I have been writing in various forums for some time now and it has become quite clear to me that such time is wasted. People are not interested in the truth. People are interested in validating what they already believe. I have travelled extensively around Asia and been to some amazing locations one can scarcely imagine. Try to tell people about such places, though, against their already biased opinions of country, and it seems to matter very little.

The mass media infects people with ideas, whether they be true or not, that are difficult to get out of their heads. Even when those same media outlets retract their negative stories, or they are proven to be outright fabrications, the damage has already been done. Those who wish to believe the original negative story will continue to do so. They would rather follow sensationalist hype rather than listen to the experience of someone on the ground, who has been there. All the writing in forums, even with pictures, is never going to change that.

When I first began to travel, I was astonished at some of the things I encountered. The places I visited were nothing like what I had seen on the TV. It's no secret that western television shows, movies and news almost always depict the worst aspects of other countries, showing only their poverty, strife and crime. They rarely show anything positive, and certainly never sho these places at their best. This still persists to this day. I remember watching an episode of Smallville, where the characters were supposed to be in Shanghai, one of the most advanced, modern cities in the world, and they showed it more akin to a 100 year old village. I won't even get into the Sho Kosugi movie, Revenge of the Ninja, which opens with the text "Tokyo, Japan" while depicting green fields and wooden huts.

There really is only one way to counter this. That is to show a new image through art. It won't happen writing in forums and arguing the points with people there. One has to create something. That is what I hope to do. What I have to say, I will say here. What I have to show, I will show right here. Those who come here and read may find something new and counter to the information often presented out there. I am no longer, however, going to chase people down and try to show them what's out there. Those who wish to follow and validate their outmoded beliefs will continue to do so regardless of where I meet them. Those who wish to see another picture may find it here.



In my next project, I will begin to show some of the things I have experienced, and present some of the images I have seen. I want to show the character and heart of the people and places I have visited and lived. Animation is a great way to do that. Even with my current project, Paragon, which is undergoing some change at the moment, some of these ideas may be injected into it, because they are so close to me. As much as I like to write, I feel it serves so little purpose, and from now on will only so so here. I welcome those who continue to read.

I am finally back in Shanghai, having left that world of adventure to return to the "real world". I must ask, however, what is so real about it? What has made us accept this mode of living is the one correct way? Well, of course, all of us haven't. There are people who spend their lives outdoors, shun computers and connect with people face to face rather than on Facebook. Regardless, I have seen many modes of living, during my journey, and now I am back in what has, for me, been most normal.

Back in the office, I can begin to think about the next steps, and here I will try to give you a rundown of some of the things I am contemplating, and some of the motions I intend to make. The first on that list is Paragon. New technology has made it possible to achieve an even higher quality that I originally envisioned for this show. That technology is Poser Pro 2012. The new innovations in this software will bring a lot to the table. Those following the Paragon production blog will so more on that as it develops.

The budget for this show, through the crowd funding website, did not reach where I had hoped, but that is not going to stop this production by any means. I have always said you don't need millions of dollars or major studio backing, and I am going to continue to prove this to be true, producing the best show that can be done with the available resources. It does mean I will have to intersperse its creation with other projects and time in the office, but doesn't that seem to be the way labors of love always work out? Either way, there are no limits today, only time.

There certainly are no limits when it comes to technology, and that brings me to my next issue. As you well know, the iPad started something of a tablet revolution and now every major electronics manufacturer has some form of tablet based product. Among those, that majority of which are very similar to the Apple model, are a couple which sport pressure sensitive pens, much like the Wacom tablets or Tablet PCs of old. You may remember the days when I was constantly drawing on my "Mirage Nomad" Tablet PC. Even though these modern tablets are underpowered compared to todays desktops and laptops, I suspect they might perform well against that older computer, and I want to put this to the test.

Originally, I had my sights set on a new Tablet PC, of which there are few choices left in today's iPad market. That is to say, real Tablet PCs which run real Windows and are fully powered computers are few and far between. They also remain a bit on the expensive side. That may not be an issue, though, since I have been seeing reports everywhere of artists adapting these new, lighter, mobile tablets for drawing and producing great art on them. So I am thinking about trying a different path for 2D work. I will try one of these newer tablets, albeit one which comes with a pen, rather than add a third party device. It is my hope that, while I am sure this is only the beginning of the tablet revolution, we will see these things increase in power and ability such that artists will finally have a dream tool to work on, something easier to carry than a laptop, but more favorable for drawing and painting anywhere.

So what exactly will I be drawing on this tablet? Well, that gets into future projects, not the least of which will involve the things I have seen and experienced during my travels. The ideas and inspirations which have come to me as a result of my journey must be put to the screen. Of course, this will take time, but I am excited at all the new possibilities. On one hand, I honestly feel that something was lost upon my return to so-called "normal life". Still, I know there is a lot to be gained in getting down to some serious production and creating new things.

I stood in a village, high among the clouds, and wondered what life was really about...

INSPIRATION PART II

I have always said that travel changes people. In recent years, though, I have been doing it so much that the strength of these effects may have been lost on me. Still, I found, last week, as I stood in this traditional mountain village, that the effects are still there, still profound, and can strike at anytime. Was I standing in a fantasy movie? Could any of this be real? The air and water were clean and pure. The people were traditional and simple. It was like I stepped into a long lost age where all the things that seemed so important in modern life simply didn't matter anymore. How do you cope with the questions that arise when you're faced with a new picture of what life could be? How do you deal with the feelings that well up when you realize there is so much more to life, people and the world? Well, this is all a part of what we call inspiration. If you're an artist like me, you draw it!

If there is one thing these experiences have given me, it is focus. I like to call it creative focus. I can see so clearly how to apply my skills for best results rather than dissipate them on too many endeavors. I can see more clearly what I must create, and that I must create to find any sort of fulfillment. Although there may be pockets of fulfillment in all corners of life, things must eventually narrow down to that one main goal, that one thing that you know is your task. When you have discovered it, this is the thing you must devote yourself to fully.

My time in this fantasy world, and in this unreal life, will soon come to an end. I will be back in Shanghai among the maze of great skyscrapers, video screens and gadgets in every hand. I will not, however, be the same person that walked those streets before. I am more focused, and with new goals in mind I will move forward, ever so determined to create more of what I should create, rather than being pushed and pulled by perceived market forces and outmoded ideas. I have talked to the people that have done it, and are doing it. They do exist. Perhaps now my life among the rigors of big city and back in the office will be the one that seems not real.

Thanks to all that I have learned, the motions made over the next few months will be big. You already know about Paragon, and some will follow its production, but there is so much more on the horizon. It will not, however, be rushed. Nothing will be. I have already made that mistake and will not repeat it. This blog may not be big enough to describe everything going through my mind these days. Projects big enough to do that are on the way.

I was having a discussion, recently, with a fine artist, here in Shanghai, about making a life from your own work. The idea that seemed to interest both of us was gaining the ability to earn one's living by their own hand, their own skill, and use one's time to do exactly what one wants to do. I actually know people who do this, some even in forms of art one would never expect could make such a life possible. I myself have done it. This makes me ask the question, what would you be willing to give up to make such a dream a reality?

The artist I was talking to does oil paintings and exhibits them in local galleries for potential sale. This is apparently a very difficult prospect and one can go a long time without making any money. He seems to have little interest in commercial art, and he shouldn't need to have such an interest. The question here is about doing what one really wants to do, after all.

I know an artist who does reproduction Greek and Roman pottery. From my background, I couldn't begin to understand how such a line of work could result in a living, but it does. One reason is because the artist was willing to make sacrifices to make such a living possible. I am not talking about living like pauper, certainly not forever. I am talking about making sacrifices to gain the time needed to build your name. Having done so, this pottery artist not only has loyal clients who buy her work, but was even commissioned to produce pieces for a couple of recent huge budget fantasy movies. Her sacrifices early on netted a tremendous gain in the long run. Would you do that?

So what about me? Those who have followed me at this site since its inception (it's been ten years now! Can You believe that?!) will know that I have done exactly what this article speaks of on more than one occasion. I began, pushed into by my layoff from Westwood Studios actually, with selling the DVDs of Understanding Chaos and Shadowskin from this website. Compared to working in a large game company, the income represented a drastic cut, but it was, or at least could have been, a living. I hadn't yet learned how to make the necessary sacrifices. I was still wasting money in the same fashion I did as a single guy, with no debt, and with a huge salary from a large game company.

I am, of course, older and wiser now. As the saying goes, if I knew then what I know now I could have made that early run build into something great. We live and learn, right? I followed up with some freelance and then the works for TOKYOPOP, which was still living mostly by my own hand and power, but not exactly doing what I wanted to do. In 2005, I returned to the world of full time employment in a studio, this time a Hollywood studio doing film VFX work.

Working in the studios lasted about 3 years, but luckily, in this case, about halfway through, I really began to build up my website, name and products with creations like Anigen, The Ultimate Model Bundle and others. When the writer's strike hit and the major decline in production, and thus jobs, hit, my site was already going again. Of course, it wasn't going well enough to live in an expensive city like L.A. This raised the question, how far would you be willing to go to make this work? For me, the answer was about 10,000 miles.

An old friend of mine had retired early from the company where he worked with a small pension. He also rented out the house he had in the U.S. His monthly income would barely cover the rent in the place I was staying in L.A., but he was living an amazing life of adventure in SE Asia. Most importantly, he didn't need to work, ever. Granted, he used his spare time mostly for World of Warcraft, but I saw different possibilities in what he had done. I began to really look into this. I found more stories, even one of a guy who began doing freelance online, for what might be considered peanuts in California, but it got him out of the rat race and over to Asia where he was happily living a dream life. I won't dare tell you what he started out with. Anyway, this had me convinced.

When the writer's strike hit, I had two choices. I could step into the unknown or stay where I was in California, where I knew exactly what was going to happen, and where I would be in the next five years. I chose to step into the unknown. I sold everything I had, got a laptop, and got on a plane. I made plenty of mistakes, to be sure, and I ran into some rough patches here and there, but in the three years since that decision, I have also been around The Philippines, Korea, and Japan, with no job, doing my own thing and having total freedom. The point is I did it. The question is how was I able to do it?

Well, back to my discussion with the fine artist in Shanghai. Shanghai is by no means a cheap city to live in. It really is not that different from L.A. and some parts can be even more expensive. Basically, it is not the place to do this. Believe it or not, there are places in the Philippines where one could really live on as little as $300 per month, if one is willing to make sacrifices. I am not talking about the room being $300. I mean all life. It can be done, and there are actually places even cheaper. The adventurous soul may find locations in India or Thailand where a life can be created for less. The goal to keep in mind, though, is that the purpose of such a measure is to build your name, build your website or other means of bringing in income by your own power. You have all your time to yourself and your work, not someone else's.

After spending months in such a place, I had built my website to where it was making as much as $3000 USD per month. That would be enough to live in most places in the US. The problem is, though, I needed time to get there. This time I would not have had were I spending all my days working for someone else while in the US. Only through the freedom gained by this choice, and having every single hour of my days mine to use as I chose, could I build my site up to that point.

So the fine artist asked me why I didn't stay there and continue to do that? Well, that is another story. Maybe I'll write a book.

Normally I would post something like this on my travel and adventure site, but that went down the same time as this site, and I don’t know that I ever want to get back into it again. I am trying to consolidate my efforts into one place and my work into one focused path. When I am not working, however, I love to travel, and last weekend, I went to The Shaolin Temple.

The story in the previous post is actually part of my travels in the Shaolin, which translates as small forest. It was some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen since I have been in China. That comes later, though. In the beginning, I was in the city in Henan, and we took a bus from there to the small forest, which is on a mountain. We continued on foot to the temple where after a quick introduction, we were presented with a martial arts demonstration.

After that we entered into the historical parts of the temple. A number of plaques explained the history of the temple, and the story of the monk from India who taught the basic precepts upon which the temple was founded. After entering, we were taken around numerous historical sites, some going back as far as 1400 years. There were large tombs for important monks from the temple’s history and many great statues of ancient gods and the Buddha. This was, overall, a great learning experience and, of course, a major inspiration for me. One of the greatest inspirations, though, came from the gorgeous scenery.

After taking the tram ride to the mountain top, we were met with some of the most amazing sites one could imagine. We walked along a very narrow trail cut into the mountain side, from where we could shoot photos of the gorgeous scenery. This gave me so many ideas for the kinds of beautiful settings I would like to create in my future works. I may even do a training video on creating such scenery in the very near future.

We traveled in a lonely tram car through the misty mountain. High above the landscape, we watched the clouds roll beneath us. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. We were experiencing real nature in all its glory. As we watched the people passing by in tram cars going the other way, we could only imagine what great sites they had seen. We got more excited about our destination.



Very quickly, the mist began to surround us. Visibility dropped dramatically. What was once distant fog, began to crowd right around our tram. There was a bit of tension in the car, but we continued on, automatically propelled along the cables to our destination. Before long, there was nothing. We couldn’t see anything outside our window. The cables gave no indication of where we came from or where we were going. They simply disappeared into the endless fog. We were beginning to get a bit nervous.

We talked nervously about what might lie ahead. No matter where we looked there was nothing more than a never ending grey. Finally we noticed the cars passing us on the other side, had no people in them!