It's been a great ride...

Hi Folks-

When I got started in animation, there were barely any tutorials on line – all of them were written tutorials, and some quite hard to follow. There were a few good books that were a great start, but mostly I learned After Effects through my interactions with the online community of AE users. People answered all of my questions, even the ones that were quite basic. So, once I started making money at it, I decided to give back to the community and help others through tutorials and answering questions at Creative Cow.

In December of 2005 I was approached by Ron and Kathlyn Lindeboom about doing an After Effects podcast. At the time, I thought podcasting was a fad. Boy was I wrong! After a few weeks it was clear we were on to something big, and since that time (almost 3 years!), I’ve been able to help people learn to use After Effects on a much bigger level than I ever expected.

People often ask me how I manage to balance work and life and tutorials. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been very rewarding. However, after 9 years of marriage, my wife and I had our first child, and as it turns out, raising a child takes a lot of time and energy (who knew?). It’s been incredibly rewarding, but it’s becoming obvious that if I want to enjoy it, and be able to support my family, I need to switch gears.

So, with great regret, but with much optimism, it’s time for me to step back for a bit and focus on my family and work. Of course I leave you in the very capable hands of my good friend, and AE podcast co-host, Eran Stern. The podcast would have died long ago without his help.

The folks at Creative Cow have been great friends to me over the years – loyal to a fault - and I can’t thank them enough for the faith they put in me, and for the wonderful opportunity they have given me over these last few years to know all of you.

But, I’m not gone – You’ll still hear from me – that I can promise. You’ll still see me here at the cow, as time allows. And I love hearing from you, so please keep those emails coming. They really help. The work you’re doing inspires me. Thanks so much for letting me into your homes, work, and/or ipods. It’s been a great ride.

Once again, this is Aharon Rabinowitz for CreativeCow.net. Just wanted to say it one more time.

Aharon Rabinowitz
Email: arabinowitz (AT) yahoo (DOT) com
All Bets Are Off Productions, Inc.
Creative Cow After Effect Podcast
Internet Killed the Video Star: A Guide to Creating Video for the Web