Office by Alex Penny
This blog not only showcases the production art of animated films, but the personal work of the artists behind the magic.
That last ask sorta sparked a bit of a debate about the quality of anime and it’s value to animation. I’ll spare everyone the posts and say this: Just like in America, there are both good and bad movies/shows that are created in Japan but that doesn’t make anime as a whole any less important to the animation world.
There’s a movie I’ve been wanting to post about for a while, because it was one of the films that drove me to become an animator, but I haven’t been able to find much production art from it. That movie is ‘Voices of a Distant Star’ by Makoto Shinkai and 2012 marks it’s 10 year anniversary. Not only is the film touching and visually stunning, I feel it’s important for another reason: it was made entirely by one man in his own home. This 25 minute movie really shows what one person can create if they are passionate and driven enough to see a project through. And on top of that, the film itself is gorgeous. Since then, Shinkai has been able to found his own studio and create more films like 5 Centimeters per Second and A Place Promised in Our Early Days. Check out if you get the chance, it is worth watching at least once.
(September 5, 1912-September 8, 2004)
The mind behind one of the most iconic scenes in animation history, the Spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp, Frank Thomas will forever be remembered as one of the greatest animators of his time. Born in Fresno, he attended Stanford University where his met Ollie Johnston and the two became fast friends. After graduation, they both attended the Chouinard Art Institute before joining the Walt Disney Studio in 1934. Over his near 45 year career there, excluding the three years where he was enlisted in the US Air Force, Frank worked on some of the most memorable heroes and villains before retiring in 1978. After that, he co-authored the book ‘The Illusion of Life’ with Ollie Johnston, which was published in 1981. Outside of animation, Frank was the pianist of the jazz band ‘Firehouse Five Plus Two’, which was made up entirely by members of the Disney Animation department. Thomas passed away in 2004 at the age of 92.
Characters
Books by Frank Thomas:
(1955-Present)
Having always wants to do animation since he was a kid, experimenting with flip books and Super-8 films before he was 13. After earning a degree in Illustration from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Eric started out as an assistant animator on Raggedy Ann and Andy, directed by Richard Williams. After the films completion, Eric moved to London to work in Williams’s studio as a director/animator for commercials. While in London, Eric broke off to start his own studio, Pizazz Pictures, and worked there until Disney Studios asked him to animate the Genie in Aladdin. After that, he co-directed Pocahontas and was the lead animator for Phil from Hercules. During the production hiatus on The Emperor’s New Groove, Eric wrote, directed, and help animate two sequences: ‘Carnival of the Animals’ and ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ for Fantasia/2000. Goldberg left Disney after this to, not only direct Looney Tunes: Back in Action, but also to provide the voices of Marvin the Martian, Michigan J. Frog, Speedy Gonzales, and Tweety Bird. While the film wasn’t commercially successful, Goldberg received the Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Directing in an Animated Feature. Eric returned to Disney to work as the Supervising Animator for Louis in Princess in the Frog and Rabbit in Winnie the Pooh. Currently, Eric still works at Disney as a supervising animator for the upcoming Wreck-it-Ralph.
Characters
Interviews
Videos
Books
or ‘Gesture-Don’t just stand there, Express something!’
What a Gesture should be
7 Principles of Gestures
Line of Action
- What is the MAIN IDEA of the Pose?
- How do I represent that idea with a LINE?
- Show the main idea of the pose with 1-2 lines
- It’s a base for your drawing
- Harsher,Dynamic poses = Angles and straight lines
- Relaxed poses = curves and soft lines
Shape
- Represent the pose in a simple shape
- Dynamic pose = Obtuse Triangle, Extreme Rhombus
- Relaxed pose = Semicircle, Relaxed Peanut
Silhouette
- Needs to be clear/readable
- Should be able to tell what every part of the body is doing
Space
- The model in relation to 3D space
- Avoid always placing the feet on the same plane
Exaggeration
- Avoid a literal translation of the pose
- Push the pose
- Communicate the idea, not the pose
Extrapolation
- Draw animals from the model using the same pose
- Push past what you see for the idea/emotion
Story
- Tell a story with the pose
- What is the main idea of the Pose?
- How do I best communicate it?
[The Science of Drawing] v/s [The Soul of Drawing]
[Science of the Soul]
How to do a Gesture drawing
Art by: Matt Jones and Terry Song
(Source: mattjonezanimation.blogspot.com)
I wanted to point you guys towards a program I just learned about at CTNX. It’s the Motivarti Mentorship Program, which pairs up people wanting to improve their skills and portfolios with working professionals in Concept Art, Illustration, and Story Art for 10-weeks of One-on-One sessions. These are people who are working at DreamWorks, Disney, and Pixar who want to give back to the art community and help those who want to get better at their craft.
How it works:
They are currently taking applications for the Spring term, so look over the mentor list and think about applying if you feel it’s right for you. It’s a great way to get feedback and network with professionals.
I took notes on the talk and I felt like presenting it an interview style was best. None of these are exact quotes, it’s all based on my notes.
Graduating from school, what did you want to do and how did you become a Special Effects Animator?
When I started at Warner Bros., I wanted to be a Character Animator. In the training program there, they have you go through all of the departments, learning the craft from each one, and then they place you in the department they feel best fits. When it came time to do Effects, I didn’t want to go. I said ’No thanks, I’m good with Character Animation’ and they said ‘No, you do what we tell you to.’ So I went, ready just to put in my time and get back to what I wanted to do. But there, I met Michel Gagne and I was blown away by the things he was doing. I knew I wanted to learn everything I could from him and that’s how I got into doing Special Effects. So I learned to always try the other aspects of the business because you might find out that what you’re truly passionate about is something you never considered.
What did working on movies like ‘Space Jam’ and ‘Osmosis Jones’ teach you?
It taught me to not value my work as much and to do things on the side. When I did a scene, and I was so proud of it, it crushed me when I saw it in dailies later on and people had changed it. It went through clean up, coloring, lighting, and it got changed along the way and I got so upset. And my lead could see just how much it was affecting me and he told me “Go home. Work on something that’s just yours. Go make something outside of work and throw all your energy into that so when you come back, you won’t be as invested in your shots as you are now.” And I did that and it helped so much just to have something that was completely mine to work on. So when I came to work and saw my shots getting changed, I didn’t care so much because I had that one thing to go home to and make it my own.
Why did you make ‘Thought of You’?
I was sitting on the plane, headed home, and feeling so tired from the project I had just done and missing my family. And the song ‘World Spins Madly On’ by the Weepies came on and I really connected with it. Then inspiration just hit me and it was so powerful felt like “I need to do this or I’ll die”. So I kept thinking about the idea, working out what I wanted to do and the story I wanted to tell. At first, it was turning into a very personal story and I wasn’t comfortable with putting that much of me out there so I stepped back, let it stew for a while. As I developed the story more, it became less personal but still kept the main part I really wanted people to see. So I worked with a choreographer, because I’m not a dancer, and they developed these great dance moves and then I would watch the reference over and over, starting to figure out how I wanted to make this movie. And then I did.
The big thing that happened is, I made this film but I wasn’t ready to show it anyone yet. So I let it sit in my computer for a couple months and then I showed it to one of the professors at the college I teach at. He watched and then said ‘I hate it.’ and then spent a couple of hours explaining why. And I was crushed, and put it back in my computer and left it alone again. Few months later, I sent it to Sundance, thinking ‘Maybe this time!’ and they said ‘No.’ So I figured, there wasn’t much more I could do with it so I put it up on youtube and Vimeo, thinking ‘I might as well.’ And then Cartoon Brew got a hold of it and it took off. Overnight, my email was flooding with all these praises and it was very clear that people got it. They were able to interpret it in their own ways and it connected with them.
What is your advice on finding inspiration?
-Invest your passion on personal projects. It softens the blow when losing creative moments you’re proud of at work
-Get your goals done. Do or die.
-Don’t force inspiration, be prepared for it. And DO SOMETHING about it when it comes- Even if you fail, at least you tried!
(October 31, 1912-April 14, 2008)
The last surviving member of the ‘Nine Old Men’ and considered one of the greatest animators of Disney. While studying art at Stanford University in 1931, he met Frank Thomas, a man that would be his life long friend, and they both learned their interests were in gags rather than painting. After college, the two men went to Chouinard’s Art Institute to study with illustrator Pruett Carter, until when 1934 when their teacher retired. They went to Disney Studio, looking for work, and that started a career that would last 43 years. During that time, he married Marie Worthey, who worked in the ‘Ink and Paint’ department. Frank and Ollie both retired in 1978 to write ‘The Illusion of Life’, which was published in 1981. Outside of animation, Ollie had a love of steam trains and founded the ‘Carolwood Pacific Historical Society’ with fellow animator, Ward Kimball. In 2005, he received the ‘National Medal of Arts’ from President George W. Bush, along with Robert Duvall and Dolly Parton. He passed away in 2008.
Characters
Interviews
Books by Ollie Johnston
Links to more Ollie Johnston
(April 13, 1954-Present)
Best known for his work on The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and Tangled, Glen Keane is considered to be a legend in the world of animation. Son to cartoonist Bil Keane, creator of Family Circus, Glen started drawing at an early age when his father gave him a copy of ‘Dynamic Anatomy’ by Burne Hogarth. After high school, Glen applied to CalArts and wound up in the Experimental Animation department. He joined Disney in 1974 and began work on The Rescuers, along side Ollie Johnston. After being inspired by the movie Tron in 1982, he collaborated with fellow animator John Lasseter to create a test scene from Where the Wild Things Are that integrated traditional animation with 3D backgrounds, technology that was later used in the making of Beauty and the Beast. Glen later went on to work on such films as The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company, and Aladdin. Glen still lives in California with his wife Linda, and their two kids, Claire, who is a story artist at Disney, and Max, who is a CG artist.
Characters
Visual Development/Story Artist
Interviews
Videos of Glen Keane
Links to more Glen Keane
(March 22, 1909-April 19, 1987)
One of the Disney Nine Old Men and considered the finest draughtsman of the Disney animators. Before starting work at Disney, Milt trained with local San Francisco artist while working for magazines as a photo touch up artist. After seeing the Disney short ‘Three Little Pigs’, Milt became mesmerized by animation and applied to Walt Disney Studios in June of 1934, where he began as an assistant animator. After Freddie Moore saw Milt drawings of Pinocchio, Disney raised Milt to supervising animator over the artists who brought Pinocchio to life. After working for almost 40 years at Disney, Milt retired in 1976 and spent his remaining years following other interests, including sculpture.
Characters
Interviews
