One down

In reality, he didn't use a crayon. And the results of his DIY restoration work, while not perfect, weren't actually all that bad. There's a damaged part at the bottom of the painting but the main large offending mark right on the front has been taken off quite nicely.

Hard to believe it's only Wednesday. I'm wondering now if I'll survive the week. I feel like wrapping myself up in a sleeping bag and hibernating for a season or two.

As the rage builds

Yesterday's post was written (and drawn) in a very quick angry reaction to what I encountered when I came in. Since then, my rage just built and built.

Thing that pissed me off the most, well, that's in the drawing above.

His workmen, under his supervision, wrecked my stuff. I got almost no work done yesterday as I was consumed by anger. On top of that, other unrelated crap was heaped on yesterday. Not a good day in general.

Today, I am just left with thoughts of revenge.

One tip for company owners and producers: a homicidally pissed-off worker is not a good worker.

Goddam pack of wankers

I am so pissed off right now. So pissed off.

The studio is in the process of a revamp. So I come in this morning and workmen have been in all weekend. Here's a partial list of what I've found -

A box of my cds has been stood on, breaking the cases.
A painting on canvas has some kind of industrial strength glue all over it.
A rare and pretty priceless movie poster has been torn.
Mr.Potatohead is in pieces (okay, he's used to that).
And to top it all off, my workspace is smaller than ever.

Did they think the painting was a collaborative effort and it needed more white? What the hell does it take to be careful?

Livestock

I'm sure not all producers are like this but I swear our producer will hire anyone who walks in off the street no matter how much the director protests. It's always, "well let's see how he gets on" or "we'll just give her a go and if she doesn't work out we'll know soon enough".

Then things get really awkward when there's actually a bunch of really talented people looking for work. We've hired all the students and mountain goats and have no room for actual animators.

Stop hiring livestock. Please.

Amidst the chaos

Things are changing around here. The studio is about to start full production on a show (Mr.Hat or some such shit) and it's to be made completely in Flash. We were on something really small before that so now we have a bunch of new kids and are expecting more.

I've seen some studios that look like they are beautifully ordered. A shiny machine of animation creativity, where everything is as it should be.

This studio, however, has always existed in a state of total chaos. I've noticed that all producers are blind to certain things. It seems part of their job. They end up disconnected in some ways. Different producers are blind to different things.

My current producer, who is generally pretty good with most things, has always been blind to the fact that most of us are working in a bit of a shithole. And, in terms of floor layout, arrangments and facilities, nothing is ever sorted until several months after it was actually needed. So now, with the new guys coming in and new computers and desks arriving, it takes me about half an hour to climb over the crap to my desk. And another half hour to cut my way back out again.

It's messy and I don't like it. Also, I've had to empty my shelves with all my toys on them. That stinks.


What's a telling sign of things to come is that I'm currently having to fight to keep my animation desk. In an animation studio. Oh, that's that wind of change, or whatever that Scorpions song was.

I'm going to be a millionaire. Seriously.

I get the bus a lot. Buses, as you probably know, are hideously boring places. Yeah, I can play a DS or listen to music but I actually spend a lot of time just looking at the back of peoples jackets and coats. Collars. Seams. That sort of thing.

Boring.

But, what if people had cartoons on the backs of their jackets? Then the people sitting behind them would have something to read. Wouldn't that be cool?

This is the best invention ever and will make me rich beyond my wildest dreams.

Need to get out for a bit?

This is my plan for the morning. I'm exhausted and sitting in work is no good for that at all. I may go looking for some DVDs (important question on that below).

This method works every time, I guarantee it. So, if you need to go out to get the latest DS game or there's a DVD you want to pick up or you want to go flirt with that girl in the coffee shop or you're just plain bored of that dumbass computer crashing or whatever, just follow the steps above and off you go.

Just remember not to come back with obvious shopping bags. And it's best to leave your phone to reinforce the idea that you're still there and also to avoid answering it in HMV by accident if the boss is looking for you.

So, on my DVDs - can anyone recommend some limited animation to me? Like, extremely limited yet appealing? The more limited the better. I have Roger Ramjet sitting here, which I love, but I'm looking for more. I'm thinking Japanese anime has good examples of putting effort into the drawings but not the frames and they have some good action sequences but the only anime I have is film budget and nowhere near as limited as I'd like. There's the old HB stuff too. But what would you recommend?