Drawing in motion.. Fabric studies..

I did these ink sketchbook drawings during my "Drawing in Motion" class that I teach at Tisch.. fabric studies with a big fan, as well as draped from a figure and a board. It's a great class that concentrates on capturing the motion and weight of figures and objects, and drawing from memory. It's something every animator must get really good at. Anyone who draws in public can relate to the advantage of seeing something for a split second and being able to capture it's gesture and energy! enjoy.

Characters From "Cheatin" #20

Tonight in New York..

If you're not in Annecy right now.. try to make it to "Prime-Time/Late-Night Animation: What Envelope?" a panel discussion hosted by the Paley Center for Media. Click here for ticket and more info.

Join some of the best “alternative” animators in the business for a discussion of their own work and the general state of animation on television. Members: $10, General Public: $15. Wednesday, June 8 · 6:30pm

Aaron Augenblick, Superjail!
Patrick Smith, Daria, 30 Days
Devin Clark, Ugly Americans
Xeth Feinberg, Queer Duck
John Lee, Wonder Showzen, Xavier the Fallen Angel
Richard Mather, Superjail!
J.J. Sedelmaier, Beavis and Butt-head; Harvey Birdman
Moderator: Joe Strike, Animation Journalist/Interviewer

Characters From "Cheatin" #19

Characters From "Cheatin" #18

"Idiots and Angels" on DVD!

As you probably already know the entire release schedule of my animated feature "Idiots and Angels" has been a long drawn out affair.

The film premiered at the Trideca Film Festival in 2008. My agent and I tried to fund the proper distributor for 2 years - having no luck, I decided to self-distribute with the help of Allen Chou at Passion River films.

The theatrical release was mixed. We had great response on NY and Chicago - a shitty release in L.A. for a number of reasons (read my blog from late November to see the gory details.)

But now we're excited to announce after a very long wait that the DVD will be released on the 4th of July. That's right we want fireworks for the world premium of "I & A" on DVD. For 3 years now, people have been asking and me when can they get "Idiots and Angels" on DVD. And I always had to admit that it would be a long wait - well now that wait is finally over - "Idiots and Angels" is now available on DVD! You can pre-order here on our website.

I highly recommend you get it. The film is by far my best feature film - you'll love it to death.

So tell all your friends to get "I & A" and have "Idiots and Angels" parties!

Jeff Kendall Board Graphics..

This is a great series, starting with the "graffiti" board, which was my first ever skateboard:) I believe this was 1987 to 1990.  Jim Phillips created several graphics for Kendall, all I think are pretty damn cool. Enjoy.

 

Characters From "Cheatin" #17

Gorillaz, El Manana storyboard..

A bit cut together, but it's possibly my favorite vid from Gorillaz.. I'm on a hewlett kick this week i suppose. Here's a link to the youtube video, youtube is crap btw.

New John Kenn...

He keeps it coming.. past posts about Kenn, here.. and also here.. oh and one more HERE.

Characters From "Cheatin" #16

Storyboards from Gorillaz "Dare"..

More Jamie Hewlett for you.. "Dare" was produced by Passion Pictures in the UK, they did quite a bit of these vids, and artwork from them is very rare. "Dare" was far from my favorite, but still pretty rad to see a more mature version of the girl character Noodle. To see a crappy version of the video go here, youtube.

Characters From "Cheatin" #15

Jamie Hewlett sketches..

The man. Of course.. Jamie Hewlett is hardly a surprising influence of mine, and many other artists. Particularly, I love his sense of cartoon design, how he stays away from the bulbous cartoonyness or overtly "shaped" designs that dominate animation today. MTV "Downtown" creator Chris Prynoski is a buddy of mine who is also heavily influenced by Jamie, and I can name several other animators whose work is directly effected by Hewlett's drawings. I've always believed that illustrations that rely too much on design are compensating for the inability to draw using the principles of weight and space. Jamie's drawings just look so damn good, a nice balance between detail and minimalism, graphic inks with traces of organic hand drawn line. I got the book "rise of the ogre" for my bday years ago, and i'm still picking it up almost daily. it's a bit of a strange read, but worth it for the gorillaz artwork alone.

Characters From "Cheatin" #14