Fall 2011 Spungella Animation Workshops are done!

If I had to describe the feeling of this Fall's workshop (as well as AM's Creature Class), then it would have to be like this:


Thanks to everybody who participated, it was again a TON of fun and very inspiring to see what you guys come up with! We even had a leprechaun in a suitcase for crying out loud!!! :)

Have a great holiday break! You all deserve it!

Cheers
JD

TEDx - JASON SCHLEIFER

Cool talk and those animation tests are great!

Goose by Dor Shamir

Thanks Le Roy for the tip!

Sophia Grace and Rosie - Contrasty behaviour reference

I found this clip very interesting and funny to watch. On one side you have this outgoing and loud girl and right next to her the shy and quiet one. Fun pose and gesture differences.

Disney Animator Tom Bancroft Webcast

If you've signed up for the Animschool.com newsletter, then you've received the cool news that you can watch the recording of the Tom Bancroft webcast. That opportunity is not going to last forever, so check it out here!

Tony Chau Nov 2011 Demo Reel

Man, that first shot really gets me...

Tony Chau Nov 2011 Demo Reel from Tony Chau on Vimeo.

Michael Amos Animation Showreel

Nice little Jungle Book reference at the 33sec mark! :) Great anim and look!

Michael Amos Animation Showreel from Michael Amos on Vimeo.

2012 Golden Globes Nominations

Awards season is upon us!

Check out the full list here.

Animated film:
Rango
The Adventures of Tintin
Puss in Boots
Cars 2
Arthur Christmas

image source

Twitter Anim tips

#animtip on Twitter has been around for a while (I believe originating as an every-week-on-Tuesday thing) and there has been a constant flow of good tips, but in the recent weeks a treasure trove of tips has been added by Kevan Shorey with really helpful advice by a ton of dreamworks animators.

Definitely recommended, don't miss it!

Diablo 3 Exclusive Intro Cinematic

Cool look at the beginning! Thanks Ricardo for the tip!

Click here to watch it.

Behind the Magic: The Look of 'Rango'

I'm still surprised at how many times people say that this movie is "not animated" or that it used mocap. Really?
I like how Hal addresses the emotion capture thing though. Maybe people just read that part a long time ago and since "capture" is part of it, the notion of motion capture as a dominant factor crept in?

Kyle Balda 3D Animation Masterclass: Basic Walk Cycle Tutorial

Great walk through! Cute rig too! Thanks Kyle for the tip!

Aardman Animation Studios - Behind The Scenes

The amount of work and artistry is just staggering. CG can suck it!



- found via onanimation

Reference for Scare Prank

via Azizk

Keloid

All CG! Nice renders! There's more info and another short at movies.com.

Keloid Trailer - A Short Film by BLR from BLR_VFX on Vimeo.

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Trailer

The human designs look fun!

Love the penguin scene here.

12 Drawings a Day - 12 Dessins par Jour - by Denis Chapon

12 Drawings a Day - 12 Dessins par Jour from Denis Chapon on Vimeo.

During 3 years (2008-2011) i have been drawing 12 drawing of animation every day, it make one second of film. I had no plans what so ever before starting the first drawing. And then, each of the folowing days, I took the 3 last drawing from the day before and kept on animating. I use a none erasable pen, and drew on the back side of used A4 paper.

12 DESSINS PAR JOUR
Pendant 3 ans (2008-2011) j'ai fait 12 dessins d'animation chaque jour. Ce qui équivaut à une seconde de film. Je n'avais pas de plans précis quand j'ai fait le premier dessin. Puis, les jours suivant, je prenais les 3 derniers dessins de la veille et continuais à animer. J'ai utilisé un stylo non-effaçable et je dessinais au verso de feuilles A4 déjà utilisées.

Prep and Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice

Noel's face after "I thought it was Francis." at 10min35s cracked me up. That expression is so good! :)

39th Annual Annie Nominations

Congratulations to everybody involved!! Head over here for the full list!

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris – Folimage
Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.
Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations
Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios
Chico & Rita – Chico & Rita Distribution Limited
Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation
Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation
Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production
Rio – Blue Sky Studios
Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production

Adventure Time: Thank You – Cartoon Network Studios
Batman: Year One – Warner Bros. Animation
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas – Blue Sky Studios
Kung Fu Panda – Secrets of the Masters – DreamWorks Animation
Prey 2 – Blur Studio
Star Tours – Industrial Light & Magic

Reel making tips

Funny and true list of things to consider when building your reel, found via the 11secondclub blog. Head over there for the full list:

5. This is the most important thing in this list. Everything you ever animate, ever, needs to be entertaining. If it's not, stop what you are doing, right away. Unless you are learning a principle, or its a school lesson, STOP NOW. Or unless you are entering some odd film competition, that 95 ppl out of 100 would want to punch you and the films watched in the face. STOP. If you don't know what's entertaining, or how to make a shot entertaining, STOP, ask everyone you know to look at your work and what you can do to inject entertainment into it. If you still don't know, STOP, watch every movie you can. If you still don't, STOP, rethink your career. All humans watch t.v, cartoons, movies and play video games with one purpose and only one purpose, TO BE ENTERTAINED.

Tangled Character: Rapunzel

Cool artwork, head over to livlily.blogspot.com (via 11secondclub blog)!