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I'm starting teaching animation at the University of Technology, Sydney this week.

I've always been keen to encourage up-and-coming animators in the blogs I've written for, such as Animation Ideas and Ozanimate so having a direct role as an animation lecturer is really exciting.

The Bachelor of Design in Animation is a brand new program at UTS, and I've been lucky enough to help design the 3D animation portion of the course.

I met the students the other day, and I'm pleased to report they're all full of energy and are ready to work hard.

The other day, Paul Caggegi interviewed me for his podcast The Process Diary.

Paul is a freelance video editor, illustrator, graphic novelist, educator, blogger and podcaster.

We spoke about lots of things, including why I chose Animation Mentor, how I transitioned from software engineering into animation, what it was like working on Happy Feet 2 and how to stay creative and productive when you have a newborn baby in the house.

Hot tip: Work in short bursts when the baby is asleep.

For the full 35-minute interview, check out the Process Diary talks to Phil Willis.

In the wee hours of Friday morning, Jan 20th 2012, my wife and I welcomed my firstborn into the world:

Daniel Oscar Willis.

He came out big and healthy: 8lb 13oz.

Mum, Dad and baby are all doing well and settling into the new routine.

Fortunately Daniel is a good eater and a good sleeper - which makes it easy for us.

Looking forward to watching him grow and change, and experience our life changing as well.

Last night I went to the Happy Feet 2 Australian premiere.

George Miller and Robin Williams gave a quick word of thanks and introduced the film in front of a packed cinema at Fox Studios.

Wow.

Even after seeing the film as a work-in-progress so many times, it was still stunning to watch the entire movie with all the lighting, textures and effects in place.

I'm so proud of the end result, and really grateful to have been involved in such a great project.

The Semipermanent Creative Conference is dedicated to showcasing the amazing talents and work of designers, photographers, artists, illustrators and typographers.

This year including a brilliant lineup. Highlights included: advertising superduo Moffitt Moffitt, fine artist Kelly Thompson, fishing photographer Corey Arnold, Supervixen, We Buy Your Kids, Dean Poole from the Alt Group, fashion photographer Kayt Jones, typographer Gemma O'Brien, and Fuel VFX.

And proving he's still "mental as anything", Reg Mombassa dazzled us with his art and bone-dry wit.

One of the common themes from all the artists was to get in over your head and challenge yourself to stay afloat.

Apparel designer Michael Leon summed it up best with the enigmatic: "Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt"

Another great dose of inspiration from a group of artists at the top of their game. See you there next year.

After just saying I don't get to Melbourne enough, I had an opportunity to go again to see one of the greatest living animators in the world: Glen Keane.

Not only was he so inspiring as an artist, but he was incredibly generous with his time. After a two hour talk he still had time and energy to hang around for another hour or so signing autographs and meeting animators, students and fans.

One of the key insights from his talk for me was that, in his words: "dead people can teach you".

Once you have the basics of your education, look to masters like Rodin, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Schiele, Modigliani to continue your education.

Another highlight was seeing the rough keys for the "Part of Your World" sequence from The Little Mermaid. At first, Keane apologized because there was no sound, but without prompting, the entire audience started singing along.

The experience of hearing 500 or so grown adults singing in falsetto to a series of drawings projected on the screen still gives me chills just thinking about it.

Check out my blog post on Glen Keane in Melbourne for more insights.

I don't travel to Melbourne as often as I probably should, but I did head down recently to see the Tim Burton exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).

Tim Burton is a legend.

Here is a guy who has had an amazing and uniquely creative career, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

An incredible inspiration to keep drawing to do good work.

Previously I had written that there were 5 reasons to enter animation competitions.

Turns out I was wrong.

At least one more reason to enter is the opportunity to see your work with a live audience.

I was lucky enough to be a finalist in the Sixty40 Proto Ninja competition at the Sydney International Animation Festival, which meant that I got to see my animation along with a packed house of 300 or so animation fans.

I have to say: there is no feeling like it.

Imagine it.

You've already seen the film a million times, so instead of watching the animation: you are entirely concentrating on the noises and reaction from the crowd.

Every laugh, snigger, breath, sigh and the final moment of applause is just amazing.

If you're working on a short animated film, please do what ever you can to get it screened.

We want to see it. And it's well worth it.

Today was my first day at Dr D Studios.

Everyone I've met so far seems not only extremely talented and well qualified, but ridiculously friendly as well.

These guys rock.

Looking forward to making a significant contribution to this amazing film.