AnimSchool Student Showcase: Summer 2012

Some great work coming out of AnimSchool, check out there new student showcase over at the AnimSchool Blog.





Enjoy!
JP

Burlington Animation Festival

Animation festivals are proliferating in Ontario these days.  In addition to the Ottawa International Animation Festival and TAAFI, there is now an animation festival in Burlington, located down the Queen Elizabeth Way from Toronto.

The Burlington Animation Festival will take place on Saturday, September 29.  The inaugural festival is starting out very modestly, with a single screening at the Encore Upper Canada Place Cinemas located at 460 Brant Street  in Burlington, ON.  A list of the films to be screened can be found here and tickets can be purchased here.  The festival also has a Facebook page and is on Twitter.

Animation Techniques and Workflows: Chris Sokalofsky

Chris Sokalofsky, Animator and Instructor up in good ol Canada @ The Vancouver Art Institute has uploaded some Animation Techniques and Workflows on some basics.

 
Basic Take Demo from Chris Sokalofsky on Vimeo.

Check out his Vimeo page for some more.

Enjoy!
JP

found via lesterbanks.com

Tissa David R.I.P.

Animator Tissa David has died at the age of 91.  Michael Sporn has more at his site.  Michael was associated with Tissa professional and personally for more than 35 years.

Tissa drew exquisitely well.  Her animation was very sensitive but could also be vigorous and raucous.  After working in Europe and coming to the U.S. after the second world war, she worked with Grim Natwick for years.  She animated for John Hubley, R.O. Blechman, Richard Williams and Michael Sporn.  She animated the whole of Sporn's TV special The Marzipan Pig.

Because she was located in New York, she didn't get to work on projects that had the visibility of features made in California.  It's unfortunate that her name isn't associated with the kinds of animation projects that an average person would be familiar with.  However, she was unquestionably one of the best animators the field has ever seen.

Tissa's roughs from the 1977 feature Raggedy Ann and Andy. 

She was a fixture of the New York industry for over 50 years and her loss is a blow to the animation community and certainly to her friends and co-workers.

Below is John and Faith Hubley's Cockaboody, animated entirely by Tissa.

Rad How To School

If you haven't been following Rad Sechrist's blogs at all, Rad's Blog and Rad How To, then you've been missing some really great stuff. Seems like he is starting a school Rad Sechirst How To School. He says this is a rough template and such he's really just getting started but I expect it to do well.

Check it out and stay tuned for more info
Enjoy!
JP

Some good thoughts on a Run Cycle

Saw this post over on animationaac and thought I would share. Coming from someone who obviously has to consider how they run in the future due to surgeries, it's interesting how you can research different techniques and always learn something new about the bodies movements.

Enjoy the post!
JP

DHX Buys Cookie Jar

Update: Canadian Animation Resources has links to stories with more information.

This may only be of interest to those working in the Canadian animated TV field, but DHX has bought Cookie Jar.  While consolidation makes it easier for the two studios to compete internationally, it also makes it harder for independent producers to get their work on Canadian TV.

Michael Hirsh, CEO of Cookie Jar, was one of the founders of Nelvana.  Cookie Jar rose out of the ashes of Cinar, a Montreal company that was plagued by scandals over fraud with regard to government tax credits and suffered from the untimely death of co-owner Micheline Charest.  Hirsh reorganized Cinar into Cookie Jar and bought DIC in 2008.  There was speculation from the beginning that he intended to take the company public.  While that hasn't happened, there's still a large payday for Cookie Jar's owners.

DHX is the result of the 2006 merger of Decode and the Halifax Film Company.  The merged entity later went on to purchase Vancouver's Studio B in 2007.

Whether this means that Michael Hirsh is retiring or will take a position with DHX is unknown at this time.