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.