I love David Attenborough. I grew up with many of his programs when I was very little,thanks to my dad's stash of documentaries he collects with a passion. I would credit Mr.David A. and my dad for instilling a wide array of wildlife understanding and interest in them from the materials I've been fed with for so many years. I've recently found these gems from,again, YouTube. Characteristic of David, he went to great lengths in explaining the complexities yet general understanding of the animal world to his audience and I was amazed ,though not surprised, as to how much this valuable information can be applied to our animation studies. Yes, animal studies is one of the core backbone requirements to help flesh out and understand your character designs better. But I find many of the local schools here do not or have never included these studies into their syllables. With such a case,the individuals will then have to take the initiative to study about them by themselves,and how much they can learn about one animal, all depends on the amount of time and effort it takes them to find out about it. I wish for the day we would have A Mr.Attenborough or equivalent of to give wonderful lectures such as these that is beneficial to all, including us animation artists. Any wonder why both David and Walt are great at what they do (and why I like them so much)? They understand everything that is needed for their job and they both share that same understanding about characteristics,be it in the form of an animal or cartoon character.
Many thanks to Park Min,Leon and Joe for introducing and mentioning it to us Saladinians last Wednesday night. Park Min having a go at my new sketchbook. With much regret, I've carelessly lost my old sketchbook journal while on a bus ride back from the airport to our bus terminal in KL. I am still holding on to the hope that one fine day the book will be returned to me in pristine condition otherwise complete. Joe looks on. Leon and Park. Check out his awesome stuff here at his blog...http://parkmin.pe.kr/ Joe (we dubbed him Joey for the night to avoid confusion) and Mel checking out sensei Junning's deft and killer strokes while testing my brushes and watercolors in my sketch journal.
Another YouTube gem find. Trailer based on Dargaud's 'Siegfried'. Animation by 'Pendragon Imageworks'. All rights reserved 2007
Sorry it should've been spelled Pendragon Imageforge instead of Imageworks. But anyways,here are the links... http://www.pendragon-imageforge.com/ http://www.dargaud.com/dossiers/ba-siegfried/index.html#
Check out Alex Alice's blog and his beautiful artworks on the project here....http://alexaliceblog.blogspot.com/
Catsuka.com has posted an article about it here...http://www.catsuka.com/news_detail.php?id=1189122427
Thank you Jerry and Amid for posting this up in the Brew~! Made my day when I checked out the morning papers.
The grandfather of Horrormania and fanzine has passed away at 11:58 PM 12/04/2008. If you have a facebook account,you can drop by his site here... http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1343888300&ref=nf#/photo.php?pid=30017199&id=1343888300 I grabbed this image of him from his facebook site.
He opened his heart to everyone and anyone out there including this insignificant piece of dust so am thankful to've had the opportunity of knowing him a little better even being this far away from ever getting to meet him in person. A big man with a gigantic heart.
Ryan Cano, owner of The Loyalty Firm and manager of The Boxing Lesson contacted me about their "new killer animation vid" for their song Dark Side of the Moog that was directed by Eric Power (Waking Life). Ryan adds " This video is in HD on Vimeo and to see the band come to life via animation has the whole band psyched about spreading their psychedelic music in this visually stunning way. The bands beloved drummer Jake Mitchell can even be seen in animation form".
Tripod Entertainment is looking for animation talents for its “War of the Worlds: Goliath” production (WOTW).
WOTW is a DVD-release English-language animated sci-fi action-adventure “steampunk” movie, based on the “War of the Worlds” novel by HG Wells.
The production is mostly 2D, with 3D vehicles, props and certain environments.
The WOTW DVD movie will be released worldwide, and is expected to complete production in end-2009.
Tripod Entertainment is looking for candidates with the required criteria for the following departments:
1) Layout
Function: To create all layout environments for key animation.
Criteria: Candidates must be very skilled and experienced artists who understand perspective, and can translate key background drawings into layouts that animators can use. Artistic skill must be significantly strong, and must have experience in animation projects.
2) Colour (a.k.a. Ink & Paint)
Function: To apply colour to all animation according to colour key plans.
Criteria: Candidates can be fresh graduates or interns interested in starting out in animation.
Please note:
Candidates will be hired for a minimum of SIX months, and will be based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Freelancers are encouraged, although there is a strong possibility of long-term hire on other Tripod projects, depending on the talent’s performance for WOTW.
Candidates will undergo training & supervision with lead artists & animation directors from SUN MIN IMAGE PICTURES, the animation studio behind “Ben 10”, “Fantastic Four”, etc. Sun Min personnel will be based in Petaling Jaya.
Candidates will also receive the support of Tripod’s production management based in Los Angeles.
Depending on their performance during this production, selected candidates may have the opportunity to work at Sun Min in Seoul, or with Tripod in Los Angeles, on other projects in the future.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Candidates must have an aptitude to learn. This is a great opportunity to gain rare knowledge & exposure from a production which is run according to world-class animation processes & disciplines employed in Los Angeles and Seoul.
INTERESTED? Please send us your portfolio to:
LEON TAN, Executive Director, Tripod Entertainment Email: leon@tripod-ent.com
Deadline: 6 DECEMBER 2008
If you are an actual studio, please also forward your enquiries to the email address above. Please submit your portfolio also.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MORE JOB POSTS URGENTLY IN NEED OF TALENTS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Steve Bristow from Creative Licence needs fulltime:- a)Production Designer (5 months contract) b)Character Designer (5 months contract) c)Storyboard Artist (4 months contract) d)Animatic/Offline editor (3 months contract) e)Line Producer (8 months contract) -For a 3D animated TV pilot episode for a US client. Need the following for a Dec or Jan start. -They will be based in TTDI. If you have any buddies who are interested ask them to call me on 012 238 1500 or email me at steve@creativelicence.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) Scriptwriter Manesh Nesaratnam urgently needs 2 storyboards artists for a vid project of his. Please contact him at maneshnesaratnam@gmail.com or +60 (19) 277 2793
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3) Animation Director Syed Hassan is looking for... a) Layout artists (5-6 ppl) b) Ink and Painters (5-6 ppl) ...to fill in slots for a 2D animation tv series by December. Fresh grads are encouraged to apply as training will be provided. No previous experience necessary as long as you have the passion and commitment though skills in life drawing and knowledge of perspective is required. Comic artists are also welcome to apply. Contact Mr. Syed Hassan at onestepdigital@yahoo.com or his h/p : 012-2682096
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4) My colleague Steven Lim from Young Jump is sounding out word that they're hiring big time....
"Our studio currently has a number of positions available for both fresh graduates and experienced animators. If you know of anyone who's looking to be part of a cutting-edge animation studio with high aspirations, please do ask them to get in touch with me!
We are looking for enthusiastic and talented individuals to join us as:
Currently, we are involved in production of Saladin, a fully 3D-animated series slated for international release. Work on the series has been at once challenging and exciting; demanding and rewarding. We believe that through Saladin, Young Jump can offer animators an enriching learning experience seldom found within the local animation industry. Of course, we also have our own plans for the future, and are looking for the right people to help us build that vision!
Good people are always hard to find, so we would very much appreciate your help in passing on the word.
Thank you".
Please contact :
Steven Lim Project Manager Young Jump Animation Sdn Bhd
12A, Jalan 5/91A, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
A favor for my chef friend,Brian at http://www.keresspices.com/Home.html That be his dog,Floyd,with his lamb doll he takes to sleep with him. The sweetest thing.
Another project of uncertain future though things are moving along for my client, Pixeries Studio. These are idea developments done for a funding pitch the studio needed last year. Haven't received much updates from the studio for a while now though I have received word that they are already working on the animation needed for their animated picture books, but by another animation studio (Bizarro in fact,my earlier mentioned other client). To Aurelia ([link]) and , thank you so very much for entertaining all of my letters to participating on this project though it seems that I won't be working on it again anytime soon unless Pixeries gives me another heads up after they're done with their current skids with Bizarro. We'll see.
I'm feeling like a hired mercenary right now.
But enough rambling. Hope you'll enjoy the next few series of Hansel and Gretel (what could've been or possible back in the focus) works, folks.
I always find works on backgrounds and layouts challenging.
One project that was not scrapped. Thanks Mel for posting these shots from your blog! Now I can share 'em in mine as well. Sketches & development, character designs and key animations by me,....coloring,layout and rendering by Melissa Celestial. Flash animation by Tony Ganem.
One of many freelance projects that didn't see the light of day. Client : Studio Bizzaro for a Disney Pitch.
Perchance met with my client the day before yesterday during a voice recording session. Wanted to contact him for a long time to ask for permission to use these drawings for display if they have no intention of proceeding with it's production but never got to it. So ironically my client,Brian, happened to be voicing one of my characters for the Saladin project I'm working on that day so it saved me an email to write there n then. Coolness.
Heyas everyone! Well, a whole lot of things has been happening lately so I had better get started. Besides my day job and rushing for deadlines,keeping me busy from updating my site regularly as I'd like, this happened. My car kaputted on the highway during rush hour after work. Thank God it stalled right in front of the toll booths where there were some able bodied officials to help me with my predicament. Took 2 hours of contemplating,scrutinising the problem and waiting for the tow truck to arrive and bring me to my mechanic's shop. It was quite an adventure for me to be able to sit propped up in the air in the truck like that while the tow chap slowly lowered my car behind the alley,where the mech shop is. Gave a bit of viewing entertainment to 2 dog walkers for a petshop I recognised just a couple of doors down from the mech.
And on another sad note, last month was to be Steve's last collaboration with us all on working on the Saladin project. But am glad to be able to chip in to give him something memorable from the team to commemorate all those fun moments we've all shared together back at the office. Check out Mel's take on the farewell dinner in her blog at http://kusut-masai.blogspot.com/ Really glad Steve was happy with the gifts he got that evening over a farewell seafood dinner. Too many to mention here...but from what I can make out in the photo, from left to right : Bottom : Syed,Steve,Ezat,Chi Ren and Desmond. The rest behind : Fy,Shahrain,Remy,Shawal,Gecko,Irma,Iman,Hanie, Mel barely seen behind her and finally, Hafez.
Admiring the Cartoon Logic cards created by the magnanimously talented Mel. Meh, a shot of me at the office. That pile of Nat Geos there on my desk is a great resource for inspiration and ideas and the likes. That be Mel and Irma in the background.Life savers. Mo's kids first visit to the office one fine day. His daughter,Taliel, kept me company almost throughout watching Spongebob and eating Oreos at my desk. His son was the sweetest, always coming back and forth checking in on his sister,even giving her a kiss on the cheek now and then. This shot is of them having a blast coloring their own versions of Saladin characters. I was having a real down time/bad day at the time, so when Mo brought his kids in,they were like a godsend. And contrary to what Mo describes his kids as, they were definitely perfect angels that day. Me paying a visit to my sister's house where the family's 2 dogs were let loose at the front porch at the time. Oh joy! I don't get to see a lot of animals nowadays as they don't allow us to keep pets in the apartment. The 2 rascals went ballistics at their moment of freedom with the family. And something long delayed but am still very proud to mention here. My pal, Chan Ghee upon winning July's 11 second club. A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS,Chan Ghee! You deserve it for all your hard work and energy and thought put into this clip. And my apologies,folks, for the deceptive image below. Clicking at it doesn't actually make it play,it's just a screen shot from the site. Check out Chan Ghee's submission at the site here... http://www.11secondclub.com/competitions/july08/winner/
And below, something fun to mention. My pal, Matthias Ranheim, shared photos of him posing as an extra in his swat cop outfit for a movie they were shooting in a town where he's at. Hope to see the show when it's completed. And not too long ago, Joe was back in town to get some work done and Leon and everyone from Imaginex gave him a warm send off dinner and pub crawl at Bangsar after Joe's week long stint here. Left to right : Joe,Gavin,Alex,Mike,Leon and Luca. A lot of the other guests were gone by the time this shot was taken. And finally, me working hard fulfilling my aunt duties as photographer for my nephew's 5th birthday at his party held at the KL Bird Park last month. Check out all the shots taken that day at my Flickr....http://www.flickr.com/photos/81755819@N00/
And finally....
The very inspiring,very talented Carl Barks. Happen to chance upon this clip while perusing through YouTube. In it, our very own Jerry Becks from Cartoon Brew. Enjoy,folks!
Birthday dinner treat from the guys at MnU. Thank you so much for chipping in for my the dinner and for my birthday gift,everyone! I'm so touched by the thoughtfulness and kind generosity shown by all. Raaymond and Jase helping themselves to Ed's dish of mushrooms. More images in my Flickr blog on the side,folks. My sis's family came by to visit early this month and my niece got a little high..... A lil sketch I did but never made to print. And I'll be posting a whole lot more goodie clips here to share with everyone my sources of inspiration. Vive la Herge!
And very interesting to see the master actually drawing out Tintin.
And a dish I'm currently addicted to. Locally, it's known as Pecal Leleh. It's a set meal of grilled catfish with a side of raw salad,eggplants,tofu and stuff with tongue singeing sambal, white rice and a small bowl of chicken soup. Not bad for RM6 only. Do drop by and peruse around my food blog if you're a foodie. The link is on the side. I can't hardly believe I'm older by another year! Time does catch up on you.
There's apparently a huge amount of YouTubers putting in a lot of effort in coming up with movie trailers they desire to see in the upcoming movie bill. There's one good way for movie goers to drop loud hints to movie makers out there of what they want to watch. I've seen a couple already, including an unexpected Voltron trailer. But I think Knightfall182's 'Justice League of America' trailer is one of the best efforts in movie editing I've come across so far.
