After the political hit job, and much clutching of pearls over past sins, and past payments for sins, Guardians Of The Galaxy Director James Gunn is reinstated by Disney. We may finally get proper introduction of Adam Warlock in the MCU.
Monday, March 18, 2019
T-Mobile and Sprint merger
Well, I only just found out about the T-Mobile and Sprint merger at a St. Patrick's Day party.
Another merger, and I feel like we're being boxed in, and losing our choices.
And it's more dough for a privileged few.
No mention on the usual news sources.
Another merger, and I feel like we're being boxed in, and losing our choices.
And it's more dough for a privileged few.
No mention on the usual news sources.
https://www.wired.com/story/t-mobile-sprint-merger-is-scrambling-telecom-politics/
https://consumerist.com/2014/02/12/why-sprints-case-for-t-mobile-merger-is-logical-but-bad-for-consumers/
https://consumerist.com/2014/02/12/why-sprints-case-for-t-mobile-merger-is-logical-but-bad-for-consumers/
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Oscars - Best Animated Feature and Best Animated Short for 2018
The nominees for 2018 are -
Animated Feature
“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Animated Short
“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
“Bao,” Domee Shi
“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez
With some bad news...
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/academy-voters-dont-watch-the-animated-features-they-vote-on-and-the-academy-is-fine-with-that-170670.html?fbclid=IwAR0fyGO6Nzkyhppfr7V_L1xmc3Nd13TKa1q1X-sMX-BGt1SRpyf-0ktH_yo
And the winners are...
Best Animated Feature
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
and
Best Animated Short
Bao
https://www.sonypictures-guilds.com/spiderman-into-the-spiderverse
(copyright A.M.P.A.S, Marvel, Sony and Time-Warner. Sorta)
Animated Feature
“Incredibles 2,” Brad Bird
“Isle of Dogs,” Wes Anderson
“Mirai,” Mamoru Hosoda
“Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
“Animal Behaviour,” Alison Snowden, David Fine
“Bao,” Domee Shi
“Late Afternoon,” Louise Bagnall
“One Small Step,” Andrew Chesworth, Bobby Pontillas
“Weekends,” Trevor Jimenez
With some bad news...
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/academy-voters-dont-watch-the-animated-features-they-vote-on-and-the-academy-is-fine-with-that-170670.html?fbclid=IwAR0fyGO6Nzkyhppfr7V_L1xmc3Nd13TKa1q1X-sMX-BGt1SRpyf-0ktH_yo
And the winners are...
Best Animated Feature
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
and
Best Animated Short
Bao
https://www.sonypictures-guilds.com/spiderman-into-the-spiderverse
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Visual EFX Awards for 2018
Hello, other issues made me late to the party again, here's the results for this year's winners in visual effects. Who will get the Oscar for best Animated Feature?
https://www.visualeffectssociety.com/ayear/17th-annual-ves-awards
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/the-best-breakdowns-in-vfx-right-now-170276.html
UPA studios in Burbank
Photos of the old UPA studios, next to the Smokehouse restaurant in Burbank. I wish I could have been there to have seen some of my childhood favorites in production.
(original copyright UPA productions)
https://midcenturymomanddad.wordpress.com/tag/upa/?fbclid=IwAR3Wqpna25Dc7EHlgyCxYabpAQlTRjMQ0MSVCmXE7yiFI-rGOBRCQzirH_M
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/inside-upa-a-cartoon-brew-book-4073.html?fbclid=IwAR0-oJjXwdoVKv0BHg__rtOrWtbo6zkkMkbFtqdrb5K5ZDc9NAbZki12Cl4
https://mrmagooschristmascarol.blogspot.com/2010/10/?fbclid=IwAR02Y9KURsV8vudYoSZMq3BFrNhVc_GyMx12iA3EQDJOIPHv1jUHgG4HvhA
http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2014/6/13/remembering-upa?fbclid=IwAR09MyJVjscoRzTeBAURZ6Yg1oJxKXEao8EKAvltXDdynEXxA9z02noibyk
https://midcenturymomanddad.wordpress.com/tag/upa/?fbclid=IwAR3Wqpna25Dc7EHlgyCxYabpAQlTRjMQ0MSVCmXE7yiFI-rGOBRCQzirH_M
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/books/inside-upa-a-cartoon-brew-book-4073.html?fbclid=IwAR0-oJjXwdoVKv0BHg__rtOrWtbo6zkkMkbFtqdrb5K5ZDc9NAbZki12Cl4
https://mrmagooschristmascarol.blogspot.com/2010/10/?fbclid=IwAR02Y9KURsV8vudYoSZMq3BFrNhVc_GyMx12iA3EQDJOIPHv1jUHgG4HvhA
http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2014/6/13/remembering-upa?fbclid=IwAR09MyJVjscoRzTeBAURZ6Yg1oJxKXEao8EKAvltXDdynEXxA9z02noibyk
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Animateducated Live Stream: The Gary K Wolf interview
Animateducated Live Stream: The Gary K Wolf interview
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
Monday, February 04, 2019
Sunday, February 03, 2019
Super Bowl 2019 ads
Extra Christmas or New Year's Day celebration?
As we chow down, and root for our team, let's not forget the artists and technicians that bring us these mini movies that may be more entertaining than the game!
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2019-super-bowl-ads-your-guide-to-the-leaked-tv-commercials-to-know-in-the-big-game/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/superbowl-commercials-hub?ocid=mailsignout
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/superbowl-commercials-hub?ocid=mailsignout
Saturday, February 02, 2019
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
How to Fix the Future by Andrew Keen
Managed to catch this on KPFK; Ralph Nader interviews author Andrew Keen.
(from Technological Threat, directed by Bill Kroyer 1988)
Saturday, December 15, 2018
The Little Bummer Droid
Just getting a quick sketch down.
The Holiday rush has begun, at least for me.
My concern is "Digital Dickensian-ism":
We are at a point where not having the latest phone or gadget not only means a loss of status, but a threat to health and safety as well. If a cell tower goes down, can the public still get vital information on wildfires or hurricanes threatening their town? There's still battery powered radios, but who really keeps one? My upbringing has helped me try to tread as lightly on the Earth as I can. (And I still hang to a lot of old tech to pinch a penny.) But it is tech that media manufacturers and telecom companies don't want to deal with anymore. My point is that we should be able live with whatever level of technology we want, and actually need. I'm still impressed by the Amish back East!
I hope the world can heal, and get past its rage and madness in 2019.
Best,
Ken R.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
RIP SpongeBob SquarePants Creator Stephen Hillenburg
I'm reading more and more about middle age people in showbiz passing away, and it's scary. Whereas Stan Lee lived to nearly a century at 95, it's saddening to hear about SpongeBob SquarePants Creator Stephen Hillenburg. Granted he was suffering from ALS, once known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a neurodegenerative disease with no known cure.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-hillenburg-dead-spongebob-squarepants-creator-dies-at-57-1164132
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/stephen-hillenburg-creator-of-spongebob-squarepants-dies-at-57-167113.html
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-hillenburg-dead-spongebob-squarepants-creator-dies-at-57-1164132
https://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/stephen-hillenburg-creator-of-spongebob-squarepants-dies-at-57-167113.html
I must begrudgingly admit, I did get a few laughs from the folks down in Bikini Bottom. And it's a reminder to keep going on my projects, no matter what. Spongebob will be like the Simpsons, just one of those shows that will always seem to be around. The amount of work, and adventures Stephen Hillenburg had as a marine biology teacher is still impressive. Here's a sketch of SpongeBob I did back in 2006.
(copyright Nickelodeon)
Here's to ya mate!
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Animate In Virtual Reality with Disney's PoseVR
Saw this article on Cartoon Brew; worth passing along. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disneys-posevr-is-a-mind-blowing-tool-that-lets-you-animate-in-vr-166721.html
Friday, November 16, 2018
Augmented Reality with Animation
Here is my next step in creating basic AR using Unity with Vuforia. I'll see how much of the procedure I can list here.
These video links outline the process much more clearly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtiUx_szKbI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8cmDK_O-1g
These video links outline the process much more clearly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtiUx_szKbI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8cmDK_O-1g
Monday, November 12, 2018
RIP Stan Lee
Here's to one of the greatest parts of my childhood, and development as a cartoonist, and as an artist.
Along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Buscema, along with an almost endless list of other editors, writers and artists most comics fans will know by heart, Stan Lee created the most beloved and enduring comic book characters to date. Granted, all the Marvel Bullpen artists did their share of the heavy lifting in creating the Marvel Universe, which finally led to a financial empire of toys, knick-knacks, action figures, books, animated TV shows, and finally feature films so prosperous that an unlikely rival media conglomerate, (Disney) could not pass it up.
(original copyright Simon and Schuster)
Stan also served in the U.S. Army.
In a Joseph Campbell way, Stan was a modern shaman to me, weaving tales about the Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and Spiderman, to name a few. Not to mention the X-Men, Thor, Dr. Strange and Iron Man. I plunked down many a quarter, then 35¢, and then well over a dollar to travel off to other worlds of mutants, monsters, madmen and gods. Stan Lee also helped me expand my vocabulary. Where else would a kid in grade school read about a "tumultuous exodus"? It helped drive my teachers crazy. Thank God for such pandemonious puffery! Spellcheckers be damned.
It's tempting to call Stan Lee a modern Shakespeare, with his stories of arrogant men falling, being humbled, and then rising again as heroes. But Lee's heroes also kept all of their quirks, faults and weaknesses, whereas most of the DC Comics universe had heroes who were almost always squeaky clean. How dull. No, in the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker struggled with paying the rent, looking after an aunt who always seemed to be at death's door, and an impossible boss who had a personal vendetta against Peter Parker's alter-ego Spiderman. Soap opera writers must have been jealous.
Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Ben Grimm and an entire legion of characters were humbled, stumbled and still rose to the occasion when the Marvel villains, most of whom also had their own stories and issues, threatened New York City, the Earth, or even the entire universe. Victories were won, but often at a price, and revelations of the depth of the characters emerged on both sides of the conflict. I seem to be gushing with Stan's "purple prose" here. And maybe some Jules Feiffer.
Got to wrap this up now, but I still treasure these mementos from my childhood. Being able to learn storytelling, draftsmanship, graphic design and even literacy from the humble, much maligned comic book leaves many geeks in Stan Lee's debt. R.I.P Mr. Lee.
Excelsior!
CTN Expo 2018
It's November, and the rock concert of all animation conferences will be here again at the Burbank Marriott Hotel. Various Schools, Lectures, Seminars, Book Sellers, Artists, Celebrities, and the Big Studios will be there to celebrate the Animation Industry. I hope you can enjoy it.
(my photo from CTN 2015, characters copyright Disney)
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
More Inktober iterations...
More weirdness with pen and ink. I've been using Kuretake Bimoji Brush Pens for the last couple of years, they seem to do the trick. Although they're starting to dry out. I'm also using a yellow marker to get a midtone, and to help me work out the forms from my rough sketches. Not to mention a gallon of white-out where I'm not sure.
Herman Bear and Athena contemplate an alien necklace
while exploring further on the planet Solstice.
It may be more trouble than it's worth!
while exploring further on the planet Solstice.
It may be more trouble than it's worth!
Monday, October 15, 2018
My first successful Augmented Reality test with Unity and Vuforia
After following the tutorial from Playful Technology, I finally was able to get my first success in AR with the Unity game engine, along with the Vuforia software.
Still have a long way to go.
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