So, now that Animation Mentor is over for me, I believe it's time to retire my icon which I used there for a year and a half. I regret to say things have been so busy for me in the last month that I completely fell off the AM bandwagon. Things are starting to fall into place though, and I'll continue to use the logo on the AM alumni site, but I'm removing it from the blog sidebar to leave room for other artwork squares.
Retiring it is somewhat of an inside joke with friends who have been encouraging me to draw a newer, less creepy one. ;) It's on its way I guess.
Now for the much anticipated update regarding the Game Developers Conference.
It's pretty safe to say finally that Naveen has been hired as a software gaming engineer for WMS Gaming. We're very excited about this - it's been an amazing ride since GDC. I promised an update and there is much more I could blabber on about, but I can tell you that the obvious highlight was Naveen getting hired on the spot at the career fair at the conference. He is ecstatic about working with the team there on some really cool projects. They were completely open with him about whether he wanted to start immediately or finish school, and although the temptation of starting right away was strong, it made a lot of sense to decide to finish school and move back north from Florida permanently this summer. The weather is great but let's face it, it hasn't been the most pleasant experience for us. Midwest living will be great since we'll be fully moved in by the time we're married, and our new home will be only an hour or so from the ceremony site. There are lots of other advantages too, of course, including being much closer to family and friends than we anticipated (considering a potential move out west, etc).
Naveen is now knee-deep in project work for his final months at Full Sail, and we've begun apartment hunting. As for me, I'm knee-deep in wedding plans (we're about 158 days out, holy cow!), but I really look forward to finding a good animation opportunity in the commercial/game industry up there. It's definitely that time, and although art direction and graphic design has been great for building professional experience, I'm definitely feeling that call toward animation more and more.
We'll keep you posted on things. Best wishes to you and let me know how you're doing.
