Several years back, when I was still running the Orange ROP Animation Program, Armando Camacho contacted me out of the blue. He lives in Mexicali, Mexico, a city that has no animation education. He found my program`s website and he asked me to help him.

Armando was hungry to learn animation and he asked me how he could go about it on his own without a school or teachers. I gave him what little help I could. Told him which books to buy. Told him what I could about software. I looked at his work and critiqued it. Nothing major, just passed e-mails now and then. Told him to keep working. If I told him anything of any use it might have been that the best way to learn to animate, is to animate.

He e-mailed me the other day just when I needed it, (mid-term wimp outs and whining) to tell me that he has just won the Premio Pantalla de Cristal (Cristal Screen Award) in the category of animation in a videoclip for his solo work in the videoclip Tuve Angeles.

Sometimes I get frustrated with some of the students that I get paid to teach.

I didn`t bring anything to work on to class today so can I go home early?

I was just wonder what the heck am I doing it for. I should be working on my own projects instead of wiping the noses of kids with more money then drive. Then I get this e-mail and I know what it is all about.

Anyway, here is Armando`s flash animation. There doesn`t seem to be any sound attached to the file but then maybe I just can`t figure out the Spanish on the website well enough to work the controls.

It makes me proud to know someone like Armando is out there making it happen against the odds: http://www.esmas.com/correcaballocorre/pages/5.html
  ¶ 6:12 PM