Wes Ball spent two years making Ruin out of his L.A. based Oddball Animation studio. Technically, this is a sample piece for a post-apocalyptic feature the studio would like to produce, but it plays perfectly fine as a short.

(Thanks, Tim Elliot)

As Ward Kimball’s biographer, I am obligated to share with you this post on Progress City, U. S. A. that talks about the time Ward oversaw the animation of John Carter of Mars as part of his TV special Mars and Beyond.

It’s a matter of personal taste whether you prefer Ward Kimball’s vision of a thoat:

Or Andrew Stanton’s vision of a thoat:

Bi-coastal (NY & LA) commercial shop Buck produced and directed this spectacular 2-1/2 minute spot for online bookseller Good Books. And if you think the piece feels familiarly gonzo, that was intentional. Buck posted this disclaimer at the end of the film:

DISCLAIMER: What you will see is an entirely fictional and completely unendorsed representation. (Though we humbly suggest Hunter S Thompson might have liked it.) We are devoted fans paying homage. No disrespect is intended.

Credits after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED! We’ll do a random drawing and post the results in the comments section sometime on Saturday afternoon.

I intended to do a giveaway of my latest book last November, but the first printing sold out before we could even consider that. Now with the second printing out, we can finally host a proper giveaway. So today we’re handing out FOUR copies of The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation:

Over the past 25 years, Pixar’s team of artists, writers, and directors have shaped the world of contemporary animation with their feature films and shorts. From classics such as Toy Story and A Bug’s Life to recent masterpieces such as Up, Toy Story 3, and WALL·E, this comprehensive collection offers a behind-the-scenes tour of every Pixar film to date. Featuring a foreword by Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, the complete color scripts for every film—published in full for the first time—as well as stunning visual development art, The Art of Pixar is a treasure trove of rare artwork and an essential addition to the library of animation fans and Pixar enthusiasts.

To enter, just post a comment below. Writing “I love Amid” in the body of the comment won’t improve your chances of winning, but it may enhance my sense of self-worth. Contest will close tonight at midnight (ET).

Rules: Contest is open only to residents of the United States. Do not submit multiple entries or you will be disqualified. You must leave your correct email address in the e-mail field of the comment, otherwise you can’t be contacted if you win. (Your email address will not be publicly visible).

Watch this short clip from Super Best Friends Forever, the new project by Lauren Faust, creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Faust’s short series debuts tomorrow morning as part of Cartooon Network’s DC Nation block.

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UPDATE: Here’s the whole short:

(via Super Punch)

It’s not animation, but it’s Tim Burton. It’s also not Dark Shadows, but its does look like fun. Burton seems to have made a something combining Beetlejuice with a touch of The Addams Family. The original Dark Shadows I grew up with was cool because it was gothic done straight. What’s your opinion: Do you like the campy new approach, or is this sacrilege?

Here’s some exciting footage from Longway North, a proposed animated feature in development from director Rémi Chayé (storyboards, The Secret of Kells, assistant director, Le Tableau), writers Claire Paoletti and Patricia Valeix, and Paris-based Sacrebleu Productions. Something new to keep our eye on…

“Van Gogh to Rothko in 30 Seconds” is the title of Michael Langan’s new spot for Art.com‘ s artCircles iPad app. Not only is it a cool visual effect, but the ad does a good job of promoting artCircle’s function, which is to allow people to search for fine art and photography by color and words.