Contest Winner and VFX

My first contest is done and I am happy to announce that the lucky winner is Rachel Flesher!

She'll be receiving a set of my Metallic Dragon Hatchlings and a set of Chromatic Dragon Hatchlings along with a full set of each of my bookmarks!  Congratulations to Rachel!

I'd like to thank everyone who took time to enter the contest and shared it along with my etsy page and Stormwolf Studios' Facebook page.  I am not sure if and when my next contest will be, but of course, I will let you all know as soon as it comes up.  (Maybe if I hit 200 likes on my Facebook page?)

In other news, I've been blindsided by the disheartening situation of the VFX community in California.  I had no idea what had been going on with there with the companies, in particular, the bankruptcy of Rhythm & Hues.  Over 10 years ago, I had gone out to California to try and get a job in the animation industry.  It didn't work out for a number of reasons that I won't go into here, but through my friend (the very talented Steve Lowtwait), I was introduced to a person that worked at Rhythm & Hues.  At the time the company was only known for the first polar bear commercials for the Coke company but later they won some big awards, including an Oscar for their work on Babe.  At the time, such visual effects and computer animation was marveled at.  The people who worked to create the magic on screen were considered artists and wizards.  Over time though, as people wanted things better, faster and cheaper, the artists were called 'technicians', no longer having the mystery woven around their skills.  The great visuals were expected and demanded, but the desire to pay for it did not grow as well.

I won't go into all the reasons that the VFX community is in trouble financially.  There are many articles out there on it that give a rather comprehensive idea of the situation.  But all of this apparently culminated at this year's Oscar event where Life of Pi, a film that could only exist with the skills of the visual effects people, won for just that and earned an award for best Cinematography (which many find a bit unfair considering most of the shots were not real and were done with visual effects) and for Best Director.  Neither the Cinematographer nor the Director gave any thanks to the company that worked so hard to make the amazing visuals of Life of Pi come to life.  That company was Rhythm & Hues and while the people in a tux got to glow in the spotlight, many of the employees of that company were sitting home out of work - unless they were on the street across from the theater, protesting.  The gentleman that accepted the award for best Visual Effects did try to bring attention to Rhythm & Hues, but was played off by the Jaws theme and then his mic was cut off. 

I believe it was what happened at the Oscars that sent the VFX community into overdrive to draw attention to their situation.

 Now, many people have fought the wave of support for the VFX people saying that, "This is just the way things are." or that all of this is due to mismanagement of funds etc.  I have read enough to understand that this is not just a situation of mismanagement of funds.  Take a look at this post: http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1969o6/more_than_400_vfx_artists_protest_at_the_oscars/c8l8eg8

The other part about "this is just the way things are", to me, is a joke.  Or the idea of, "this is how it is, if you don't like it, do something else.'  Is that how we do things here in America?  We don't like things so we just eat it?  Well, good thing people didn't look at candles as a way to light a room and decide, "that's just the way it is" or else we wouldn't have light bulbs!  Part of the outcry is to draw attention to the problem and then begin getting courses of action to make a change.  We can't live in a world of acceptance or else nothing changes and we never move forward. 


On top of all of this, for me, is the greater issue that artists are not respected in general.  People have a problem, it seems, in paying an artist for their work, whether that artist is a graphic designer, a guitarist in a band, or a writer creating a novel.  There is an idea that such things are not worth a high price, or very much at all - especially when so many people feel that they could get it cheaper somewhere else (and sadly, because artists undervalue themselves, this holds true often).  In no other industry to I find such an attitude.  Art, in whatever form it takes, is a skill set.  Yes, artists do the work because it is a joy and a passion for them, but that doesn't mean they don't have a mortgage, bills and a family to feed. 

At conventions, I was often told I was charging too much for my work even though I was only charging about $20 for a full color image.

Baseball players 'love the game' but they are paid insane amounts of money to play professionally.  No one says, "Hey, listen, I need an outfielder...  You won't get paid, but it will be really good exposure for you and you'll get some experience."  I can't imagine that conversation EVER taking place in the Yankee clubhouse.  Yet, that same conversation will happen with artists all over the world. 

I personally have been underpaid, undervalued and offered the 'experience and exposure' as pay.  And the person looks at you as if they are doing you a favor.

So, yes, the VFX community is having a situation where they are being severely undervalued, but it is symptomatic of a greater issue with artists and those that want those skills.  Perhaps by drawing attention to it, we can start shining a light on the situation. 

Pay the writer!  Pay the artist!  Pay the musician! 

They work hard doing what they love!  Don't penalize them for it.

100 Likes = Contest!

After my last posting, through some amazing support from friends and family, my likes on Facebook jumped up to 100!  It was such a great feeling seeing people urge their friends to check out my art and jewelry and connect to Stormwolf Studios.  I can't express my gratitude enough...

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try!

So... In that spirit I'm holding a contest!  My very first one so please forgive me if its a bit rough around the edges.  I'm using Rafflecopter as a template for this since I've never done anything like this and needed a bit of help in trying to set it up.

Its pretty simple but I'm sure you guys want to know what the prize is...   In the raffle it is listed just as "An Awesome Prize" but I'll let you in on a little secret, its this:

You will win a set of my Chromatic Dragon Hatchlings, a set of my Metallic Dragon Hatchlings and a full set of my bookmarks!  If you aren't sure what these all look like, you can see them on my Etsy site at http://www.etsy.com/shop/StormwolfStudios.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest will run from February 5th to the 28th.

So I hope you'll enter and try for your chance at this prize and let others know about it too!  On the 28th, the winner will be announced and shortly after, their prize shipped out to them.

Keep in mind I have extended my no shipping cost holiday sale till February 14th (Valentine's Day) so if you're looking for something for your special loved one, now is a great time to check out my shop for a great piece of jewelry or for a print for them to hang on the wall!

Good luck to everyone and please let me know what you think of the idea of the raffle?  If it goes well, more may come along.

Thank you again to everyone for all your support and I wish you luck!