Shane Acker's 9

I just saw the finished theatrical release of "9". I had the honor of working on it last year in the Layout department at Starz. I had to go to the movie website for these photos. I hope they don't mind. One thing I found amusing was that pictured here with Shane Acker is Dave Baas. On the site where these photos are from, Dave is labelled as "George Kraychyk" I have no idea why!
Dave is a master of Maya and he taught me a lot of what I know. Anyway, that's Dave on the left, in the blue shirt, and Shane on the right.

This film is a beautiful piece of artwork! The designs are excellent and original and the lighting and surfacing departments outdid themselves!

These still images don't do justice to the atmosphere and beauty of the actual film.

Here's the "cat beast" one of my favorite designs in the film. This creature is awesome in that it's so creepy and nightmarish, yet so beautifully put together. A masterpiece of biomechanical engineering!

The "machine" is also a phenomenal design! It was rigged beautifully also!

Here are two of my favorite characters, 3 and 4, also referred to as "the twins". Their mannerisms are cute and comical, everything done in pantomime because they don't talk.
Their designs and body language are great! I want toys of them!

Here's another shot of the "machine". It had to be anthropomorphized of course so the audience could tell what it was "thinking". It's more like an evil beast than a machine.

Now here's the creepiest creature of all! The "Seamstress"! She was very difficult to work because of all of her many parts. Her rigging was a bit awkward, but by the time she got to animation, I'm sure they had figured her out. I worked on quite a few scenes with her and as time went on, I started to get to know my way around her controls.

Using CG models is not unlike puppetry. I am always impressed with what the modellers at Starz are able to create. That studio is full of top notch talent and I was so thrilled to be able to work among them! This project was one to be proud of for sure!

More CNE Photos

First of all, there were honey bees in the Farm building. The Queen has a dot on her back. This photo is a bit blurry and the bees were behind glass.

There was a petting zoo featuring a Yak who apparently acted in the latest "Mummy" film. His name is Kang. I think Yaks are great! Bos Grunnies! (actually Bos Grunniens, but Bos Grunnies sounds cuter!)

My son couldn't believe how cuddly the sheep were! I think he could've taken a nap on one right there!

Of course there were alpacas too!

Here's an interesting ride...a dragon roller coaster!

Kent and Maeve shared a car on the "Speedway" ride


And they also shared a cotton candy! Kent was going to try a blue apple, but we couldn't find them! The ones I photographed were gone! I guess that's a good sign!

Here's some footage of the kids on a carousel!

Weird Stuff at the CNE

First of all...BLUE Candy Apples. I didn't want to even try one, no sir! This shade of blue isn't normally something I'd associate with food!

Someone in a Chicken Costume walking around. I think it was a promotion for Maple Leaf farms....but I'm not sure.
A Money Bear!? When I was a kid, we usually wanted a big fluffy cute teddy bear to be won for us....but what kid is going to want to snuggle up to a non-fluffy bear with money printed all over it? I don't think I wanna know!

Sadly, I think the Money Bear is much cuter than the giant Barney the Dinosaur toy hanging by its Achilles' tendon next to it.

My Cute Kitty

My Lilies Are Blooming

I am a fan of Lilies. I think they are some of the most beautiful flowers in existence. These are my Stargazer Lilies which I have to protect from the wretched Red Lily Beetle. They are EVIL! They are found each spring crawling around the base of the young lily stems. You have to grab the evil creature and CRUSH it. I throw it onto the driveway and step on it. Once they've laid eggs you're in BIG trouble. They defoliate the lilies and they die. You have to be very vigilant and kill the bugs every spring. Luckily, they don't appear to be the least bit interested in Daylilies. Only Asiatic or Oriental Lilies.

Here are some of my beautiful Daylilies:







Someday I'll have even more varieties, but these are all I have right now.

Crocheted Coral

There! I finished my contribution to the Sidney Reef Hyperbolic Crochet Coral exhibit. Now I have to mail them off to Australia:

The whitish one is made of plastic shopping bags, the blue and green is from leftover acrylic yarn from a bedspread I made and the brown one is made from 100% cotton yarn from the "discontinued" section in the basement of Romni Wools (on Queen Street West...GREAT STORE!)
I love the technique used on the brown one. I'm going to use it to make other things now.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Just another reminder of what our plastic and crap does to the environment.