Like the a-ha music video and things like that? Yeah, they’re pretty fun. 

Less than I year ago I worked on a commercial that had some interesting rotoscope work on it. It was kinda fun, definitely more fun than I expected. 

jaxamoto:

Made this cartoon about some crazy b :>

This is brilliant! That episode of Gordon Ramsey’s show tied my stomach in a knot. I hope Amy gets exactly what she deserves.

starborn-valley:

svaanimation:

michaeljruocco:

In my latest write-up for Cartoon Brew, I pour my guts out about life after leaving college, and the haphazard but eventually rewarding future that all recent-graduating animation students have in store for them.

Remember, despite the many obstacles you will come up against on the road to being a professional in this industry, you all are talented, hard-working and creative individuals and there will always be a place for you as long as you keep at it, work hard and stay positive.

A great write up by Mike Ruocco about graduating from college and taking the leap into the professional world

Interesting! Are they saying the only animation jobs are really in California, though? That’s what I got from it, though I don’t think that was the intention haha.

Oh no no no. That was just MY personal experience. There ARE opportunities in New York and in other cities, but for what I wanted to do, and for my own preferences, I chose to move out here. Sorry for the confusion.

In my latest write-up for Cartoon Brew, I pour my guts out about life after leaving college, and the haphazard but eventually rewarding future that all recent-graduating animation students have in store for them. 

Remember, despite the many obstacles you will come up against on the road to being a professional in this industry, you all are talented, hard-working and creative individuals and there will always be a place for you as long as you keep at it, work hard and stay positive.

I KNOW, RIGHT!?

As far as TV shows go, I do like Adventure Time whenever I catch it. I’m glad that they’re doing these sort of “guest director/artist” episodes, like with the David O’Reilly and James Baxter episodes. I think it’s an interesting idea. Gravity Falls is really fun too. I’m REALLY looking forward to these new Mickey Mouse shorts coming out of Disney. They’re so fun and they just pop-out at you. It’s the best thing Disney has done with those characters in probably a decade. 

In general, I think that ANY animation that comes out these days has something to appreciate about it. I see a lot of student films and independent shorts, and now that most people are on the cusp of technology and having inspiration and art literally at their fingertips, there’s no limit to what people can do now.

I was at the SVA Dusty’s screening in NY a few weeks ago, where all the thesis students have their 4th year films screened. Out of all the Dusty’s shows I’ve been to in the past, this year’s was DEFINITELY the strongest. Such a solid slate of films. These students are embracing the computer and learning how to make films at such an early age that every film is a marvel now. Even if the story wasn’t too engaging, or the animation wasn’t a masterpiece, there was something to take away from each and every one, which I’ve never experienced before. And it’s these new young animators who are coming out of school now that are gonna flip the industry upside down, without a doubt.

beckyandfrank:

We’re extremely excited about our first big solo gallery show! Every single Capture Creature will be on display and priced at 151 dollars a piece. There will be prints, the new 330+ page hardcover book, the brand new resin toy. There will also be drinks, music and… us! We’ll be signing and hanging out all night.

The show is at 7pm on Saturday June 1st at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra (Los Angeles)! Feel free to RSVP on Facebook.

Can’t wait!

Most of those shows are hard to watch, and for a good reason. But for me, I think it’s just an interesting case study of animation history, seeing what led up to that age and how we came out and moved on from it. It was all due to economics, and the major switch from the small studio environment to a more corporate/business-driven industry. 

The thing I don’t like about that time in animation was that instead of crawling out of the hole that we fell in, we just sort of stayed there and fermented in it for a while. Hanna-Barbera kept repeating and rehashing the same mistakes ideas for a decade with countless Scooby-Doo, Flintsones and Josie and the Pussycats knockoffs trying to recapture the popularity of the early stuff. Filmation branched off from HB and did the SAME THING, along with doing countless product tie-in shows. I don’t really consider Rankin-Bass as a true component. They were making something completely different from everybody else with their holiday/stop motion specials, despite how mediocre some of them were.

Eventually a few people managed to break away from the sausage machine, crawl out of that sad pit and sparked the “Renaissance” of animation that began in the late 80’s/early 90’s, all by deviating from popular trends, thinking outside the box and spearheading more creative and outlandish ideas instead of bland scriptwriting and adapting toys for television in the fastest and cheapest way possible. People like John K., as much as I disagree with much of what he says and does, was truly one of the few key figures that lead that charge. 

And like the rest of history, we will repeat ourselves. A lot of people consider our time a “dark age”, but I honestly don’t see it. There’s a lot more experimentation and branching out going on now than there was in the past decade, especially in TV animation. I think there are some studios that sort of fell into their own dark ages, like with Nick for a long time (they’re coming out of it), but overall I think we’re heading towards an upward slope. 

Personally, I think the key aspect to a comic strip are the personalities and chemistry between the characters. The characters drive the situations, and the situations pan out the way they do because of how the characters react or deal with them. All the best comic strips have appealing and relatable characters, that’s why they’ve stood the test of time compared to most other comics (Peanuts, Garfield, Popeye, Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, etc.). You can sympathize with Charlie Brown, or root for Popeye or Calvin if they’re in trouble. Even if the situation is downright imbecilic, you stick around because you want to see how the characters come out of it.