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VIEW POSTS BY “amid”Cartoon Brew's home for up-to-the-minute, unedited announcements and press releases direct from industry sources.
February 26, 2007 1:00 pm
Ok, as promised in the post about the book last Friday, we’re giving away two copies of the book Three Trees Make a Forest, courtesy of the folks at Gingko Press. The first two people to correctly post the answer in the comments below will win the book. Here’s the question:
The Contest Is Now Closed! The winners are Chad Townsend and Peter Avanzino. Thanks to all who participated. And be sure to read Ronnie’s great story about how the ad came to be at the bottom of the comments section. 6 Comments » posted in Books 
February 26, 2007 2:57 am
The 5th Tehran International Animation Festival (English website) kicked off yesterday in Iran and continues through March 1. It’s a festival that I doubt many Brew readers will be attending anytime soon. Still I think it’s worth pointing out for a couple reasons. The first reason being that their website offers a good sense of the animation being produced in Iran today. Just check out the national competition page to see stills from a wide variety of contemporary Iranian shorts and commercial projects. The international competition offers more standard festival fare like Run Wrake’s Rabbit, Gaelle Denis’s City Paradise, Andreas Hykade’s The Runt, and Georges Schwizgebel’s Jeu, as well as features like Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Christiane Cegavske’s Blood Tea and Red String. The most interesting feature on their website is that the festival is producing two hours of live video programming every day of the event and the programs are in English. If you miss the live broadcasts, the programs are also archived here. I watched a portion of the Day 2 (Morning) program and there’s a roundtable discussion with an Iranian animation director and a book author. The majority of their talk is focused around, what else, but Flash animation and its impact on the industry. Also cool to see was an interview with an independent Iranian filmmaker about his CG short in competition, A la Mode (the interview is about three-quarters into the program). From the constant barrage of skewed, inflammatory media coverage of Iran in the Western media, one would never even know that artistic activities like animation happen in Iran, much less that the country has a thriving and fast developing animation industry. This website provides a rare look into their industry and shows that no matter what part of the world you live in, sooner or later you’re going to be using Flash and Maya. Tehran photo found on Flickr 5 Comments » posted in Events
February 26, 2007 12:54 am
Just a few interesting bits I’ve run across recently: Perhaps the best tribute I’ve read to Ryan Larkin is this piece by animation artist Joe Gilland at Animation World Magazine. The inspiring Michel Gagné, who maintains an impressive balance between personal projects and mainstream studio work (Pixar, Nickelodeon), discusses what he’s been doing lately in this interview. Filmmaker Joanna Quinn and her producer, Les Mills, talk about their award-winning film, Dreams and Desires. No Comments » posted in Animators
February 23, 2007 7:08 pm
There’s an interview with Nickelodeon development exec Peter Gal in the new issue of Animation Magazine and I’d been debating about whether I should make a post about it here on Cartoon Brew. Well, John Kricfalusi saved me the trouble by doing a post about the Gal interview tonight. Unlike John, I don’t have any personal history with Gal. I also have nothing against him, but I was still quite annoyed by the piece. The classic line in the interview: When Gal is asked about the “Do’s and Don’ts of Pitching,” he offers this golden nugget, “Listen to my comments and feedback and really think about them.” I’m not sure if that’s one of the do’s or don’ts. 15 Comments » posted in Ideas/Commentary
February 23, 2007 1:01 pm
Man, I can’t wait for this one! Ammo Books is getting ready to release what could become one of the must-have books of recent times: a humongous monograph on mid-century illustration legend Charley Harper. The project was initiated by fashion designer Todd Oldham who discovered Harper’s work in 2001 and has been collaborating with Harper since then to put together this book. What’s particularly exciting is that it looks like Ammo and Oldham are doing this right: the format is huge (17×12 inches) and if the cover is any indication, it’s going to be packed with visual goodness. As far as I know, Harper never worked in animation, but his work has inspired countless animation artists from 1950s-era designer Cliff Roberts to Samurai Jack background painter Scott Wills. Animator Nate Pacheco was even trying to translate Harper’s designer into Flash animation last year. The 420-page hardcover book is scheduled for release in June, and retails for a steep $200 but is only $126 at Amazon. There are also four limited edition versions of the book (each $400) which come with a silkscreen print. Here’s more about the book from the Ammo website:
To see a preview of the type of art that will be in the book, check out this nice online collection of Harper’s work.
5 Comments » posted in Books, Todd Oldham
February 23, 2007 5:28 am
In fall 2005, two story artists at Pixar—Ronnie del Carmen and Enrico Casarosa—joined forces with Japanese illustrator Tadahiro Uesugi to put on an exhibit of paintings and drawings. They called it “Three Trees Make a Forest.” Now, Gingko Press has released a beautiful book collecting the artwork from that show. Unlike many art shows that take place nowadays, there wasn’t a specific theme or high-concept driving this show. It was simply an opportunity for three artists who respect and admire each other’s work to exhibit together. The results are unpretentious and lovely. Uesugi, Casarosa and del Carmen each have their own distinct stylistic approaches, but their work also shares a lot in common, from their fearless use of digital tools over traditional media to the contemplative serenity that surfaces in all their art. Another trait shared by the three is the brilliant simplicity and directness of their work. One of my favorite pieces in the book is del Carmen’s “Nina Yellow on Blue,” a gouache that appears modest in execution yet offers so much in terms of composition, color and design. There are similar pieces throughout the book by all three participants; pieces displaying an effortless confidence that belies the years of hard work and artistic practice required to achieve such results. Three Trees Make a Forest is available on Amazon for $16.50. Also, the fine folks at Gingko Press have given us two copies of the book to give away to readers. We’ll post a trivia question this Monday at 1pm (Pacific time); check back then for your chance to win a copy.
9 Comments » posted in Books
February 22, 2007 12:40 am
I’m often critical of the contemporary animation industry, but my criticisms are nothing compared to this new blog called Anibation Fantasy [site was taken down on 2/27/07]. The author of the blog has decided to remain anonymous, though he says he’s an Annie Award-winning artist who’s been in the industry for over twenty-five years. The writing on the blog certainly sounds like that of a grizzled industry veteran who’s seen it all. It’s hard to go wrong with a blog that has the tagline “I work in animation. I am in hell.” and offers post titles like “WHY THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY IS DOOMED,” “THE ANNIE AWARDS ARE A JOKE,” “HORRIBLE CARTOONS THAT EVERYBODY LOVES,” and “ANGRY WOMEN ARE RUINING ANIMATION.” 82 Comments » posted in Internet/Blogs
February 21, 2007 10:24 am
Here’s Mickey Mouse as you’ve never seen him before. The 1955 Disney-produced Nash car commercial posted below is as modern as the mouse ever looked. The redesign came courtesy of Tom Oreb, whose original Mickey model sheet is above. Victor Haboush, who did background design on the commercial, told me what happened after the commercial aired:
(via Disney History) 40 Comments » posted in Advertising, Disney, Tom Oreb
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