A couple of months ago I was asked by Melissa Untch to come out to Kansas City and show my work / give a workshop at Steve Mayse's studio. I met both Steve and Melissa a few years ago as a visiting artist at Kansas City Art Institute. Steve teaches in the illustration program at KCAI, and at the time Melissa was a student.
On Friday night I showed some work and had a discussion with a group of locals (both students and professionals). On the following day I gave a workshop showing the possibilities of using After Effects to animate. Basically, I took a layered Photoshop file (everyone had the same file) and walked them through some simple animation techniques, including building a 3D space and flying a camera through it.
Steve's wife Shelley did a fantastic job of hosting, keeping us well fed (breakfast and lunch) and comfortable. They have a gorgeous house that is essentially an art gallery with a studio built off the back of the house (recently finished). Melissa Untch, Steve and Shelly are looking to put together more talks and visiting artist gigs, so keep your ears open for that. I highly recommend going if lucky enough to be invited.
Following are a handful of pics, mostly of the house and Steve's workshop / garage, which is the more stocked than my local hardware store in Brooklyn.
