Hand Drawn Animation is not "2D" animation

Before the mid-to -late 1990's I never heard anyone refer to hand drawn animation as "2D" .  In fact , most of us were endeavoring to draw our characters with solid construction so the illusion of the character existing in 3-dimensional space was convincing.  

In traditional hand drawn animation it's all about making the drawings look dimensional , as if these characters exist in real space.  They're not "2D" characters existing on a flat plane.   We draw characters with 3D shapes, not 2D shapes: Cubes , Spheres, Cones, Cylinders , not  squares, circles, triangles, rectangles.

What is "2D" about this kind of thinking ?  -- 

These drawings by Preston Blair reminded me of why we didn't ever think of our work as "2D".   I still do not like the term "2D animation".   I prefer the term hand drawn animation or traditional animation.

I'm reminded of Gene Deitch's video from 2009 where he discussed this at length. 

The speech was called "Quo Vadis Animation?"

Gene Deitch:

“The core of my speech is a pitch for the survival and eventual return to primary favor of “drawn animation.” (Don’t provoke me by mentioning the term “2D” in my presence!)

“I am here to raise a cheer for what I prefer to call Drawn Animation. We who have been raised on the tradition of animated drawings, attempting create what Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston called, “The Illusion of Life,” have been more and more pushed aside and given the demeaning title of “2D” animators.   I am quick to remind you that anything projected onto a flat movie screen is essentially 2D. It’s a meaningless term. I repeat that the entire world of graphic art, every drawn or painted style can be animated in any fanciful way, which in turn would lead to the widest range of storytelling and endless visual variety.”

The entire speech is on Cartoon Brew in written form:

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ideas-commentary/gene-deitch-quo-vadis-animation-18033.html

Unfortunately the video of Gene delivering this talk is no longer available to view on Cartoon Brew.  It's marked on Cartoon Brew as a "private video" . That's a shame , because it is worth revisiting , or watching for the first time if you've never seen it. 

Fortunately some kind soul re-posted the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxo5xxcBwkc

Inbetweening for Traditional Hand Drawn Animation

INBETWEENING is an essential skill .  Good inbetweens make the animation flow smoothly , but bad inbetweens can kill a scene.

Here is a playlist of 7 videos I've found on YouTube which cover how to do inbetweening . 

A lot of the so called "tutorials" on inbetweening found on YouTube are actually pretty bad , but these tutorials are good ones . The first six cover inbetweening . The seventh tutorial , titled "Animation Drawing Clean-up", is more of a "digital inking" tutorial , since it doesn't really cover cleaning-up sequential animation drawings (dealing with issues of maintaining consistency of volume and line weight from drawing to drawing) , but it's a good tutorial on how to approach cleaning-up a rough drawing .

http://youtu.be/U2H6tTLEITA?list=PLpyXxVvCbmX8LAj6PTnQpA5mNwfwV17Zb

The fifth video in the playlist is an excerpt from a longer DVD tutorial by Scott Petersen.   I'd recommend purchasing the full set of DVD lessons from Scott -

http://www.goldenstreetanimation.com/#!animation--drawing-training-dvds/c6he

For those of you using the program TVPaint Animation here's a print tutorial I put together on inbetweening in TVPaint :

Inbetweening in TVPaint (click link to view)

The Animation Meat site has a good tutorial called "10 Steps To A Perfect Inbetween".

Also see this tutorial called "Clean Up Hints" .




.

Justin Murphy to produce independent animated feature film

Animator/director Justin Murphy is in the process of developing an independently produced animated feature film called "Dawgtown" .

Justin originally developed "Dawgtown" as his MFA thesis project at Academy of Art University.

The animation in Dawgtown will be traditional, hand drawn animation, but will be produced digitally with TVPaint Animation , with Background art in Adobe Photoshop , and also some CG elements (vehicles and props) .

Kickstarter page: http://kck.st/1fk6Bgs

Facebook page for the movie: https://www.facebook.com/DawgtownTheMovie


 

Dawgtown is the story of a young Pitbull named Max who is taken from his owner and thrown into the brutal world of underground dog fighting. As a competitor in the most well-funded pit-fighting organization in the world, he becomes a sign of hope to the others, and must lead them in a dangerous fight for freedom. It’s Gladiator meets Animal Farm. “I’ve been researching this subject for years,” says director Justin Murphy, “and talking with various rescue organizations. In order to protect their anonymity, I cannot name them, but they’ve been involved in some high-profile rescues, including busting up Michael Vick’s operation.” Refreshing about Dawgtown is that it is being produced in the style and technique of traditional hand-drawn animation, which audiences are seeing less and less of these days with the proliferation of CG. “This is indie filmmaking,” Murphy continues, “it’s done all the time with live action, why can’t it be done with animation? We have the talent on board, and the technology makes it affordable now. This is PG-13 material, and it deals with socially relevant issues about animal cruelty and the abuse of power.” The filmmakers are seeking to raise the $75,000 in pre-production money through Kickstarter. This will enable them to hire the actors needed for the voiceover (one of which includes an internationally known talent) and complete the storyboards for the entire film. The project runs from September 20 - October 20. A portion of this fundraising effort will go towards Pitbull rescue organization efforts.

Michel Gagne's Secret Production Blog for "The Saga of Rex"

Michel Gagne is making an animated film based on his graphic novel , “The Saga of Rex” .   He is funding the film through Kickstarter.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michelgagne/the-saga-of-rex-the-animated-film-project

Anyone who makes a contribution of $20 or more will gain access to The Secret Production Blog on the making-of the film

Michel writes:

“I will use the Secret Production Blog to share what I learn, divulge my tricks and give a real insight into my process. I want to make this a great tool for animation students to see how I do things—sort of "a crash course in making a classically animated film". Hopefully, potential creators will be inspired to put that knowledge to use in their own future productions... and by the same token, help keep the art of 2D animation alive. I'm going to be learning a lot myself and sharing will make it all the more worthwhile.

If you know of any animation/art schools, students, or enthusiasts that would be interested in getting a real behind the scene look at this endeavor, please let them know and pass the link around. Once again, thank you all for your support!”

.

Hand-drawn animation collections

Here are links to collections of various hand-drawn animated films that I think will be of interest to readers of this blog:


TVPaint Animation on Vimeo (various short films made with TVPaint)

TVPaint Animation blog

Cal Arts Character Animation Channel on Vimeo

Sheridan College Animation Channel on Vimeo

The Animation Workshop Channel on Vimeo

Gobelins Animation Channel on YouTube

The Peg Bar and Grill on Vimeo

2D Animation Channel on Vimeo

 


.

Poe Project on IndieGoGo - Michael Sporn Animation

 UPDATE #2 , May 26, 2012  -   Well, the IndieGoGo site shows that  POE didn't quite reach the funding goal of $13,000, but it got close.    Good luck to Michael Sporn as he continues to press forward with this independent animated feature. 

*However, this just in from Michael Sporn:

http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=3024

"The amount shown on PayPal doesn’t reach the $13,000 goal requested, just $12,225. But several people had difficulty with PayPal and asked to just send me the money directly. With that additional $1450, we’ve definitely reached and passed the goal, and I couldn’t be happier:  $13,675."

------

UPDATE #1 , May 25, 2012 -  as of this writing only 8 hours to go.   The POE project is at $12,175 ,  just $825  short of the goal of $13,000.    That's doable if only 55 people give the minimum of $15.00 each.    42 people could put them over the top with $20.00 each. 

I just donated to this project and I recommend my readers consider it.

More information in the video and at this link:

The Poe Project on Kickstarter    IndieGoGo

"The Animatic, above, is a rough representation of animation in progress. It helps us tell the story. We hope to turn the many segments started into completed animation to be able to thrust the feature film, POE, into complete production. The  money raised through Kickstarter IndieGoGo will do that for us and help satisfy the needs of the possible distributors and financiers who are already interested."

Director Michael Sporn has worked in animation since the early 1970's , first working with other notable Directors such as John Hubley and Richard Williams , and then running his own studio since the late 1970's . He also has one of the premier animation blogs which I highly recommend you bookmark and check frequently if you don't already have it:

Michael Sporn's Splog

A Hand-drawn project worth supporting - Mark Kausler's "There Must Be Some Other Cat"

Sorry to hear that Michael Sporn's  Kickstarter campaign to raise money for his animated feature-film  "POE"  didn't reach it's funding goal.   (see the post below this one)   I supported it and I urge you to do the same if Michael starts another fund-raiser  , which it sounds like he may do soon.   I hope he keeps moving forward with it.


Onward ...

This doesn't have a KickStarter page , but if anyone is looking to support a worthy hand-drawn animation project check out the latest post on animator Mark Kausler's  "Cat Blog" :

 http://itsthecat.com/blog/?p=3215

 Mark already made the brilliant hand-drawn short  "It's the Cat" a few years ago and has completed animation on his next Cat film "There Must Be Some Other Cat" .

The pencil animation for  "There Must Be Some Other Cat" is finished (Mark showed the pencil test to me at CTN; it's great stuff !)  , but the new film is still slowly inching it's way to completion in color.    It's being done entirely traditionally , so it's hand-inked and painted on actual cels and then photographed on the last working Acme 35mm camera stand in New York City .  (owned by the producer of the film, Greg Ford) .

Like I said, they don't have a KickStarter page, but Mark is selling the hand-inked Cels from the first Cat film to raise money for finishing the new Cat film and also has set up a PayPal account to take contributions from anyone who wants to help finish the film. See his blog post linked above for contact details.

Here are the cels they currently have for sale:

http://www.itsthecat.com/Gallery-FilmArt.htm

I purchased this beauty:

 (actually one very similar to this one , not this exact frame .  This is from the cel gallery on Mark's website) .


Buy a cel or make a contribution if you support independent animators committed to making hand-drawn animation.    The hand-inked and painted cels are beautiful examples of a craft that is now virtually extinct.



By the way, you can watch the full  PENCIL TEST  of Mark Kausler's first Cat film,  "It's the Cat"  on his website, here:


http://www.itsthecat.com/Gallery-Movies.htm



*NEW : Kausler's Kat now on FACEBOOK (go click the 'Like' button) -

https://www.facebook.com/someothercat

.

Setting the Scene : The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout

This is a must-have book for anyone interested in hand-drawn animation.

Let me rephrase that : this is a must-have book for anyone interested in any kind of  animation or film making , period.

Beautifully illustrated, meticulously researched,  "Setting the Scene : The Art and Evolution of Animation Layout" by Fraser MacLean goes beyond a simple "coffee-table art book" (although it is certainly handsome enough to rate as a coffee table art book) ,  rather the author goes into the real nuts and bolts of layout using examples from well-known films and from some less well-known films from various animation studios.  This book fills a void in providing highly detailed information on the art and craft of Layout .   HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

-David Nethery

 

"The art of animation layout takes center stage for the first time in this gorgeous, full-color volume. Animation fans and students can finally take a behind-the-scenes peek at the history of layout, the process by which artists plot scenes and stitch together the many elements of animated works. With in-depth text by veteran animator Fraser MacLean, this extraordinary book features previously unpublished art from major studios’ archives—including Warner Bros., Pixar, Walt Disney, and more—as well as interviews with some of the biggest names in animation and a foreword by Academy Award–winning director Pete Docter. From the genre’s earliest pioneers to the digital world of contemporary cinema, Setting the Scene provides an enchanting journey into the history of animation."

Fraser MacLean has worked for Passion Pictures, Cambridge Animation Systems, Telemagination, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, on such films as Space Jam and Tarzan. He currently runs Penciltown Animation and resides in Edinburgh, Scotland. Pete Docter is a longtime Pixar filmmaker and the Academy Award–winning director of Up and Monsters, Inc.

An example of one of the many illustration in the books showing the craft of the Layout Artist at work .

This  L-shaped pan layout with camera move indicated is by veteran Disney/Pixar layout artist Scott Caple , who , I should mention by the way,  teaches two online Layout classes for the Academy of Art University ,  ANM 377 and ANM 605  Layout Design.


-------

Another book on Layout ?   An embarrassment of riches indeed !  --

A good companion book to Fraser MacLean's excellent book on Layout is the latest volume from the Disney Studios Archive series of books called simply:   "Layout & Background" .   The Disney Archive book is more of a typical  "coffee table art book"  , with gorgeous layout and background art from various Disney films on display, but it lacks the technical depth and breadth of Fraser MacClean's book.  However the Disney book is a worthy addition to your library as well.  (if you can only afford one then get "Setting the Scene" by Fraser MacLean ) .

(click image to see it larger)

The Lion King roars again

To mark the special occasion of the re-release of "The Lion King" to theaters (in "3D" ) master animator Andreas Deja has posted some pencil tests of his wonderful animation of Scar from "The Lion King" :

I have to say as someone who worked on this film back in 1993- '94 I'm feeling a bit of pride (pun intended) in the fact that The Lion King  was the #1 Film at the Box-office in the U.S.A over this past weekend . It took in close to $30 million dollars (which is nearly twice what industry analysts had projected) .

If you haven't seen it yet go see it now while you have the opportunity to see it on the Big Screen (as it was intended to be seen !).    It's actually playing in some theaters in conventional "flat/2D" projection, so if 3D projection is not your thing you can see it in it's original form.



So now the debate starts: Is it successful because it is "3D-ized 2D" film and the only way for hand-drawn animation to succeed in a big way at the box-office it to jump on the 3D bandwagon, or does common sense tell us that it is successful because a compelling, well told story with appealing characters and top knotch animation will always be a success whether it's done in hand-drawn , computer, or stop-motion ? (I say the latter is the rule , despite some notable exceptions that should have been hits, but were not , like The Iron Giant).


While I think the 3D conversion was done well for the most part and it didn't hurt the original animation overall ,  I think Jerry Beck of Cartoon Brew summed up the 3D conversion of The Lion King best:

“Is this trip really necessary”?  No.   3-D adds nothing new to the greatness of Disney’s Lion King.

But anything that returns hand drawn animation to the big screen, and to the attention of the public, is a good thing.  [bold emphasis added by me -DN]

At various times during both screenings I kept thinking how fantastic a new drawn film, designed and shot for 3-D, would be. I hope the public, and the animation community, will one day have a chance to find out."

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


*UPDATE: Andreas Deja has posted even more of his Scar animation and some drawings on his blog: http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-scar.html

"The Little Boat" by Nelson Boles

Found via CartoonBrew (thanks Amid).



Beautiful film by Nelson Boles. 

It’s become a cliche reaction now, but I still feel compelled to say that when I see work like this (and Nelson’s other student film: “This one time…” http://vimeo.com/4566083) I can’t understand why the major studios are not grabbing these artists and putting them to work on fresh, new hand-drawn films. This sensibility could truly reignite interest in hand-drawn animation.  Films like this, or Ian Worrel’s shorts (http://vimeo.com/user407933/videos), and the various Gobelins shorts, among many other examples which could be named, show that stylistically and thematically there is still so much new ground to be covered with both hand-drawn short films and features which are not merely re-treads of earlier Disney or Warner Bros. styles.

Where are all the Traditional Hand Drawn Animated films ? (and why study traditional animation?)

When people make the claim: "There are no traditional animation jobs" or "2D is dead" you should realize that what they mostly mean is that the model of big-budget feature length 2D Animation that flourished for a time in the U.S. film industry from roughly 1985 - 1999 and then finally crashed and burned in the years between 2000 - 2003 (for a variety of reasons, both economic and artistic, too complicated to go into here) is no longer viable.

Yes, perhaps that particular model of traditional animation production is "dead" (or maybe "just resting, pining for the fjords") and is not likely to come back the way it was in the 1990's. There will continue to be hand-drawn animated features , but those will probably be for a niche market , smaller indie films, not necessarily major feature animated films like 'Beauty & the Beast' , 'Aladdin', 'The Lion King' , or even slightly smaller scale films like 'Lilo & Stitch'. It's possible that there could be a break-out hand drawn animated hit again on that scale , but it doesn't seem likely, at least not in the short run. (but never say never ... things couldn't have been much more "dead" than in 1985 - '86 when a couple of films came out that I think changed everything: The Great Mouse Detective and An American Tail . Momentum picked up after those , leading to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid and beyond ...)

BUT that is not the only viable model of traditional hand-drawn animation production , and it never was the norm. Hand-drawn animation doesn't need to be "saved" or make a "comeback" , because it never really went away. I think there will continue to be smaller scale feature films like "The Secret of Kells" or "The Illusionist" , as well as more truly independent micro productions (one-person , creator driven features or features made by a very small crew) such as "My Dog Tulip" , "Sita Sings the Blues" , "Idiots & Angels" and Nick Cross's forthcoming "Black Sunrise"



There is so much hand-drawn animation still being done for advertisements , short films, games, and web applications (including iPhone/iPad and other tablet apps). And whether it's drawn with pencil on paper or using a Cintiq tablet in an app like TVP Animation , the traditional drawing-based skill sets are still essential to telling a story through images.

Here are a few projects I've seen recently which remind me of how hand-drawn animation is being used in the real world outside of mainstream "Hollywood" features:

Story Corps latest oral history animated piece , "Miss Devine" :



Clever animated advertisements animated by Jason Doll :







Music video animated by Anthony F. Schepperd for Blockhead's 'The Music Scene'.

"The Music Scene" from Anthony Francisco Schepperd on Vimeo.

TIJI Television Network "Colours" :



These are just a few randomly chosen examples from among many. IF you can think beyond "When I graduate I've got to go to work at a giant studio like Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks/BlueSky/CartoonNetwork/Nickelodeon " [not that there's anything wrong with that] you can find a world of opportunity out there for animation. (in particular the hand-drawn variety) .

CTN Expo - Behind the Scenes with Independent Filmmaker Mike Nguyen

Here is another inspiring video from a presentation given at the CTN Animation Expo .

If you haven't attended CTN Expo before it is highly recommended . CTN is only 3 years old , but has THE place to be for people interested in character animation.  This year's CTN Expo will be Nov. 18 - 20, in Burbank, CA.

Animator/director Mike Nguyen has been working on the independent animated feature film "My Little World" for many years now (working on it part-time between other jobs).  


Mike Nguyen primary interest is the hand-drawn animation film making medium and aims to reflect beautiful thoughts toward this life on Earth.

Mike received his BFA in Character Animation at the California Institute of the Arts in 1988. Since then, he has worked primarily in the feature animation industry as a Character Animator in various studios, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks Animation.

For more about Mike please visit : http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/mike-nguyen/


Mike's blog "Rainplace" is one of the best animation blogs on the web.   Mike discusses the "how to" of animation in great depth, but also the "why" of animation , with a very creative/spiritual emphasis, using examples from his own work.

As in this post on "Rough Pass as Thumbnailing" where he discusses taking animation from a first rough pass to a "tied down" version of the roughs :

All Images Copyright Mike Nguyen/July Films. Go to his blog , "Rainplace" to see many more examples like this. 

New AAU Animation Dept. blog - "Animation School Daily"

Brand spanking new blog from the Traditional (2D) Animation Dept. at the Academy of Art University that you should check out :

Animation School Daily Blog 


It's just started, so bookmark and keep checking back for more posts soon.

First two posts have some beautiful drawings by AAU instructors:

This beautiful figure study in charcoal by Associate Director of 2D Animation (Onsite) , Diana Coco-Russell -

   (click on the image to view it larger)



and this terrific illustration -- "Young Walt" --  by Full Time Faculty (2D Animation - Onsite) Nicolas Villarreal -

     (click on the image to view it larger)

Great stuff , eh ?   More to come soon .   Drawings, departmental news, inspirational art for classical animation.

More Animation from FRANCE - Gobelins 2011

Another crop of amazingly proficient grad student films from Gobelins.

Google for the blogs of the individual students who worked on these films; some beautiful and inspiring work on their blogs.

(do yourself a favor and switch these to HD mode and watch full screen)

À Travers la Brume
(Through the Fog)
Two brothers are hunting a legendary creature. As they hunt, the fog separates them...



A film by Théo BOUBOUNELLE, Violaine BRIAT, Marie-Clémence GAUTHIER, Clément GIRARD, Aude GUIBOURT, Clara VOISIN, Maïté XIA

--------

Les Chiens Isolés
(Lonely Dogs)

On an oil platform, a story of friendship between two workers is compromised by the insanity paranoiac of one of them.



A film by Rémi BASTIE, Nicolas DEGHANI, Jonathan DJOB-NKONDO, Paul LACOLLEY, Nicolas PEGON, Jérémy PIRES, Kevin MANACH

-------

Who's Afraid of Mr.Greedy ?

A blind man comes to get back his identity, stolen by an ogre while he was a child.



A film by Simon BOUCACHARD, Jean-Baptiste CUMONT, Sylvain FABRE, Guillaume FESQUET, Adeline GRANGE, Maxime MARY, Julien ROSSIRE

http://whosafraidofmrgreedy.blogspot.com/

---------

FUR

Banned from his town because of his animality, a wolf man decides to make this segregation come to an end.



A film by François BARREAU, Marion DELANNOY, Claire FAUVEL, Rachid GUENDOUZE, Vincent NGHIEM, Benoit TRANCHET

--------


Eleanor

For Eleanor, the joy of living among other people is out of reach because of her extreme introversion, she shuts herself away in a depressive routine, with her cat as her only support, until the latter, hopeless for her, decides to leave home...



A film by Chloé BURY .


--------

Vésuves

Two men look at a woman. One wants her, the other one gets her.



A film by Kevin MANACH. (made in 2011 as part of an exchange trip to CalArts (California) by Kevin Manach, third-year student at GOBELINS, School of Image.)

THE RABBI'S CAT - LE CHAT DU RABBIN - animated feature film

Another hand-drawn feature length animated film from France ! LE CHAT DU RABBIN .  I'll say it again:  thank goodness the French did not get the silly memo (or they ripped it up)  from Hollywood that decreed "2D is dead".

Trailer for THE RABBI'S CAT  -


THE RABBI'S CAT - LE CHAT DU RABBIN - TRAILER from Banjo Studio on Vimeo.



There are several "Making of..." videos on Vimeo:


Making of Le Chat du Rabbin - Banjo - from Banjo Studio on Vimeo.

The film (directed by Joann Sfar  and Antoine Delesvaux) is adapted from the graphic novel by Joann Sfar . 

The studio Autochenille Production was launched in 2007 by Joann Sfar, Antoine Delesvaux and Clément Oubrerie with the aim to make "author-driven, challenging films to appeal to children and adults.".

The Rabbi's Cat was the company's first project. The production was made in collaboration with TF1 and France 3. It was pre-bought by Canal+ and CineCinéma and had a budget of 12.5 million euro. (17.5 million U.S. dollars)

One of the directors' sources of inspiration was American animation from the 1930s, and in particular from the Fleischer Studios, which Sfar described as characterized by multi-ethnical production crews and for portraying darker aspects of society, in cartoons such as Betty Boop and Popeye.    In order to generate more personality for the drawn characters in The Rabbi's Cat, some of the scenes were staged in a Parisian suburb loft in the summer of 2008, with props and the cast fully costumed. As the actors performed and invented their characters' personal motion habits, the design team observed closely and drew what they picked up.

More making-of videos here:

http://vimeo.com/user6584121/videos

John Celestri animation blog

There's a new animation blog I want to recommend to you by a great animator, John Celestri.

John the Animator Guy

John started his animation career in his native New York City (working on the Richard Williams' feature film "Raggedy Ann & Andy", among other things)  then spent several years at the Nelvana studio in Toronto as a supervising animator on Nelvana's ambitious first feature film , "Rock & Rule", as well  the Nelvana television specials  such as "The Devil and Daniel Mouse",  "Intergalactic Thanksgiving" , "Easter Fever" (which he was also a Sequence Director on) , among others.     I don't think these Nelvana specials run on TV anymore , but I'll tell you as someone who was a teenager interested in getting into animation at that time:  in the vast wasteland that was television animation in the 1970's  these fully-animated specials by Nelvana were a bright standout , which inspired people like me with the thought that "hey, it is possible to still do full animation today, it's not just all in the past".

*ADD ON:  Thank you to the Anonymous commenter who posted this in the comments :

"On the old Animation Nation discussion board (which used to have many pros posting as members of the board) Dave Brewster (who is also a very fine animator) posted something about Celestri:

"He went off to pursue other things but he is one of the few animators I consider up there with James Baxter and Glen Keane. During Rock & Rule he did some of the best animation ever. Feature animation suffered a huge loss when he stepped out of the spotlight. More than just dwell on the past I pine for what could have been."

After a long stretch in the Hollywood animation industry John moved back east to work as a freelancer from his home studio.  He and his wife Cathie have also teamed up to write a series of mystery novels.   Currently John is the Directing Animator and VP of Grace Animation Studios in Danville, Kentucky .


On the blog John is sharing his thoughts on animation technique,  scriptwriting,  the relationship between art and commerce , among other topics.   




Check it out !

New animated feature film: "Moon Man"

Cartoon Saloon studio in Ireland -- makers of The Secret of Kells -- is starting a new hand-drawn animated feature based on the book "Moon Man" by Tomi Ungerer . ( http://www.tomiungerer.com/work/books/moon-man/) . The film is a co-production with Le Pacte Film .

http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4283672&tpl=archnews&force=1

In March 2011 Cartoon Saloon started co-production on a new animated feature film version of ‘Moon Man’.   Based on the best selling book by Tomi Ungerer, the feature will be directed by Stephan Schesch. The group is also currently working on a pilot for Disney

‘Moon Man’ will be produced by Stefan Schesch , Le Pacte Film’s Jean Labadie (Himalaya) and Cartoon Saloon’s Ross Murray (Old Fangs) and Paul Young (The Secret of Kells). Irish animators who will work on the project are Cartoon Saloon’s Fabian Erlinghauser (The Secret of Kells), Sean McCarron (Song of the Sea) and Marie Thorhauge (Old Fangs). 

Cartoon Saloon is also working on another new hand-drawn feature film "Song of the Sea" , directed by Tomm Moore (who directed "The Secret of Kells").

New blog: the DEJA VIEW by Andreas Deja

Here is some very good news for students and fans of classical hand-drawn animation.   Esteemed Disney animator Andreas Deja has started a blog :

The Deja View blog

Andreas says he will be covering topics such as:

"Scans of rough animation drawings, thumbnail sketches and character designs, mostly the work of Disney's Nine Old Men. The majority of this art has never been published.

I will write short comments and explain, what makes a particular piece unique.

Since I was lucky enough to hang out with Frank and Ollie, Mark, Milt, Eric and Kimball for many years, I will also tell you anecdotes andstories that they told me.  Some of them are pretty hilarious ! These guys were all geniuses, but it's so interesting to discover their human side. Trials and errors, triumphs and failures, professional jealousy and even insecurities were all part of their lives.

Occasionally I will post the works of other artists who inspire me, such as Heinrich Kley, TS Sullivant, Wilhelm M Busch , and others.  

You will also find some of my own stuff as well." 

One of the treasures Andreas has shared from his collection:



And on the blog he's offering commentary which illuminates why scenes like these are so masterfully animated. If you're a serious student of animation then go there now , bookmark it , and visit often.

Here's a photo of Andreas when he started at Disney in 1980 , training under the great Eric Larson:

Go to Andreas's blog now to read some of his thoughts on Eric's animation , complete with rare animation drawings from his collection.

Inspiration: Master Animators at Work - Disney Studio

Always interesting to see the process.  These behind-the-scenes movies  from the Disney Studio in the late 1930's /early 1940's show the traditional animation process.   Some of the process has been simplified or glossed over because these "documentaries" were produced for a mass audience , but there is still good information to be gained from these films and it's fascinating to see some famous animators like Fred Moore and Norm Ferguson at their animation desks.





Here's another one: "How Walt Disney Cartoons are Made (Burbank version)" made around the time of Snow White's release for the theater distributors who worked for RKO Pictures (the company that distributed Disney's films in the late 1930's /early 40's) . This footage shows both the late 30's Hyperion Blvd. studio as well as the "new" Disney studio in Burbank from the early 1940's -



A better quality version of this footage (without sound) is available here:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675074181_Walt-Disney-Animation-Studio_artists-add-colors_artist-draws-sketch_flip-book

In particular the footage of Fred Moore working at his animation desk starts around the 1:55 mark in the above link (not embeddable, so you'll have to click through the link to see the footage) .

Some of this footage has been re-used in different "behind-the-scenes" documentaries about Disney.


A version of this was released to theaters for general audiences , titled "How Walt Disney Cartoons are Made" . Some , but not all of the footage is identical:




And here's a similar sort of newsreel report going behind-the-scenes at the Fleischer Studio in Miami, Florida, about 1939 -

Dailymation- Yoni Goodman

Students check this out:

Dailymation

Animator Yoni Goodman writes:

"I decided to do a daily rough exercise in traditional animation, just to loosen the hand a bit and study the weights and motion.

Most of my career as an animator revolved around fast, efficient animations, mainly Flash cutouts.

Some time ago I got sick of the technicality of cutouts & decided to return to the basics of frame by frame drawn animation.   To get my hand back in shape I started doing Dailymations -  short, sketchy, rough & FUN animations, more about mass and movement and less about fine, clean animation. 

Each exercises is done in about one - to - two hours of work (more or less). 

Every now and then I'll post some of my other stuff, but this is mostly about  Dailymations. "

Here is just one example .  Check out the Dailymation blog and comb through the archives to watch what someone can do in an hour or two a day of animating just for the pure joy of it.



Walking Woman - animated by Yoni Goodman
"Done in about an hour-and-a-half." writes Yoni.


A simple rule about animation (as with many other things):  the only way to get good at it is to DO IT.  (A LOT!)    Practice, practice, practice .


A couple of more:


Old Age - animated by Yoni Goodman

"Old woman getting to a chair
Thought i'd try something with a little more weight.

Took about an hour and a half."

Swordfight - animate by Yoni Goodman
"Didn't really plan how this fight would go, I let the characters lead the way. at some points I thought I'd let one guy win, then I countered the attack and let the other take the offensive, so in a way it was a bit like an actual swordfight (only m-u-c-h slower)
eventually no one won, I guess.

Done in about two hours"

Of course, these drawings could be refined more in a subsequent tie-down pass ,  but by working rough like this he gets his initial pass rough animated without investing a whole lot of time .  Once you get something like this roughed-out you have something to work with , you can see it moving , and you can see where you need to tweak it.  Then you're not just guessing about the timing.  The sooner you can get your timing worked out rough in a "scribble pass" like this , then you can spend  additional time refining the drawings and tweaking the timing as needed.