Kristy Interview

LoL, I was befuddled to see my painting in the new interview with Kristy Gordon, Her art was inspiration for it though! It's replaced by Samurai Jack now. Go visit Kristy's new blog, where she shares her thoughtful process and gorgeous artwork!

Space Race!

Boy, these BBC Docu-dramas are fascinating! It's an ideal kind of filmmaking. While textbooks inform you about history, these shows allow you to live it.

Many people say "Story is King", while I don't completely agree with that, I agree that a good story is one of the most crucial fundamentals of a good film, and few fictional stories can rival with the mind-blowing landmarks in the progress of mankind.

History also provides strong characters (which are the generators of good stories anyway), "Space Race" focuses on two men: Sergey Korolyov and Wernher Von Braun, they both share the same dream: to reach for the heavens.
In realizing it, All sorts of things get in the way: competition, rivalry, politics, and even war.
The same things that keep us on our toes everyday make the characters and situations relatable, And on top of all, educational and inspiring.

Wernher Von Braun is an enigmatic, multi-shaded character, It's hard to describe him with absolute certainty. The man who developed the fearful V2 for the Nazis using slave labor, was the SAME man who sent Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the surface of the moon. I admire his scientific brilliance and his vision which was years ahead of his time, But unsure about his personality.

The connections don't seem to end, according to the BBC show, Von Braun had to first persuade America they NEEDED a space program, and to do that, he took the aid of famous cartoonists


"The only people showing any interest in space are in Walt Disney's studio...Maybe that's the answer, go directly to the American public"

"Show them there's more to it then missiles, Show them space as America's new frontier"

In the clip below, Ward Kimball introduces Wernher Von Braun, In the 1955 Disneyland episode Man and the Moon. some of Von Braun's dreams have yet to be realized.



Doco-dramas, In My opinion, also provide the best use for CG animation,
I think cg is the best for replicating real environments, scientific processes and objects. While
hand drawn is the best for creating characters and fantasy.



Ward Kimball's animated segments dealing with the myths of space are some of the finest cartoons I've ever seen. On the other hand, while the illustrations and animation describing scientific processes in Disneyland are very appealing and crystal clear, the BBC CG footage is much more exciting. It helps us to visit long gone historical launch pads, and see how the fuel is mixed from within the rocket! When edited with real footage, it is even more effective.




It's no news to anybody that CG provides great special effects! Here are some exciting effects and excellent filmmaking to take you on board of a great adventure: The flight of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space!



As a side note, my gut feelings about CG animated films:
An important factor in creating an illusion, a fictional story, is the viewer's comfort in the world you're creating.
I'd rather fly to Never-land than to the Uncanny valley.
CG is a jaw dropping tool, but most people haven't used it, they don't know how it works, and some become worried as they fail to separate CG images from real ones, this can create a barrier between the film and the audience, a response quite common with the films "Final Fantasy" and "Beowulf".
On the counterpart, We've all used ink and paint, everyone, not just artists, and it's our imagination and belief that makes the leap of faith and welcomes the illusion of hand drawn cartoons. my two cents.

Without further delay, here are the links to the entire series:

Space Race:

episode1
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTU2MzU0MA==.html

episode2
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTU2NTM0NA==.html

episode 3
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_cc00XNTU3MDk4OA==.html

episode 4
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTU3NjM3Mg==.html

Disneyland:
Man and the Moon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_drW76wUuD4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJGx7zU11Qk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3PRsaaVMfU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILjXGfTkKvk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCK3q8uJoMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRDIf_3DqtI

Man in space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75vX6O8paGo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAYyEsUn87w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYaJ7hNKuu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdgHvuCEWnE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtIpcwLjRs4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBi69V8oNuw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy0fafgajWI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsVD11FE3oQ


Mars and Beyond
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r99XcaYDjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxQVaHbqvTI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RYYVm2o9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RChnjIKWges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d76fiWRobU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRCQ2Cu3bSE

Happy learning!

Hello I'm a Muzzle, And I'm a Beak

These are from character design assignments, in which we had to design beak and muzzle characters and draw poses with them:




And a pantomime scenario assignment in which we needed to show a character caught in the act of going for an item he is not supposed to have.

Bruce Springsteen song title goes here

Scott Caple's recent post reminded me I have yet to share my trip to the U.S of A



Ah, Sunny California! What a treat after a long Canadian winter!
I stayed with my friend JoJo, he was a great host.
JoJo is the archive assistant, and his friends Alex and Kelsey are loyal volunteers at the Archive, they do great work.

And speaking of the Archive, what is a trip to LA without helping out my ol' buddy Steve?

If you're not into cartoons, then you should at least go there for the music,
Here Steve performs a beautiful rendering to the old folk song "Barnacle Bill the Sailor",
Which can be heard in the classic Fleischer cartoons "Barnacle Bill" (with Betty Boop) and "Beware of Barnacle Bill" (with Popeye), I was first introduced to Fleischer cartoons by Steve when I was 14, and they've been among my favorites since.

Our friend Mike Fontanelli visited often, working passionately on wonderful Al Capp posts.

I was doing image processing and tagging, and donated the book "Rube Goldberg vs. The Machine Age"

As said, Scott Caple was in town, Aside for being a great artist, He's a film and history fan, who appreciates great artwork and craftsmanship, so I invited him to the Archive, He came there with his friend Kevin, and they were both blown away, It was fun!

Foodles from a generous John K. Pizza education session

And of course, when you're on vacation, you should go to the Zoo, It's simply what the doctor prescribed, because there you see everyone's favorite laughter factor: crazy monkeys in swing!

When I came back from the Zoo, JoJo and Alex had finished class, Alex asked me if I've been to the aviary, because there's a Bird there that looks like Tex Avery, I haven't seen it, I wonder if that's why they call it the Aviary.

I'd like to thank Will Finn, Kent Butterworth, Sherm Cohen, Eddie Fitzgerald, Mike Kazalah, Claudio Riba, Sue Kroyer, Joe Haidar, the students at Woodbury University , and JD Mata, it was great to meet you! Looking forward to next time!

Peace.

Character Lineup

From a character design assignment. I somewhat like it but I think it can be better, The two characters on the right need to be simplified, and the characters on the left need to be re-invented.

Keepin' it Old School

It's the Easter weekend break, I decided to take Friday off for some personal cartoon work, and it ends up being school related! GAWD...

This season is pretty demanding, The school workload and Canadian winter have pretty much stranded us to the light table for the past 3 months, But I'm often reminded of the good points to being here.

Among them is Johnny Williamson, The guy on the left. I haven't written about him yet, He's one of the best teacher's I've ever had, and probably ever will.
He's not only an excellent animator, He's a genuinely warm person, And he treats each and everyone of us on a personal level. Thats right, All 120+ of us! His ability to give is exceptional.

Another teacher I haven't yet written about is Scott Caple, He's one of the best draftsmen I've ever met, The past class he gave us a demonstration of how he goes about shading his layouts on a separate sheet of tracing paper, I learn a lot from seeing these folks draw!

There's 4 weeks till the end of the term, I'm looking forward to see my family again...There's light at the end of the carpal tunnel, And until then, I gotta go back to my homework.

Oh! Thanks to our pal Pete for coming to this week's cartoon night! We had a lot of fun listening to your so-called "useless trivia" while watching Tex Avery!

see ya later.

Cartoon Night...

...With classic film interludes

Tonight was the first screening,
I shared my favorite Clampett cartoons: The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, Tortoise Wins By A Hare, Tale of Two Kitties, Russian Rhapsody, Draftee Daffey, Baby Bottleneck and others, we wrapped it up with Coal Black, and had a load of laughs! Thanks for comin' guys.

This is an open screening, so everybody at Sheridan is invited: Wednesdays 8-10 (ish) B125.
...I know how tight school is now, that's why I started a fun night!

Plan B

Hey folks, I don't have the license from Dreamworks to sell these (even though I'm convinced they would sell like hotcakes) so I'm gonna resort to plan B and give my pals a plug:

Nick Thornborrow's cool grad film The Foolish Bet is available on-line on his blog! Mitch Kennedy and I had a blast assisting him on the film.

Alessandro Piedimonte: check out the day to day postings of a modern day renaissance artist!

Seo Kim has a very unique style and natural ability, She's currently in first year of Sheridan's animation program, I'm learning a lot from seeing her draw.

Spread the Love

And you'll be free

When Sobchaks attack

Mouth sync
Uploaded by toonamir

Human lip sync
Uploaded by toonamir

Animated GIF with clearer image.

Rough animation: Mouth and body lip sync to John Goodman's dialogue in The Big Lebowski.I lined up the video twice during each file, because the new player tends to lag.
Mark Mayerson made some great specific suggestions, that helped improve the sync and animation, Thanks Mark!

Looking back at this drawing I made last June, There's some changes I'd make to it, like starting the mustache line from the corner of the nose and not from the nostril, which is how I drew him for animation.
A good way to figure out how to improve your drawings is called a "drawer test" as in shoving your drawing in the drawer, and looking back at it with fresh eyes, some details are hard to see while you're absorbed in the making of it.

In the video below, Joel and Ethan Coen discuss the making of The Big Lebowski, from the initial idea, to development for the screen. (Warning: Not for kiddies!)

The basic idea was conceived by taking the narrative style of Raymond Chandler (Author of The Big Sleep) and casting a main character who's least equipped to deal with it- for comical possibilities. I like their thinking! One of my favorite movies.

Influence on cartoons

When I watch films I don't just watch them for fun, I always try to learn from them...Well that's a half lie, because learning from them is also fun!
One of my favorite things to do is "dig in" to cartoon/film history, especially to look into the influence behind my favorites, It's rare, but I'm very pleased when I find it.

John K. has often noted Peter Lorre as one of his favorite actors, The first film I happened to see with him was "The Maltese Falcon", I caught it one night on TCM, and I was hooked from the first minute...That film is totally cut to the chase! They never waste any time! The characters are so strong, and the pace was so tight, it's as if John Huston had me hooked by a fishing rod and pulling me into the TV, I just couldn't sit back in my chair. The scene that most interested me happened in the climax.

When John K. took Steve, kali and I to dinner last summer, we talked about our favorite Film Noir, John's favorite is THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, I mentioned that mine was the MALTESE FALCON...and that I've been meaning to ask him: Near the end of the Film: Peter Lorre snaps at Sydney Greenstreet....and before I could finish my sentence, John completes it: "That's where Ren and Stimpy came from!"

The Maltese Stimpy
Uploaded by toonamir

In his commentary on His favorite cartoon "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" John notes a hilarious scene in it may as well be influenced by the same wonderful film

Wilmer the piggy
Uploaded by toonamir

I like surfing the internet because I often find material that both inspires me and teaches me, As I was putting together the link list, I found Rosemary Clooney's wonderful performance of the song "Blues in the Night"



This was a great discovery because I often heard references to this song in many of Bob Clampett's Cartoons, Notably the banned and brilliant "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs"

Coal Black: Blues in the Night
Uploaded by toonamir

If you'd like to see the complete cartoon in it's original release quality visit Steve at the ASIFA-Hollywood Archive


There's still a ton of stuff to discover, and Blogs can help us get there, so I hope folks such as Will Finn and Pete Emslie will continue commenting with "Useless Trivia"!

By the way, do you need a clue to find out which American cartoon the Miyazaki Lupin episode is based on? I'll give you a hint: It's a Fleischer cartoon from the 1940s.

More insturctional art from John

This post is for Hector:



These were drawn in summer 1999. John started each drawing with a quick silhouette using the side of his pencil (you can identify those lines as being wider and lighter) later adding construction and at last, detail. Showing me how simple objects like Jimmy's tie, and more complicated forms Like George's head can be done in construction. The drawings of Jimmy's hair were done to show how breaking forms down to simple construction can help us visualize them in different angles. I love the tangible quality of these drawings.

Season's greetings!

I started from drawing the sombrero boy, and as I started to have fun, got more ideas. Best Wishes everyone! And now for Canada's most popular Christmas song:

Caricatures

This is how cartoonists show mutual respect, welcome to our tribe.
This includes Mitch, who's always a part of our special klan no matter where in the world's he's goin'!

This Bites

Originally posted on Myspace, Here is a better scan.
Medium: watercolor

Happy Birthday Kaj Pindal!

In the picture above: Alessandro, Amir, Kaj and Ellen Bessen
In the picture below: Alessandro, Kaj and Annie Pindal

Yesterday was Kaj Pindal's 80th birthday tribute at the NFB store in downtown Toronto,
It was a wonderful celebration of Kaj's life and carreer so far, we got to see some of his NFB classics and rare footage of his brilliant animated films from Denmark.
My friend Alessandro Piedimonte contributed to it with very creative ideas: First, to give Kaj the caricature bust he had sculpted of him, and second a birthday card featuring a caricature by Pete Emslie, Alex asked me to help him with the text on the card, and for two weeks it was passed around the college for the students and teachers to sign.
Kaj was really moved, he appreciates creativty, just like Alessandro!

Thanks to Angela Piedimonte for taking the pictures!