"Rain Town" by Hiroyasu Inshida

"Rain Town" by Hiroyasu Inshida

(if you click through to the YouTube page I suggest switching it to 720p HD mode for better image quality)

The opening titles say:

"In this town, since who knows when, rain has never stopped.
Residents moved out to suburbs and high ground around
"rain town."

People's memories are now deeply submerged.

But into this forgotten rainy town
sometimes, someone wanders."

Graduation film by Hiroyasu Inshida made at Kyoto Seika University. 

Animated and colored using  TVP Animation:

NOCTURNA [English] Part 1 of 8

Part 1 of 8 . See it while you can.

"The Monkey and the Elephant" by Boris Maras

The Monkey and the Elephant by Boris Maras, Sheridan College 2010.

He animated this in 2 months.




From Boris Maras's blog:

"Keeping my film rough was a big decision. Amanda and I were both considering cleaning up and colouring our films, but we would have had to rush the animation so much and we really wanted to learn as much as we could about animation. Keeping them this way, I think we learned a lot about our limits and we have a way better idea for how approach a short film now.
The idea for my film was pretty different up until February, the characters were pretty much the same but the situation they were in was different. It was risky because I had to throw away the animation I had already done and around 25-30 layouts, but I think I made the right decision for what I want to pursue.

I started animating around the middle of February and animated up until our deadline of April 19th. It was the craziest 2 months of my life but I'm really happy with the amount that I learned during the process of making my film and hope I can make another one soon."

2010 Annecy shorts from the Gobelins School

http://www.gobelins.fr/galerie/animation/

Another great crop of student films from the Gobelins School in Paris , made for the 2010 Annecy Animation Festival . All are 1:00 minute or less . Shows that you can do a lot in one minute !

I love the fact that besides the solid animation and design work that these films put a great deal of emphasis on the cinematography . These films are built on a solid foundation of classical animation, but with a modern sensibility in terms of the camera work.

British Animated Ads of the 80's

YouTube has a number of animated commercials by Richard Williams, Oscar Grillo, Richard Purdum, Eric Goldberg, and other luminaries of the British animation scene.

Also check out Garret Gilchrist's The Thief Archive channel on YouTube for more British commercials from the 70's and 80's.

Klacto Animation (Oscar Grillo and Ted Rockley) "Sinatra 20 Golden Greats" advert -



Klacto Animation (Oscar Grillo and Ted Rockley) "Heinz Baked Beans Lighthouse" ad.
Designed and directed by Oscar Grillo, Animated by Eric Goldberg, Backgrounds by Neil Cambell Ross.



Pizazz Pictures (Eric Goldberg) "Rolos" animated by Eric Goldberg -



Richard Willliams Animation . "Jovan Sex Appeal" ad , animated by Richard Williams, BGs by Rebecca Mills.



Richard Williams Animation. "Listerine" ad , animated (I think) by Russell Hall -






Richard Williams Animation . "Limara Perfume" ad. Not sure who animated. Maybe Eric Goldberg? -



Passion Pictures . "Cadbury Creme Eggs" advert. Animated by Chuck Gammage. -




Richard Purdum Animation . "Tate Gallery Liverpool - Modern Art" . Animated by Richard Purdum -

Kaj Pindal : Laugh Lines

Laugh Lines is a film portrait of animator Kaj Pindal. He is seen at work creating zany cartoon characters, teaching students of animation, and at home enjoying another of his creations--a full-size streetcar that tours his backyard. The laughter in Pindal's life is evident in this delightful film biography.

Palm Springs International ShortFest signal film by MAKE

Via CartoonBrew.

Minneapolis-based studio MAKE created this animated signal film for the forthcoming Palm Springs International ShortFest. Beautiful design and animation , with a well-crafted story told with very economical cutting in under a minute. (students take note) ---



Credits:

MAKE Producer:
Danny Robashkin

Director/Lead Animator:
Andrew Chesworth

Animation Production Team:
Justin Weber
Aaron Quist
Alec Mueller
Jordan Hill
Ben Bury
Niklas Norman
Joe Kim

Voices:
John Olive
Elise Langer
Nicholas Mrozinski

Music:
Steve Horner - Horner Music


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Here's another piece by MAKE. A very timely PSA . And again , great animation and design all the way around , aside from the very timely message:

Sylvain Chomet interview

Sylvain Chomet, director of Belleville Rendez-Vous and now The Illusionist. Photograph: Paul Cooper

Sylvain Chomet talks about his new film "The Illusionist" -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jun/10/sylvain-chomet-belleville-rendezvous-illusionist

The biggest problem [in making the film] was finding the animators. Like the music-hall acts in the film, animators had become convinced by Hollywood that their time had passed.

"A lot of animators, basically people who can draw, got scared by these wankers from Disney saying that 2D animation is dead, that it was only going to be 3D and Pixar from now on. It is just typical shit by people in ties who don't know what they are talking about. Are they saying that Aardman is dead, too, then? I mean how stupid are these people? Saying 2D is dead is like saying that a car race is the future of the Tour de France."

"We had trouble because the fantastic animators we found had got really stressed because they thought after our film there was not going to be any 2D any more. Some were driving buses or retraining. People really had been made to believe that the end had come. The truth is that animation is always mixing things up: pen and paper, stop motion, puppets, 3D. Suddenly this bizarre competition has been created. What it is, one more time, is this American reflex to kill off the competition, to say that you can only do it one way and destroy everything else that went before. The whole society is like that. They destroy what they have to build something new. They end up with no roots to draw on, nothing to compare their work with to see if it is good or not. American culture is in real danger of starving itself to death. You just have to see what Hollywood is producing to see how narrow it is getting."

Sandro Cleuzo's blog

The brilliant animator Sandro Cleuzo has a great animation blog which you should definitely bookmark and check frequently.

Sandro is generously sharing his collection of Milt Kahl drawings , with a weekly "Milt Kahl Day" on his blog.

Some samples (click images to view larger) -

*as Sandro says about the above drawing:

"This particular drawing is just full of great things to study. Composition, staging, silhouette, design, appeal, you name it, it's there."

(And we could say that about almost any Milt Kahl drawing)

Wow, be sure to click on this Wart pose sheet from 'The Sword in the Stone' to view it larger. This is the stuff to print out and study . Put it on the walls around your drawing board to inspire you.

There is so much great stuff over on Sandro's blog. Check it out.

new trailer for "The Illusionist"

NEW:

Official website is up:

http://www.lillusionniste-lefilm.com

Official trailer and several additional clips, image captures from the movie, etc. Check it out.

The movie will be distributed in North America by Sony Classics.

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A new trailer (Russian) for the upcoming Sylvain Chomet ("Triplets of Belleville") animated feature "The Illusionist" .

This looks absolutely beautiful.

The Illusionist trailer:



Translation (by "Niffiwan" ) of the inter-titles on the trailer:

---

In life, there are just a few things that are worth doing.

---
But sometimes the world is not ready to receive
---
that, which we are able to offer it.

--
This story tells of the journey of one man
---
which enabled him to keep his magical gift
---
and to rediscover for himself
---
what is worth doing for him in life.

---
From the director of that masterpiece of European animation
---
"The Triplets of Belleville", Sylvain Chomet.

---
Based on the screenplay of the legendary Jacques Tati.

---

"The Illusionist"

.

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.

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)

Cordell Barker - Master Class in Animation

Via the excellent National Film Board of Canada web site.

A master class in animation led by Cordell Barker in which he talks about the making of The Cat Came Back and the making of Runaway. Filmed during the 2009 edition of Get Animated!

Highly recommended.

(the embedded videos may not play in the Safari browser. View with Firefox.)





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"Run Hamster Run!" - New Hand Drawn Animated iPhone Game

(story via CartoonBrew)

Character Concept art © Erin Humston.

Animation students pay attention:

Here's an inspiring example of an independent animator, Erin Humston, developing and selling his own work directly through the iTunes Store . I hope this is the sort of thing that many of our present day students will be thinking of doing (i.e. developing their OWN original properties) rather than just thinking their only option is "I'll graduate from school and then just go to work for Big X_______ corporate studio". Nothing wrong with that and it's a good way to learn the ropes in the business, but while you're paying your dues toiling away at Big Studio X always be working on developing your own ideas and characters , and thinking of ways to market your work so that it benefits you directly. (something that will support you , not just put more money into the coffers of Big Studio X.)

© Erin Humston.

No one knows for sure where hand drawn animation is headed - but one outlet seems to be thriving: mobile video games.

Here’s another for the list of intriguing new 2d-cartoon iPhone games: Run Hamster Run.

Erin Humiston did all the artwork and animation, and produced the game with a handful of people in Orlando, Florida. The animation is all hand-drawn.

It’s now available at the iTunes store. Here’s a sample:

Disney's The Princess and the Frog - Dec. 11 - Go see it !

(lead animator Bruce Smith, animating on

The Princess & the Frog)

It's been 6 years since Disney has released a hand-drawn animated film. Going into wide-release this Friday, Dec. 11 - The Princess and the Frog.

The time to go see this film is opening weekend , Friday Dec. 11 or Sat. Dec. 12 would count the most, through Sunday Dec. 13 is fine too .

The opening weekend box-office numbers will count for a lot as to whether Disney's return to hand-drawn animation is perceived as a hit . (and hand-drawn animation could use a genuine, revival-inducing, Little Mermaid-like hit right about now).

So far the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Let's hope the general movie-going public agrees.

Time Magazine rates the Top 10 Movies of 2009. Look what film they rate at #1. ---

The Princess and the Frog

“Musker and Clements have bucked the odds and made a cartoon feature that is true to vintage Disney traditions (like wishing upon a star) yet moves with a contemporary verve and bounce. In an amazing year for animation, The Princess and the Frog is up at the top. “

-Richard Corliss, for Time Magazine

November 11 Second Club - B.J. Crawford

Another great entry from B.J. Crawford into the 11 Second Club competition (November 2009) --

AAU School of Animation Fall Animation Festival - December 4, 2009

AAU animation students, attend the annual AAU School of Animation Fall Animation Festival , held this year on December 4, 2009.

The special guest speaker will be Disney supervising animator Nik Ranieri.

Nik Ranieri is equally at home in CG Animation ("Chicken Little" "Meet the Robinsons" , "Bolt") as well as Traditional Hand Drawn Animation. He has been the Supervising Lead Animator on many Disney feature films. His latest role has been as the Supervising Animator on the character "Charlotte" in Disney's newest hand-drawn animated film "The Princess & the Frog" .

(see Nik Ranieri IMDB )

Event: School of Animation Fall 2009 Animation Festival

Date: 12/4/2009

Time: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Location: Morgan Auditorium, 491 Post St., San Francisco, CA, 94108

Google Maps link showing this location

Phone for info. : 415- 618-3625

(*This event will be video recorded and posted online at a later date .)

(from the National Cartoonists Society web page)