June 29, 2013

Bravoman Episode 6: Laser Mummies From Beyond the Moon

Check it out here.



16 Comics. 17 Artists. One incredible anthology!

From the founders:
This project was initially conceived during a conversation over a shared pot of tea. After a whirlwind of an experience with our artist table at Hal-con 2012, we wanted to really challenge ourselves to see what we could pull together with enough hard work, creativity and determination.

We put a call out to our circle of friends and beyond, with a set of goals and guidelines, requesting submissions of 1-10 page comics unified with the theme of "Introductions". In seven months, we collected over 100 pages in a set of 16 very unique comics from 17 very talented artists. This project really wouldn't be possible without the combined ambitions and efforts of everybody!

16 Debut is about taking that fun idea you had with friends over a pot of tea and turning it into a reality. It’s about taking that first, oh so intimidating step, towards turning ambitions into achievements. It's about making your creative debut to the world!

"Slap" Life In The Analog Age (Episode 29) by Gabe Swarr

June 27, 2013

Revisiting the “Mrs. Doubtfire” Cartoon Directed by Chuck Jones



Story via The Brew

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Chris Columbus’ comedy Mrs. Doubtfire. In the opening of the film, Robin Williams plays a voice-over artist who is recording lines for a cartoon that has already been made. (Yes, that’s out of order for a standard cartoon production, but for entertainment’s sake, we’ll let it slide).

The cartoon was supervised by legendary Warner Bros. director Chuck Jones, and animated by a small team of A-list animators that included legends like Bill Littlejohn and Tom Ray, and younger animators like Eric Goldberg. Coincidentally, Goldberg was also animating to the voice of Robin Williams for another animated project around the same period—the Genie in Aladdin.

In the film, we see barely a minute’s worth of animation of the two main characters—Pudgy Parakeet and Grunge the Cat. But in reality, Chuck Jones and his crew animated five minutes of material. This was never publicly shown until it was included several years afterward as a bonus feature on the Mrs. Doubtfire DVD.

Apparently, Chuck Jones wasn’t too keen on the backgrounds, feeling that they were overly detailed. So Jones had the cartoon completely reshot with new backgrounds that reflected a more subdued graphic style. As an added bonus, here’s the alternate version:



And just for good measure, here is a two-minute pencil test:

Hand-Drawn Sequences by MAKE for “Invisible to You” Doc







Director: Ramon Nuñez
Creative Director: Danny Robashkin
Animators: Aaron Quist, Alec Mueller, Andrew Chesworth, Ben Bury, Jordan Hill, Justin Weber, Niklas Norman
Edit/Sounds design/Mix: Mike Nelson

"See-Saw" Life In The Analog Age (Episode 28) by Gabe Swarr

June 25, 2013

Mind-Boggling 3D Drawings on Flat Sheets of Paper



The illusionary work of Dutch artist Ramon Bruin, aka JJK Airbrush, will leave you wondering what's real and what's just a clever illustration. The artist's skilled hand crafts imaginary three-dimensional worlds on two-dimensional platforms adorned with props like pencils and other art supplies used to create each image. Although, it can be confusing at times to decipher whether the props themselves are drawings.

The Netherlands-based artist's anamorphic illustrations brilliantly play with perspective. Bruin also adds a touch of whimsy and humor to his creations that aids in their believability while providing an entertaining image. His expert level of understanding of the various mediums he works with (pencil, watercolor, acrylics, and oils).





















JJK Airbrush website

JJK Airbrush on Facebook

via [farewell kingdom] from my modern met

Baman Piderman - Play Da Concert (Ep #21)



See an interview with Alex Butera here.

"Advent Gift" Life In The Analog Age (Episode 26) by Gabe Swarr

June 19, 2013

LEGO The Movie

Phil Lord & Chris Miller latest movie is sure to delight, everything they've done together has been total genius, and this looks like it could be quite fantastic as well. I'll be seeing it in the theater for the simple fact that it is rendered 'on 2s' with no motion blur. I find CG animation looks better that way.


An ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.

R.I.P. James Gandolfini

Rachel Morrison - Cinematographer

"Diagnosis" - Life In The Analog Age (Episode 19) by Gabe Swarr

June 14, 2013

Wolf Children Ame and Yuki

The film is about a woman named Hana, she falls in love with Wolf Man, and after the Wolf Man's unexpected death, Hana decides to move to a rural town to continue raising her two wolf children Ame and Yuki. It's truly an amazing and heartfelt film, and I tend to dislike most non-Miyazaki Anime films, so you must to check out this one.

This Japanese animated movie was directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who is widely known for "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time". For the production of the film, Hosoda created and established 'Studio Chizu', a studio that co-produced the film along with 'Madhouse'. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto of the Evangelion series served as the character designer on the film.

Wolf Children was the second-highest grossing film in Japan on its debut weekend of 21–22 July 2012, beating Disney Pixar's 'Brave', which debuted in Japan on the same weekend.

"Batz" Trailer - by Max Maleo & Aurélien Prédal

Bravoman Episode 4: Watching From the Shadows

"Divorce" - Life In The Analog Age (Episode 14) by Gabe Swarr

Read the nice CartonBrew interview with Gabe Swarr here.

June 12, 2013

June 05, 2013

The Secret of Animation

Freelance Artist's Reference Books

Via GuysWithPencils

1. Talent is Not Enough: Business Secrets for Designers by Shel Perkins
http://www.amazon.ca/Talent-Not-Enough-Business-Designers/dp/0321702026/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367289738&sr=8-2&keywords=talent+is+not+enough

2. The Business of Design: Balancing Creativity and Profitability by Keith Granet
http://www.amazon.ca/Business-Design-Balancing-Creativity-Profitability/dp/1616890185/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367289951&sr=1-2&keywords=business+of+design

3. How to be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees
http://www.amazon.ca/How-Be-Illustrator-Darrel-Rees/dp/1856695301/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367290013&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+be+an+illustrator

4. The Graphic Design Business Book by Tad Crawford
http://www.amazon.ca/GRAPHIC-DESIGN-BUSINESS-BOOK-Crawford/dp/1581154305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367290082&sr=1-1&keywords=graphic+design+business+book

5. G.A.G.’s Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines by Graphic Artists Guild
http://www.amazon.ca/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102158/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367290172&sr=1-1&keywords=handbook+pricing+ethical+guidelines
(All the above books include sample contracts)

6. The Strategic Designer: Tools and Techniques for Managing the Design Process by David Holston
http://www.amazon.ca/Strategic-Designer-Techniques-Managing-Process/dp/1600617999/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367290316&sr=1-1&keywords=the+strategic+designer

7. The Designer’s Guide to Marketing and Pricing: how to win clients and what to charge them by Ilise Benun and Peleg Top
http://www.amazon.ca/Designers-Guide-Marketing-Pricing-Clients/dp/1600610080/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367290403&sr=1-1&keywords=designers+guide+to+marketing+and+pricing

8. The Designer’s Guide to Business and Careers: how to succeed on the job or on your own by Peg Faimon
http://www.amazon.ca/Designers-Guide-Business-Careers-Succeed/dp/1600611567/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367290459&sr=1-1&keywords=designers+guide+to+business+and+careers

"Visit" - Life In The Analog Age (Episode 6) by Gabe Swarr