Cartoon Brew posted this delightful animated short back in December. I just had the chance to watch it and wanted to repost it here - it's directed by 'Paperman' director John Kahrs and a really beautiful example of branded content that achieves its purpose in promoting the product while still bursting at the seams with artistic merit.
Check out the full post, including an interview with the creators, on Cartoon Brew, and watch the making-of below.
I'm in full-steam-ahead mode with my portfolio and website, more updates to come soon!
Long time no see! I'd love to say you can keep your eye out for more posts coming soon, but the truth is that lately I'm trying to spend more time making art than writing about it. I have been going through some great artistic growth and hope to be almost completely revamping my portfolio in the coming months.
In the meantime, I wanted to share these two animated music videos that spoke to me, and reminded me of each other while still being distinct.
A couple of other things that have been inspiring me lately - illustrator Andy J. Miller's podcast Creative Pep Talk has been a godsend when I'm feeling lost or uninspired or just in need of a little... well, creative pep talk. And I love staring at the logo on my phone screen, because colors.
Also, Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic is full of inspirational, yet down-to-earth, practical advice on the nature of creativity and one's devotion to their chosen craft. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone trying to uncover the 'strange jewels' within themselves. And I also love staring at the book's cover, because colors.
One of the many benefits to not posting for almost a year is that I now have a nice buildup of my own work to post!
For realsies, though, I'm sorry for my absence, but this year has been certifiably insane. In a good way. But still insane. I'm happy to report that our wedding was great, A++, 5 star experience, would get married again. Also very happy that life is finally starting to resemble normalcy now.
Right after CTNx last year, my friend Ellen (who blogs for Garlic, My Soul, among others) contacted me to see if I would be interested in working with her fiancé Aaron, a DreamWorks TV writer, on one of his side projects, a 'Drunk History' spinoff called Drunk Literature. They'd done a full first season on YouTube that included The Catcher in the Rye, Hamlet, and 50 Shades of Grey, and they were gearing up for season 2. They had me in mind for their epic 'A Song of Ice and Fire' (aka Game of Thrones) episode. Being a huge fan of the book series and the show, I couldn't say no.
Clocking in at almost 8 minutes, it was their longest episode yet, covering the first three books in the series, which meant there was a lot of drawing to do (and there would be no time for polishing). I definitely utilized my skills from my Intro to Storyboarding class with Louie del Carmen here, especially when it came to the animation effects that I wanted to achieve.
Obviously, spoilers for Game of Thrones abound below.
Heeeeeeeeeello everyone... I'm just going to pretend I'm Phil the Groundhog today, poking my head out to see if it's really, actually 2015 and I really, actually haven't posted in 3 months. (Two and a half if we're being really precise so put down those pitchforks already.)
I wanted to do a recap of the 2014 CTN Animation Expo before it got too far away, since building a professional concept art portfolio to show at that convention was ultimately the goal that I've been driving towards for... the entire time I've been writing this blog. To start off, here's a cute little recap video shot by artist Anthony Vu. (You can even see yours truly from 2:03-2:12!)
For anyone who doesn't know, CTN Expo (stands for Creative Talent Network) is a 3-day convention held every November in Burbank, primarily for the creative side of the animation and videogame industries. The convention floor mainly consists of artists selling originals, prints and books from their booths, but the major animation studies (Sony, Disney, Nickelodeon etc.) all have representations there as well. There are professional portfolio reviews that you can apply for ahead of time, as well as art-related panels and demonstrations that are constantly going on. It's almost frustrating to be there, because at any given time, 5 different things could be happening, all of which you want to be present for.
This was the fourth year of the convention (started in 2010). I had been the previous year, in 2013, but just for a day to walk around and see what it was all about. This year I went all out. I bought a 3-day pass and made reservations for a couple of art demos that I didn't want to miss. And most importantly, I worked really hard, for four months, to get my portfolio in order so I could have something at least mildly professional-looking to present for reviews. My completed portfolio can be seen here (or by just clicking the 'portfolio' tab above).
Firstly I just want to say that the energy at this convention is insane. It's a growing event in a fairly small space, so it can reach Comic-Con levels of crowdedness - but it's so awe-inspiring to be in a place where you know everyone else is just as much of an animation and concept art geek as you are. That said, it can also get incredibly taxing, especially if you enjoy your personal space as much as I do. My first day there (Friday) was an extremely long 8 hours of waiting in lines and jostling with crowds, as well as approaching artists I had been admiring over the internet for years, introducing myself, and asking them to look at my vastly inferior portfolio and give me feedback (which feels about the same as vomiting in front of an attractive stranger). I also had a professional portfolio review with Disney and with Bento Box (the producer of Bob's Burgers. Interesting side note, I found out they operate out of the same office building as 51 Minds, the reality TV production company I work for. Hollywood is a really small town sometimes).
I got really wonderful portfolio feedback - in that I have a fairly clear direction for what I want my next steps to be art-wise. I had several people say "Your skills are in a great place, you could be working as a prop designer right now, no question" (which got a little frustrating after the 4th or 5th time, because of course the ideal response would be "Okay, so... here I am!!") Lora Innes and Justin Copeland of the Paper Wings Podcast literally freaked out over my portfolio, giving me a huge boost at the very start of the convention. I was able to meet Pascal Campion, Cory Loftis, Brett Bean and Justin Rodriguez (both of whom I knew from the Drawing Club), my former character design teacher Jose Lopez, Oatley Academy helmer Chris Oatley, Clio Chiang, Stephen Silver, Bobby Chiu, and James Gurney (!), the author and illustrator of Dinotopia which I have loved since I was four. In addition, I was able to ask most of the above for a portfolio review, most of which were, at the very least, favorable. Almost everyone said something along the same lines - that I need to imbue my characters with more personality and I need to work on my storytelling. They all said this in different ways - some more specific, like tailoring environments to fit the characters more - and some more vague, like “It’s all in the line - you just have to find the line that speaks to the personality of the character.” They all asked for more action poses and more expressions, and more process work, like silhouettes and rough sketches, and they all encouraged me to do more plain observational drawing, painting and sketching. But the true revelation came when I talked to Dutch artist Edwin Rhemrev, and he said “Character Design isn’t about how the character looks. It’s about who the character is.” He showed me a page of sketches he’d done for a single character and said “See how these all look different? Here he’s old, here he’s young; here he’s fat, and here he’s skinny. But they all have the same personality. And you can tell.”
Ahhh. The clouds parted. I don't know that I've ever felt such sudden clarity in my life.
But the best thing about the convention was that by the end of the third day, I felt like I wasn't a lone little fish swimming against the tide anymore. Just from the sheer amount of time I spent there talking to people, asking questions, being polite, generally networking, I felt like I belonged there. My normally overactive imposter's syndrome had faded. On Sunday afternoon, I made the rounds to revisit the artists who gave me portfolio reviews, to thank them and buy something from their booths (the least I could do after the free advice they'd given me), and they all recognized me and greeted me warmly. I no longer felt, or feel, like an outsider in the Los Angeles animation community. Since the convention ended, I've been to several of the drop-in lifedrawing sessions and sketch clubs that I know of around LA, and almost every time I recognize someone and am able to quickly strike up a conversation. Even though I'm just an amateur artist, and it looks like I'm going to stay that way for the time being, I no longer feel like a phony sitting down to draw next to professionals from Dreamworks or Disney. And that feeling is priceless.
The teaser poster and trailer for Pixar's new film, 'Inside Out,' has been released!
I typically try not to watch trailers at all since they tend to give too much away, but teasers are usually fine. Of course, there's not that much to say about it yet either, except that this looks intriguing and that the premise is pretty bold - I'll be curious to see how they pull it off for an entire movie. Here's the film's writeup from Pixar:
Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is
uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San
Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy
Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling)
and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the
control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through
everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new
life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy,
Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive,
the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and
school.
I don't know if you could call this a 'trailer' since it's 5 minutes long, mostly wordless and I have no idea what's going on... but I love it.
Beautiful animation / imagery / characters / environments. I'm down anytime there's a reindeer looking thing with 90's-era Ribbon Dancer stuff flowing off of him while he runs through the sky and then transforms into the cutest chubby little cat-reindeer-creature you've ever seen.
As of this writing I'm officially back to work! I'm sad to lose all that art studying time, and the working-from-home routine which I had settled into very nicely, but I'm excited to be back at a company where I have a lot of friends (including Dave... fiancé carpooling FTW), and the show I'm on should be an interesting editing challenge. Also money. Money never hurts. As soon as I get my first paycheck I'm finally going to buy... drumroll... NEW GLASSES. Get excited. God I'm getting old.
Today I just wanted to share another kickstarter project that I came across that really touched my heart... a children's animated series called Lost Treasure Hunt.
The reason I'm sharing is because this looks like exactly the type of project I'd love to be involved in someday. I think pretty much everyone has fond memories of the media they absorbed as a child, whether it was Howdy Doody or Dora the Explorer. So it's incredibly important, in my opinion, to be producing high quality children's entertainment, and especially educational entertainment. Children are extraordinary learners, but they won't pay attention to anything that presents the facts in a dry, boring way - the education has to inspire their built-in sense of wonder. When we produce films, TV programs, and other media for children that gets them excited, appeals to their imagination and gets them to learn at the same time, we're actively investing in their future - which is our future too.
Getting off the soapbox now. Anyway, 'Lost Treasure Hunt' has all the right ideas behind it, and all the right personnel too (the credits are a who's-who of animated TV and films). I encourage you to go check it out!
Friends, thank you all very much for your continued patience with my lack of regular posts. A lot of this year has been about finding a balance - balancing time between work, friends, Dave, general home and life management, and of course, art. I've always remembered Bobby Chiu in his audiobook, The Perfect Bait, saying "There will never be enough time. You have to MAKE time." And that's what I've tried to do this year. Sometimes it was successful, and other times, less so.
Of course, I've also heard that adult life goes more or less like this - "House, job, kids, workout routine, hobby/passion. Pick three." Gulp. I've already picked three, but I'm planning on adding the other two down the line. Makes quite the case for turning your passion into your job.
I've been struggling to find time and motivation for drawing lately, but then I came across this short writeup today, "How To Put Heart Into a Storyboard Sequence," and it is just one of those great reads that reaffirms your passion for art and animation. The example used by author Francis Glebas is for the Disney movie Pocahontas, far from being my favorite Disney movie - but the example is just as powerful all the same. He takes you through a complete sequence step-by-step and explains his process for interpreting the emotion in the scene visually, which is the mission of a storyboard.
I encourage you to read the full essay. Words of wisdom: "You have to put your heart into your work, whether it comedy, drama,
horror, action or romance. That’s our goal. We want to avoid boredom. We
want excitement in our lives. We watch movies to feel alive and yes,
that feels good. I’m still struggling to be better than my last picture…"
Later this week: one last Daily Sketch update before I leave for Europe for three weeks!
Two blogs in one day??? Can it be?!?! YES IT CAN, because the teaser trailer for the sequel to MY FAVORITE MOVIE was just released. Do yourself a favor and watch it like I did - in an empty room, fullscreen, in HD, with the sound way... way up.
Seriously... my excitement for this borders on maniacal.
Most people who call themselves passionate about concept art and animation dream of working at Pixar. I would say that this article only heightens the status of the legendary campus from 'workplace of dreams' to 'Animator's Olympus': The Hottest Bars in Emeryville, CA are at Pixar Animation Studios
I do think Pixar has somewhat lost its way artistically lately, turning to sequels and prequels after its years of funny, heartfelt AND financially successful originals. So I can't say that I dream of working there, exactly (not that I'd turn it DOWN... Pixar talent scouts who are obviously reading my blog). But I would definitely love to work at a place that has this sort of attitude towards fun, a similar drive for bringing its people together (while blowing off creative steam).
Someday, after I've cobbled together some level of mastery over...
Figure Drawing
Animal Drawing
Environment Drawing
Anatomy
Character Design
Composition
Perspective
Lighting
Color
... I would like to tackle ANIMATION - something I've never done beyond making flipbooks as a kid (inspired, of course, by those awesome little pictures on the lower right corners of the pages of the Animorphs series.) I would actually say that the ability to make short animations of my own is the end goal of all this drawing business... at least for now.
Whenever I finally DO get to that point, I'm sure I will be using Rhino House as a tool. It looks like an incredibly useful database. As always, I'm extremely impressed by and grateful for the amount of art education tools available for free on the internet - like ProkoTV and the Figure & Gesture Drawing Tool.
In the meantime, at least I've got this video to clear up the mysteries of animation for me...
(Animation by Giovanni Braggio for his thesis film at The Animation Workshop, Denmark.)
This may well be my only post for June 2013 (although I will try to not have that be the case)! As promised, this month has been throwing a lot at me, but I have kept up with daily sketches and have kept the stress relatively under control... this year in general, I've surprised myself with the amount of work I can handle, which is a nice thing to discover.
I know I haven't had a lot of time for the blog lately, and I'm sorry, but I happened to check on it today and realized that it just passed 10,000 pageviews! I don't know who's out there reading this besides my family and friends, but obviously there are more of you, and I just want to say thanks for reading... it's wonderful that we live in an age where great information can be so easily shared among people who have the same interests (in this case, great art)!
I just love that particular little comic... because it's so true.
I heard about this through a post on Cartoon Brew, which highlighted Swarr's recent endeavor to turn his webcomic into a weekly online animated series. The interview is great, talking about the pros and cons of big-budget TV network animation versus online animation.
In response to where he finds the time to animate a series on top of having a full-time job, Swarr says, "I wake up very early, every morning at 6AM. I exercise, get my morning chores done, and get to my desk for at least two hours of work before going into Nickelodeon. This is the best way I’ve found to make sure I have a sizable block of focussed uninterrupted time to get stuff done. Also working in the morning insures that I’m not exhausted from my day job." Personally I've found this to be the best recipe for myself to get my daily sketches done as well - I'm often too tired to turn out anything good at night, and I find my mind is clear and open to all the possibilities drawing has to offer in the early morning.
That's it for now - I will be back as soon as I can with updates on my current CDA class, Landscape Painting with Leighton Hickman, who is a great teacher. So far, I have this to say: painting is hard.
My wonderful boyfriend David and I agree on most things. We initially bonded over our love of TV shows, videogames and all things nerd. However, we can't seem to come to an agreement on one of my favorite movies, Spirited Away.
Hayao Miyazaki is the cofounder of Studio Ghibli, Japan's premiere animation studio and producer of Oscar-winning Spirited Away, as well as other well-known films such as Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and Howl's Moving Castle. I have always loved his films, but Dave just couldn't get into it. It's true that they are definitely strange movies by standard American film terms.
Miyazaki explains one of the core differences between his films and American films in this wonderfully illustrated little comic. The fact that his characters are usually neither good nor evil is probably my favorite thing about his movies.
That's all from me for the next little while - I'm about to launch into the crazy month of June with a new show to work on, a new art class (!), and TWO trips and TWO sets of visitors. Here's hoping I come out clean on the other side (with more daily sketches to show for it)!
Every once in a while, Andreas Deja or James Gurney (in this case, Gurney) will post another vintage Disney behind-the-scenes video. These shorts tend to be a little cheesy and staged, but they're fascinating insights into the way things were done at Disney. They also give me a strong feeling of nostalgia for the old days, when films were produced with love and care, and were allowed to move at their own pace, unconcerned about ADD viewers being distracted by their cellphones.
The film highlights Disney studio artists Marc Davis, Eyvind Earle, Walter Peregoy, and Joshua Meador in the various ways they contribute to a movie like Sleeping Beauty.
"Go forward with what you have to say, expressing things as you see them." - Robert Henri, The Art Spirit. I hear this advice repeated often nowadays by artists I follow: don't try to achieve or imitate a "style" - just draw, and you will find your own style, which is better than anything you could have attempted to imitate. (Reminds me of that quote, 'Be the best version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else'... or something like that.)
"Making an animated film is a cooperative effort. Each artist must be prepared to modify his own pet ideas, in order to achieve the best possible solution to the problem. No one has things entirely his own way, but in the end, the result is better than any one of us could have achieved alone." - Marc Davis
This second sentiment is something I've had to learn on my own at work. I'm often working with a team of editors to produce a show. I know I have strengths and weaknesses as an editor, and the other editors help fill in my weak spots while I contribute in the best way I know how. The end result is a completely collaborative effort, which none of us could have done by ourselves.
The four different paintings of the oak tree at the end of the film are wonderful to watch - especially since I am about to be diving into oil painting much sooner than I had thought I would. Concept Design Academy's summer classes went on sale the other day, and I was too slow to get a spot in my top choice for a class, "Sketching for Environment" with Ed Li, which sold out within 10 minutes. As an extreme last minute resort, I grabbed a spot in "Landscape Painting" with Leighton Hickman. I am excited but also very nervous. Oil painting is very much outside of my comfort zone, and I'd been waiting to tackle it until I'd gotten a better foundation in drawing. However, I'm hoping it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise...
Last but not least, there was the very exciting news of Disney announcing their latest animated feature, which will be called "Big Hero Six" and set in the future city of "San Fransokyo." If this first official glimpse into the film is a true indication of its look, I'm very excited for it...
As someone who is very prone to 'museum fatigue,' I really enjoyed this short by Dreamworks animator David Stodolny.
He has a making-of video as well. Great to hear him talk about his process.
I confess to be a person who, most of the time, does not 'get' fine art. I can certainly appreciate the techniques of the old masters - but much of modern and contemporary art especially is lost on me. My interest lies in what most people would call commercial art. I like well-executed drawings of characters with lots of appeal and charisma that make you curious about their story. I like sprawling, epic visuals of fantasy worlds with lots of color. I like art that tells a (fairly) concrete story. I visited the Brewery Arts Complex this past weekend for their biannual art walk and read an artist's statement that had something to do with "breaking down the viewer so they can build themselves up again and find their true self and purpose". The art looked to me like lots of grey and blue and tan smudges on a huge canvas. I guess I didn't try very hard to be broken down and reborn while looking at it, but that certainly wasn't my experience.
However - a while ago I wrote about the Andy Goldsworthy documentary 'Rivers and Tides.' If my memory serves, the movie as a whole asks the question of 'what is art'? More specifically, because it takes so long to build Goldsworthy's pieces, and then he then leaves them to break down over time, when are they art and when are they no longer art? You can go down a very long road with that line of questioning - is art the idea in the person's brain? Is it still art when all the natural pieces he uses have broken up into their separate, individual parts again? Were those pieces art before he even started, merely via their potential to become art?
I have always remembered the very last scene - Goldsworthy walks out into a field in wintertime and throws huge handfuls of snow into the air. He lets the sparkling pieces drift away on the wind and watches them go. And then he turns around and walks back home. I remember, at the time I watched it, having my mind opened to the idea that he had created art that lasted only 4 or 5 seconds.
At the end of the day, it's my belief that 'art' is really anything anyone wants it to be. It's anything you find beautiful, or that appeals to your emotions, or makes you look at or think about something in a different manner than you had before, or that serves its function in an extremely efficient and pleasing way (in which case, the Dyson vacuum that I bought over the weekend is a work of art. THAT is a beautifully functional machine). I may not have 'understood' that artist's work at the Brewery Art Walk this past weekend - but at the end of the day, his art makes sense to him, and it also makes sense to someone who's going to buy it for tens of thousands of dollars, and he'll get to continue living in a beautiful downtown loft throwing colors on canvases all day, so who's really got the last laugh there?
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Posts are gonna be really few and far between for the time being - I've even stopped doing daily instagrams (though I'm still making sure to sit with a sketchbook for at least a few minutes every day). Work continues to be crazy, and our lives are about to get crazier still - May and June hold several trips, visitors, AND a new art class (I am signing up tomorrow for Concept Design Academy's 'Sketching for Environment' with Ed Li). My motivation levels are running very low lately, which I think is due to a combination of a crazy work schedule, lack of exercise, lack of a class/artist environment keeping me accountable, and perhaps even a little bit of art burnout. One day I feel like anything is possible and everything is attainable - and the next I feel like I'm peering up through layers and layers and layers of inadequacies and things I'll never have time to learn. It's the ciiIIIIIRRRRclle of LIIIIIiiiife...
In extreme contrast to my last post, today I am going to not bog you down with a bunch of words. Instead I'll just leave you with this awesome music video.
So many relatives drew my attention to this online short film today that I eventually just had to watch it. In the film, in very meta fashion, soon-to-be graduating film student Bianca Giaever asks her six year old cousin what to make a movie about, and then goes on to animate/shoot what he says. The result is not only delightfully adorable, but a great example of simple, cohesive design through and through on the part of the production.
Childrens' ability to just make up stories on the spot is unrivaled by any adult. I wish we all retained such natural carefree-ness with our creations into adulthood.
Post script: I aim to use the word "swizzling" more. That is not an English word, but it should be.
This year almost all of the Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts have been posted online ("The Simpsons: The Longest Daycare" is the last holdout as of right now). I've already posted Paperman twice on this blog but third time's the charm, right?
Even though Paperman will most likely win (not that I'm saying it shouldn't, it IS great), you should DEFINITELY check out the other three below.
'Adam and Dog,' beautifully directed and animated by Minkyu Lee, who says: “This is a short film that me and a group of my close friends made. It was put together by artists who work at various studios, including Disney Feature, Dreamworks and Pixar; The animation is done by myself, Jennifer Hager, James Baxter, Mario Furmanczyk, Austin Madison, and Matt Williames. Glen Keane also helped by being a consultant on the film, and also doing some visual development. It is a completely independent film without any major studio involvement. We are really excited for people to see it, and wanted to share.” You can also find a collection of some of the absolutely gorgeous backgrounds over at Living Lines Library.
'Head Over Heels,' by Tim Reckart, who apparently was friends with my friend Eric in middle school. Don't let the 'offbeat' look of the film fool you - this is a film full of heart (reminds me of Pixar's 'Up').
'Fresh Guacamole,' by PES - the precursor to this, Western Spaghetti, is also worth a watch (and both films make me hungry every time I watch them). Besides the absolutely brilliant execution as far as visuals go, I think what makes these films so winning is their excellent sound design!
It goes without saying that short films have less pressure on them than features during their production as far as studios and budgets are concerned, so you're always going to find smaller, off-the-beaten-path stories and animation styles in the shorts. But I think it's interesting to note that, of the 5 nominated films, two are stop-motion animation, and the other three have the look of traditional 2-D animation (even though they all implement CG animation in some way). EDIT: I also meant to mention how all of them are wordless! (With the possible exception of the Simpsons short, which I haven't seen yet.) Sometimes the best way to tell a story is without words.
Last year the winner for animated short was 'The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,' which is also definitely worth watching if you have the time.
It was a surprise that this won because everyone expected Pixar's short 'La Luna' to win. But totally deserved I think.
The nominees for Animated Feature are: Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates!: Band of Misfits, and Wreck-It Ralph. I've been a bad animation enthusiast this year in that I've only seen two out of the five - Brave and Wreck-It Ralph. Wreck-It Ralph was probably my favorite movie of 2012 in terms of pure enjoyment. Brave was aesthetically beautiful (I couldn't stop staring at Merida's hair) but disappointing story- and character-wise. I REALLY wanted to see Pirates because I've been a fan of Aardman ever since being introduced to their winning Wallace and Gromit shorts when I was little, but missed it while it was in theaters... same with ParaNorman, heard great things but missed it (although I have it on Amazon Prime rental right now so hopefully I'll watch it soon). I've heard Frankenweenie is missable though so I'll probably pass over that one.
They say it was a bad year for movies - but it was a great year for animation!
I know I said I'll post a big sketchdump... and I will. But for the moment I'm back to work full time and my weekends are crazy which leaves very little time for blogging (and artmaking :( but I'm still doing my best to make time).
In the meantime, one thing I CAN do during lunch at work is write short blog posts about awesome things I find on the internet. And this is the awesomeist thing I have seen in a while. It's an 8-minute thesis film called "The Reward", co-directed by Mikkel Mainz Elkjær and Kenneth Ladekjær at The Animation Workshop in Denmark, and that's all I'll say. Don't think. Just watch.
A bunch of the other art blogs that I follow have already posted about this (Muddy Colors - Lines and Colors - Cartoon Brew), which leaves me very little to do except have my voice join the chorus of praises for this great little film. I love the fact that it's wordless and thus able to be universally understood, I love the tongue-in-cheek tone (which is established within the first 60 seconds), and I love the "moral of the story" which is something I try to remind myself every day: The journey is its own reward. This relates to art education as well as life itself... the process of becoming a better, more complete artist/person is the true reward, as opposed to any particular goal or destination that you have in mind (making x amount of money... becoming famous... winning a certain art contest... getting a certain job). At the end of the day, outside forces are going to influence your life and either allow you to or prevent you from achieving those things... but only YOU have the power to determine your own attitude about how you live the life you have. If, despite everything, you work hard to improve yourself as an artist or grow as a person, then you've already succeeded. Put more succinctly: "Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.” - Alex Noble.
After watching this, two thoughts - (a) JEEEEEZ do I have a long way to go/a lot to learn about, (b) another great example of 2D animation meeting 3D technology!! I'll admit, as passionate as I am about animation, I'm still so uneducated about the way it works that I had no idea that this film used 3D modeling and animation.
Some backgrounds, character turnarounds and color scripts from the film's website:
