mostly because of my children. Children are fascinating to study. They think differently. They ask amazing questions that are twisted and skewed about the simplest stuff we just don't think about or take for granted. My son asked me yesterday, "how does a digital camera work?" and "how it can capture a moment and then put it on your computer?" - I have no idea. and frankly i never even thought about it, i just know that it can.

The other sources of inspiration come from my creative process. I am like a packrat, I collect and file almost anything visually pleasing to the eye. When i start a project I usually take an entire day just to research and dig for information, images or just different styles. Sometimes I pull from what i have already collected, and other times i start with a clean slate. These collections I call mood boards. I can quickly set a stage with several looks, pin them up and use that as fuel for the design stage.

I think the other important thing that i have learned along the way is to always design first, then animate. So often i think young animators get in a bad habit of going right into Ae and start animating. I have been there. It always starts out great and ends terribly. Great design has legs, it will take off effortlessly and you find yourself thinking of a thousand options and ways to animate. Where as if you just start in with no direction you find yourself running into walls or unforeseen road blocks, making the project painful.

My last 2¢. I work very hard at what i do. In fact i am writing this comment back to you at 5:20 am after being up all night working on a first draft animatic. I am not telling you that staying up all night will make you a great designer, but you have to be willing to put that kind of effort into what you love doing. You have to have that drive and passion to survive in this industry. There are only a handful of artist that were simply given that "God Given" talent. The rest of us have to make up for it with a big heart, long hours and a few tears.

I hope that has given you a little insight about my approach. Again, i am pretty tired, hopefully i responded to your questions correctly. If not, my contact info is on the home page and you can always connect with me here as well http://www.justinmcclure.tv/networks feel free to call me or email me with questions or comments any time!