Animation Nation

There's a new website available for students looking to get hooked up with a mentor in the Los Angeles area. The Motivarti Mentorship Program was formed to help bridge the gap between students and artists working in LA. The goal is to give aspiring artists all around the nation and the world an opportunity to try and connect with the industry’s top professionals. Whether you’re hoping to get into visual development, concept design, storyboarding, animation, character design, or even children’s book illustration or theme park design, Motivarti.org is striving to gather a variety of mentors just for you. You can access the site through the links provided and also read the communication provided to us by the site's founder, Jackie Huang, at this link to the Forums.

If you're aware of what's happening with 3D printing, chances are you're as enthusiastic as I am about what the prospects of this technology for the future. Currently it can incredible things. Imagine what this will be like in years to come as it develops further. Here's a video describing what the ZPrinter 650 from the Z Corporation can do.

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Here's a great video that shows the ZPrinter 650 in action, as a real life crescent wrench is printed at such a high level of quality and fidelity, it can work as well as the original.

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Artistically, there's an endless horizon as to what this can do for creative endeavors such as 3D sculpting. Take for example the work of Eric van Straaten from the Netherlands who comes up with surreal and complex subjects that he produces through a 3D printing process. This technology can also be applied to food, fabrics, just about anything as the videos I've assembled here illustrate. The day is approaching, and in many ways is already here, where we'll be able to use this process to manufacture our own products in a corner of our studio. Much to look forward to in the realm of 3D printing.

In case you haven't heard the news, the great Bill Keane, the genius behind the "Family Circus" comic strip, and father of one of industry's greatest animators Glen Keane, has passed away. Our sincerest condolences on the loss of this beloved talent. An article on the life of Bill Keane can be viewed here. The following video from CBS News here in the US and takes a brief look at his wonderful life.

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Fernando Jimenez is a long time member of AN. In fact, he was a student of mine years ago as a teenager. Now he's on to exciting things developing new and innovative products and apps for the iPhone and the iPad through a company he's formed called Plai. This one in particular is very intriguing as it is the only product of its kind that allows users to turn their iPads into art pads.

It's called the "Estylo 1.1" and as part of its launch, Fernando has taken it to Kickstart.com in a campaign to raise funds to market this compelling. Estylo 1.1 is the first and only wooden stylus to work on capacitive touch screens such as the iPad. The goal was to create a completely eco friendly product that would inspire the imagination. Designed for artists seeking greater accuracy over their work, it can also be used for writing or simply navigating the Web. Estylo uses high quality conductive materials so no extra pressure is needed for it to be detected by the device. Estylo is in effect, a pencil for the iPad.

Follow this link to the Estylo campaign on Kickstarter and check out what it's all about. Please consider supporting Fernando and Plai as they endeavor to move forward with the Estylo 1.1.

ANer hcjehg from HoBSoft has brought yet another animated film to our attention from France. This one is entitled "Parigot" and is exquisite in its design and breathtaking in its animated complexity. Parigot is produced by a small group of very talented artists. Their website is in the works but you can see it as it's coming along here. As an added bonus, he's inlcuded a link to the animatic. Click here to access the Forum topic.

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A couple of days ago in the US the state of Oklahoma experienced an earthquake, the biggest in its recorded history. Oklahoma does not have very many earthquakes at all, so this one was intriguing. Turns out the epicenter of the quake is in the heart of an area where "fracking" is used to extract oil and natural gas from deep below the surface.

Fracking is controversial as it involves pumping water, sand and chemicals under pressure to force out gas and oil, especially natural gas. Here's an animated film I discovered, produced by Earthjustice.org that explains the process and the environmental and health risks associated with it. The Forum topic is here with additional videos describing problems with fracking available for you to see.

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Recently I had an opportunity to see "Tangled" and after re-assimilating the experience after its theatrical run last year, I'm compelled to offer my comments and say that it is an absolutely fantastic film. Tangled is by far a much better movie than it's initially given credit for.

The production quality is excellent, the story moves along nicely, the acting is terrific, so's the music and orchestration, and the design is everything one would expect from the studio's outstanding staff. Above all, the relationship between the two central characters is very touching and believable, and with an exceptional villain in the great Disney tradition. To top it off, there's several places where the viewer will be challenged to hold back the tears.

While not perfect, it is in no doubt one of the best, if not the best animated feature Disney has produced since I don't know when, in my opinion. Here's a sequence from Tangled to enjoy...

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Heard from Jim Clark today concerning this painting recently discovered and attributed to Ward Kimball, one of the venerable Nine Old Men from the Golden Age of Disney Animation.

Jim has this to say about the special work of art from one of animation's most brilliant talents...

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WARD KIMBALL - "THE COMMITTEE" - ON PBS
Look for a special episode of Antiques Roadshow featuring "The Committee", on PBS from Eugene in early 2012!

I had the opportunity to bring "The Committee" to the Roadshow this summer for review in Eugene, Oregon. Appraiser, Leila Dunbar (best known for sports memorabilia appraisals) immediately recognized the piece as a Kimball. Apparently her father was an expert on Disney and animation history, so Leila took to the piece and put us on the air. The Committee played amazing on the monitor and when it hits the air in 2012 the whole country will learn about Ward Kimball, his contributions and his work.

The Committee, 1949
Ward Kimball 1914-2002
Oil on Masonite
24in. x 42in

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For more about what we can look forward to concerning Ward Kimball's painting being featured on The Antiques Roadshow on PBS (Public Broadcasting System in the US)  follow this link to the AN Forums. 

It's about time, way overdue, what took them so long, glad it finally happened, what else can be said for the man who became the most prolific individual in the history of modern animation. His star is located at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the El Capitan Theatre. The special moment at yesterday's historic ceremony in Hollywood has been captured for all to see, followed by Mr Lasseter's personal comments in the videos below. Additional links can be found at the Forum topic.

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It's always great to showcase the animation of new members on AN, especially when it's a collective of independent animators who are doing their own creative thing. This is from The Wire Room, a group of three feature animators in the UK who've come up with a pilot episode to pitch for a property of theirs called 'Time Avengers'.

The aim of this project is to show the potential of the show and how an expensive look could be achieved on a relatively low budget with a small crew of artists. Their pitch package consists of a Pitch Bible with concept art, episode synopsis, character artwork, back stories and story arcs as well as this excellent footage. It was all created in just 8 months by the 3 members of The Wire Room with the additional assistance of Musician Chris Hill and voice actors Tim Dickinson and Suzy McLintock. Here's their YouTube Channel and here's the pilot for Time Avengers. The Forum topic is here.

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