Today I’m pleased to announce the upcoming publication of the first-ever Cartoon Brew book. Inside UPA is a 64-page volume offering an unprecedented look into the legendary UPA animation studios. Packed with over fifty photos, most of which haven’t been seen in decades, the book offers a rare glimpse into what it was like to work at the mid-century’s greatest design-oriented animation studio.

Like the studio itself, this book is a bit of an experiment. It’s an animation book that treats artists like the stars they are and allows them to be appreciated in a way like never before. Personally I think it’s quite the appropriate companion to my earlier book Cartoon Modern because as that book focused on artwork and animation, this book recognizes the artists who made those groundbreaking films a reality.

Inside UPA captures long forgotten moments from the studio’s history including such images as John Hubley sketching dancer Olga Lunick during the production of Rooty Toot Toot, Aurie Battaglia and Leo Salkin working on the unproduced James Thurber feature The White Deer, architect John Lautner talking to UPA animators about his building plans for the studio, Pete Burness and Mister Magoo voice Jim Backus going through a storyboard, Gene Deitch and Cliff Roberts having an impromptu jam session at a picnic, and a late-night production staff meeting at the Smokehouse Restaurant.

Inside UPA, which measures 7.5″x8.7″, is a softcover with french flaps and b&w interior. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go towards the production of the UPA documentary that Tee Bosustow is working on so every purchase helps to further advance the documentation of the studio’s output. The book also includes a six-page filmography, which is the most complete UPA filmography to ever appear in print. It includes not only the studio’s theatrical shorts, but also its industrial and training films, TV commercials and shows, and other special projects.

The book is available in a numbered edition of 1000 copies. It’s a limited run and certainly not the type of book that will be available forever. The pre-order price (valid through September 15) is $35 (plus S&H). After that date, the price increases to $45. Fifty of these copies will come with a bookplate signed by UPA veterans who are still alive. These are available at $150.

To order your copy today, visit UPApix.com.

A few spreads from the book are below:

Dutch animator and illustrator Fons Schiedon has a lot of impressive work on his website FonzTV.nl, and none more so than the educational piece Teen Facts: Hormones, which employs a beautifully-executed split screen concept and features some really fun and appealing animation. The short is currently screening at the Nemo Science Center in Amsterdam. Also it’s worth noting that Schiedon is currently art directing a new children’s TV series, The Incredible Adventures of Kika and Bob which will air this fall on Discovery Kids in the US.

Below is an interview with Schiedon from designFLUX where he talks about his work and influences.

(via Motion Design blog)

Got a spare fifteen grand? You might be interested in this killer item.

You can’t make stuff like this up. The Japanese Butt Biting Bug is the latest fad from that wacky island in the Pacific.

(Thanks Eric Graf)

This is a must-read article in the New York Times about the new deal that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have struck with Viacom. The deal, which is reportedly worth $75 million to its creators, includes a three-year extension of the series and the creation of SouthParkStudios.com, an incubator for new projects that, I believe, Parker and Stone will have an ownership stake in.

The most attention-grabbing part of the deal, and very likely a first for the creator of an animated TV series, is that Viacom has agreed to give Parker and Stone a 50-50 split of ad revenues on digital platforms, though not on television. The deal was made possible thanks to the duo’s lawyer, Kevin Morris, who in 1997 had the foresight to demand that the creators would share in any revenue not derived from the episode airings on cable. What was then a seemingly minor contract clause has today “created what may be a new model in the balance of power and money between creative artists and companies like Comedy Central,” as so succinctly put in this op-ed in the Times. The precedent-setting contractual victory of the South Park creators is a cause of celebration for all creators, as the antiquated exploitation-based business models of the entertainment industry crumble in this new digital age and artists slowly but surely begin to receive equitable compensation for their creations.

Golden Age comics by animation artists Rod Scribner and Dan Gordon.

Even B-animation studios get love online: “Why we love Famous cartoons.”

Terrytoons animator Carlo Vinci: Artist first, animator second. A valuable lesson if there ever was one.

The greatest Warner Bros. background painter: Paul Julian.
Ample evidence here, here and here.

Lovely pre-production art from Dick Williams’s Raggedy Ann and Andy.

Rubber hosey goodness: The Office Boy, a Flip the Frog short by Ub Iwerks.

Lou Romano is posting a bunch of swell color keys from Powerpuff Girls.

Previously on Cartoon Brew: Samurai Jack bgs by Bill Wray and Scott Wills.

(Thanks, Amanda and Michelle)

Van Eaton Galleries, in conjunction with the Creative Talent Network, is holding a unique event featuring a tribute to some of Disney Heroes of Imagination, past and present. Honorees for the evening are Rowland Wilson, Joe Grant (above), Walt Stanchfield and Mel Shaw. From the press release:

There will be an exhibition of art, never-before-seen-publicly, from the private collections of family, friends and colleagues of these artists on display throughout the gallery. Attendees will receive a commemorative brochure that includes biographies of each artist and a collection of statements and anecdotes from the many celebrated artists who have shared studio space with these great talents.

The Disney Heroes of Imagination event will be held on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Van Eaton Galleries, 13613 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, California. RSVP’s are now being taken. Anyone interested in attending should call (818) 788-2357.

No doubt you’ve seen this fine performance by Miss Teen South Carolina, but have you seen her follow-up interview on The Today Show where she reveals that she wants to study and become, such as, a visual effects artist. Frankly I think she’d be squandering her talents working in vfx when she so clearly has all the makings of an animation executive.

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