Update Nov. 13

It's been a while folks- got a lot to post about.

First, my website-

http://nickpflug.com

Second, my demo reel-

http://vimeo.com/53095391

Third, walk cycles I've been working on-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlSXUN4GcQE&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fdUNu43-FI&feature=youtu.be

Last, a total of all animation done as of right now-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T33mkPnllqI&feature=youtu.be

As far as my timeline goes-

My goal is to have all of this line animation completely finished a week from today. What this will allow me to do is 1.) ensure that I will have a screenable piece by the end of the semester, a recquirement set for me by Jill, and 2.) will allow me to spend the rest of the semester refining the animation and coloring it in. As far as the whole animation goes (not dealing with the semester) I want to have all animation refined and colored in by December 31.

Add another 50 hours, bringing my total to 133 hours.

Running Pony Cover Letter

I'm applying for the spring internship, so I figured I'd change my first cover letter from Disney to them, just so I can feel out where I need to take my other ones. Here's a copy of it I sent to Carrie-

Dear Mr. Abart,

            As a senior animation student at Memphis College of Art, I’m very interested in your spring 2013 internship position at Running Pony Productions. I have worked with AfterEffects, ToonBoom, Maya, and live-action film, and I believe my education has given me the right tools for whatever job you need an intern to do. Also, I have worked on two freelance design jobs, solidifying my design sense and giving me the knowledge I need to work with a client. With the skill set I’ve developed, I feel I am a very strong candidate for Running Pony’s internship.

            My education at MCA has prepared me well for the workforce, having worked with a variety of programs that not only increased my program fluency, but also gave me the ability to be flexible and efficient in my program use. Animation is my passion, and last semester I was elected to be the Animation Club’s president. This has been invaluable, because it has given me the opportunity to be a leader in my community, while working with other team members to orchestrate events for the school. I’ve also taken a variety of design classes, ranging from two-dimensional to web, constantly refining my aesthetic sense.

In addition, I’ve had two opportunities to flex my design muscle in the professional world as well, working for Lakeview Regional Hospital’s cycling team in Covington, Louisiana and Cynthia Kehoe, a professional photographer working out of New Orleans. These two jobs allowed me to push myself aesthetically while working within client-driven boundaries, which was an invaluable experience. I receive criticism extremely well, and I strive to deliver the best product I can. I learn quickly and, more importantly, am excited to learn from you. All of these things enforce how ideal I am for your spring internship.

            If you are looking for an intern that can contribute to your company’s production and learn everything you have to teach and apply it, then please contact me. My portfolio can be reviewed at nickpflug.com, and I encourage you to see exactly why I’m such a strong candidate. Thank you for your time and consideration- I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Nick Pflug

             

Update Oct.23

 Finally caught back up, will have all of the still shots made by Thursday. Gonna let the work speak for itself. I worked a ton since last Thursday to today, so I'm adding another 32 hours of work to my total bringing the total to 83 hours.

update Oct. 18

First, my Resume.

Nicolas Pflug

77229 Highway 1082

Covington, LA 70435

(985)264-6533

nicolaspflug@yahoo.com

nickpflug.com

 Objective: A full-time position as a 2D character animator in a 2D animation studio.

______________________________________________________________

Education

Memphis College of Art

B.F.A Animation- 3.48

Expected Graduation Date- May 2013

2009- present 

Dean’s List: 2010- present

Software Knowledge 

ToonBoom Animate Pro

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro

After Effects

Autodesk Maya

Final Cut Pro

After Effects

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Dreamweaver

iMovie

Microsoft Office Suite

Technical Skills

Hand-drawn animation

2D character rigging

Illustrative storyboard

3D animation

3D modeling and rendering

HTML and CSS proficient

Understanding of three-act structure

Compositing and editing

Lighting, shooting, and directing live- action film

Work Experience

2012- Web Design

         cynthiakehoe.com

         A portfolio website for a New Orleans based photographer.

         

2012- Graphic Design

         Jersey design fo Lakeview Regional Hospital's cycling team.

2011-2012- Give Back Program

         Assisted the non-profit organization Literacy Midsouth with event planning and Illustration.

2007-2012-  Waiter, Food Runner

                  Trey Yuen, Mandeville, La.

                  Worked in a customer-oriented position, with a focus on teamwork between staff.   

Leadership Positions/ Awards

2012- Animation Club President

         Memphis College of Art

2011- "Most Accomplished Undergrad Animation Student" Award.

          Presented by Prof. Meredith Root.

          Memphis College of Art

2009- Awarded Eagle Scout Position in the Boy Scouts of America

Shows

2011- Indie Memphis Film Festival

         "A Peaceful Afternoon" chosen for the show.

2011- Indie Memphis Student Shorts Film Festival

         "A Peaceful Afternoon" chosen for the show.

 I just finished getting feedback on it from Carrie and will have a finished one put to bed by Tuesday.

Also, I am in the process of finishing up my backgrounds in glorious (booming voice) HD. Here are the works in progress and will have them all finished by the end of the day.

Oct. 9

It's been a long while since updates, but here are my character backgrounds for my piece. By next Thursday I'll have all of the still, simple parts of my animation roughed out and in comp in order to gauge where I need to add, remove, and move around details in the background.

Considering the amount of work, it took a grand total of 19 hours, bringing my grand total to 51 hours.

Whoa, SUPER SECRET FILES AND STUFF.

So, um, here's the first sketch of the Hotdog Wizard. He's kinda cute.

Artist Inspiration: Zac Gorman and Louie Zong

As an artist and an animator, I'm constantly drawn to other artists' work. It's only natural I draw inspiration from the pieces I like, and experiment with my own work using the techniques used in those pieces I enjoy the most.

I feel like many times, animators forget about where we started as a medium- animation was, in the beginning, moving illustration. The first animators were illustrators. In my own work, I want to create living illustrations, treating each frame as it's own piece.  My goal as an artist is to tell stories, and Illustration, the original visual storyteller, influences me greatly.

Recently, there have been two illustrators (of the many that I follow) that I've been watching and drawing inspiration from, and I want to spend this post talking about what it is about each that I react to.

Zac Gorman

Zac Gorman freelances mostly, but has recently received commercial success on the internet for illustrations that play off the nostalgia of people in my generation growing up with video games. Often, his personal work reflects both his adult problems and his child-like memories of playing games that affected him personally.

What draws me to Gorman as an illustrator is two things: 

1.) I strongly relate to the subject matter. This is a feeling I want to evoke in my audience- sure, they might not necessarily relate to a wizard who can create hot dogs, but if I can suffuse that character with human emotion and place him in a situation where we can relate to him, I'll draw my audience in.

2.) The line quality in his pieces is very calculated, yet loose, creating a texture to his pieces without falling into chaos. That, coupled with an incredible sense of color and composition, he creates work that feels alive. As an artist, I want to create work like this- if even my stills feel alive, then I can rest assured that when the piece eventually moves it will a pleasure to watch, aesthetically.

Plus, he's a cool dude.

Louie Zong

I'm attracted to Louie Zong's personal work mainly because of how it's made- every day he creates a new image, while constantly experimenting with textures and line quality. The looseness of those pieces, like Gorman, helps bring the pieces to life. Also, like Gorman, Zong has a wonderful understanding of color and composition, and many of the works he creates are very creative and interesting. He's a great artist to look at whenever  the creative juices are running low because he's a great example about how to force yourself into creativity.