Animation Book compilation

Got this via the AM twitter feed:

AnimationMentor
To all you animation hopefuls out there, here's a great list of resource books for animators! http://bit.ly/agx20R (Thanks Albert!)

And yes, it's a great list! Check it out!

CSI Miami - Horatio Caine One-Liners

He's acting is so consistent!

Critique - Bar guy

Hey,

I like the idea, but I think you could push a few things.

The sniffing and the "disgusted" part are a bit simple. I think you could push the acting in those areas in order to give him more character. It's a bit generic right now and given the long pause, it's a great opportunity to do something very character specific. It doesn't have to be something crazy, but just a specific, original way he sniffs it and reacts to it.

You could maybe also involve the bartender more. What if, after he puts down the last drink, he leaves his hand at the edge of the bar top, and then taps his finger(s), something that shows he's slightly annoyed, since the customer is taking so long.

What do you guys think?

Cheers
JD

How to Train Your Dragon's Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois - Interview

"There are some similarities," Sanders admit from his hotel room in Miami, "but there are also some huge differences. This is really an action film, where Lilo & Stitch was more family. I mean we never had a film that started out with a war. We do here. The second act is all set in a gladiator ring."

Continue reading @ associatedcontent.com

Interview of Simon Otto - Head of Character Animation - How To Train Your Dragon

Fellow Swiss man!!



and more!

Interview with VFX Supervisor Craig Ring - How To Train Your Dragon



Interview with Gil Zimmerman from How To Train Your Dragon



Interview of Alessandro Carloni - How To Train Your Dragon



10 Questions for Kathy Altieri- Production Designer of How To Train Your Dragon



Interview with Art Director Pierre-Olivier Vincent - How To Train Your Dragon



Interview of Matt Baer - Head of Effects - How To Train Your Dragon

I watched "How to Train Your Dragon"...

... and I was blown away by it! It was so good! I loved it! It's my new all time favorite animated movie!

The story was so engaging, epic, funny, heartfelt and entertaining! Nothing took me out of the story, no silly jokes or pop culture references (although I laughed when the kids enter the arena the first time - that was straight out of "Gladiator"). The character design was fantastic! I love love love the look of the vikings and dragons. The renders were amazing! I loved the overall color tone and feeling of their world. The animation was really really well done and the acting choices were great! The voice acting was also fitting and I got used to Hiccup's voice right away (only thing that I wasn't too sure about from seeing the trailer).

One fantastic aspect I loved involves SPOILERS! so highlight the text below if you've seen the movie already or don't mind:

I was so happy to see that there are consequences to people's actions in their world. When you think that Hiccup is dead I was actually wishing that he was. When will an animated movie be so bold to kill off their main character (it would have been great for Shifu to die in Panda). But of course, Hiccup lives, hell hasn't frozen over yet. BUT BUT! He looses his foot! So people are NOT indestructible. LOVED IT! It would have been sweet to hint at real consequences at the beginning of the movie to set the tone, but that surprise was still great.

End of SPOILERS.

I bow down in awe and can't wait to see it again. Please go watch this movie! Give it the success it deserves!

Body Language - Jobs vs. Schmidt

I'm a total nerd and I love gadgets. So I'm an avid reader of Gizmodo.com. Today a picture was featured that showed Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt talking to each other. The press is reporting a feud between Apple and Google, so everybody is all over this picture. Me too, but more from a pose point of view. When I first saw it I thought Schmidt's pose is very submissive. It's like a school boy who's in trouble and who's sitting in front of the principle. :)

Gizmodo has an analysis by Janine Driver who's a body linguistic expert, in case you want to know more and see more comparison images.Here's the main the pic that started it all:

Dark Cristal - Robot Chicken

Dark Cristal [Robot Chicken] from Aaaaa Kkkkk on Vimeo.

Hotels.com Claymation TV Commercial

The latest TV commercial from hotels.com & Y&R Chicago, featuring claymation animation from Aardman, and directed by Peter Peake.

Despicable Me - Full Trailer

found @ Cartoon Brew

Lots of How to Train Your Dragon clips

Posting tip by Bernie (Thanks!). Haven't watched any of them, don't want to spoil the first viewing.

For Sock's Sake by Carlo Vogele

Ting reminded me to watch For Sock's Sake and there's an awesome little moment on 2:11, where you can see a little mole screen left. That guy is from a classic kid's show I used to watch a long time ago!

End of second SOS Workshop!

Last Thursday was the last session of the second Spungella On-Site Workshop! Although the group was smaller than the first one, I sure had as much fun as before. You guys were great and thank you very much for attending those weekly animation meetings!

Joey, thanks for the amazing reference footage! APPROVED!
Josh, thanks for introducing "actually" to my regular conversations. Actually, thanks for NOTHING!!
Ivy, can't wait to see your spaghetti monster thesis fully realized!
Sunny, your martial arts movie recommendation was awesome, seeing how you enjoyed the footage was scary. ;)
Annie, you have some of the weirdest and most creative shot ideas I've seen. So. Awesome.
Dean, thanks for helping out setting up the room and putting it back to what it was, thanks for being patient despite all my notes for your shots and thanks for creeping me out with the shot about the guy and his love for dismembered legs. :)
Bernie, it's always a pleasure to have you show up on Thursday, or Tuesday, or any other day you might show up.

THANKS GUYS!!

pic source

Lighting by Roger Deakins for How to Train Your Dragon

Head over to the nytimes.com for a sweet article on the lighting process for Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon. There's also a cool clip called "Watching the Shadows". Go check it out!

Animation Insiders Book

I got a friendly email from Patrick Beaulieu pointing out that his book "Animation Insiders" will see a release on April 27th. Here's some info on it:

Animation Insiders is a series of books dedicated to animation. Theses books are a compilation of know-how, experience and anecdotes from talented animators. Each book explores a new theme. Animation Insiders is aimed at people who are passionate about animation, those who are looking to surpass their limits and acquire new techniques. Animation Insiders is the perfect tool to learn from the best animators. For more information about Animation Insiders contact us at info@sstudiopress.com

Looks like it's going to be an interesting read. The participants are Victor Navone, Jason Ryan, Jason Martinsen, Jason Schleifer, Pablo Navarro, Anthea Kerou, Ana Maria Alvarado, Mike Nguyen, Pedro Blumenbaum, Matt Strangio, Emilio Gorayeb, Reno Armanet, Gabriele Pennacchioli and Andrew Gordon.