Hi Everyone,
Well I’m still around, working hard… mostly on my demo reel for 2009 (and probably 2010) that and updating the web-site; which is when I came across quite a few of my older illustrations and painting. I plan to spend more time drawing new stuff now that everything is up-to-date, but until then, I'd like to share what I found here in my archives.

Well I’m back. Quick trip to Venezuela, this time only for 6 weeks; but still able to visit most of my people, hit the beach once during Carnival, and teach a couple classes. I got lucky with the morning group for advance communication 2. They were about 15 students, and moderately well conducted unless you mentioned chocolate.

Advance 6 only wanted to graduate; therefore motivation was… well anyway, they graduated.

Other then that, I always like to draw places that I’ve been; so I uploaded a few of my inked, watercolor sketches from my trip. I wish I had more time to produce bigger, better art work. Not to sound over confident, but the truth is these days I really have to find or make the time only for practice.

More to come soon…

During my time in Venezuela…

It started as a 2 week vacation.

It was good. I have time to rest, draw, play a video game, and study Spanish. I enjoyed a couple parties celebrating January 1st, and found myself in a disco (which I hated). I got to go to the beach once and saw plenty of my family’s family.

It was a surprise to most when I decided to stay longer and practice my Spanish. But I had a lot of things to think about in my life…

So I found jobs, I made friends, and I got to know my cousin Peter. I started going to the gym so that I could start a better routine in my quest to better health. Now one thing people don’t really understand is that I was also looking for peace of mind. I was so serious about college and my career that I wasn’t able to find work. No one wants to hire someone with my kind of commutation problems. The problem was my inner insecurity which led to my overwhelming dedication to find a better job. I just wanted to satisfy, but I created an uncomfortable understanding between my coworkers and myself. I left.

So my time here made me realize that I need to be more involved with people. Not just the job. I learned this though major struggles in trying to communicate with people… in Spanish, and also from working at the university as an English professor. It was not a waste of time. It was necessary.

Do you believe in destiny? Well I do. And I believe I am meant to be here during this time to learn the things I needed to overcome the difficulty’s ahead.

I am very lucky, but nothing is easy. I did find some difficulty’s here as well; which is a whole other story.

I would like to end my vacation report with a list of my achievements I’ve accomplished during my 8 mouths in Venezuela.

English Professor:
I’ve working as an English Professor for the University of Carabobo, Venezuela. Many would criticize that this job is not related to my felid. Some may even say it sounds easy. Well its not. Each student is a job… wait, I shouldn’t say that because each student is a big responsibility and requires specific attention. In the past 7 months I gained a lot of leadership experience in being the head of the class room. Students look to me not only for improvement but also for tolerance.

Teacher Carlita School:
I was also working as an English Professor for a private school in Valencia, Venezuela. This position was primarily to assist in grammar and pronunciation tutoring.
[link]

Hipervinculo:
During my time with Hipervinculo I was drawing storyboards and my focus was creating an industrial 3d animations of bucketwheel dredges primarily for industrial wastes, hazardous wastes, pond and lake reclamation, and marinas. I was also responsible for compositing particles and other special effects (and or motion graphics) involved with this venture. Plus I also assisted with some graphic design projects.

Body:
I quite smocking last year and started going to the gym in January at least 4 days a week. In the beginning my outstanding cousin Peter would wake me up at 4:30 in the morning to get to the gym before it even opened. And I liked it.

Illustration:
I’ve also been working on several illustration projects on the side. Not to mention over 2 hundred storyboards illustrating the legend of the Whistling man.

Spanish:
I forgot to mention that I’ve been learning basic Spanish during my stay here… no teacher, no classmates, no book, no nada, just people.

People:
I made a lot of friends… including lawyers, doctors, artists, engineers, teachers, accountants, and of course my students. My girlfriend’s a dentist.

A Suntan?
No, not really. I hit the beach once in 8 months. Some vacation huh?

-Anthony Valeika 08/2008

hi,
i've started an artblog under my domain at [link] i'll be posting more process work on the blog, then posting them here when finished. critics & comments are welcome.