Briefly today, I would like to talk a bit about the animation industry as a whole.
Animation has been around since film, even before film. People used to entertain themselves with simple animations spun in a cylinder, or projected onto a wall as phantasmagoria. There are many instances of animation being used to entertain, educate, and express.
Nowadays, animation is a huge industry, that is very hard to get into, and yet it has fallen on hard times. In this economy, companies are trying to do what they can to lower costs, often at the expense of quality or man power. While many industries in America have been hurt by outsources, animation is one that may be ending in this country if outsourcing is not controlled. It is far cheaper to hire a company in Korea to draw the in-between frames, or sometimes the entire animation, for a 2D animated series or film. No American can compete with the dirt-cheap prices Korea offers, and over the years, the quality of that animation has gone way up as well. Back in the day, Japan was one of the main staples of out-sourced animation. However, since anime took off, Japan realized they were great at animation, and now Japanese animators are high in demand. Now both America and Japan have started to go to Korea. At this rate, Korea will gain the same reputation and people will start outsourcing to India or China. Now I am not saying all outsourcing is bad, but I am saying it has hurt the American animator.
Earlier today, i met a friend of mine by chance, Roger, whom I have not seen in years. He has been busy working as an AVT manager, but his passion lies in education and expression through animation. He has built for himself a small 2D animation studio in his home, and animated a little here and there on the side. However, he originally worked as an animator. He and several of his friends have lost their jobs, partially (or perhaps fully) due to the outsourcing issue in America. He has forced to take other career choices because he can not find the time or energy to continue the struggle to make it in the animation world. It is not a big secret, but animation is a very hard industry to break into, by itself, but with the outsourcing going on, it only makes the situation worse.
I am glad to see he still keeps up the fight on his end, as an independent animator, song writer, and educator. He has taken up doing some political cartoons, and his skills and talent show brightly. I think he has what it takes, in terms of talent, to succeed. I can only hope luck finds him, and he can do what he loves to do for a living.
I would like to share his blog with you, Hand Drawn Revolution, which explores his struggles as a an animator and artist, but also his own personal struggles and discoveries in life, as well as a showcase for his talents and ambitions. I suggest you take a look, give him some support, and try to do your part in all of this. Go out of your way to see an independent film or animation. Look for those small art theaters in your area that show imported and small budget independent movies. Give us the support we need to revise this essential and wonderful industry.
My hope is that someday soon, the animation industry takes a notice more of the smaller independent artists. That people like Roger, myself, my friends at Tangent Artists, and more, are recognized for our ideas and talents, and can get the chance to do something for the world. It only takes ambition, time, skill, and a lot of computer and artistic know-how to make a decent short animation, but it also takes support, encouragement, and money, as well as connections, to really be a success. We may all marvel at the animations Pixar and Dreamworks and Disney can make, but remember those movies are made by professional animators who were once amateurs like us, amateurs who just want to make a difference, and show the world their joy in animation.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Toy Story 3 Review
I know I promised to put this up earlier, but here it is, finally. My review of Toy Story 3.
If you are reading this, and you haven't already seen it, then go out to the theater or your local video store (not in stores as of the date of this post, but you know... you could be from the future). See this movie, one way or another, (legally though please, no illegal downloading). I will keep this short and spoiler free.
If you are reading this, and you haven't already seen it, then go out to the theater or your local video store (not in stores as of the date of this post, but you know... you could be from the future). See this movie, one way or another, (legally though please, no illegal downloading). I will keep this short and spoiler free.
Story
The story of Toy Story 3 takes place about 10 years after the last one. So far, as we can all remember from the first movies, Buzz and Woody are best friends and share being Andy's favorite toy, Woody has saved many of the toys from being sold or thrown out, or even stolen, and they all lived happily ever after. Or did they? After about 10 years, Andy is ready to go to college, and they are never getting played with anymore. Their attempts to get played with are futile and depressing. They worry that Andy will just throw them out, or store them for years in the attic. However, through a series of mishaps, they end up in a donation box heading to Sunnyside Daycare, where the promise of being played with for the rest of their days is before them. However, not everything at Sunnyside is all flowers and rainbows, and the gang find themselves in a heap or trouble, with only Woody to rescue them. Buzz is reset to his standard setting, but this time, in Spanish mode!
My opinion on this is very high. Not only did they address the issue people were wondering from the first movie, what happens to the toys when they are no longer played with, but also adds a new side to the story, and we get to see things from Andy's point of view a little better. We also get a whole new cast of characters, humans and toys, each well portrayed.
This story gets far more intense than the previous ones. While in the past, the greatest danger they had to face was being lost, in Toy Story 3, they have greater dangers and concerns that start off right at the beginning of the movie. The ending will really get to you, as you realize how far they are taking this film, and just how intense it really gets. Some children might be too young for this one folks.
Graphics
The graphics in this movie are amazing. The characters are better rendered than the previous movies (I never thought that they could improve on it but they did), the humans are far far better (I'm sure Ratatouille and Wall-E helped with that), the lighting and special effects are perfect, and the animation itself is flawless. Once again, they showed that not only can they master the animation, but also the story, and all other aspects of making an animated film.
The character designs are great too. There are a lot of fun new toys, many recognizable toys, and others reminiscent of existing characters (I swear to you I saw Aqua Teen Hunger Force in there).
The Good
There are a lot of good things about this movie. For one, the story is spectacular! Not only did it pull me right in, but it also kept my interest, and made me really feel for these characters. My favorite part of this movie is the very beginning, where they visually show young Andy's imagination, as he plays with his toys. It has everything from One-eyed Bart, to their force-field dog, and even the T-Rex, summoned by Jessie's yodel, that eats force-field dogs. (These are all lines straight out of the first movies). It was hilarious, and a lot of fun, and a great way of getting the audience into the movie by showing how the toys were played with and how much Andy loved them.
The Bad
There were a few minor things that I wasn't crazy about in this movie. For one, the new cast of toys included a new cast of voice actors. Now granted, they want to focus on the characters we already know and love, and not on these new characters that will only play second fiddle to the main cast, but I felt that many of these actors and actresses did not have enough lines. Many famous names give these characters life, but often they only have 2 lines in the movie. While this is not a bad thing, for the sake of the main characters and the story itself, it does leave you wondering why get such big names if they are only going to be lending a few lines to the movie?
Further, it does seem as though the humans are even more oblivious to the toys' actions in this movie. You'd think adults in charge of a daycare would try to avoid letting the youngest kids play with toys that are for the older kids. However, this again is a minor issue, easily overlooked, and not really distracting at all. In short, all the bad things were for the benefit of the movie, and I think were done properly, and do not distract from the story, in fact they seem to help the story.
In Short
See this movie. This is the best ending possible of one of the greatest franchises ever made. The graphics are amazing, the characters really get attached to you, and there is something in this movie for everyone. Little kids will love the toys. Adults will remember their own childhood toys, and perhaps think of their children playing with them. And that younger crowd, well Andy is about that age, and seeing his struggle to decide, and moving on to go to college, will really ring with them.
Now that last question I have is which is the cuter couple? Buzz and Jessie, or Barbie and Ken?
I give this a full 5 of 5 stars, they could not have made a better ending to Toy Story than this.
I give this a full 5 of 5 stars, they could not have made a better ending to Toy Story than this.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
SCAD review
Hi all.
Sorry for the delay in posting. Today, I will be giving a brief review of my trip to the Atlanta campus of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design).
(I will be adding a few pictures shortly, since they are still stored on a different computer).
SCAD is a full accredited college, with 4 locations, one in Savannah, one in Atlanta, one in France, and one in Hong Kong. They also have online offerings for several eLearning courses. There are lots of opportunities to go between campuses if you wish. Because their acceptance is for the entire school, if you accepted to one location, you can go to any location you want. So if you wish to take some courses through eLearning, you can chose to take them while attending other classes without any trouble.
The Atlanta campus is located in the heart of Atlanta, where they have taken residence in a variety of buildings across the city. They occupy several buildings, but I took a tour of 3 of them. The most impressive thing about these buildings is that they either refurbish existing buildings, or they build very green buildings. Their goal is to be as environmentally friendly as they can, while integrating themselves into the community. The buildings I had the opportunity to tour included the Main building, the Digital Multimedia building, and the student housing.
The main building was once a government building, that was later owned by a "dot com" company that went under shortly after spending millions to refurbish the building. It is a very large building, with several floors dedicated to separate areas of study, and a large cafeteria, where students and mingle with each other and meet people in other areas of study. There is a large library, several galleries, including student work in hallways, and professional galleries for inspiration to students. The main building even has a student store, where the students can sell their work to guests. Some of their more interesting and impressive points include traditional presses for printing press classes, large dark rooms for traditional film processing, a large fashion department using a variety of industry standard devices, and a very impressive sequential art department.
The Digital Multimedia building is the most interesting and exciting building there. This building was made in 2009, using very green methods, and designed to function with green technologies. The building uses recycled materials throughout the structure, water that is naturally cooled to regulate the temperature within the building, and natural lighting whenever it is possible. The building includes a real, working film studio, where they can broadcast and film, including green screen technologies, and motion capture. They include Wacom Cintique monitors in all the classrooms for students to use. The facilities are very impressive, and are located close to the main building, with regular transportation provided.
The student housing building is actually a refurbished hotel. This building has a pool, community areas, and security. The rooms are hotel room sizes, with 2 beds, which can be bunked, and fully furnished from Ikea. The best part of this building is that it has a secure walking path to the main school building, and is less than a 5 minute walk away.
All of the buildings are open 24 hours, with full security. There are a variety of other building that I did not get to tour. One of them is a large mansion, but I did not have the opportunity to look at it.
I will go more into this at a later date. I will update this post with pictures from the tour, and any updated information as well.
I will be posting some movie reviews soon too, so Stay Tooned!
Sorry for the delay in posting. Today, I will be giving a brief review of my trip to the Atlanta campus of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design).
(I will be adding a few pictures shortly, since they are still stored on a different computer).
SCAD is a full accredited college, with 4 locations, one in Savannah, one in Atlanta, one in France, and one in Hong Kong. They also have online offerings for several eLearning courses. There are lots of opportunities to go between campuses if you wish. Because their acceptance is for the entire school, if you accepted to one location, you can go to any location you want. So if you wish to take some courses through eLearning, you can chose to take them while attending other classes without any trouble.
The Atlanta campus is located in the heart of Atlanta, where they have taken residence in a variety of buildings across the city. They occupy several buildings, but I took a tour of 3 of them. The most impressive thing about these buildings is that they either refurbish existing buildings, or they build very green buildings. Their goal is to be as environmentally friendly as they can, while integrating themselves into the community. The buildings I had the opportunity to tour included the Main building, the Digital Multimedia building, and the student housing.
The main building was once a government building, that was later owned by a "dot com" company that went under shortly after spending millions to refurbish the building. It is a very large building, with several floors dedicated to separate areas of study, and a large cafeteria, where students and mingle with each other and meet people in other areas of study. There is a large library, several galleries, including student work in hallways, and professional galleries for inspiration to students. The main building even has a student store, where the students can sell their work to guests. Some of their more interesting and impressive points include traditional presses for printing press classes, large dark rooms for traditional film processing, a large fashion department using a variety of industry standard devices, and a very impressive sequential art department.
The Digital Multimedia building is the most interesting and exciting building there. This building was made in 2009, using very green methods, and designed to function with green technologies. The building uses recycled materials throughout the structure, water that is naturally cooled to regulate the temperature within the building, and natural lighting whenever it is possible. The building includes a real, working film studio, where they can broadcast and film, including green screen technologies, and motion capture. They include Wacom Cintique monitors in all the classrooms for students to use. The facilities are very impressive, and are located close to the main building, with regular transportation provided.
The student housing building is actually a refurbished hotel. This building has a pool, community areas, and security. The rooms are hotel room sizes, with 2 beds, which can be bunked, and fully furnished from Ikea. The best part of this building is that it has a secure walking path to the main school building, and is less than a 5 minute walk away.
All of the buildings are open 24 hours, with full security. There are a variety of other building that I did not get to tour. One of them is a large mansion, but I did not have the opportunity to look at it.
I will go more into this at a later date. I will update this post with pictures from the tour, and any updated information as well.
I will be posting some movie reviews soon too, so Stay Tooned!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
New webcomics and SCAD
I know it has been a while since my last post, and I apologize. I also do not have any more of Phil Foglio this week, but I will let you know when I have more to offer. Things have been busy lately. I will make this post short, but I will like to talk briefly about what I have been doing.
There are actually 2 things I have been busy with. The first is my new webcomic!!
That's right! I have finally put up a teaser page for a new comic written by my brother, Spencer, and myself. I am doing the art, and the coloring is done by me and my sister Rachael. This comic is called "Twist of Feyt", and no I didn't misspell Fate. For those of you who don't get the reference, the Fey is another word for Celtic fairies and fairy-folk. In short, elves, pixies, pookas, banshees, fairies, brownies, etc. etc. are all creatures of the Fey (or Fey Realm).
When Adele and her brother, Nolan, take a short-cut through a nearby forest to get to school, Adele finds that her brother is kidnapped by a group of elves from the Unseelie court. With the help of the prince of the fey, who is actually a human under fey protection, and who look suspiciously like her brother, they mount a rescue. However, there are other greater forces at work, as gods and Fey ready for an epic war of mythic proportions. Can they save her brother from a fate worse than death, and prevent a war about to break out? Be prepared for action, adventure, romance, and a talking horse in Twist of Feyt.
My wife, Christina, is also working on her own comic, with our friend and writer Jamie Simo, and coloring by Indy Adenan. Into the Ever is a story about how a young girl, named Naomi, who makes a wish for adventure, only to find that her wish comes true 30 years later. Transformed back into her 8 year-old self, can this middle-aged woman find the stolen heart of the Queen of Mere? With the help of a viking, Eyarson, Naomi takes her first steps on an adventure of a lifetime.
Where can you find these comics? Well eventually they will be up on the Tangent Artists website, but for now, you can look at a preview/teaser of these comic. Check them out at www.TangentArtists.com. We hope to have these comics online and rolling by this fall.
There is another comic in the works, written by my brother and myself, but I will not say more until we have something to show. So don't hold your breath, it could take a while to get it ready, with Twist of Feyt getting ready to launch.
The second thing I have been working on is a much more important and daunting affair, going back to school. Now I am not enrolled in a school yet, but I am in the process of submitting an application to SCAD, or the Savannah College of Art and Design. As some of you may remember, I have mention the DAVE school in the past. Now I have nothing against the DAVE school, and I understand they have even expanded their classes and are getting or have recently become accredited. However, I have found that for me, SCAD has more to offer, including a very nice MA and MFA program, and really good facilities and connections. I recently took a look at their Atlanta campus, and I am very impressed.
So later this week, I will be providing a brief synopsis of the SCAD Atlanta campus, and what they offer, as well as come photos of their facilities. I will also be providing a new movie review, in fact, 3 of them! Expect the first one, for Toy Story 3 next week, followed by Despicable Me, and then my first live action, special effects extravaganza, Inception.
Stay tooned!
There are actually 2 things I have been busy with. The first is my new webcomic!!
That's right! I have finally put up a teaser page for a new comic written by my brother, Spencer, and myself. I am doing the art, and the coloring is done by me and my sister Rachael. This comic is called "Twist of Feyt", and no I didn't misspell Fate. For those of you who don't get the reference, the Fey is another word for Celtic fairies and fairy-folk. In short, elves, pixies, pookas, banshees, fairies, brownies, etc. etc. are all creatures of the Fey (or Fey Realm).
When Adele and her brother, Nolan, take a short-cut through a nearby forest to get to school, Adele finds that her brother is kidnapped by a group of elves from the Unseelie court. With the help of the prince of the fey, who is actually a human under fey protection, and who look suspiciously like her brother, they mount a rescue. However, there are other greater forces at work, as gods and Fey ready for an epic war of mythic proportions. Can they save her brother from a fate worse than death, and prevent a war about to break out? Be prepared for action, adventure, romance, and a talking horse in Twist of Feyt.
My wife, Christina, is also working on her own comic, with our friend and writer Jamie Simo, and coloring by Indy Adenan. Into the Ever is a story about how a young girl, named Naomi, who makes a wish for adventure, only to find that her wish comes true 30 years later. Transformed back into her 8 year-old self, can this middle-aged woman find the stolen heart of the Queen of Mere? With the help of a viking, Eyarson, Naomi takes her first steps on an adventure of a lifetime.
Where can you find these comics? Well eventually they will be up on the Tangent Artists website, but for now, you can look at a preview/teaser of these comic. Check them out at www.TangentArtists.com. We hope to have these comics online and rolling by this fall.
There is another comic in the works, written by my brother and myself, but I will not say more until we have something to show. So don't hold your breath, it could take a while to get it ready, with Twist of Feyt getting ready to launch.
The second thing I have been working on is a much more important and daunting affair, going back to school. Now I am not enrolled in a school yet, but I am in the process of submitting an application to SCAD, or the Savannah College of Art and Design. As some of you may remember, I have mention the DAVE school in the past. Now I have nothing against the DAVE school, and I understand they have even expanded their classes and are getting or have recently become accredited. However, I have found that for me, SCAD has more to offer, including a very nice MA and MFA program, and really good facilities and connections. I recently took a look at their Atlanta campus, and I am very impressed.
So later this week, I will be providing a brief synopsis of the SCAD Atlanta campus, and what they offer, as well as come photos of their facilities. I will also be providing a new movie review, in fact, 3 of them! Expect the first one, for Toy Story 3 next week, followed by Despicable Me, and then my first live action, special effects extravaganza, Inception.
Stay tooned!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Phil Foglio: A Summary
Today I'd like to talk a little about Phil Foglio.
For those who don't know who Phil Foglio is, he is a comic artist who has been active from the 80's on. He has done a number of different projects for a variety of venues, and has launched his own studio to further explore his own endeavors. Phil Foglio is a man with a plan, and 3 Hugo awards.
Phil Foglio got started in 1978, when he won a Hugo award for best fan artist. He won it again in 1979. Ever since then, he has been keeping himself busy with his art, and his story telling.
His earliest works can be found in the now defunct Dragon Magazine, THE magazine for gamers of its day. He ran a monthly comic strip for the magazine starting in 1980 called "What's New with Phil and Dixie". This strip explored a variety of gaming and gamer topics, in humorous ways. The running gag of the original run was that Phil and Dixie were always trying to convince the magazine executives to let them talk about sex and D&D. Usually, they would be interrupted or forced to change the topic. The final issue for the original run of What's New brought about the appropriate end to the gag. (One of my online aliases, CptGreedle, aka Captain Greedle, was originally a concept of Phil Foglio, which ran in a single frame of the What's New strip.)
The strip was later relaunched in The Duelist, where it ran for the majority of the magazine's life. This time, the comic, as well as the magazine, focused more on the Magic the Gathering trading card game. Phil had the honor of drawing the art for several Magic the Gathering cards, including some of the "unbroken" sets.
(I owned a few Phil Foglio cards myself, back when I still played Magic the Gathering, and a few collectors made a point to collect specific artists, something I could never achieve.)
He has worked with a wide variety of artists and writers, for fantasy and sci-fi themes alike. He illustrated the MythAdventures series, which eventually led to assignments for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and First Comics. He did a variety of titles, including Plastic Man, and Dynamo Joe.
Eventually, Phil created his long-running character Buck Godot, which was both written and drawn entirely by Phil Foglio.
In the 1990's, Phil married his wife, Kaja. They worked together on several Magic the Gathering cards, resurrected What's New, and launched new series. They even worked on an erotic series called XXXenophile.
Later, they formed Studio Foglio, which is now the main studio for their work, including their latest, and arguably greatest, series, Girl Genius.
Girl Genius is a "retro-fantasy", or steampunk inspired comic. The original idea to use steampunk was apparently Kaja's. She noticed that a lot of Phil's sketches were very steampunk-ish, and had a certain neo-victorian retro-sci-fi-fantasy look to them. This led in part to the development of Girl Genius. Initially, it was made and released like all his other comics, as published periodicals. However, in 2005, they decided to stop publishing periodical-style comics, and released Girl Genius online as a free webcomic. The comic is in full color (with the exception of the beginning of the comic, which is said to be in the process of being colored for a new print, I have not confirmed this however), and it is updated 3 days a week.
Phil has said that going online was one of the greatest move he made, increasing his readership and sales. The entire comic is available online for free, on their website, GirlGenius.net, but it is also available in print form through the site. Phil frequents science fiction, fantasy, comic, and steampunk conventions, and has a schedule of appearances listed on his website as well.
His site now sports several of his comics and shorts. The main headline comics are Girl Genius, What's New with Phil and Dixie, MythAdventures, and Buck Godot.
Phil has worked on several games, comics, magazines, and more in the past. He has covered a variety of topics, and is technically adept. His latest works are not only well drawn and well written, but are also award-winning and inspirational. He started from the ground up, with what he had, and writing about what he loved and enjoyed. His own style has been emulated by others, and he is achieved great success in his own right.
With any luck, I hope to have more about Phil Foglio next week. Please look forward to it!
For those who don't know who Phil Foglio is, he is a comic artist who has been active from the 80's on. He has done a number of different projects for a variety of venues, and has launched his own studio to further explore his own endeavors. Phil Foglio is a man with a plan, and 3 Hugo awards.
Phil Foglio got started in 1978, when he won a Hugo award for best fan artist. He won it again in 1979. Ever since then, he has been keeping himself busy with his art, and his story telling.
His earliest works can be found in the now defunct Dragon Magazine, THE magazine for gamers of its day. He ran a monthly comic strip for the magazine starting in 1980 called "What's New with Phil and Dixie". This strip explored a variety of gaming and gamer topics, in humorous ways. The running gag of the original run was that Phil and Dixie were always trying to convince the magazine executives to let them talk about sex and D&D. Usually, they would be interrupted or forced to change the topic. The final issue for the original run of What's New brought about the appropriate end to the gag. (One of my online aliases, CptGreedle, aka Captain Greedle, was originally a concept of Phil Foglio, which ran in a single frame of the What's New strip.)
The strip was later relaunched in The Duelist, where it ran for the majority of the magazine's life. This time, the comic, as well as the magazine, focused more on the Magic the Gathering trading card game. Phil had the honor of drawing the art for several Magic the Gathering cards, including some of the "unbroken" sets.
(I owned a few Phil Foglio cards myself, back when I still played Magic the Gathering, and a few collectors made a point to collect specific artists, something I could never achieve.)
He has worked with a wide variety of artists and writers, for fantasy and sci-fi themes alike. He illustrated the MythAdventures series, which eventually led to assignments for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and First Comics. He did a variety of titles, including Plastic Man, and Dynamo Joe.
Eventually, Phil created his long-running character Buck Godot, which was both written and drawn entirely by Phil Foglio.
In the 1990's, Phil married his wife, Kaja. They worked together on several Magic the Gathering cards, resurrected What's New, and launched new series. They even worked on an erotic series called XXXenophile.
Later, they formed Studio Foglio, which is now the main studio for their work, including their latest, and arguably greatest, series, Girl Genius.
Girl Genius is a "retro-fantasy", or steampunk inspired comic. The original idea to use steampunk was apparently Kaja's. She noticed that a lot of Phil's sketches were very steampunk-ish, and had a certain neo-victorian retro-sci-fi-fantasy look to them. This led in part to the development of Girl Genius. Initially, it was made and released like all his other comics, as published periodicals. However, in 2005, they decided to stop publishing periodical-style comics, and released Girl Genius online as a free webcomic. The comic is in full color (with the exception of the beginning of the comic, which is said to be in the process of being colored for a new print, I have not confirmed this however), and it is updated 3 days a week.
Phil has said that going online was one of the greatest move he made, increasing his readership and sales. The entire comic is available online for free, on their website, GirlGenius.net, but it is also available in print form through the site. Phil frequents science fiction, fantasy, comic, and steampunk conventions, and has a schedule of appearances listed on his website as well.
His site now sports several of his comics and shorts. The main headline comics are Girl Genius, What's New with Phil and Dixie, MythAdventures, and Buck Godot.
Phil has worked on several games, comics, magazines, and more in the past. He has covered a variety of topics, and is technically adept. His latest works are not only well drawn and well written, but are also award-winning and inspirational. He started from the ground up, with what he had, and writing about what he loved and enjoyed. His own style has been emulated by others, and he is achieved great success in his own right.
With any luck, I hope to have more about Phil Foglio next week. Please look forward to it!
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