Yeah - it’s lovely.
Well done Nina.

Now this is an animation poster.

Gorgeous.

it is a rare designer that appreciates
the power of simplicity!

very effective graphic, does credit
to the industry!

are you goading us here?

I agree. Great job, Nina!

What a lovely poster.

Nice! really communicates well, easy to read, rockin’ design! sets the bar in poster making!

I think if anything even slightly positive came out of all that arguing, it’s the realization that people have wildly different opinions about art and no one work is going to appeal to everyone, which is fine.

But yet, I think this poster does a very good job of conveying the information and the idea.

It’s pretty standard. It doesn’t challenge me as a viewer in any way, it just informs me. It’s very straightforward.

Oh, YES! Much better. I’d like a copy of it for my wall.

I like it. I like my posters to be very straight forward in what they are communicating to me. If I want challenging I try to help my daughter with her calculus homework.

Love it! Great work Nina, and thanks for sharing it with us!

Doofus: Is a poster even supposed to challenge you?

If I commissioned someone to make a poster for my event, the top priority would be for it to be eye-catching. Second priority would be to keep the eyes there for a few seconds long enough to inform; in other words, be interesting, appealing, and straightforward with it’s info. This poster is a great example.

Eyes usually won’t stay on something ugly, which is why I personally wouldn’t use an impressionistic painting that looks to me like satan’s cat vomiting.

Save the challenging art for a gallery where people actually have time to look at it. Just my point of view

There’s nothing representing “international” in this poster…..oh no… It definitely should have flags of every nation on it… as well as someone from every race… my tiny walnut brain cannot comprehend the full extent of the message because every aspect of the event is not explicitly spelled out with a visual.

Nice poster, Nina.

Gee, the other poster discussion was so insightful and thought-provoking (NOT) that I’ve resolved to never have anything to say about animation-festival promo-art again, after this.

I disagree… I hate it and I think I will start a blog about how much I hate it and why!

Just kidding. What to soon?

Great job Nina.

Art is subjective.

So let’s not compare poster art for the sake of pissing others off(*this isn’t a popularity contest) Say why you like about a piece and move on(without putting other peoples views down)

Stylisticly not my cup of tea but it does convey imagination well. Good job Nina.

BTW… LOVED Sita Sings the Bllues ;)

Thanks for the props!

For the record, I like the Ottawa poster quite a bit, for its color and movement and looseness. I like it even more with the mouse ears Elliot put on it, because that makes it an illegal mash-up, and there’s a special place in my heart for those.

At the risk of being flamed for saying so, I think this poster is a much better looking one than that Ottawa International Animation Festival monstrosity. But then, I don’t have a problem with Chris Harts ‘toons, either. The OIAF poster did not make me want to see its program; this poster makes me want to fill up my Netflix queue with animated films.

Needs more fauvist puking cat. And more cowbell!

At least this one isn’t a pile of cat vomit.

It actually looks…. good.

What is this world coming to?!

Don’t they realize that we need more disgusting, unappealing, incoherent, formless, and appallingly wretched poster designs like the Ottawa International Animation Festival poster with which to sodomize our senses and assault our sense of good taste?

I don’t look at art to see well-made functional and pleasingly designed good quality like this!

I want more ugly garbage that looks like puke smeared on a canvas with little to no effort behind it!

Needs a few mice. Can’t have an animation festival without mice.
*kidding*

I like both posters. I think Ilike this better because it appeals to my ideas regarding divine inspiration :)

Late to the game, but: Nice job Nina.

Brilliant!!

What the hell does this or the artist have to do with animation??? It’s uh…Oh wrong topic. Nice job Nina!!!

This poster is not as much of a design achievement (yes, I said achievement) as the Ottowa one, but it shows that it belongs to an audience. This poster is made more for the mainstream fans of animation, and not the fringe innovators (like Ms. Paley herself).

I am a little surprised, though, that the layout isn’t more effective, especially given that Ms. Paley did it. She is known for her exacting and elaborate designs, so to see a relatively lop-sided poster come from her suggests to me that she simply didn’t have enough time to produce something of her potential.

That being said, I think Doofus should think again – this poster does challenge. There is only one person depicted in the poster for International Animation Day, and it is a woman. That is a wonderful challenge, given this industry of boys. I applaud Ms. Paley for a sound concept, but I look forward to her producing something a bit higher caliber next time around.

the problem with the Ottowa poster isn’t
the art. I love this kind of expressionism!
To me the problem is this poster doesnothing to convey the world of animation,but rather the world of this particular artist.

He failed to comprehend the audience he was
trying to reach, in my opinion.

I know Nina is very talented and in my view a wonderous designer so this comes as a great shock. Even more of a shock are all the comments of a back slapping nature. This isn’t even well drawn… is this a big joke at my expense? Are these congratulatory comments made with the tongue in the cheek? Are you really applauding that giant gradient there?

I am more than a little confused over this.

…and another thing, is it really the case some of you are suggesting that such posters must literally depict ‘the world of animation’ for the ‘mainstream fans’? In this case someone sat on a chair with a pen? How about a character with a hump, bad eye sight and empty pockets? A character being beaten over the head by a mindless drone with a cheque book?
Is it not so that animation can and should be about bringing to life anything and everything that your mind can conceive employing an infinite selection of styles? All the way from the dot and the line … through fantasia… to Toy Stoy…. to Wallace and Grommit… to animated sand …. are the faces of animation, can anyone really claim to accurately represent all that in one image? The now infamous ‘cat vomit’ poster as some of you (unwilling to graciously wind your necks back in) continue to refer to it, is just as valid in representing the world of animation as this is.
It is worrying that the olaf poster was attacked so harshly and this absolutely middle of the road poster in hoisted aloft and fed peeled grapes. The contrast in the receptions these posters have experienced absolutely baffles me.

also, what the hell are ‘mainstream fans of animation’? What do they prefer to see on posters/ in animation?

these romans are crazy

Wow Mick.. say what you REALLY feel(??)

Don’t worry, no one’s feeling will be hurt. Just yours when someone comments on your work eventually.

Keep the polite/happy vibes roooollin’….

Peeze!

No, it’s good with what Mick is saying because it’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it. And the last I checked, that’s exactly what others who so vehemently opposed Theo’s OIAF postr said as well. We are all entitled to stating our opinions here on this blog because that’s what we do, right? Keeping an open dialogue and conversation going is what’s Cartoon Brew is all about.

Now, I’m curious, Ariel - I can understand the nature of your comment in wanting to keep the polite/happy vibes going for this post, but where was that same attitude during the OIAF poster post? Isn’t Nina’s poster up for the same type of critique as Theo’s was? Are you suggesting that Theo’s poster isn’t subject to the same “happy vibes” as Nina’s? I’m curious because they are both filmmakers, they are both animators, and they have both done posters for animation festivals. Therefore, they should be both on equal ground for critique, whether it be good or bad.

But I’m with you on the fact that it should be polite, that is, everyone should be at least respectful of one another here. Keep it cordial.

Lovely job!
But hey, that’s my birthday date! :D

What a lucky day!

Come on now Ariel. I was polite
What does this mean? -

‘Don’t worry, no one’s feeling will be hurt. Just yours when someone comments on your work eventually.’

…is this a veiled slight? A cow faced tiger?

I have been making cartoons for the last twenty years. If you imagine that I have spent that time without someone criticising my pictures then you are mistaken. I stated (why must we always reiterated our intent when commenting on the interweb?) that Nina is fully deserving my respect as a designer and artist. No slight, veiled or otherwise.

I did say what I really felt. Honestly the massive hostility to the Olaf and the praise for this one by Nina are perplexing in their stark difference. It doesn’t make me bitter or angry but, to me, it was a real head scratcher

sincerely, all the best- Mick

agreed! Great poster!