Slowly I have been working on a redesign of NuShift.net which will be transformed into a better portfolio site than I had before. I've been trying to integrate this blog feed with the site design and have become successful, but the formatting is lost. I'll continue to work on it in my spare time.As for Robiety, I'm prepping shots for presenting. Minor cleanup and coloring a few extra shots to completion. Looking good so far.

Isn’t it funny how people are always trying to coin new terms for everything we do? I usually laugh at them and roll on, but this one hit home for me because it certainly fits what I do. I work for myself, making my living with writing, speaking and consulting. Some days I’m flying around the world to shoot photos and report on what I experience. Other days I’m workshifting from a train taking client calls while writing my next book. Digital Dads is a popular guys website I run, and Passion Hit TV is a successful web series I recently launched. On top of all of that, I usually have a handful of other ongoing projects as well. Calling myself "self-employed" would work, but it sells everything I do rather short. A solopreneur is defined as "an entrepreneur who works alone, running his or her business single-handedly." With technology allowing us to work with and for anyone in the world, this kind of work is growing every day. When you hire someone, there is a good chance you could be hiring someone like me. I love that instead of having to always travel to a client, we can jump into a GoToMeeting session anywhere and feel like we are together. This saves us both time and money and allows for greater productivity. Plus, it’s more reliable and professional than some other options. The trick to being a solopreneur is to make sure you block off times to be productive, because you’re the only one controlling your calendar. In my experience, it is far too easy to let a day run away from me with calls, meetings and other events. Lately, I’ve found it useful to schedule all my calls and meetings on two days each week and then set aside another as my content creation day. This is still a new work hack for me, but so far it has been highly productive and great for my sanity. Another trait of solopreneurs is that we are always looking for new ways to collaborate and get all of our work done effectively. If you have suggestions or tips, please share them so we can all learn!    Photo credit: CC Chapman

I took a lot of reference videos earlier this week with help from my sister and over this weekend finished up a couple shots tonight and inbetweened a few others. Trying to complete the first 20 animated shots pretty soon, compositing and adding effects along the way. Hoping to finish the inbetweens this week and color the remaining shots of the first quarter by week's end.

I usually save clean up for school because the Cintiqs are easier and more accurate for nice line quality as opposed to the Intuous. Rethinking a few shots that would be more interesting but haven't gotten any roughs I liked. Probably will shoot some reference or look in the mirror to get the angle I want. I need to start finishing up some quick backgrounds just so the movie looks more complete.I started reviewing sounds as well but it's not something I can passively do as I previously thought. Narrowing down the batch of files might be brainless, but figuring out where to place sounds and when is what will take an attentive mind.Hope to post some stuff up later this week with some "new" finished shots.

Today’s guest post is from Gihan Perera, a consultant, speaker and author who helps business professionals leverage their products, services and business practices - particularly with regard to their online strategy. He is also the author of the books Secrets of Internet Business Success and Webinar Smarts, among many others. Find out more at www.WebinarSmarts.com. I came across this comment recently on a blog post about online presentations: "While I’ve seen dozens of inspirational or motivational speeches, I can honestly say I’ve never attended a webinar that was anything better than ho-hum. Heck, I’d even settle for one that made me feel like it was time well spent." I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’ve never attended a good webinar, but I do agree with the commenter that - sadly - they are the exception, not the rule. But why should this be so? An online presentation - whether it’s a webinar or other form of online training - is just another presentation, and there are plenty of articles, books, videos and coaches that teach presentation skills. Yet most presenters - even experienced ones - do a poor job with their online presentations. Of course, some may argue this is because we are using new technology. However, online presentation technology has matured to the point that it’s reliable, accessible, and easy to use. So the technology itself is no longer the biggest obstacle - the real problem is that the physical environment of online presentations is different, and some presenters haven’t yet learned the necessary skills to adjust. The environment gets in the way. In a typical in-person presentation, a room is set aside and arranged for the presentation. Your audience is with you in the room and they have set aside time specifically to attend. They are sitting next to others sharing the same experience. All of these factors greatly contribute to your overall presentation. Online, things are different. The physical environment works against you, rather than for you. In particular: You are a much smaller part of their environment - literally just a slide show on their computer screen. Your audience is impatient and easily distracted - and if you lose their attention and interest, it’s much more difficult to regain it. This means you have to put more work into preparing and planning your presentation so you can overcome the obstacles of the environment. Put more work into your slides. In an in-person presentation, you are the main visual for your audience, and your slides are merely visual aids. But when it comes to an online presentation, your slides aren’t visual aids; they are the visuals. Because your slides play such a prominent role in an online presentation, put more work into them than you would with an in-person presentation. Broadly, you should focus on two areas: Sequence: Plan the flow of your material in a logical way. Design: Make the slides look attractive while optimizing them for online viewing. Think of this as serving both the left brain and right brain of your audience. The left brain wants to see a clear structure, logical flow and clear progress, while the right brain wants visual appeal, engaging slides and emotional tangibility. Create a clear sequence. The most basic presentation advice - which you’ve probably heard before - is: "Tell them what you’re going to tell them. Then tell them. Then tell them what you told them." In other words: Give them an overview, then the body, then a summary. This helps your audience follow along and keeps them engaged. In your slide deck, create an overview slide, a slide to introduce each main point and a summary. An online presentation is not the time for random thoughts, off-the-cuff speaking or a stream-of-consciousness presentation! Think "paint by numbers" rather than "Picasso masterpiece." Design better slides. Here are five tips for improving your slides for online presentations: Use more slides: Your screen should be changing at least once every minute, but even more frequently is better. Make them more visual: It’s time to ditch the slides full of bullet points and text. Replace them with pictures, icons, models and diagrams. "Build" complex slides: If you really must show a complex slide, don’t show it in full; build it up step by step as you talk about it. Create faster slides: Everything has to be transmitted across the Internet, so use smaller pictures, remove animation and transitions and eliminate anything that’s purely decorative. Create slides faster: Learn how to use PowerPoint’s "Smart Art" feature to create visually attractive slides quickly and easily. Find out more about creating effective online presentations: Download the ebooks. The Secret Formula for Online Presentations that Engage The Secret Formula for Webinar Presentations that Work Every Time   Photo credit: kk+

This is a near-final composite of SIMB's introduction shot. I spent most of this week cleaning up and coloring this shot. It took a long time but I'm very pleased with how it came out. Down the line, I may tweak pixels but for now, I'm happy with it and moving onto finish up some other stuff.Here's a view of the timeline and all the glorious keyframes I had to draw and manage:And here's the pretty movie version:

Every once in awhile, we get a customer review that just makes our day. We email it to our co-workers. We tell our spouses about it. We get that warm fuzzy feeling inside. The following from Michael Banks, owner of Samurai Comics in Phoenix, AZ, gave us a glow that was practically radioactive: Super Powered Product! As the owner of Samurai Comics, I can’t afford to have some JOKER overseeing my business. Unfortunately there aren’t any SUPERMEN or WONDER WOMEN to turn things over to… When it comes to managing my business, it falls squarely on my shoulders. That was tough enough with one store, but now that we’ve expanded to 3 locations I was a bit overwhelmed. THEN I DISCOVERED GOTOMYPC! Now I can manage all 3 stores from the comfort of home. I can easily toggle between the computers at each store, doing orders, transferring inventory, leaving instructions for my store managers… I can even watch what is happening on the Point of Sale computers at my stores in real time - allowing me to keep an eye on my employees and help eliminate any possible theft. And best of all, I can spend more time with my children, working from home, rather than being stuck in my stores all day long. Thanks GoToMyPC! We were so honored and impressed, we decided to contact Mike and ask him a few follow-up questions. I had the privilege of chatting with him via GoToMeeting with HDFaces. What led you to start using GoToMyPC? We were looking for a network solution between stores, so we searched the Internet and tried a couple of things. We looked at LogMeIn, but we loved how easy it was to use GoToMyPC. Can you think of any specific instances when GoToMyPC "saved the day?" Once a long-time customer was upset because his order wasn’t coming up right on the Point of Sale computer at the store. I was able to jump on GoToMyPC, find the layaway item and help the salesperson solve the problem remotely. The relationship with the customer was successfully maintained. What devices do you use to access your store computers? At home, I use my laptop and my wife uses her iPad. I also use GoToMyPC on desktop computers in the back of my stores, because if I’m out on the sales floor, my customers engage with me and I can’t get work done. What is your favorite comic book hero? I like Howard the Duck, because it got me into collecting, but Wolverine is my all-time favorite hero. Villain? Dr. Doom. What makes your business special? We like to say we’re "so much more than a comic book store." We’ve been in business 10 years. While other comic book store chains have folded due to the economy’s troubles, we’ve grown to 3 locations because we’ve added merchandise that makes our stores fun for the whole family. We even have Batman bathing suits! What would you consider the biggest benefit of using GoToMyPC? In addition to theft prevention and business management, the ability to spend more time with family is a big benefit. Yesterday I was on GoToMyPC for 12 hours - able to manage all aspects of the business - from poolside, while my 2 children swam at their grandma’s house. Thanks for sharing your story, Mike! We are so glad to hear that our product is making a difference in your business and improving your work-life balance. Share your story. Do you have a story to share about how you benefitted from using a Citrix GoTo product? We’d love to hear it! Email voiceofthecustomer@citrixonline.com.    

Spring break is now over and I didn't step foot outside once. I don't have a problem with that because the weather is still crap. There's nothing that says "Spring Break" like waking up to a snow-covered city. Aside from that, I've been finishing up keys with some inbetweens scattered around. Redid some animation from different angles and am playing around with improved ideas.

Today we have a guest post from Brigadier General (ret) Thomas A. Kolditz. Kolditz is the founding member of Saxon Castle LLC, a leader development consultancy. He is a Professor in the Practice of Leadership and Management and directs the Leader Development Program at the Yale School of Management. A highly experienced leader, Brigadier General (retired) Kolditz has more than 26 years in command and supervisory positions, serving on four continents in his 34 years of military service. His most recent book, titled In Extremis Leadership: Leading as if Your Life Depended on It, was based on more than 100 interviews taken on the ground in Iraq during combat operations. He holds a BA from Vanderbilt University, three master’s degrees, and a PhD in social psychology. In the early 1980s, I was a lieutenant in the United States Army, responsible for coordinating artillery support for a myriad of observers. I was excited that my unit was fielding a digital system to manage the requests for support, but was surprised that my sergeant was less than enthusiastic. He told me, "Sir, you can set all the priorities exactly according to our plan, but in combat, I’ve allocated missions based on the amount of fear I heard in the voice of the observer on the radio, or the amount of gunfire in the background. Without those nuances, I would have never gotten the prioritization right, and a lot more of our men would have died."  It was my first introduction to the challenge and complexity of communication in what would become the information age. All leaders have to be savvy end users of technology and design smart protocols that account for the human dimension of communication and interpersonal influence - the core of leading in a complex, sometimes ambiguous world. There are three fundamental approaches that leaders must consider, in turn, in order to maximize virtual presence and influence. Be Specific about What You Need to Know as a Leader In leadership roles, it’s important to be clear and practical about what you need to know, and when you need to know it. Consider pulling together a list of critical information requirements and specify what information you need immediately, 24/7, and what information can wait for the next business day. Communicate in Core Ideas Rather Than Specifics In balancing specificity, it is highly effective to provide people with core ideas with the specifics stripped away. Why? Because it empowers people to respond in ambiguous, volatile conditions. An effective core idea pronouncement is a statement of intent. Intent statements differ from vision statements because they guide behavior in more practical ways. They generally consist of four parts: purpose, methods, end state and risk. Impact the Decisive Point When the organization is attuned to both specifics and broader intent, what’s left for the leader is to have direct impact at the precisely the right time and place - in person or virtually. At any given time, there is one point in the organization where performance is critical for success. That is where an effective leader exerts direct influence. Let’s face it - for leaders at all levels, there are myriad requirements, responsibilities, and distractions. No leader can give equal emphasis to every potential demand. Thus one of the more important leadership skills is to be able to articulate the decisive point at any given time, and use technology or other means to exert direct influence. Provide your critical information requirements, articulate core ideas through intent, and directly impact the decisive point. Whether virtually or physically present, these three leader tune-ups can change your influence - and your organization’s performance. Interested in more examples and details? Attend the General’s webinar on July 3rd, 2012 "Revolutionize Your Leadership" Download the complete white paper, "Three Fundamental Approaches to Influencing and Building a Revolutionary Team"  

The official Robiety logo and title card.Edgey.Pretty nighttime shot.Still working on inbetweens, cleanup, and colors and hope to have that done soon because I'm tired of worrying about them. More and more shots are finding their way to completion with just a few outstanding shots. Maybe it's just me but sometimes there are shots that I just avoid like the plague until I grow a pair and tackle it. I've got a few of those scattered around that are always on my mind. Hope you guys like what I'm doing and if you don't, too bad.