A Year in Review

Well, I've been seeing a lot of these kinds of posts on other blogs that I've been subscribed to in my Reader and I thought, "Hey, why not do one for mine?". So here I am, reflecting on some of the highlights of the year and some of the things that maybe I didn't live up to.

1. Probably the biggest thing I've done this year was the creation of this blog. It doesn't seem like all that long ago, but wow, I created it way back at the end of February. Currently it's gained around 3,200 hits. I started off the blog really strong, posting nearly every day for 3 whole months. Things slowed down quite a bit however when I moved and was put into a different situation that I was before, making it harder for me to focus a lot of my time on the blog. I think this blog was probably one of the best decisions I've made for claymation related stuff and for sharing what I know and do.

2. I've learned massive amounts of information. The blog allowed me to learn a lot by needing to go out and research stuff. I've been made aware of so many more animated videos out there as well as different techniques and things to make better animations. I guess you could say that just learning about clay animation stuff is a hobby of mine. All I need to do is put some of that stuff I know to practice.

3. I've created enough projects to keep me busy for a long time. I have two websites I'd like to complete, one is just a remodel of Kramer Klaymation and the other is a site aimed at helping people learn more about clay animation. The latter will take a while to create since there are plenty of variables to think about as well as resources to find and create. I also started more work on a short I hope to do sometime called "The Hole". I was able to do some concept art, as well as some of a CG animatic in preparation for it. I would like the project to be a way to create a decent and plausible animation. I also had another idea for a stop motion that I wanted to do, but I don't think I'll be able to get that done. Maybe I can make it smaller and still do some of it. I hope to complete these projects by the end of next year, but we'll see if it happens or not.

4. I was able to do a series of short practice animations in the summer. They were a good way to put to practice some of the things I've learned and have some fun. I learned that timing really is key, and if you time things, animating in 24 fps isn't hard to do at all. I hope to be able to do another series sometime.

5. Relaxed and slacked off. Towards the end of this year, I left this blog and my ideas alone for a while. It was nice just to relax and not think about these things for a while. Hopefully I can get back into things sometime soon and finish some of the projects I hope to complete.


Well, that's probably it for the things that stick out to me. It's been a pretty good year, and a fast one at that. I want to thank all 3,200 visitors, whether they're repeated ones or not, for coming and encouraging me to keep posting information. Hopefully I'll be able to make this next one even better, even if it's in a different way, and accomplish as much as I did this past one.