Brilliantly Adorable; Adorably Brilliant.

By Dei Gaztelumendi

1923 aka Heaven

I want to apologize to the two people who have been enjoying our blog. We haven't posted anything since the end of October so I want to make up for it by posting one of the coolest animations, I've ever seen. The director is Max Hattler and it looks like he got a small team of talented collaborators to create this beautiful piece. More info can be found here. If the video stutters, turn off the “HD” feature.

Short description:

1923 aka Heaven is one of two animation loops directed by Max Hattler, inspired by the work of French outsider artist Augustin Lesage (1876-1954). 1923 is based on Lesage's painting A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World from 1923. Here is the painting that he references (and if anyone requests to see more of Leseage's work, I will post more here. Its pretty amazing stuff.):

Kung Fu Bunny

. . .need I say more? Check out this great Chinese animation—
a charming balance of humor and inventiveness. Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Web Comic Book Nook

In this week's cozy recommendation corner, I would like to point you towards one of my favourite webcomics, namely "Shrub Monkeys" by KT.
The artist is a young animator who casts herself and her two siblings (Shagster and Hes) as the main characters in order to share... her life? Her daydreams? Random thoughts? Probably a healthy mix of all three - and then some.

I am always first in line when there's self-deprecating humour to be had, and Shrub Monkeys excels at that. Plus, the artist's style is nice and loose, communicates well, and the colourscheme strokes my soul.

Off to Shrub Monkeys!

There is hardly anything that excites me more than some quality stop-motion animation.
Maybe a great cup of coffee. Or the fact that the powers that be will soon provide us with another 80ies movie starring John Cusack ("Hot Tub Time Machine"), two decades after we had all considered that time window to be closed. But I digress.

So, stop motion animation: Here is an awesome and inventive bit of it, thought up by none other than Rhett and Link, who bring joy into my life on a regular basis.

The short is called "T-Shirt War", which should give you a fair idea of the content.

Enjoy. I did.

A New Way of Being

A cute animation from the Adbusters website, encouraging us to celebrate “Slow Week” Feb. 8th - 12th. Click here to see it.

“Slow isn’t necessarily a pace, it’s a philosophy – a way of approaching life. We can slow down simply by addressing the disconnect that makes life feel anxious, alienating and fast. Try simple things like shopping at a local farmers’ market rather than a big box store. Knowing the provenance and history of your food will change the way you experience eating. Instead of hopping in your car and heading to Starbucks, walk to an indie coffee shop. Chat with the owners, smile at a stranger and sip your latte from a mug rather than dashing off with a cardboard cup. Explore what your neighborhood has to offer and experience the simple, provincial pleasure of purchasing cheese from one store, bread from another. To slow down, we don’t have to stop moving – we just have to move in different, more meaningful ways.” – pulled from Adbusters site

Having a Field Day

So, the studio took a field trip to the mothership of 3D Feature animation, otherwise known as Pixar Studios.

The place was—and I am going to use a phrase that has not tumbled from my lips since I left adolescence behind me—made of win. Look no further than the “Grape Soda” Badge on one of the cars in the employee lot.


Well, actually, do look further, because the main building is quite beautiful on its own, but the development artwork that can be found throughout made strolling around a real joy.


Am I rambling? Perhaps. But that artwork really was amazing, and seeing the models and paintings up close proved to be very educational. Alas, those were all behind a sign politely requesting that no photos be taken, so you will have to trust my gushing on this. Getting your hands on a copy of “The art of UP” would be a nice alternative, though. A book I warmly recommend.

Sadly, the legendary cereal bar has been cut down to half its original size quite recently. The folks at Pixar now have frequent access to 10–15 different kinds of cereal. Right next to the water cooler, so to speak. Makes the 40 cent Coffee at my Academy look like a rip-off, if you ask me.

I also caught a glimpse of some work for an upcoming film as it was swiftly carried through the hall (and by “caught a glimpse” I mean I impolitely craned my neck like a circus attraction for longest possible full exposure), and I'll tell you a secret: It looked awesome.

After setting up a dork-tastic shot of myself and Luxo Jr (as seen below), all is now well in the world.

All that’s left to do is thank Kat for making time in her busy schedule and sacrificing her lunchhour to allow this giddy, wide-eyed intern to traipse all over her workplace. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.

Uplar

I came across this video a couple weeks ago. I've watched it over and over since then, and each time it puts a huge grin on my face. I've tried to find out more about the company - Pogo - that put all these sounds together so harmoniously, but have found nothing yet. In any case, turn your speakers up, sit back, and enjoy!

Little Red Riding Hood by Tomas Nilssonse

This is a student project created by Tomas Nilssonse, Sweden. Overall, I think it was a really great animation and fun to watch.



Here is the original animation that inspired Tomas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xhdy9zBEws) while the animation is more flushed out I still like the Red Riding Hood one.

Three Cheers for Adam Elliot

Here's just a couple of Austrailian Academy Award-winner Adam Elliot's brilliantly tender tales of mishappen family members. The animation style, the story, and the narration align perfectly to deliver simple and candid characters, in all their exquisite quirkiness. No doubt, you'll want to adopt each one . . . but you'll have to get behind me.

The art of Samurai Jack

First of all, I am a big fan of Samurai Jack. After watching an episode, you will agree it has all the right ingredients to leave you well nourished: great style, animation, interesting story, humor, and not to mention it even reminds you the importance of being a good person. I, however, will focus on none of that—just the breathtaking artistry and skillful technique of those who collaborate on the background art of Samurai Jack. One person in particular who creates some of the most dynamic backgrounds I have ever seen is Scott Wills (can't find a website for him though. Scott, give us a call... we will make you one).

Full team of contributors:
Bill Wray
Dan Krall
Jenny Gase-Baker

Western Spaghetti by PES

These folks know how to rock the stop motion around the clock.

You can check out a hi-res version of western spaghetti or see more great work at their website: here

Tasty stuff, thank you PES.

Pocoyo

I know I know, I don't have a kid nor am I one, but I love this Spanish/British pre-school cartoon that I just discovered. Pocoyo art, created with Softimage, is delightfully simple and if you can get over the whole call/response bit, the jokes are pretty funny on an adult level, too.

War, what is it good for?

The work of Polish artist and animator Tomek Baginski is the perfect answer. Compelling and fresh, this is Fallen Art:

Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe: Babel Fish

Here is an animation from the movie Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe. What I appreciate about this 80's style computer animation is how "graphic" the images are. The creator, Rod Lord (with this name you either work in the creative industry or in porn) does an excellent job animating the information graphics, using minimal imagery for maximum impact in terms of communicating an abstract idea.

More information on Rod Lord

HiFana's Animated Music Video

HiFana is a Japanese Instrumental HipHop band I stumbled upon on the net last weekend.
This DJ duo consists of KEIZOmachine and Juicy.

Two things I love about these guys:
1. Use of traditional sounds mixed in a break beat style.
2. Truly unique video animation style.

Video & song title Wamono:


By the way, check out their website and click the "Fresh Push" button in the upper left. You can practice your mad skills on their turn tables and beat boxes.