I've been working on quite a few project in the past few months and things are finally starting to slow down. So, I recently started collaborating with some friend for a series of shorts dedicated to Cobra Commander ( a la the merchandise machine known as GI Joe). It involves his mundane antics post-cartoon glory. After coming up with some of the character designs, I delved into some of the animated assets. Naturally, I created a GIF below. It's Cobra at a protest in a classic 80's cartoon fist pumping motion.

Cobra commander kind of has a Daft Punk thing going on.

"Blast you meddling teenagers!"

I've been so overwhelmed with freelance work recently that I haven't gotten around to posting my finished Empire Strikes Back Uncut video. Hopefully the majority of you will get what I was going for here (George Lucas made a fortune off of merchandising and he's a bloated manatee of a man). Lot's of compositing and After Effects work went into this one as the screenshots below convey.





I'm pretty happy with it. The only thing I'm slightly disappointed in is not keeping a correct line weight for the 4th shot where Lukes face is shove into Lucas' fat belly. I misconstrued my own notes in a rush to get it done.

If you haven't been to the Empire Strikes Back site, check it out. There's a lot of really awesome animations there sprinkled in with way, way too many Lego stop-motions.

Things are coming a long nicely...

Empire Strikes Back Uncut is here. Being a contributor for Star Wars Uncut gave me first dibs on scenes this time around, so I was quick to find something real good.

Here are some rough character designs for a new clients project. Take a look!

Nickelodian had a "Pitch Your Shorts" contest. This project was a little different because it had to be kid friendly. This is something I have very little to no experience in.

Anyhow, the big wigs declined my sweet offer to make there next hit. Here's the animatic I made for Hamster Chronicles: The Rise of Evil Dr. Whiskers.

Worked on a pretty big project a couple of weeks ago. It required 2 minutes of animation to be completed in under a week. It was a pretty big endeavor with such a work load reminiscent of my college days.

I made this drawing for my Brother on his Birf' Day. It's reminiscent of one of our favorite Simpsons episodes. He lives in Germany, so it seemed relevant.

Hellooooo internet.

Listen to me! I need your money!...Or at least I'd like some of it for doing cartoons and things.

Anyhow, here's my new reel I put together.



It has mostly new stuff and some old stuff.

Also, here is my Santorum animation which some of you might find a little risk-ay.



I'm trying to gather funds to move to NY, so if you'd like, please donate to, "The Human Fund for Ortgiesen Growth and Development".

I was traveling through Europe mid-2010 when I received an email from the German Newspaper, Der Spiegel, regarding my submission to the Star Wars Uncut project. The writer sent me a list of interview questions. It's been a year and a half and they finally got around to posting it. Here's the full interview I hastily typed in a touristy Prague coffee shop.

- How did you find the project?
1. I found out about Star Wars Uncut from a link a friend sent to me. He was familiar with my shameless style of animation and thought I could besmirch the Star Wars franchise.


- Why did you participate?
2. I participated in the project after recently being fired from my job, having to move into my Moms house, clinging to my last scrap of dignity and having a lot of time on my hands. It was perfect timing for such distasteful inspiration.


- How important is Star Wars for you?
3. I like Star Wars. I wouldn't say I'm the kind of fan who dresses up as a 32 year old virgin and has mock battles with plastic swords, but I am fond of the first three movies. Empire Strikes Back is the best.


- Is there something special about the scene you chose?
4. I previewed all of the available scenes, and listening to the audio, I tried to imagine what would be the most humorous to misrepresent. I think it turned out all right. These film makers who recently made a documentary about George Lucas even included it in their film. I heard it won an Emmy. 


Anyhow, here's the Star Wars Uncut all spliced together, which makes it a much better viewing experience then the previous constant-loading Vimeo cut.






Also, here's a screen-shot of my President Prospector short. Enjoy!

New Prospector project in the works. The premise is the Ol' Timey Prospector is a candidate at the Republican presidential debate. Hilarity ensues. The video is a tester, but I think I'm going to redraw it with a thinner line weight.





Also, on Youtube,  I just so happened to come across an episode of MAD that I worked on. I had never actually seen the show before, so check it out. The segment I worked on comes on at 8:02 I think. Take a look.