Fahrenheit Digital

Some of us recall the ads in our childhood showing a cartoon pirate or skunk then asking, if you are interested in pursuing a career in art, to draw that same character and mail it in. I have to admit that I completed those drawings many, many times but, alas, never mailed it in.

Well, it turns out that this series of mail-order art courses was established by none other than Norman Rockwell. He hired some of the best artists of the time to create a series of courses which were mailed to the student in a set of three binders. Artists like Rube Goldberg & Milton Caniff were among the instructors.

ASIFA has begun digitizing all 24 lessons for inclusion into their archives.

Link to the Famous Artist Courses article.

Starting on April 24th & running through April 28th I will be answering your questions on CG-CHAR forums in the “Ask A Pro” section. Typically, the “pros” in this forum have been animators, so I am both excited that rigging will be represented.

Given the movement in rigging philosophies & techniques in the recent years and their impact on the CG animation industry, this will hopefully be fun, interesting and insightful!

See you there!

“Ask A Pro” link

In this land of enlightened freedoms the book “Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics” was ordered pulled from the shelves of San Bernardino County libraries according to an article published on the ICv2.com web site.

The decision was the result of a Victorville mother becoming incensed when she saw the “obscene” content of the book her son had checked out from the library.

Rather than place the burden of censorship responsibility on the parents, San Bernardino County officials decided it was best to make this book inaccessible to EVERYONE.

Find the full article on the ICv2.com site.
Link to the book on Amazon.com… if you dare!

I have to say that I am particularly excited to see this trailer. I have been privileged to work with some of the most incredible artists on this show and we all know it is going to be an truly original & amazing movie once it hits the big screen.

The “2D” animation sensibility that has been injected into these shots still amazes me! Another example of the happy union of applying the tried and true 2D “Principles of Animation” to a relatively new tool, computer graphics.

click here to view Meet The Robinsons Trailer

The Washington Post posted a gallery of images from an absolutely amazing sculpture, Ron Mueck. His work are of hyper-realistic humans, at times nude, and the sculptures are often enormous in size. Note the size of the gallery guests compared to the enormity of the sculpture of the boy!

There is a book of his work and plenty of great images on Google. Potentially a great reference for modelers, artists and sculptors as well as a unique body of artistic work.

I hopw to see his work in person some day soon!

I came across a VERY cool web site called Mai’Nada.net.

This site hosts a series of comic doodles shown as the drawings progress from a black “page” to the finished sketch. The site showcases Comics, a beta web-based sketching tool. Some pretty fun stuff!

There for you to create your own sketches or view the work of others.

ASIFA Hollywood has posted a blog page with some great drawings of Ralph Bakshi!

His work marked a near diametric departure from the animated films being produced by the major studios such as Disney. Grating, gritty and often quite “adult,” Bakshi created interesting and memorable movies, such as “Fritz the Cat” and a couple of my childhood favorites, “Fire and Ice” and “Wizards.”

ASIFA Blog Page Doodles

Ralph Bakshi

Thanks for all your interest and patience while waiting for the cart to get completed. As of LATE last night we are taking orders for the DVD-ROMs!

“Rigging for Feature Animation” is in the can and going to begin printing & duplication any day now. These DVDs will begin shipping out at the very end of March. The other two titles in the “Feature Animation” series will ship this time next month, at the end of April. Then other titles will follow.

Once again, thanks for your interest, all the good feedback (keep it coming!) and the patience you afforded us while we worked to finish everything.

-Aaron

Famed animator Joseph Barbera celebrated his 95th birthday today! We all know his work and have all loved Hanna-Barbera shows since we were kids. Tom & Jerry. Scooby Doo, Where are You? The Flintstones. The Jetsons. And one of my personal favorites as a kid, Johnny Quest.

Joseph Barbera info

On April 6th, 1906 the first animated piece was created by James Stuart Blackton titled “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces.” The artform of animation was invented and the rest, as we say, is history!

The Animation Archive is hosting an event celebrate this historical achievement and how far our industry has come in the past 100 years. This celebration is open to anyone and everyone who loves the art of animation!

Thursday April 6th, 2006 from 6PM to 9PM
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive
2114 Burbank Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91506

Please rsvp at: animation100@animationarchive.org

More information about James Stuart Blackton