Madagascar: The Crate Escape

Oh no, that song is back... But the penguins are awesome!

Animation Mentor Newsletter March 2008

As always, I encourage everybody to sign up for the AM newsletters. :)

This month we got:

A free eBook with all of Shawn's Tips&Tricks - a total must have!

Myths of the Animation Industry by Mark Garabedian

Chris Clyde's "Building the Pyramid" short

Mentor Randy Haycock

Geekcorner: Weight in Animation by Wayne Gilbert

and more!

New Wall-E Trailer kicks ass

Head over to Apple for the trailer in glorious HD
I know they call me Pixar fanboy at work but COME ON! Look at this trailer and tell me that it won't kick ass. How can you not be a fan of what they're doing when comparing their movies to what else is out there.

Could this be the first live-action appearance in a Pixar movie?

Notice how the glow fades away on her as she opens up.

This reminds me of Attack of the Clones.

That's the only weird thing. Live-action humans and those guys. Weird mix.

Looks like the little guy is leading a robo-revolution.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - Poster

This version is funny! I just wish the dino would look at the mammoth. I think "direct' eye line contact (if that's a way to describe it) could be more menacing? I know, never happy...

Isn't this more menacing? (gotta love photoshop)

found @ impawards

Dreamworks at the AAU

I got this reminder email today:

Dreamworks @ the AAU

Wed, March 12th
7pm, 491 Post St
Morgan Auditorium

Dog Walk by Neil Parkinson

As I was going through google in search of rigs for Animation Buffet, I stumbled across this dog animation by Neil Parkinson (see his website here).
This happens to showcase what I was talking about yesterday in class about toe animation, how they would fan out once they hit the ground and curl back when the foot gets off the ground. It's subtle in this clip, but still there.

Jonathan Paine

Head over to Jonathan Paine's site to check out his modeling and sculpting work. Really cool! Thanks Jeff for mentioning his site!

Here you get a good look at the pilot:

I like how their names are Bass and Treble, never noticed that before.

Animate on your DS

I was so looking for an animation software on your DS and Tim Sormin, on his blog, points out to a few very promising programs.

First, you got Animanatee, then Flickbook and finally, Inchworm.

Head over to Tim's blog for more details, his impressions and even test animation clips.


Inchworm has me very excited because it seems to be the most polished program (which comes at a $ price of course as opposed to free). Unfortunately it's still in beta mode but you can tell them to email you about the official release date. Head over to their tutorial site where you can watch videos demonstrating all the different features.

Space Chimps

- found @ Latinoreview

Dreamworks' "Monsters vs. Aliens"

USA Today got an article about this 2009 movie. Could be awesome!

Digital Tutors - Tutorial Videos

Head over to Digitaltutors.com (thanks for the tip Miurika!), where you can find a lot of tutorial videos, for instance "The Parent Constraint". For those of you who are doing box lifts (or any weight assignment), this might come in handy.

Workflow of TJ Phan

Awesome! Another workflow post is online! This time it's TJ Phan's. Please take the time to read through it.

Weight Lift - by Raphael Suter

Head over to Raphael Suter's Animation page, which shows his Pixar Internship work. His clips are nice and short, a good preparation for feature work in terms of shot length. His "Bob Weight Test" is especially cool (you know me, love the detail with wheels).

February 11secondclub Winner - Phillip Hall

Head over to the 11secondclub and watch the February Winner clip. Really sweet! It was done by Phillip Hall, who has a blog here.