The Mysterious Traveller

What's that proverbial phrase that people say? When life gives you lemons... Well fuck those lemons!  Perhaps I'm a little frustrated because I am currently harvesting lemons for a quest on Farmville 2 ' Escape to the Country' and they take so long to grow. I have an order of lemonade to produce and Eagle Eyed Eddie will not suffer another late delivery.  Life is not giving me any metaphorical lemons at the moment. There seems to be a void and an endless limbo between the past and the future. I feel like my career in animation can continue and can, if I push myself a little more, lead me to some wonderful projects and studios. This limbo I speak of is a result, unfortunately, of a few life changes that have been occurring over the past 6-12 months. It has set my mind into a whirlwind of questions that have no answers. But I know I can get through it. Art must be the answer.  So my plan will begin with revisiting my collections of artwork. Quite a simple task, but one th...

There was an idea, many years ago, that gave me credence  to manifest all of my emotions and feelings into a storytelling  device without necessarily divulging into the deepest, darkest corners of my mind (as we did in the previous episode). This device was called Electric Elkboy.  You may have already seen this character. Whether he appears as an icon or a profile picture, or maybe a piece of artwork posted on Instagram, I can imagine that you may recognise him. And if not, then welcome to episode 104 of the blog; where you shall be introduced. And even to the untrained eye, you may notice the visual similarities between Electric Elkboy and myself (unless you have never, ever met me!) Because, ladies and gentlemen, Electric Elkboy is my superhero alter ego.  The general idea was to create a character who I could transfer much of my own personality, traits and issues with a purpose to write fictional adventures that also depicted some emotional turmoil that I could n...

When someone mentions a blog, what do you initially think of? Perhaps a self indulgent article written by that up-and-coming journalist you met at College. It could be promotional diary entries from a comedian or poet. Or maybe even an online record of all your updated status' and locations collected by corporate social media platforms. Who bloody knows?  However, the most likely answer to what a blog is will probably be the idle ramblings of a friend or colleague who you lost touch with, but is determined to remain in the zeitgeist of your social media.  This is where I, Thomas (Barrels) Grainger, find myself presently shelved.  In the guise of a graduate seeking work, I have blasphemed the blogging network with tales of my own woes, mingled amongst the pretty pictures and funny videos of an attention seeking individual who needs some level of gratification. My own love of writing could easily be my undoing because I don't want to taint my side-line passion by ...

It has been ten months since my time concluded on My Grandfather's Demons (Os  Demônios do meu Avô) where the final puppet was rigged and the last tie-down was painfully screwed into the bottom of Rosa's foot. These characters bear the visual aches and tears that the majority of the team felt throughout this production. This is by no means a slight against the film; it is simply the nature of such scale of work. But when you frantically start to use super glue to fix props to a puppets silicone hand, you know that things are looking bleak. For the record, we normally take the time to screw said prop into the 2mm access point in the palm of the hand, but on that particular day I definitely remember thinking fuck this shit (I can this perfectly in Portuguese; it's a frequent saying). The feature film itself has been greatly received across the globe, being part of numerous international animation and film festivals including A nnecy in France and Fantasia in Montreal, Quebec ...

For the full experience, please click play below: Yesterday ... [This is not today] How has 2020 become 2021 so quickly? [this was my original opening when I first embarked upon this entry. That was four months ago]. The current star date: 09/01/2022. The fact is that 2021 did happen so quickly. And now it's too late! I genuinely spent 10 minutes trying to fathom what year it was on my first day back at work after the New Year. Anyway, I digress. My initial thoughts are that I am perhaps too apathetic with my blog posts, leading me down a dark path of neglect and carelessness. Although we each of us consider that lazy side of us, I must power through with my explanation of 'there simply isn't enough time!' Moving to Portugal has given me a plethora of tales and woes, journeys and misgivings, creative fortunes and artistic delights. But my inspiration to continue with this blog has waned over the years, at a time when it conceivably means more to express what we are all...