Rad Sechrist's "How To" blog

This is a great blog which ought to be on every animation student's blog roll -

Rad's How To

Rad Sechrist is a storyboard artist , currently working at Dreamworks Animation. His blog has some terrific tips on drawing for animation.

Rad also has combined his talents with several other animation artists on another how-to blog :

The Art Center - Sharing Ideas & Tips from Artist to Artist

He gives Tips on basic Storyboarding:

(click images to see larger)

How to Get Good FLOW into your rough drawings:

And many other fine tips for animation artists.

Check it out.

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Waking Sleeping Beauty trailer

(watch it full screen)



Even better , go watch the high-quality Quicktime version of the trailer here:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/wakingsleepingbeauty/

"Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairytale. It is a story of clashing egos, out of control budgets, escalating tensions… and one of the most extraordinary creative periods in animation history. Director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider, key players at Walt Disney Studios Feature Animation department during the mid1980s, offer a behind-the-magic glimpse of the turbulent times the Animation Studio was going through and the staggering output of hits that followed over the next ten years. Artists polarized between the hungry young innovators and the old guard who refused to relinquish control, mounting tensions due to a string of box office flops, and warring studio heads create the backdrop for this fascinating story told with a unique and candid perspective from those that were there. Through interviews, internal memos, home movies, and a cast of characters featuring Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Roy Disney, alongside an amazing array of talented artists that includes Don Bluth, John Lasseter, and Tim Burton, Waking Sleeping Beauty shines a light on Disney Animation’s darkest hours, greatest joys and its improbable renaissance."

First reviews of Chomet's "The Illusionist"

Sylvain Chomet's new hand-drawn animated feature film premiered recently at the Berlinale Film Festival .

Here are a few of the early reviews :


Variety review of "The Illusionist"

Another review of "The Illusionist"

Screen Daily review of "The Illusionist".

"It took six days and an awful lot of films, but the Berlinale has finally turned up a masterpiece. Moreover, it’s a rare case of one of the fest’s most eagerly awaited titles managing to meet, and even subvert, expectations.

“The Illusionist,” French animator Sylvain Chomet long-gestating follow-up the 2003 Oscar nominee “The Triplets of Belleville,” confirms a truly singular auteur sensibility, while revealing a more disciplined artist and storyteller within. A streamlined character study, less deliriously eccentric in tone and structure than his debut feature, “The Illusionist” nonetheless boasts an emotional heft that handsomely repays its creator’s restraint."

Some clips from the film are seen in this interview with Sylvain Chomet. (watch it in Full Screen Mode) -

The Secret of Kells - official U.S. trailer

The Secret of Kells official U.S. release trailer.

This film has been released in Ireland and in Europe, and has played a limited Oscar-qualifying run in a few theaters in the U.S., but has not yet been widely released . But it looks like it is on track now to get a proper theatrical release in the United States.

(the Oscar nomination for "Best Animated Feature Film" helped, I think !)

I'm hoping to see this and Sylvain Chomet's (Triplets of Belleville) new feature film "The Illusionist" soon.

Inspiration: Rune Bennicke Rough Animation pencil tests

Animation by Rune Bennicke.

Click through the link to Rune's Vimeo page to see more of his pencil tests -

Brother Bear Koda's Mom Reel from Rune Bennicke on Vimeo.

Making-Of "The Princess & the Frog" - A Frogumentary

Behind the scenes interviews with some of the artists who made "The Princess & the Frog" .

Here are two parts of the "frog-umentary" featuring Lead Animator Eric Goldberg , and Lead Key Clean-Up artist Marshall Toomey.

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Click through to YouTube to watch the other parts of the documentary.

Mike Nguyen's Animation Blog - RAINPLACE

Animation Students:

If you don't know about Mike Nguyen's animation blog RAINPLACE , then get it on your bookmarks list and visit regularly. Mike has some of the most detailed and thoughtful pieces on the nuts & bolts of animating that you will find on the internet ---

RAINPLACE - Mike Nguyen's Animation Blog

Recent topics included : Fielding a Scene (the effect of field size on the perception of an action) , Amount of Extremes to use when animating a scene, Phrasing , Squash & Stretch Applications.

[Copyright © 2010 by Mike Nguyen, July Films]

Great stuff ! This is one of a handful of blogs that I would gladly pay a monthly subscription fee to view. However, Mike is such a generous , giving spirit that he is giving it away for free. (seriously, Mike you should at least put up a PayPal "tip jar" for those who would like to contribute to support your efforts)

In case you don't know , Mike is directing and animating an independent , self-funded feature length animated movie "My Little World".

Chinese master traditional animator Te Wei 1915 -2010

(via Jerry Beck on CartoonBrew.com) --

"The master of Chinese animation, Te Wei (Sheng Tewei), has passed away at age 95.

Te Wei, a pioneering animator and cartoonist, was one of the founding fathers of the Shanghai Animation Studio. His most significant film of the 1950s was 'The Conceited General' .

In the 1960s his animation style was influenced by the painter Qi Baishi. His 1963 film , 'The Cowherd’s Flute' (Part 1 below), and his masterpiece 'Feeling from Mountain and Water' (1988) are two of the most beautiful animated films from China - or anywhere"

(watch the films full-screen)