Building the Team

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I remember as a kid, sitting down and watching Saturday morning cartoons and Disney’s Silly Symphonies among other, religiously all the time, every day.  I was fascinated how amazing everything looked from the painted background to how the characters moved realistically.  Of course, being a kid you don’t realize how much effort and time is put into creating an animation.  One day, years later when I was a teenager, I realized what makes me happy.  It was the art of animation and the process of creating it.  Recently, I found that love again and now finally “Building the Team” for my very own studio.  I’m not just looking for people to DO it, but people who can contribute and bring something to the table.  I do have a vision, buy I can’t do it myself.  Hey, not even Disney did everything himself.

Animation is a lengthy process and takes time.  It has steps.  Which is why, I’m taking things step by step making sure nothing gets missed.  The first step in the animation process is the story and Story Artists or Storyboard Artists.  These are people who can tell a story with pictures, no words.  I’m not only looking for great art, but storytellers who can entertain.  Know how to tell a story.  Originally storyboards were done by drawing on what looks like flashcards which were then pinned to a wall in order from beginning to end, showing the entire animation as individual pictures.  However, we’re in the digital age where everything is done on the computer.  This is the preferred way I’d like the boards created.  They’re easier to follow along and create the animatics.

If your interested in creating storyboards with me and serious, please go to the career page and fill out the info.  If you have a link to storyboards or animatics you’ve already created, please add that too, when filling out the info.

You may be wondering why I gave you simple explanations on what storyboarding is.  Yes, I am looking for people to help create my vision however, not everyone who reads this is an animator or even knows the process.  I want this blog to be entertaining for everybody while at the same time “building the team”.  Who says you can’t get down to business, and have fun too?

New FOCUS!

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First of all, let me say HAPPY NEW YEAR.  Last year will go down in history as…a MESS!  The last few years for me have been extremely difficult due to family deaths, sales dried up, me being diagnosed with MS and I can go on and on.  But one thing I’ve always done with things looking down and out is, learn from it and grow.  Last year was a bad year, for everybody.  But I’ve realized what’s important to me and I’m going to focusing on those things.

As I had mentioned, over the last few years I’ve been bombarded with a lot of personal issues.  It brought my attitude down and made me extremely stressed out and veer off the path of what I need and want to do.  I’m not talking about things like “they unfriended me” or my coffee was made wrong.  No no, I’m talking about some major life changing issues.  However I made a pact with myself, that I’m going to pick myself up, and kick some butt moving forward!  In order for me to do that, I have to go “back to basics”.

This year I have a few things lingering I have to work out from last year, but my chalk board is getting erased and I can start a new.  That’s where I’m going with the studio, staring a new.  I’m not erasing what I’ve already done and created, but moving forward and setting myself up and it for success.  I’m going back and rebuilding the groundwork for the studio and making sure it has a solid strong platform to stand on.  I’ll still be creating NEW ARToons for the store and a whole new line of art and creations for you to purchase and enjoy at home.  Since right now, this is the only way I can fund the studio, is by sales on balkestudiosart.com.

This blog is about new beginnings, starting over, building that foundation, showing and telling you who I am and who the studio is.  What our goals are and where I came from.  You don’t know who our characters are or who the main six are.  That’s my fault, I never formally introduced you.  But I’m going to change that.  I have a NEW line of weekly comic strips coming up starting in the Spring with ALL NEW stories.  Thanks to Storm Kids Comics (Storm King Productions), we just released our first one shot Halloween comic last year and now working on the second.  Animations are in the works but that is a very expensive process and it’s taking a little longer than expected.  But I don’t get up.  I’m not a quitter!  I accept that challenge.

2021 is all about NEW and moving forward.  New in a lot of ways.  I’m not looking back, only forward.  I think that’s some of the best advise for all of us.  To keep moving forward, but not to remember the mistakes, from the past (so we don’t make them again).

Every Friday right here, I’ll be posting a new blog on this page.  I do hope you join me.  Some blogs may be short, some long, it just depends.  But here you’ll get exclusive INTRODUCTIONS to the characters of Jeff Balke Studios and SO much more.