Keith Andersen.com

I’m going to attempt CGSociety Challenge XXIV – Secret Agent. I have yet to have been able to complete a challenge but I have renewed vigor in 3D. Whether or not that means I can complete it, god only knows. Although currently I haven’t posted anything you can follow my CG Society thread at: http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?threadid=775619.

As you can tell my efforts of maintaining a blog are failing miserably. I just never seem to have the moments to write. I’ve had several directions I wished to take this but all have been squashed before making it to the page.

Big Buck Bunny from T.H. on Vimeo.

Oldie but goodie. This video is proof that it doesn’t take these big name, big ticket software packages to produce an exceptional piece. This video was created entirely with Open Source Software. A true testament to the efforts Open Source Software brings to playing field.

Pixar has done it again.

The dog is the best.

GREED from Alli Sadegiani on Vimeo.

There will come a day, perhaps when my kids are older, where I will get back into doing animation. I’ve been away doing web design for so long now it’s hard for me to get right back into it. For some time now I’ve been considering going to Animation Mentor to get me back in the swing of things. After looking through the site I came across this video done by a student. It seems to me to be a huge risk to do something of this scale for a class. I tried something like this during my BFA years and even without characters I only got about 1/2 way complete. I’m simply amazed at this students grasp of character animation. Just awesome. Kinda tempts me to get back rolling again… We’ll see.

I love finding videos with such great creativity. This is a fun video.

A new scene commissioned by a friend

Recently I posted some new and old pieces to my gallery.   Take a look at them.  I’ll post newer stuff as can complete it.

To view more of my DeviantArt gallery go to Wildekyote.DeviantArt.com

In my stumbling around looking for new and interesting things I came across this great site.  Protagonize.com is an online writers’ community dedicated to various forms of collaborative, interactive fiction. Once an author writes a story, others can post branches or chapters to that story in different directions.  With Protagonize.com you not only have the chance to choose in what direction the story goes but you can write it as you go as well.  Want hero dude to fight monster A rather than B?  Nothings stopping you from making that happen.

You don’t have to be an author to enjoy the community here – you can just read and enjoy the stories submitted by others. Stories offer an RSS feed, so you can follow your favorites in your PC’s feed reader or on any device that has an internet connection, like your mobile phone.

Check it out.

The US Orphan Works Act has seen it’s demise… or has it?

S. 2913: Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

The Orphan Works Act has a goal of reducing copyright infringement of so-called “orphaned” works as long as there was a “diligent” effort to locate the copyright owner. Orphaned creative works are those in which the copyright holder cannot be promptly located.

Many groups see this as a “problem” because the default response of many is to disregard copyrighted works unless they are definitively in the public domain, orphan works are often not made available to the public due to uncertainty over their ownership.

My question has always been why is not being able to use a piece of art, text, etc. a problem.  Without permission it is copyright infringement… period.  What is the effort involved in making a “diligent effort”? More often than not the passing of this act would encourage infringement by providing a safety net for large organizations, or any for that matter,  to reap benefits from material that they need not compansate the creator for.

Digital rights groups like Public Knowledge hailed the measure. The group said “it would restore much needed balance to copyright law.”

“Orphan works relief was vigorously opposed by visual artists… And while we have thought some of their concerns misguided, they did a fine job of organizing and getting their voices heard.”

That was the rueful conclusion Monday from the President of Public Knowledge. She was conducting a postmortem on her blog to explain why their last minute efforts to pass the Orphan Works Act failed last week. (more…)

Take Action: Don’t Let Congress Orphan Your Work

The next great work taken for others benefit may be your own.