Friday, May 18, 2007

Schools out for summer! and now more glen keane

Finally, the weeks just crept by but it is all over with thank god. which mean I have time to post fun stuff YAY!!

I found some glen keane videos where he is teaching a lecture at cal arts. hope you like them.





Saturday, March 10, 2007

Disney's first black princess

I ran accross this link today and thought I should share it with everyone for a new disney movie (traditionally animated) that will be out in 09 and has a african american princess. Hopefully we'll be represented in a good light for a change (i'm looking at you seabastain the crab). Hear's the link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17524865/?GT1=9145

Friday, February 23, 2007

Lip Sync

I've been looking around for some help on a lip sync project I'm currently working on. Here is one of the resources I found. I'm still reading through it but what I have read has been very informative.

I hope this is helpful to others out there.

http://www.keithlango.com/tutorials/old/lipSync.htm

Thursday, February 22, 2007

More Women in Animation

How cool is Dan Haskett!!! He just emailed me another list of women in animation/film! Enjoy!

Hi, Michelle!

Here is a partial list of folks I either know or know of in American animation. Most of them are your foremothers, women who worked from approximately 1930 to 1980. Some are my contemporaries. In any event, if you have any questions about them, let me know. Also, you might be interested in a recent (2005) book on women cartoonists, FUNNY LADIES by Liza Donnelly. (Publisher: Prometheus Books) It's a history of NEW YORKER Magazine cartoonists, with many good points to make about the business.

Cheers,
-- Dan



Filmmakers: FAITH HUBLEY
EMILY HUBLEY
BARBARA DOURMASHKIN-CASE
JOANNA PRIESTLEY
SUZAN PITT
KATHY ROSE
NINA PALEY
SIGNE BAUMANN
DEBRA SOLOMON

Story and Storyboard: BARBARA CHAIN
BARBARA HAMMER
DOROTHY ANN BLANK
LINDA WOOLVERTON
REBECCA REES
KATHLEEN CARR
DEBORAH PUGH
SHARON FORWARD
JILL COLBERT TROUSDALE

Designers: STERLING STURTEVANT
MARY BLAIR
BIANCA MAJOLIE
SYLVIA MOBERLY-HOLLAND
ETHEL KULSAR
GYO FUJIKAWA
BUF NERBOVIG
CINDY FINN
SUZETTE DARLING
MEGAN BRAIN


Animators: HILDA TERRY
DELORES CANNATA
TISSA DAVID
NANCY BEIMAN
RUTH KISSANE
LILLIAN FRIEDMAN
SUE KROYER
LAVERNE HARDING
CHRYSTAL RUSSELL KLABUNDE
JOANNA ROMERSA
XENIA DEMATTIA
BETTY TANG
BRONWEN BARRY
SILVIA POMPEI
ELLEN WOODBURY
RETTA SCOTT
RETTA DAVIDSON
SUSAN SUGITA
SYLVIA FITZPATRICK
HELEN KOMAR
YVETTE KAPLAN
CAROL MILLICAN
LORNA COOK
LINDA MILLER
VERA LANPHER
JANUARY NORDMAN
BRENDA BANKS
TASIA WILLIAMS


Voice Actors: MAE QUESTEL
VERNA FELTON
JUNE FORAY
TRESS MACNEILLE
JOAN GARDNER
BEA BENADERET
SARA BERNER
ELEANOR AUDLEY
JANET WALDO
JEAN VANDER PYL
LUCILLE BLISS
CHRIS ALLEN


Music Scoring: SHIRLEY MITCHELL


Scenics: THELMA WITMER
GLORIA WOOD
ROBERTA GREUTERT
VERA OHMAN
ANN GUENTHER
SYLVIA COBB ROEMER
LINDA DAURIO
JILL PETRILAK
JENNY GASE-BAKER


Scene Planning and Continuity: EVELYN SHERWOOD
GINA BRADLEY
PAT SITO
BARBARA DONATELLI
SANDY BENENATI
BETSY BAKER


Ink and Paint Supervision: IDA GREENBERG
MARY TEBB
BETTY ANN GUENTHER
CELINE MILES
VERONICA CHIARITO
MARILYN CARRINGTON
KLARA HEDER
CAMILLE MARINELLI
NANCY MASSIE
NANCY LANE TOMASELLI
BELLE NORMAN
NELDA RIDLEY
JACKIE BANKS
PHYLLIS CRAIG
JACKIE BISSET
VIOLET GELMAN


Studio Executives: JAYNE BARBERA
JEAN MACCURDY
MIREILLE SORIA
MAUREEN DONLEY

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Women in Animation!

Hey sorry im late! Heres the list of women animators that Dan and Karen Haskett composed for me, When i have a chance i'll also post my thoughts of the gathering :) which by the way was very inspiring!!!

List of Women Animators

La Verne Harding (Lantz)
Tissa David
Joanna Quinn
Kathy Rose
Sara Petty
Johanna Priestley
Sue Kroyer
Ellen Woodbury
Retta Scott
Brenda Banks
January Nordman
Marlene Robinson
Sylvia Cobb Roemer (Layout)
Mary Blair (design)
Alison DeVere
Sylvia Holland (Design)
Bianca Majolie (Design)
Buf Nerbovig
Nina Paley
Thelma Witmer (Background)
Anne Guenther (Background)

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Brotha Got Bills part 1,2 & 3

I friend of mine wrote an article called brotha got bills touching on how people should conduct themselves when approaching artists about there work and further more asking them to work for them. Please take a look at it and visit his website. Hope you enjoy the article.

http://www.ghettomanga.blogspot.com

--------------------------------------------------------------


A BROTHA GOT BILLS pt 1

art and words byAMEN

the phrase that every artist hates to hear, but hears way too much:
"yo man! your shit is tight! i got this idea, and i think your style will really set it off!

NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY, BUT ______"

IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOU, turn off your ipod, lean in close, and listen to what i am about to tell you:

the artist you are talking to/instant messaging/texting/emailing/or otherwise communicating with
HAS BEEN GIVEN A COMPLIMENT BEFORE. he/she probably already knows how dope his/her artwork is.
it doesn't mean he/she has a big head! being dope is the predictable result of combining God-given talent
and good old-fashioned hard work. NOW, WE ALL LOVE COMPLIMENTS...
but following the compliment with a request for free work is like telling a girl you love her
just so she will let you hit it... i guess it works sometimes, BUT DON"T BE SURPRISED WHEN IT DOESN'T.

i'm not by any stretch the dopest artist on mySpace (in fact, if you're reading this, i know YOU KNOW at least ONE cat who is doper...),
but i get (literally!) HUNDREDS of emails every month from cats trying to talk me into doing artwork for free.
ninety-nine times out of a hundred, i just ignore them.
(yeah, i said it... so if you sent me a message asking me to do work for you, prefaced with a sentence like the one above,
and you are STILL waiting for my reply, know this: i got it. i just ignored it. if you had read my profile, you woulda saw it comin'...).

i usedta get mad about it, but i'm used to it now. it's part of the game.
THE FACT IS, THE AVERAGE ARTIST'S LIFE IS ONLY MISSING ONE THING: MONEY!!!

perhaps you're not feelin' me...

let's try this excercise: close your eyes and imagine you are at work and your boss asks you to go babysit her kids
because she doesn't want to pay for daycare. should SHE be offended that YOU don't have the time to watch her little darlings for free,
since you have to earn a god-damn living?


"But (insert your name here), can't you just do it for the love?"

are you pissed yet? GOOD! then i can stop...
now, don't get all sad, homey! there are ways EVEN YOU can get fresh artwork,
even if you are broke all the time. and i'm happy to share them with you.

but that's for next time (that's why it's called "Brotha Got Bills pt 1", silly...). for now,
i want you to practice giving some thought-out, sincere compliments to artists
(and that includes writers, musicians, and poets, too!) WITHOUT asking for ANYTHING in return!


a'ight?!
peace, love, etc.
samax.







BROTHER GOT BILLS PART 2
ART AND WORDS-AMEN
...Bills, part 2
Okay family, if you did your Homework from last time (PLEASE tell me you gave some unsolicited, non-ulterior motivated, sincere/heartfelt compliments…
NO? stop. Go do it now. I'll wait…), you may have experienced the wonderful feeling of knowing you made the world a better place. After all, art makes the world a better place,
and artists are more productive when they know people are feeling their work (no matter what they may tell you…). So everybody wins, right?


But you want artwork, and you don't feel any closer to getting it, do you? Okay, here's a few suggestions:

CONNECT WITH THE ARTIST: Remember those dope artists you complimented? Go look again at their websites (or myspace profile, blog, or whatever). I don't mean just look at the pictures…
I mean reeeally look at it. Like, read and stuff . artists, even visual artists, are always writing… and we generally feel like no one listens to us, so you will score big points if you comment on something
we have said. But BE CAREFUL! For one thing, most artists have strong B.S. detection skills, and won't appreciate being patronized.
Secondly, if you start a conversation with an artist on a subject he/she feels passionately about, you may bite off more than you can chew…
so my point is, start a dialogue with the artist on a subject you both feel strongly about. Take your time, and correspond with the artist periodically.
If you manage to actually make friends with the artist, or generally show them you are about something,
he/she make actually OFFER services to you for free or at a discounted rate.

BE A FAN (NOT A STAN…) here's an approach worth trying: BUY SOMETHING! Most artists (the smart ones anyways) offer at least something that is relatively cheap. by the way,
NEVER say "you should make a poster out of this, cause i'd buy it" and then fail to buy it when they do (i HATE that!)... be real about it! Snoop around the artist's site for some cheap item, and purchase one.
If you like it, let the artist know! Take a picture of it and send it to the artist (ex. A picture of a poster hanging in your room, or of you or your girlfriend in the teeshirt you bought, etc.).
tell other people about the artist (ex. Put the artists work WITH CREDIT AND A LINK on your website/blog/myspace profile) and let the artist know you are trying to send some customers his/her way.
ASK THE ARTIST if there is anything you can do to help promote his/her work. Now, that said, DO NOT ASSUME that the artist owes you anything for helping him/her or buying something
(In fact, any time you help someone or do something nice, remember that you should help because you want to, not to gain from it.), but you'd be surprised how an artist,
especially one who is struggling, will appreciate the help.

SPREAD THE LOVE AROUND- Artists talk to each other. If you become known for being supportive of talent, it can only help you when you need something from one of them, right?
So rather than being a pest to the one artist you HAVE to get work from, make a habit of checking out artists and being vocal with them. You could find yourself on the inner circle of the artists
you like by being a well-known fan/supporter (think of that cat that knows ALL the local hipHop artists, because he goes to EVERY show…). If you make building community one of your pet causes,
you could find yourself becoming important, and artists just MAY come to you…


Whatever you do to get the Artist's attention, remember to be polite and conscious that he/she has real-life concerns (i.e. kids, bills, etc) to worry about. But even after all your efforts, the artist you wanna
get at may STILL be outta range, so what do you do then? I'm glad you asked! That's for part 3, cousin! See ya then…





BROTHA GOT BILLS
final cahpter

ART AND WORD-amen

Peace, friends. We made it. It's 2007, and since I got at you last,
I survived the busiest time of the year for me:
the Holla Days. Christmas present creation for the fam, filling orders,
traveling to visit relatives and holding down the dreaded (yet necessary) day job
(actually.. I work at night, but that's not the point is it?) tried to overload me,
but I made it through okay. I didn't tell you all that for sympathy, but to make a point:


Many artists, despite how talented they are, hold down a day job to keep the ends acquainted..
and if they're like me, they don't like it!
They want to start turning their talent into a living as soon
as they can! As any radio rap single will indicate, creative people are out in the streets
(and warehouses, call centers, and office buildings), committing all manner
of atrocities just to turn a dollar. being supportive helps shine light into the artist's world, the world
at large, and of course it helps you out, too!

Not every artist is going to do it full time (some don't even WANT to),
but there's something about getting a
financial return on the hard work we put in.


It might mean you have to save up, pass up some mass-produced mall crap,
or download that new single
(you know: the one they played on the radio over and over until you just HAD to have it?)
instead of buying the whole album (it's pro'lly not that tight anyways..).
But ultimately, it's worth it. Because you get to have that
"you don't know 'nothing 'bout that, playa"
experience of having something other people don't,
plus you put your hard-earned bread in the hands of someone
who really appreciates it!


back to the drawing board!
amen.

Friday, February 16, 2007

All Things Animation meeting with Dan and Karen Hasket

I have to say the "All Things Animation" meeting tonight with Dan and Karen Hasket was hands down, the greatest experience of my life to date. They both exude passion and love for the arts. It seems like every day, every moment, every horrible frustrating event in my life over the last 1 1/2 years of living in NJ has lead up to this single moment of pure clarity.

The evening was mostly a question and answer session between Dan and the students. We opened with the discussion about going to school, choosing a school wisely, what is good what is bad etc. But, when it all fell down what mater the most was to be true to yourself as an artist and to draw. Dan stated how animators in this industry have to put there foot down and, "start setting the standard and change the industry" so we can bring things back to there former glory. Furthermore, he discussed the importance of doing your own films, advertising and the great opportunities that are being offered on the internet for reaching audiences with your vision. Most important he said is, "Just to get started. all you need is a pencil and paper." One of the questions I had for him involved his opinion of animating on the computer and he openly admitted to not doing it and honestly disliking tools such as the Wacom Tablet cause he felt it took away allot of control. He felt like the line you created in the computer was more the computers interpretation of a line you create and stated how inferior it was to the work you could create with a pencil and paper.

One of the most moving moments for me this evening was when Karen, Dans wife, spoke about the power we hold as artists and most importantly animators. She spoke of how a single moment and experience as a child can impact someone so much that when you grow up, even if you were only 3 years old when you experienced it, it can follow you through your adult hood. Even things as ridiculous as my little pony or rainbow bright can have a huge impact on our lives. The importance of creating with a purpose and meaning all along the while remaining yourself and showcasing your knowledge and experiences no matter how big or small is so important cause as animators so many people will experience the work that you create that you want them to walk away having been moved or learning something great.

Seriously, for the first time I actually was able to be around people who's raw passion really shined in everything they did in there lives. It was like looking at someone and seeing what it ment to live as themselves in every moment. Something very few people ever do. Karen went on to talk a bit about women in animation, a question Michelle posed to her during a 15 minute break, say there was a , "school in Russia of female animators in stop motion and how these women directed films with many different subject matters and feeling, in comparison with the male dominated american market. She went on to talk about how, everyones individual life is an idea and how 2 siblings might experience the exact same events in life" and they could still be radically different when talked about. "Animation is about storytelling and moving an audience, bringing what you want to see to the tables." She asked us all to think about,"What you want when you are 50?"

She continued," be in a world but not necessarily of it. Create to have an impact and give everything your best. There is nothing to loose and connecting with your own stories is like self love. Look at animation as a way to become something or someone else. It is putting who you are into everything you do. By animating you are bringing a gift to the world." I especially loved that last line. "By animating you are bringing a gift to the world." I think that is something that can said about almost all art.

It made me think of another subject that was eventually brought up during the meeting and that was how the business side of things really collides with the art side of things. Sometimes when I see the things done in television now it doesn't even feel like art anymore but simply a product. It really kills what I feel like animation stands for. Dan talked a bit about seeing the movie Dream on Silly Dreamer and the disrespect he felt that the business executives had for the artists. Which I think makes you ask the question, how can you create great classics when you isolate the 1 most important key to creating such classics and destroy it. After all, without the artist there can be no art. It s the same with the educational institution if you think about it. How can you pass on such an amazing art form to willing students when the educational system is more interested in making money than providing good teachers that are eager to share there knowledge. Even in the work place they replace experience workers with inexperienced people and it is hard to learn in an environment where every one is guessing as to how to make something work.

There were many other topics brought to the table. One in particular that crossed not just the sex barrier but eventually the race barrier. On the topic of women in animation, Dan talked about how so many animators were scared to draw women out of fear of making them ugly. Then he reasoned, why not just get a female animator to animate female characters. Who can know a women better than a women knows herself after all. It is the same for the use of multi-cultural themes in animated film. Particularly at Disney. He mentioned that there was rumor of the first 2D feature film being a movie called the Frog Prince and how the character were going to be Black this time around. He talked about the important to of seeing multicultural images in animation, but his fear of what the approach would be to doing black characters. From the way he spoke he hadn't been all that impressed with past portrayals of Black people in animated films and television and expressed a dislike for some shows cause he felt they were simply to stereotypical. One particular instant mentioned was the choice to make Sebastian, from Little Mermaid, rastafarian with big lips and a accent simply because it was funny. This goes back to the idea of just how influential animation can be on a society of youths and adults alike. It is like saying it is ok to disrespect a group of people based on what you saw on television or a stereotype. He mentioned a few instances where this happened in animation and the artists didn't realize they were actually hurting people by being uninformed or even simply hiring animators with enough cultural experience in an area to portray a cultural group in a respectful educating way.

Another Highlight of the evening was getting to see some of Dans personal work. Page after page of breathtaking masterpieces. I could only wish to be that good. There were storyboards,pencil tests, model sheets, and character designs. he even showed his take on Anime styled designs. I asked him if he liked any anime and he said both he and his wife both grew up watching and loving AstroBoy (by Tezuka).

There really is a life and fluidity to Dans work that is rarely seen. He also discussed his strive for perfection in all his work. He said out right that he didn't like to sketch or thumbnail cause it just took to much time. ( It brought back a memory for me cause last year when drawing the hand assignment for Sal I realized if I did it right the first time around I wouldn't have to draw it over and over again.) I often feel the same about comics too. I hate laboring over a page or a single drawing. you can call it lazy if you want to, but I get frustrated and my attention span gets short but if I did it right from the start that means allot less headaches. Anyway, Mr. Haskett mentioned how some animators he worked with could labor over a line till they got it right. Just imagine not having to do that how much faster you would be. You could draw something one time and move on to the next page or project.

All around tonight gave me a new perspective on things. It is the most I felt I had learned in a very long time. There are no one set of special rules there is only being an artist. For a while I had been wondering if maybe I was looking at life in the wrongway, but guess there is no right or wrong there is only doing and being. I hope there are others out there reading this. I welcome all responses from those that came along tonight. And to Juan and Emil I really wish you could have been here. So I hope you find this helpful most of all.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow I will post some art.
~Arie

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Comic Fonts

Just thought I'd mention a site with cool fonts
http://www.blambot.com/fonts.shtml
The FREE fonts are located on the left hand side. (The ones with the red dots are the ones you have to pay for). Some of the decorative fonts they have could be used for cool credit intros to your anim. If you dabble in comics the fonts here are also nice.

-M :)

Links for building

Links for building Dreamweaver site. Just putting these here so I can keep track of them.

http://www.entheosweb.com/website_design/dreamweaver_template.asp

http://www.w3schools.com/htmldom/dom_obj_style.asp#scrollbar

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Interesting find...

Hey guys I found an interesting download while surfing the net (i finally got highspeed at home!).
Anyway...
http://punchandbrodie.com/leo/stanchfield/
i'm new to this sort of stuff so sorry if its not hyperlinked...i am a computer noob.
Its a very interesting PDF that goes over tons of animation priciples and what not. So, if you don't already have, then get it!

The reason behind the madness.


So I have been looking through John k's blog and lessons and if you have been carefully reading them you will kbnow that is he opening a new studio and is looking for artists. I knew there wasw a reason he was posting tutorials on line. I am kinda jumping ahead on this to so sorry guys if you are confused. this comes from lesson 9.

This last blog was posted on January 13, 2007 :

"This is a very serious message from me to you if you ever want to work on real cartoons, not phony-ass flat Nick stuff.

You have to teach yourself the principles of good animation drawing, because no school will teach you and I can't afford to train you on the job. I'm starting a new studio soon and need cartoonists, but do the work you need to.

All the most important things you need to know about drawing animation are in these model sheets I lifted from Steve's great Animation Archive.
http://www.animationarchive.org/

Do what I did when I was your age. Copy them all and learn the underlying concepts in these great drawings:

Construction
Line Of Action
Fluid Poses
Clear silhouettes
Appeal and cuteness

You kids have a head start. All this stuff was hard to find when I broke into the industry. Now you can just go to the animation archive and see some of the best cartoon and illustration art in history, and then come here to have me pick out the stuff that is the cream of the crop and the quickest to learn from.

Not every old model sheet is great. These are. I weeded the weaker ones out for you.

Take advantage and stop drawing flat and lifeless! If you can do it, then you can help me save cartoons.

If you have talent, and you copy these things carefully, and then apply the principles to your own drawings, you will learn very fast and you will be able to adapt to any style. Once you work at Nick or Cartoon Network, you can easily dumb down your ability. If you work for me, you will learn even more, but learn the principles on your own."


I am kind posting this to show my Friend emil as well that he he says he wants things copied exactly as they are.

Anyway happy drawing. I think it would be an amazing experience to work with john k. I want to do my best at this stuff.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

YOUR CAREER IN ANIMATION!!!!!!

Hosted by asifa east, the panel board metting thingy they had to night WAS EXCELLENT!!! I went into NYC with mindsiz3 and his lovely wife and my friend Michy09 showed up as well. They had an area of the museum( Museum of moving images) set up with a video game exhibit. the cool thing was that you could actually play the games for free. made me wish I had gotten there early but it was awesome non the less.

When the lecture started there was a surprise guest!! The one and only Dan Haskett!! as well as Bill plimpton and many other fabulous animation artists! I was so excited.


Haskett created the above catoon from sesame street. It really touched home for me cause I remember seeing that cartoon and how much it impacted me as a kid. So simple but so infuential. his work is so fluid and expressive and I must say it is an old favorite. Honestly though I didn't know exactly who he was untilabout a week ago when I read an article on him and I remember thinking OOOhhhh now i know how created that. He also designed minerva mink on animaniacs and ariel on the little mermaid! I have loved his work all this time and never knew it! anyway check out this cool article on him. http://www.seeingblack.com/2005/x020705/haskett.shtml








When it comes to animation i love his movement and sheer understanding of people and there habits. he work really is fluid and full of life. I strive to have that kind of life in my own work.

Anyway back to the lecture. It was simpley brilliant. I really learned alot and I was super excited to be in the city and at the museum. I think i learned more in a night there than i would sitting in class all week when it comes to the animationindustry and all the hard work that really goes into it. I wallked away inspired beyond beleif.

I even got to shake Mr. Hasketts name and show my apreciation for his work and even meet his beautiful wife. Anyway it is great to put a face with the amazing work i have loved so long without knowing who made it or where it came from! Now I just gotta get him to mentor me. lol Yeah right like that would ever happen.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Classic cartoons you can watch online

This was a cool little thing i found. they have some classica cartoon shows on websites other than you tube. check it out. And thanks for the interview Emil i can't wait to read it.

http://video.aol.com/video-category/in2tv-animation/1718

http://www.retrojunk.com/list_tvshows/1990/pop-1/



A animator's story





I thought this would be a interesting interview to read about Jon Mcclenahan. If you don't know who he is, he is the director of such shows as Animaniacs, Tiny toons, Taz-mania, dudley the dinosaur and many more to name a few. I was very honored to have been taught a animation class from him awhile back and I ran accross this link is a very in-depth interview about his beginnings and experiences as a animator from working with Hanna-Barbera in the 70's to now, as well as his experiences with writers, studio heads, and experiences with other well known animators. As I said it's a very in-depth interview about 5-6 pages long so if you have the time for a good read about a influential and talented animator, then I suggest getting comfortable and giving it a read.


Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The awesome ness of Glen Keane

Ok ok i know I have posted alot in the last few days, but I am loving this thing. Reaserching animation and animators and the fact that you guys are here on the blog with me gives me a reason to post all the really cool things i stumble onto. Bad spelling and all. So with no further ado, Glean Kean. Animator on tarzan. He has a blog too so check it oout cause it is really amazing! http://theartofglenkeane.blogspot.com/

and here is the amazing stuff I found!


Asifa east hosting an event.

In friday january 26th Asifa East (an animation community of the east coast) will be hosting a discussion about the animation industry. Feel free to stop over at the web site for more information.

Go to the web site and check out the other events. http://www.asifaeast.com/

Sunday, January 21, 2007

A Post for silverleofirious




Ok so you were asking about good links for finding photoshop tutorials online so I thought I would make you a blog since I already have so many links on the side for all the lesson I found.
I folund this the other day in fact. The person running the site is a animator and she does a bit of furry art but her stuff in general I like. and she has a method of photoshop coloring similar to my own.

Iso here is the link to the tutorialspage and the link to her links pages which leads to other places you can find good art resources. I how this is helpful.

http://fern.junglestudio.com/?page_id=19

http://fern.junglestudio.com/?page_id=8


Anyway I hope this is useful. I will talk to ya later!

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Cats don't dance





I think this movie didn't get nearly the recognition that it should have gotten. It was one of the last really good traditional animated movies done before the wave of 3-d movies began. It brought back the nostalgic days of the old Warner Bros. cartoons and was animated with just as much care and life. The character designs were very vibrant and just full of life and movement thanks to the skill set of the animators and director Mark Dindal. If you're into typical animated musicals, 30's nostalgia, and anthropormorphic animals, then this is the one for you. Here's a You tube link to get a little idea of how great the animation in the movie is if you haven't seen it already.


Drawing a dynamic human figure


One of the best things I learned this year was how to really give movment to simple shapes and forms. It was one of those things where after some one told me I was just like, "why had I never thought of this before." Anyway here is a little tutorial I through together to share with a freind that asked me how to do it.

Fun with movement


These are just some of my favorite sketches that show a little bit of movement and expression. They're alot better than what I was drawing months ago but as much as I improved, I can always continue to get better. Hopefully this blog can progress that for me. In the meanwhile here are some of my fave sketches to start off with.


Freeze frame drawing

Some of my flcl sketches. I have been watching shows and freeze framing them to draw the actions as fast as i can. it is a great exercise for lerning form and construction as well as lets me analyze animation timing. Flcl uses allot extreme poses and distortion so it is fun to play with. The other one I did for class. We did freeze frames of pluto. after getting really warmed off it was fun. the most fun part was trying to keep up with my teachers drawing speed. The man is so fast! http://www.karmatoons.com/