Anomaly 2 - Trailer

Cool render, very painterly!



- found at @ slidetoplay.com

Calimero - Teaser 3D

Ooooh, childhood cartoon! Nice 3D-fying of it! As @AnimSchoolTweet said, very appealing, great color and light as well as design!

Calimero - Teaser 3D from Alphanim on Vimeo.

Anatomy for sculptors

Not just helpful for sculptors but good reference and resource for animators! Head over to anatomy4sculptors!

It takes what it takes.

It really is very simple and when you read or watch examples, where you apply the cost cutting principle of VFX to other business, you just have to laugh. Yet people don't really get it or just choose to ignore it.

Great read by Scott Squires: Visual Effects are inexpensive.

And this is just too funny:

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Trailer

Disney's Planes - Official Trailer A

Some very cool flight dynamics and camera work in there.

This one time...

This one time... from nelson boles on Vimeo.

Monsters University - International Poster

- found here

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 - Poster

- found here

Sur La Piste du Marsupilami - Visual Effects Making Of

Sur La Piste du Marsupilami | Visual Effects Making Of from BUF on Vimeo.

Jennifer Lawrence - Oscars 2013 - Reference

There's some good reference material for funny reactions. There's another one of her meeting Jack Nicholson, which is great too, which is here.

Richard Williams’ “Animator’s Survival Kit” - App Version

 That's very interesting! Check out Cartoon Brew for all the juicy bits!

NIKO and the Sword of Light

Head over here for the full Kickstarter post. Love the look and sets, very cool! The Art-of book looks nice! Found via @animationcollab

Animation Notes from Ollie Johnston

Head over here for the full list.

1. Don’t illustrate words or mechanical movements. Illustrate ideas or thoughts, with the attitudes and actions. 
2. Squash and stretch entire body for attitudes. 
3. If possible, make definite changes from one attitude to another in timing and expression. 
4. What is the character thinking?
etc.

There are 30 points in total and gold! Found via @AnimSchoolTweet

The Croods - Clip

Star Trek

Tons more (not just Star Trek but also Star Wars and other ones) but these two just cracked me up!

Found at Cartoon Brew

Inside the ILM Headquarters

Monsters University - A Message From the Dean

Paul and the Dragon

Paul and the Dragon from Anikey Studios on Vimeo.

The Blue Umbrella Poster

Nice!

Found here.

Monsters University Trailer

"Monsters University" Extended Preview

Can't wait!!!

Wreck It Ralph end credits

Adam and Dog

Scout Rig at Animschool

Very appealing rig! That's Scout, more about him here!

Rollin Wild – Rig Demo Cheetah and Flamingo

Failing VFX business model and tips for students

This business is scary at the moment, with companies laying off a big chunk of their workforce, streamlining staff or even closing altogether. Uncertain times, while tent pole movies are totally VFX driven and most of them very successful financially.

There's an interesting post called Why is the VFX business failing at its moment of greatest success? that's worth a read.

And 9 things they never taught you at VFX school is a very good post as well.

Go check them out!

Added:

A very detailed outline of visual effects business practices by Scott Squires.

Inside the studio

That sounds very familiar..

Another common thing artists will experience is suddenly having a trailer shot due. A trailer company is hired to cut a trailer from the film’s current edit. They work separately from the director who is busy working with the editor. They may cut several trailers, and then show them to the director and studio for feedback. Once everyone agrees on a few cuts, the studio will test the trailer for a small audience and the one that scores the highest across the desired demographic will be the trailer that is selected for finalization. It happens so quickly that even the internal teams can barely keep up. The shots in the trailer which are visual effects shot have to go back to the vendor for completion. Sometimes they can’t complete the shot and they say to send it to another vendor for trailer version only, and sometimes they beef up hours and get it done and charge a slight overage or rush cost. That’s when you the artist are called, usually late into the process, and you find out the shot has a trailer version due soon and you need to work overtime. It’s a compliment that the trailer company chose the shot, but it’s also a drag because it might not look as great as you want for the final film. All that matters is that it’s good enough for the trailer at that point.

There's a lot more at vfxlaw and well worth a read if you want to know what's going on "inside the studio".

iAnimate.net Member Showcase - Winter 2013

iAnimate.net Member Showcase - Winter 2013 from iAnimate on Vimeo.

Out Of The Ordinary

Out Of The Ordinary from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

Expressions Reference

Super cool material, from animated to real life, check it out here.