Like many things, a ship is started with a strong framework. Yesterday we started building the first Viking ship for Motiongate in Dubai. The ship will sit on the bottom of the shallow pool so the first step was to lay the flat mounting plates on the floor and then start welding the uprights. The deck of the ship will be built on top of this structure, coming apart to allow it to fit inside the shipping containers. As the framework came together it quickly became apparent just how big the ships are going to be. They will measure almost forty feet long and seventeen feet tall at the top of the figureheads (twenty-five feet at the mast). Look close in the picture and you can see Peter at the back of the ship getting ready to lay a weld.
New wonderful tool!
I've long advocated sketching with a pen or pencil on paper, especially to get ideas out of one's head. Once they are in my sketchbook I pull them into my computer and then use a drawing tablet to do a final render. Those who've tried a digital drawing tablet fully understand that you need to look at the screen while drawing invisibly on another surface. It takes practice to be able to do this well. After eighteen years with this equipment I've gotten proficient at this technique.
Last week Peter and I tried out the iPad pro with the apple pencil for the first time. A few quick scribbles convinced us this was the tool we have been waiting for! We unwrapped our new tools this week and today I tried them out for the first time. I had two concept proposals to work up for a children's dragon ride. While I still have much to learn about the new program, I am using I love the feel of the pen and tablet. With a little practice I think it is going to be hard to go back to paper! Here's two movies of the concept drawings coming together in a little under an hour each.
Sculpture Magic Workshop video
Through the years we have had numerous requests for a video of our workshops. We strongly believed that to properly experience a workshop you needed to be there, getting your hands dirty and engaging with us one on one. That belief hasn't changed. But thanks to our good friend JD who attended our last workshop we did capture much of it in a time lapse video. Even this is but a quick glimpse for it was only one room of the workshop and didn't include the meals, field trips or the things that happened outside.
There is so much going on at all times. Each time a question was asked we answered it verbally and also with a quick sketch or by referral to a handy sample. Much more than techniques are shared. My goal has always been to shake up every attendee to their core, making them question why they do what they do and what they wish to do in the future. In every workshop we've held, we immersed everyone in our unique world, surrounded and served by our extended family and staff. And we didn't throw our guests into the shallow end but right into the deep end of our pool. Our goal was to change lives and I believe it worked much of the time.
Was this truly the last workshop? Yup. At least in this format. I'll of course continue to attend conferences, teach at workshops sponsored by others and do speaking engagements as requested. I'll continue writing the blogs and magazine articles. E-books are in the works as well. This isn't the end but merely a turning of the page to go on to the next exciting chapter.