South Park - The Making of.

I absolutely love South Park so I was pretty excited when they released these videos showing the technical process behind the show. This two part episode, The Pandemic was a Randy heavy episode so naturally one of my favourites ^-^
Just thought I would share, check it out -> here <-

Rapunzel Concept Art

Disney has recently released concept images from their new film, Rapunzel which is due to be released in 2010. They are absolutly gorgeous! I am so excited for this film. See more here.

Disney's The Little Match Girl

The Disney version of The Little Match Girl came on the special edition of The Little Mermaid. The You Tube version is pretty bad quality so if you can get hold of the DVD I really recommend you watch it.

This short film is really sweet and to me really feels like an old Disney film. I am hoping the Princess and the Frog has a some of that old Disney magic.
I love this story and always have since I was a kid, which is probably why I based my graduation film on it. I always felt so sad for the little match girl at end but still wanted to read it over and over, I was a strange child I guess...

2009 Releases

I just thought I would share some of the latest animated features due for release this year that I really wanna see! I am a HUGE Pixar fan so am really looking forward to seeing UP which will be released here in the UK in October. It has already been released in the US which I am a bit gutted about :( But the trailers and clips look great and I can't wait to see the usual Pixar short at the start of the film. :)

I also can't wait to see the new traditionally animated Disney film The Princess and the Frog. I think the last hand drawn piece they did which I actually liked was the Emperor's New Groove which was years ago now. There are a couple of featurettes over at AWNtv.com that are worth a look.

And finally I am super excited for the latest Ghibli film Ponyo. It has already been released in Japan for over a year now I think... and I still haven't managed to see it. I am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen though and will just have to hope the english dubbing isn't terrible. Infact I don't think I have ever seen a Ghibli movie at the cinema before... so this will be a first. :)
Hopefully I'll have some time to blog about these movies when I get around to seeing them so watch this space!

I am also excited for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which is coming out next week. Anyone who knows me will know I am a MASSIVE Harry Potter fan and although I have never really been a big fan of the films I am really looking forward to this one! The trailer looks pretty good and the last one wasn't too bad.

And a non-movie release... I can't wait to get my hands on the new Assassians Creed game. It looks amazing and there is so many more things that you can do in this one that weren't possible in the first. This is released late November... so could be a possible early Christmas gift for myself. :)
I'll leave you with the E3 demo (in game footage!) so you can see what I am talking about.

For Sock's Sake

I just found this whilst browsing those you tubes and thoroughly enjoyed it so I thought I would share. :)

Papercutting #2 - Kate Slater

As promised here is a link to another one of my favourite papercut artists I have discovered whilst trawling the world wide web. ^-^

Kate Slater
She creates these great 3D paper collages and cut outs for her illustration work which I find just amazing to look at. I have only posted a couple of her images here but you should check out her website and blog which both contain a selection of her work.

Papercutting #1 - Elsa Mora

I love Elsa's work. Her cuts are so delicate and carefully crafted. She usually creates small girl figures mixed in with trees and plants which I just love! As well as cuts based on old nursery rhymes and fairy tales. In her most recent post on Mary had a little lamb she gives a brief history of the rhyme and origins. For each piece she explains her personal meaning behind the work as well as leaving it open for the readers to give their own opinions.

She also has created these great 3D paper sculptures which look amazing!

Her beautiful paper cuts can be seen on her blog allaboutPapercutting.

Papercut Artists

A large paper cut I photographed in a Chinese supermarket
I am completely in love with paper cuts right now and I just wanted to share some of the work of my favourite paper cut artists. I was going to post one huge post full of all the work I loved but instead I have decided to give each artist their own post. My obsession with paper cuts is a recent thing... and began during my research for my graduation film. I came across the art of Chinese paper cutting and just loved what could be achieved with a piece of paper and a knife.

I haven't had a chance to create much of my own paper cut work but I am hoping as my workload is slowing down now that I will finally get a chance to try my hand at some really cool cutting. I will be updating this post with new artists every time I find something I like and will post links to the individual posts full of lovely images etc...

#1Elsa Mora
#2Kate Slater
...

Pixar in jokes...

I love Pixar ^-^ Can't wait for their latest film to be realeased :)
Here is a cool blog post about all the in-jokes and self-contained references Pixar tends to make in all of their films :) I love it.

Animators Survival Kit

Pretty much every animator I know owns this book. It is exactly what it says on the cover and I have found it to be one of the most useful books I own. As I didn't have much time to learn all the basics of animation this book was essential in helping me get through my degree. I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone who is already animating or just starting out.

I have been dipping in and out of it for the last couple of years. Learning what I need to for certain projects. Ideally I would love to just sit down and learn everything in it from start to finish, unfortunately I just don't have the time.
More recently I have come across this:

Animators Survival Kit - DVD
A DVD box set full of Richard William's lectures to accompany the book. (You can preview his lectures on the link above.) I think it is essential for all animators to learn the very basics of animation. I have often found myself struggling when animating and just a simple look over of the basics just brings everything into place.

I am sad to say the price tag on this box set is quite high. It is understandable... but much too high for me to buy at the minute. I hoping that perhaps in the future I will be able to add them to my collection. For now I'll be just sticking with the book. :)

Flash Alphabet Zoo

I'm not normally into Type (which I think I have mentioned before...) but this website is so much fun! :)
Bembo's Zoo
It's a kind of alphabet zoo... helps children learn about letters :) I just like how the letters make up the different animals :) very clever.
I realy want to get into Flash again. I'm planning on re-designing my website so I think that will be the perfect learning opportunity. :)

Sorry for the lack of updates I have been extremely busy working over the bank holiday weekend. Now I need to get back into my normal work routine. :) Should have the LLF promo film completed and online by next week.
Updates coming soon ~~~

Katy Davis - Stay in my Memory

I love this <3

Katy is a past NSAD graduate as well and I really loved her graduation film Gobblynne. You can see it here on her website as well as being able to see all her latest work.

Koji Yamamura

Koji Yamamura
Atama Yama (Mt Head) 2002
Ame no hi (Imagination) 1993

Toshi wo totta wani (The Old Crocodile) 2005
I first came across Koji's animation during my art foundation in the book 'Animation Now!' where his film Mt. Head was featured on the DVD which came with the book. I thought it was great which is why I was really happy to hear he would be attending the Norwich International Animation Festival 2006.

It was during my second year of uni and I was working as a volunteer at the festival. There was a screening of his films which was great as I was able to see a full collection of his work on the big screen. My favourites being Mt Head, The Old Crocodile and the shorts featuring the two claymation characters Karo and Piyobupt. Afterwards I was lucky enough to meet him and my friend and I got a signed drawing from him. I am so glad we went to talk to him it was really cool to be able to meet someone whos work I really admired.
I really love his films and if you haven't seen them before I really recommend you check them out. I have included links below the images above.

At the Norwich International Animation Festival 2006 (now known as AURORA).

AnnaTheRed's Bento Factory

*AnnaTheRed*
This is possibly my favourite food related blog <3 My obsession with bento boxes brought me to this site and I absolutly love everything this girl makes!
She has tons of Ghibli and game related bentos. My favourite being the Sleeping Totoro. So cute ^-^


I also love her Wall-E and Totoro sandwiches which I am planning on attempting to make with my friends kid next week. He is very excited about it all... almost as excited as me. :) I also want to attempt to make her Doraemon onigiri... although my last attempt at onigiri didn't go too well.




She is so creative with her food it is amazing. Plus she made a Battlestar Galactica themed feast for the season finale... this is the main reason I am blogging about this today. The three post special on BSG themed food was brilliant.

You must check out the rest of her bentos *Go Go Go*

Typolution

Not normally into Type but I thought this was cool.

Ron Cheruka - " The Egg Man "

I love paper cuttings and then I discovered these egg cuttings! Made by a man called Ron Cheruka. I have no idea how he makes them but you can apparently go to workshops at his home where he will teach you how to do it. Sounds pretty cool to me :)

Totoro Forest Project

The Totoro Forest Project is a fund raising exhibition/auction to support the non-profit organization, "Totoro No Furusato National Fund". Backed by Hayao Miyazaki it features original artwork by internationally acclaimed artists working in animation, illustration, comic books and fine arts. Even though the exhibition is now closed I believe they will be publishing a book full of all the artwork which I can't wait to get my hands on.

I love the simple design of this website and I highly recommend you check out the gallery and view all the Totoro inspired work.

Seonna Hong

I really love the work by Seonna Hong. These are some of her older pieces of work but there is tons of lovely new stuff to look at on her website.
Not only does she create lovely paintings but she also works as an art director for Nickelodeon and in the past has worked as a background artist at Cartoon Network and Disney. She has even won an Emmy for Individual Achievement in Animation. :)


I have been meaning to blog about her for a while as back in my second year of uni I used one of her images to create a sonic postcard. It was my first After Effects project and my first time recording and mixing my own sound. (You can see it on youtube although the aspect ratio is incorrect and the quality is pretty low - oh the joys of being a noob)

Anyway I will share with you some of my favourite images of hers that have been on my computer for a while and have all been on my desktop at some point in time. :) I particularly love the Snow Angels one.




Her most recent work is actually going to be exhibited next week at a show titled “I Know What You're Thinking...” in New York along with another one of my favourite artists Saelee Oh. I wish I could go....

I also really want to get my hands on her pop up book Animus.

Glasswing Butterfly

I have been finding a lot of really cool stuff recently through one of my favourite subscriptions... the Neatorama blog.

One of the recent posts was about a Glasswing Butterfly. It is beautiful! and so delicate and pretty. I love it. Plus it reminded me of when I had to design the wings for my cut out dragonfly. So I thought I would share.


For more pictures check out the following article at the link.
Almost Invisible: The Incredible Glasswing Butterfly

More paper animation :)

I absolutly love paper animation. :) My obsession with paper is becoming quite a big part of my work. I just want to make things and cut things out of paper all the time! I found this advert for United Airlines on youtube and just loved it! So I thought I would share.


Sorry for the lack of updates, I have had a very busy weekend.
The AMEF workshop went well though and I really enjoyed myself :) Passing on knowledge to younger people feels good! ^-^ Kids these days are so lucky to have access to such powerful computers and software that just wasn't around when I was younger.
I need to get back working on LLF now and finishing off the bird animation for the upcoming projection tests. So far I have added very rough shapes to represent the birds wings before drawing and colouring the final ones. I need to make sure everything is moving correctly before I start all the clean up etc...
But yeah I am feeling a lot better about the bird section now I have gone back and am reworking it all. :)