Summer in the Studio

Hello from the studio, summer edition! Lately I’ve been opening up the windows, turning up the music, and making iced orange lattes non-stop. This weekend we took our dog to the beach and just laid in the sand all day, which was so fun.

In today’s newsletter I wanted to share some of the things that have helped me get into the summer spirit while working, plus some studio updates!

I put together this mix of dreamy tunes to work to. It’s a mix of instrumental and chill vocals – perfect for focused work, or just reading a book in the grass.

I love a seasonal bev so much. It feels festive, it’s easy to make, and cheaper than buying a fancy latte at the coffee shop. I used this recipe below:

Ingredients:

• Orange simple syrup (I like this recipe by Vic Lauren, but use three oranges instead of two)

• 2 shots of espresso or cold brew

• Your choice of milk

• (optional) orange to garnish (I like the candied ones from trader joes!)

Directions:
Mix together, serve over ice and enjoy!

I’ve been experimenting with film cameras lately, to capture some bts moments. There is no better feeling than picking up a developed roll of film!! It feels like Christmas morning, opening up your envelope to see all the moments you captured. Here are some shots my husband took of me working:

This marks the end of the road for the exterior car scenes, and last week I reset the stage to shoot some interiors. I always have a small moment of panic when striking a set (did I get everything?! will it turn out ok? what if I need to reshoot?!). On one hand I feel relieved to check off another task, but on the other it can feel bittersweet to tear down a set that took me weeks to build. I try to save pieces when possible, but sometimes it’s just gone. The only evidence that it ever existed is now on my laptop, in an animated sequence. So bizarre!!

This week I’ve been working on some car interior shots. I used the interior of my old car as photo reference. I kind of love how it turned out?!

I used foam and paper board for all of this, and some old bottle caps for the knobs. I also built out a faux car seat and center console, using foam and painted muslin.

The “diet cola” can is made from a piece of thick rolled paper, and painted with silver acrylic paint. The “hot puffs” bag is made from a piece of aluminum foil, painted with acrylic. The puffs are orange clay, dry-brushed with some brown acrylic for that crispy artificial cheese look.

Next week I’m finally saying goodbye to the car set era, and moving on to an elevator interior scene. Thanks for hanging with me, wishing you a wonderful week!

I’ll leave with you an animation test sneak peak :)