Sorry for the wait. Stay tuned. Big things on the horizon!

It took a few years, but I have officially joined YouTube’s esteemed “1 Million Views” club!

Watching this video slowly grow in popularity (and hatred) over the course of it’s web life has taught me so much about viral campaigns over the internet & about the composition, itself. I hope to build off the success of this video & help translate it to my original music!

In honor of this momentous occasion, I’m going to finalize the edit for this animation (as this was only a pre-render playblast), fix the sound (which is definitely annoying, in places), and give this animation the proper treatment it deserves!

Do you have any ideas for the final version of this piece? The animation itself can’t be altered at this point (I’ve lost the source files but do still have the final completed render), but cuts can be made & certainly sound can be re-worked.

Let me know via the video or hit me with a comment below! ..and, yes, I’m aware that Mario’s sideburns look like a certain portion of the male anatomy

Today is a day of supreme accomplishment, as I helped push out The Open Clip Art Library’s latest 2.5 Release! Throughout July-August, I had been working behind the scenes, utilizing Bassel Safadi’s excellent Aiki Framework Platform, in order to deliver an exciting new feature to OCAL’s home page: An Activities Section!

During the past few Open Clip Art Iterations, we instantiated a few new features and incentives (like the Themed Clip Art Package Releases), but we had been having trouble notifying the artists that these activities were taking place. After some brainstorming, the Fabricatorz came up with the idea for headlines on the front page. I was in charge of the design and implementation of this new Section, which we hope will make giant leaps in the direction of greater OCAL Community involvement. The goal is to keep an updated list of current and recent goings-on in the OCAL Universe.

I’ve also written articles on WorldLabel and Fabricatorz further detailing the Official Press Release.

More Fabricatorz work has come in the form of Avatar Updates. I’ve created shiny new avatars for nearly every member of our Fabricatorz Team! Most recent additions include Barry Threw and Christopher Adams:

Be sure to have a look at the new OCAL Features, and let me know what you think. More updates to follow!

My work with The Open Clip Art Library continues to flourish this month. I designed and implemented the new Activities section that can be seen, front-and-center, on the home page of OCAL.

The Activities Section will alert users of the Community to the newest incentives for content. Contests and Community-created Packages are just some of the events visitors can expect to come across.

The newest incentive comes in the form of a new Themed Clip Art Package. Everyone should upload some Fall 2010 content for next months OCAL 2.5 Release!

We are also planning on putting together a larger Holiday Package for Halloween 2010 at the end of September, so be sure to tag “halloween2010″ work through the end of September.

Check out the Fabricatorz post for more info!

Through my work with Fabricatorz, I have become actively involved in The Open Clip Art Library. Many of my responsibilities have included leading and spreading Community-driven incentives, like the recent Themed Package Releases and the just-announced FCRC Logo Design Contest winner.

Yesterday, I helped launch Version 2.4 of OCAL! Several new updates set this release apart from it’s contemporaries. Firstly, the RSS Feed that features the latest uploads from the Community now displays the images, along with the information they hold. It’s incredible to see the newest additions to OCAL in a steady feed that can be included in your own personal streams!

Another addition to the 2.4 Release is the inclusion of a new themed package of content. The Sports 2010 Package contains original and recent uploads from the OCAL Community. I have contributed several works to this collection of over 75 unique images. Per OCAL standard, all works in the Package are free to use for any purpose, commercial or otherwise.

Another notable element to this OCAL release include colleague Bassel Safadi’s upgrade of his Aiki Framework (the platform that enables OCAL to function) to Version 0.35! Speed and usability continue to drive the progress of the fast-rising Framework, as it adds a few new sites to it’s portfolio, including Sharism and Open Colour.

Congrats to Bassel, the Fabricatorz Team, and the Open Clip Art Librarians on a solid August Release!

A few months ago, my ideas were organized, through a conversation with a longtime friend, into a very distinct direction. We came up with this notion of a Road and how each person’s life is linked by this journey. I’ve spent much of my creative life trying to reconcile my childhood and adolescence, and this felt like the perfect idea to finally speak truthfully on this subject.

Since that conversation, song snippets have begun flooding my mind! I’ve started sketching them out & posting them on my YouTube channel as song sketchbook entries.

I’ve added a new demo to the ever-increasing list of potentials, and this one is going to end up as the title track for the record. Please have a listen, and let me know what you think of the beginnings of “The Road”!

During the contest, I was tasked with the duties of spreading the word. Beginning, I created an official press release that called for submissions. Next, I was asked to style and fill the official announcement page on OCAL’s main site with content.

Submissions were trickling in, but the floodgates didn’t fully open until a link was placed on the home page of the Library. As the contest drew to a close, we had received over 240 submissions!

After a 2 week judging process, hank0071 was announced as the winner of the contest! The heading graphic of this entry is the winning selection.

Up next for my work at OCAL, I’ll be organizing the new 2.4 Release, in which we’ll be included a Sports-themed clip art collection. Make sure to contribute your sports clipart, and tag it appropriately (sports2010). I’ve been surprised and encouraged by the turnout of this contest, and I’m very much looking forward to future Open Clip Art Library Community Contests!

It’s this feeling that each page is written with the deepest conviction and desire to convey a larger concept and/or belief system to an audience that has enveloped my conscious mind, while greedily plowing through stacks of fictional tomes.

“It’s a long walk back to Eden, dear, so don’t sweat the small stuff.” – Insomnia

This month in Open Clip Art Library events, I’m in charge of organizing the next package release. In previous 2010 releases, the new original works have all dealt with Seasonal themes. For this new batch (to be released on Monday, August 2nd), however, the Community have agreed upon a game-changing Sports theme!

Work within the Community has already begun, so if you’d like to contribute to this new release, please register and upload any original work to OCAL by Sunday, August 1st.

Have a look at our Fabricatorz blog post for more detailed info!

In 2010, I have been actively involved in promoting the expansion and development of The Open Clip Art Library. I believe some key things are being set in place to exponentially increase the potential of this platform. Last month, the Spring 2010 Release set a new precedence, by incorporating a themed clip art package.

This month sees the arrival of The Open Clip Art Library: Version 2.3. This release continues building off of the last release, by including a Summer 2010 Clip Art Package. Version 2.3 also expands on it’s predecessor by adding a fresh Logo Design Contest into the mix.

The inclusion of these new elements are a great start toward really encouraging users of OCAL to register and contribute original works.

To learn more about Open Clip Art Library: Version 2.3, head over to the public wiki to read the latest official announcement.