Nickelodeon madness

I've feel like the brunt of work outside of work these past couple of weeks have been entirely centered on one Animation studio... and for good reason.

BAMM! Korra has a FACE!!!
(Is she waterbending and firebending to hint at Zutara? =P)

But seriously, folks.. I'm pumped for this spin-off series. Lots of news releases about it came out this past week, consisting of that awesome picture, a series voice cast list (including "Juno"s JK Simmons and "The Last Airbender"s only excuse for good acting, Seychelle Gabrielle), and the fact that Mike & Bryan have already been ok'd to do 14 more episodes after their initial 12. Yayz! The bad news? "Korra" won't be airing until mid-2012 now. Meh, no rush for great art!

In other Nickelodeon related news, I put a little bit of my artistic-professional self out there for them. The Nick Writing Fellowship application was due at the end of February, and I wrote a 30 page spec script (my first attempt at writing a screenplay ever!) in a month, just in time to send it out via FedEx to Nick headquarters. If I get the gig, I'll get to shadow Nick Writers for various TV shows - both Live Action and Animation - and learn the business of screenwriting for an entire year. =D

Of course, they only accept a few people among thousands... but I'm crossing my fingers. I also applied for the Nickelodeon internship this summer, and sent out a portfolio application for Nickelodeon's first Artist Fellowship - where people can shadow storyboarders and character artists who work in various animated shows! The odds for getting any of these are pretty slim, but it's such a great (nerve-wrecking) feeling when you know people will be seeing your work. I need this for the big animation world out there.

I'm gonna take a break from applications and get back to drawing every day, as well as focusing on my college classes! I'm taking Acting for Animators and Art in Cultural Context this semester, which is a nice break from the drawing intensive courses I've had in the past. Personally, I don't feel like I get enough out of online drawing classes, so I'll be looking forward to those in the Fall.

In a more serious note, I want to ask people to donate and help with the devastating events that have recently occurred in Japan. There was a tsunami, with an earthquake that was said to be the deadliest in Japanese history, and reports are coming in saying that it shifted the entire country 8 feet, and moved the entire planet 4 degrees out of its axis. This is scary, and it's the natural disaster that wakes us up into vulnerability, to realize that none of us are born lucky. I definitely felt vulnerable when Chicago was hit with a power-breaking blizzard back in February. Think about what happened in Haiti. Donate to the Red Cross. Do what you can to help the ones who can't help themselves right now.