Posts Tagged ‘dinosaurs’

Animation blog round up

Written by madevi 14th September 2009, 12:09pm

Posted in: Random thoughts

Got the Monday morning blues? Put those biscuits down. Our pick of the best animation posts from the blogosphere will perk you right up. We give you…

… From 4mations land:

Emma Lazenby’s almost finished her 4mations Digital Short.

The Brothers McLeod are animating on The Moon Bird (allegedly).

And our resident dinosaurs answer your existential questions:

… Artwork to inspire:

Sylvain Chomet’s “The Illusionist” is almost finished:
Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist on Academy of Art Animation Notes

Tim Frost shares some concept doodles from Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom:
Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom

More development work from Tomm Moore on Song of the Sea
Vis dev ideas on The Blog of The Sea

… A bit of eye candy:

Felix Massie shares “The Revolution of small Actions”, directed by Tim Ruffle:
La Revolució Dels Petits Gestos ha començat on Balanced There

Illustration collective Watermark Ltd. collaborate on a nifty music video:
I got Opinions: collaborative animation on Drawn

….Some handy tips:

Shawn Kelly tackles “Randomblinkitis”:
Blinks in Animation on Animation Tips and Tricks

How to make things fly in stop motion:
Stopmotion flight tutorial on Anim8stopmotion

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Harry by Sam Jones

Written by andy 9th September 2009, 9:09am

Posted in: 2D, 3D, Reviews

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Bad hair day? Well unless you have a giant scribbly pom-pom of orange hair like Harry, I’d count your blessings. Sam Jones’s “Harry” is a short animation telling the story of a boy and his massive, unruly, orange hair. Everything gets tangled in this mop, from hedgehogs to footballs, and people recoil from it in fear when it approaches.

Sam uses a nice mixture of stylish flats, cut out and placed in a 3D space. The short has a sort of abstract pop up book feel about it which is appealing. I particularly like the transitions between scenes.

If you like the feel good funkiness of this animated short, you’ll love Sam Jones’ portfolio site. There’s a floating penguin, a selection of more design and animation work, and a purple knitted dinosaur who goes “ROOOOAR”. Bliss.

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Quick as Thieves @ Dare to be Digital

Written by madevi 14th August 2009, 3:08pm

Posted in: Games, Reviews

Ever lusted after a stripy shirt and a swagbag? If the answer’s yes, then you’ll love playing Fingers, the greedy hero of Gentlemen of Fortune’s Action-stealth game Quick as Thieves.

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Armed with an infinite capacity swagbag, you creep and sidle your way through a museum to find The Macguffin, a mysterious valuable item hidden deep in the vaults, while trying to stay out of the way of the surprisingly mean spirited museum guards (these guys should audition for a cameo on The Wire).

What really shines in this game is the attention to movement. The bright red swagbag billows and stretches away, bouncing in pace with Fingers as he leaps throught he levels. You learn to jump, slide, sneak, and, in my case, crash head straight into a giant dinosaur skeleton. It all makes for a wonderfully tactile, elastic gameplay that really draws you in. Kudos to Michael Doig, the 3D arist behind Fingers, for making a rascal so thoroughly likeable. I was genuinely sorry to fall victim to one final smack down by the guards.

Quick of Thieves is just one of the many game prototypes you can try at the Dare to be Digital Protoplay showcase event.

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Best Present Ever

Written by andy 12th August 2009, 3:08pm

Posted in: 2D, Reviews

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Clarabell is having a tea party when she receives an unexpected present: a baby stegosaurus! A cute baby dinosaur she names “Sparky”.

I will declare an interest in this animated short. I didn’t invest in it or anything and I don’t know the director but I do love me some dinosaur. Man, she is one lucky kid, until the mad scientist who lives next door grabs Sparky to do some mad science on him. NOOOOO!!!!! But don’t worry, Clarabell to the rescue. Krystal Georgiou’s film has that classic Saturday morning cartoon magic. The animation is bouncy, springy and full of soul. Incidentally It does contain one of the most incisive and relevant questions of our time, to wit “Why are you not a dinosaur?”. This toon has it all: dinosaurs, a mad scientist and tea, it cannot fail.

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Top 10 Cartoon Characters on Twitter

Written by madevi 1st August 2009, 3:08pm

Posted in: Random thoughts

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I know you’ve all heard of Twitter by now. And if you’re a regular reader, you’ll know we can’t get enough of our 4mations twitter account. It’s a great way to chat to other animators round the globe, get the latest animation gossip, and waste some precious time.

After some light relief? Try following our top 10 cartoon characters on Twitter:

1. Spongebob Squarepants
http://twitter.com/happysquared
Bio: Daily affirmations from everyone’s favorite sea sponge!
Sample tweet: “Nothing floods a room faster than a sobbing teenage whale.”
4mations verdict: He’s weird, he’s yellow, and this summer he’s 10 years old. This official Spongebob is a must-follow.

2. Totoro
http://twitter.com/TotoroDigs
Bio: none, but he needs no introduction.
Sample tweet: “sitting on a tree”
4mations verdict: That’s also his only tweet. But then he was always a creature of few words.

3. Ariel Mermaid
http://twitter.com/dalilmermaid
Bio: What up I’m Princess Ariel, daughter of Triton (T-Dawg). I gots 6 sistas. Word to my boys Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle.
Sample tweet: “devotin full time 2 floatin…unda tha c u poor unfortunate souls.”
4mations verdict: Dat Ariel be one fine half fish half human, yo. True dat, true dat.

4. Steve and Dave the Dinosaurs
http://twitter.comwearedinosaurs
Bio: We are 2 dinosaurs, struggling to make sense of the modern world
Sample tweet: “Fish finger sandwich: bread, fish, finger, fish, finger, bread. And BBQ sauce.”
4mations verdict: OK, we’re biased because they’re 4mations very own resident dinosaurs. And for some reason they’re very popular with the ladies.

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5. Homer Simpson
http://twitter.com/homersimpson
Bio: I work at a nuclear power plant. Married with two kids and a baby.
Sample tweet: “The air smells like mustard today.”
4mations verdict: He’s trying to make #homersimpson a trending topic, but he’s no good at this computer stuff. D’oh.

6. Batman
http://twitter.com/Batman
Bio: Dark Knight. Superhero.
Sample tweet: “Have been hearing reports of giant killer robots masked as vehicles. Sounds like the Toymaker’s work. Must investigate further.”
4mations verdict: He may not be the official Batman, but he’s dark, intense, and brooding. As irritating as the real thing.

7. Bugs Bunny
http://twitter.com/TheBugsBunny
Bio: None, but you’ll recognize him by his hugely inflated ego and trademark carrot.
Sample tweet: “Bdah bdah…Whats up doc?”
4mations verdict: Makes us want to go all Elmer Fudd on his furry little tail.

8. South Park
http://twitter.com/SouthPark
Bio: The official home of the South Park television series
Sample tweet: “I ain’t goin’ to space jail!”
4mations verdict: Not strictly speaking a cartoon character, but a must for all South Park fans.

9. The Powerpuff Girls
http://twitter.com/3powerpuffgirls
Bio: none - probably too young to have bios.
Sample tweet: “we have been in tokiyo defeating mojojojo AGAIN!”
4mations verdict: Follow them, but don’t mess with them.

10. Bloo Q. Kazoo
http://twitter.com/BlooQKazoo
Bio: I love paddleballs, and I am the best imaginary friend ever! Oh, I also have a great creator named Mac.
Sample tweet: “it is hot….its HOT hot hooooot! in To-peek-aaa….”
4mations verdict: He’s blue, shaped like a door, and really irritating. Thankfully he’s only imaginary.

Don’t forget to follow 4mations on twitter for regular updates and animation links!

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