Tips for Better Ideas

Great ideas for great ideas:

Tips for Better Ideas from Andrew 'Big Show' Blodgett on Vimeo.

"Help the Hodges" auction has begun

Follow this link to see all the auction items available.  More info about the cause in my previous post.  New lots are added every 7 minutes until all the items are up for auction.  Ladies and Gentlemen, start your bidding!

A letter from John K.

I was a big fan of Ren & Stimpy back in the early 90's, way before I ever considered a career in animation (heck, I was doing racy paintings in France at the time, but that's another story!).  I've always admired John Kricfalusi's design sense and the energy and audacity in his work.  I may not like everything he does, or agree with everything he has to say about the medium of animation, but I respect his work and the impact it's had on our industry.  I'm even more impressed with him after reading this letter that he sent in response to an animation hopeful back in 1998.  It's a good read with some good advice for burgeoning artists, and it's great that he took the time to respond in such detail.  I can barely respond to all the blog comments and emails I get with more than a few sentences...

Help the Hodges

Sure, Christmas has come and gone, but it's not too late to do something nice in the spirit of giving!  There's a non-profit eBay auction coming up to raise funds for the family of animation artist Tim Hodge, whose son was involved in an accident earlier this year that left him in a coma.  Lot's of artists are contributing original work to auction, including myself.  You can read more about the cause and see some of the submissions here.  Happy Holidays!

Alma

Check out this creepy animated short film from Pixar animator Rodrigo Blaas. He completed the film while on break in his home country of Spain. The art direction is by his brother Alfonso, and his wife Cecile produced.

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

The short's official web site is here.

Milt Kahl: The Animation Michelangelo

I don't know how long these have been online, but there are some clips on the Oscars.org site from the Milt Kahl retrospective they held in April of this year.  Includes lots of good anecdotes from a variety of animators and relatives, and even some of Brad Bird recounting his tutelage under Kahl.  Unfortunately there is not supporting footage of Kahl's work, but that's just a Google (or a DVD) away.

Meindbender Studios

Check out some of the work done by the Swedish animation studio Meindbender.  Most of the work shown here is promo stuff for Cartoon Network (much more appealing that watching Andrew WK shill CN's live-action lineup).  I love the stop-motion look of their CG work (and their stop-mo work!).  Great energy and looseness in the models - I wonder how the heck they rig that stuff... Enjoy!