Yello! from Smashbox Studios had a chance to interview Where The Wild Things Are storyboard artist Federico D’Alessand. Read it here. Fascinating read, with images of a sequence storyboarded out.
We’ve featured Blu before (MUTO), and now, here’s his latest: COMBO, with artist David Ellis.
Milt Kahl (Mowgli) from Victor Ens on Vimeo.
I love pencil tests. If you’re unfamiliar with what pencil tests are, think of early rough sketches you create for a particular job. Then multiply that by tens, hundreds, and set the drawings in motion. That’s a somewhat lame attempt to describe what pencil tests are, but for me, it’s like watching the intricate workings of an animator, a “peek behind the curtain”. Seeing the numbers and arc notes in the corners are like a drug to me. To witness the capturing of the soul of a character, early on, in the embryonic stage of development is intoxicating, especially if you’re watching the work of a master. So, if you dig pencil tests as much as I do, then you’re in for a real treat. Animator Jamaal Bradley has searched the internet far & wide for rough animated sequences from various movies and TV shows and has started to put them all under one roof (blog): Pencil Test Depot. As he says on the blog, “instead of going to various place to find them, I hope to add many tests here from some great animators…” From Glean Keane, Ollie Johnston, to Milt Kahl, the tests he’s posted so far are more of the Disney variety, but that’s fine by me. I’ll definitely be checking back to see what else he’s posted. If you have some uploaded on your site or blog, be sure to contact Jamaal.
Apparently this was a school assignment made by Swedish animator Tomas Nilsson to reinterpret the old fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood. Nice. (Via Geoff Wagner.)
Having put countless inside jokes and hidden gags in most of my animated work throughout the years, it was only natural for me to slip in a couple of easter eggs in How To Train With a T.Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals. Here, take a look.
I’d love to see what easter eggs you guys have snuck into your work. Care to share?
Everyone knows about the Monster Cereals, right? They’ve been a part of the fabric of our childhood (well, at least, for me), along with their classic animated commercials for decades now. The commercials left such an impression on me, I’m surprised General Mills won’t revive the characters for any new spots. This totally perplexes me. Andy Cage sees the potential here and has started up The Monster Cereal Blog for everything and anything related to the iconic sugar frosted characters of Franken Berry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry. Earlier, he posted fan art featuring the trio (as well as lesser knowns Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy) throughout the entire month of May. (The image above was done by Saxton Moore.) There’s even a Facebook page to support the cause.
Congrats to fellow Portlander & Drawn! pal S.britt (previously) for the release of his new children’s book, Over in the Hollow, published by Chronicle. Based off of the cover and artwork in this Flickrset, the book looks to be a real winner. Way to go, S.britt!
Who was Abner Graboff? I had no idea. So, I decided to find out on my own.
Artist, illustrator & designer with a career that spanned several decades, from the 1940’s to the 80’s, Abner was best known for creating some of the most ingenious and vibrant children’s books during the mid-century era. But you’d never know it. There was practically nothing on the guy if you did a search online. It was frustrating for me, because I felt that his sense of construction and concepts when it came to designing children’s books was so fresh and bold. Surely there had to be something about the artist out there, right? Nope. Nothing. So I contacted his son, musician and producer Jon Graboff, and interviewed him about his father’s background, his influences, and overall career. The result of our conversations can be found on my blog in three posts:
Who was Abner Graboff?
The Art & Life of Abner Graboff Part 1
The Art & Life of Abner Graboff Part 2
Featuring scans from some of his kid’s books, cook book illustrations, jacket cover designs, as well as family photos. Jon’s been very cool in sharing with us his father’s fascinating life & career as an artist. A quote by Jon about his father says it all for me:
“He was artistically and intellectually curious by nature and he was always saying things like, I wonder why… I think that he believed that when you stop asking why, when, where, and what’s next… it’s all over.”
Who was Abner Graboff? Now, we can know.
More on Abner can be found here:
My Abner Graboff Flickr set
Abner Graboff in The Retro Kid
Abner Graboff on Biotope (Japanese site)
Click on image to download.
Nice mix of rotoscoping, 2D, and 3D animation for this Mountain Dew spot, titled History. Produced by Buck, with illustrator Josh Cochran creating the look and style frames.
Former Drawn!-ian, Scott Thigpen is offering a great giveaway on his blog to celebrate the opening of his brand new Etsy store, S.T.udios: The Art of Scott Thigpen. He’s giving away limited edition prints to three winners who receive “Wicked”, “the Bumbling Blue Bear Brothers” or “The Red Hood”, plus freebie desktop wallpaper, too! Check the blog entry for the rules to enter. Good luck!
I received a copy of Kevin Dart’s Seductive Espionage: The World of Yuki 7 the other day and I still can’t put the book down. I’m awed by the beautiful artwork and illustrations showcased throughout its pages. The concept: creating a “globe-trotting female superspy” set in the mid-60’s through fictional movies, complete with posters, lobby cards, and trailers—all with the look and feel of the 1960’s Bond era, with a dash of extra influences as well. Kevin what inspired him for the project on his blog:
I combed through some folders of reference I had collected over the last few years, immersing myself in campy Euro-spy film posters, 1960’s Thai pop music album covers, and mid-century modern architecture. I went back and re-watched some of my favorite spy films like “You Only Live Twice” and discovered new ones like “Deadlier than the Male”. A world slowly started to form in my head and I could feel hundreds of backlogged ideas and unfinished stories suddenly collide into one cohesive mass. Later on, I realized Yuki 7 had been building for years even though she arrived in a flash of insight.
Read about the “Making of Yuki 7″ on the following posts:
Part I
Part II
Part III
The book features gorgeous artwork by Kevin, along with a great collection of artists & illustrators, such as:
Bill Presing, Bob Logan, Brigette Barrager, Chris Turnham, Daniel Arriaga, Don Shank, Elizabeth Ito, Horia Dociu. Josh Parpan, Justin Parpan, Megan Brain, and Ted Mathot. Nucleus Gallery will host a show featuring the above artists of Yuki 7 from July 3rd through the 14th, 2009.
Equally impressive is the writing by Ada Cole, as well as the fantastic trailer co-directed with animator Stephane Coedel:
“A Kiss From Tokyo” Theatrical trailer from Stephane coedel on Vimeo.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention Grain Edit’s Yuki 7 Screen Gems Giveaway!
Check out Moray McLaren’s “We Got Time” video, with animation drawn and created by director David Wilson:
Using the 19th century technology of the praxinoscope, Wilson was able to create wonderful bits of animation with no assisting from the computer (well, no animation from the computer). The description from the YouTube page:
Using both praxinoscopes and the technique of matching up the frame rate of the spinning record to that of the camera, no computer super-imposing was used; what you see is what rolled off the camera. The transitions between each section of animation was created by simply cutting or wiping between the bits of footage.
Curious? I was. Here’s a fascinating making-of video, explaining how Wilson created the video:
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