Kelly Clarkson - Underneath the Tree (Official Lyric Video)

Kept hearing this on the radio, nice sentimental song. Some good motion graphics here: Art Director: Scott Brucato Produced by: Laura O'Connell Animation: Erika Lepke, Tyler Donnelly, Amanda Schmick Agency: Gupta Media, http://guptamedia.com Enjoy!

Watchcat xmas 2016

http://watchcatfiles.blogspot.com/

Watchcat teams up with Ol' Saint Nick to foil some last minute Holiday crimes. Looks like Santa has learned to handle himself over the years!

(copyright Jim Richardson)

2016 What a year!

What a year. And 2016 isn't done with us yet-

(copyright Lucasfilm/Disney)

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/23/carrie-fisher-heart-attack-london-la-flight

Hang in there Carrie!

Frosty the Snowman directed by James Cameron

Just some quick bashing in Photoshop...
Update: Good to see it again on CBS.

(original copyright Rankin/Bass)

I thought it would be a kick if James Camero, or Ridley Scott directed the old Rankin/Bass Frosty the Snowman TV special...

(copyright 20th Century Fox)

Of course, if it were this intense, it wouldn't be fun.

Just trying to get some ideas down, don't know when I can finish this...

CTN Expo 2016 photos

A few snapshots of CTN Expo 2016 photos...

 

Woodbury University...

with its media heavy presence...

Me old Alma Mater, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.Go Fighting Scots!  Good to see Mike Penz again.

The Animation Guild, my other bread and butter! Should be everyone's.

The stars from Moana... (copyright Disney)

And Woodbury's neighbor across the way, Disney. (copyright Disney)

 

The new tent was HUGE...

 Had some hassles with the rain, and a minor power failure, but it was CTN's largest and most impressive Expo yet. Congrats to Tina Price and everyone!

Ghosts of Christmas Future

Politicking is dangerous, but not speaking out is also a great risk.
These are my opinions, and I have tried to be well informed.
It's not so much about how Trump won, but how Hillary lost.

HRC needed to be more than just the anti-trump. She finally adopted some of Sanders' talking points, but the DNC could not connect with the battleground states, and took the "firewall" states for granted.

Millions of voters in middle America believe liberals have left them to rot. And they have proof. There are other factors at work, and critics can't lay this at the feet of Jill Stein or Bernie Sanders:

Billions of dollars in free media exposure for Trump.

Electoral college countermanded the popular vote.

Voter suppression among minorities.

Public's perceived electability of candidates vs. actual capabilities.

Low voter turnout due to unappealing candidates on both sides.

Mysogyny, and the hatred of Obama.

Gerrymandering.

* * * * * * * * * *

Trump has exploited the fears, prejudices, and misery that the GOP has created in the South and the Midwest. Many people there believe the money elites have abandoned them, left their towns to rot, and also coddled other people who are "unworthy". A Trump administration may toss a few bones to these states with infrastructure projects, but will also run up colossal deficits. I believe quite a few people in the U.S. also hope the "unworthy" people will quickly deported... or imprisoned.

This post is grim, and it is meant to be. The idea the pendulum will swing back to the left is obsolete. We also thought George W. Bush was the worst, but conditions in the U.S. will only bring out people like Trump. And worse.

Happy Holidays.

The CTN animation eXpo 2016

 Here we go again-

http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/axFaq.php

Election Day

Many people want this to end, but whoever gains the White House, and Congress will need steady feedback, and complaints to keep our nation from slipping further into barbarism.

 (copyright Disney)

In other words, it's never over!

Get out there for election day.

Stick-Gods

I was doing some Googling about the Egyptian god Anubis, 

and this popped up

http://inonibird.tumblr.com/stick-gods

(art copyright Inonibird)

Cute, fun stuff! Well designed, low key, but clever humor. 

He has a fresh approach. Spiced up my day a bit.

http://rebloggy.com/post/egyptian-gods-thoth-bastet-egyptian-mythology-sekhmet-stick-gods-mafdet-thoth-th/73007660820

"You attract what your focus on."

At least Inonibird's Egyptian gods have seen the 

Charlie Brown Christmas special. 

Here's to counting down to Halloween, and then the winter Holidays!

Good Grief!

That's All Folks - AT&T owns Time/Warner

AT&T owns Batman, Bugs Bunny and the HB library...

Nuff said.

UPDATE

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/22/media/att-time-warner/index.html

Okay, I'm confused:

http://qz.com/821938/the-us-government-just-summoned-time-warner-cable-twc-instead-of-time-warner-twx-to-testify-about-the-att-t-deal/

AT&T to buy Time Warner Inc.?

 Groovy, just what we need:

http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2016/10/merger-mania.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peter-chernin-poised-top-time-940567

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/time-warner-at-t-deal-940450

Less jobs, less customer choice, and more media mono culture.

(copyright Time/Warner...for now.)

UPDATE

It's done.

http://www.avclub.com/article/t-buys-time-warner-85-billion-giving-it-hbo-cnn-an-244676

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Sneak Peek

Here it comes, Rocket rules!

The Flaming Skull

Quick Halloween sketch, with very ruff inking.

Halloween old marker drawing

Here's an old drawing I did during my internship at the old Tele-Media local cable access channel,

back in the mid 1980's in Concord, Ohio.

 

 

This was used as a title card on the Tom Morrow show, sort our version of the Johnny Carson show.

 

I was going over my old portfolio, and found this little chestnut. I had fun making it, and the show's producer seemed to use it quite a bit.

I hope it gets more exposure here than it did on old local access 

channel 6.

Happy Halloween!

Planet Soltice - More Sketches

Late Summer/Early Fall sketches

 

One point perspective on some Borg-like tech, this is actually for something else...

Landscape...

 

Another one point perspective, need the practice.

NBCUniversal To Eliminate 200 Jobs At DreamWorks Animation Glendale Campus

Well, it had to happen...

(copyright DreamWorks)

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.

It won't be DreamWorks without Jeffrey Katzenberg.

According to the Animation Guild blog, no artist positions have been affected... yet.

http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2016/09/dwa-downsizing.html

http://deadline.com/2016/09/nbcuniversal-200-animation-job-layoffs-1201820305/

Shane Acker's 9 movie

Just realized it is September 9th, seven years since the release of Shane Acker's "9"movie.

(copyright 2009 Focus Features)

While everyone else is celebrating 50 years of Star Trek, (which is fine), I thought I should bring this little gem back out into the spotlight. As a student at UCLA, Acker created this short film about war, oppression, loss of personal freedom, and science run amok as his student project. "9" caught the attention of Tim Burton who worked with Acker to produce "9" as a feature film.

While I am a little tired of the post apocalyptic story theme, the David and Goliath struggle of the little doll people struggling against a devil device bent on devouring their souls is still worth watching. Acker's commentary on current world affairs is still disturbingly trendy, even more now today!

And it has one of my favorite actors, Martin Landau providing the voice of "2".

 

Enjoy!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

http://www.focusfeatures.com/9

 

 

NBC-Comcast-Universal takes over DreamWorks Animation

Jeffrey Katzenberg steps down after 22 years at DreamWorks Animation...

 

 

(copyright DreamWorks Animation)

http://www.animationxpress.com/index.php/latest-news/nbcuniversal-announces-new-senior-management-for-dreamworks-animation

http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/adios-jeffrey.html

 

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/studios/thank-jk-dreamworks-artist-remembers-studio-katzenberg-created-142622.html

 

After hits like "Kung Fu Panda", "Madagascar" and "How to "Train your Dragon", we'll have to see how it goes with the new management. I was at DW back in the day, but I had to move on due to office politics. A student who had assisted me this summer has landed his first job there, I wish him all the best for the future, and the future of DreamWorks Animation.

Herman Bear on the planet Solstice

Here's some sketches from July in Canada...

Herman Bear lands on my new planet Solstice...

I didn't want him to be alone on the planet,
so I gave him a new companion.

(Cubcake is also there, but I'm not sure I'll keep her in the story.)

 

The bear has to make a new friend, literally! Herman assembles "Athena" from different organisms to build a composite creature. Sort of a cross between Larry Niven's Pierson's Puppeteers, and Sylvia the "Zbornak" from Disney's "Wander over Yonder".

http://larryniven.net/puppeteer/pupbod.shtml

(It's a long story)

When Herman first sees Athena, she is just some kind of seed pod that drags itself along the ground with some sort of beak. Herman has to put her together as an intelligence test designed by other aliens. Enjoy!

Kubo and the Two Strings

(copyright Laika studios) It's mortals vs. the gods in Kubo and the Two Strings. An outcast boy whose music and stories that brings origami to life goes from hustling on the street to a real challenge when he learns more about his true origins.

Laika has got another winner here! The plot is a little vague at the beginning, but things are not what they seem, as Joseph Campbell might have once said, and that's good for the film. The stop motion is well done, almost looking like CG animation. Director Travis Knight and his crew didn't cut any corners on this film

The action, although theatrical, is intense, and I am still surprised (and annoyed) at parents bringing very small children in the cinema. Still, the story succeeds on concepts of being true to yourself, appreciating your parents, and your gifts.

Get a good seat! I'm looking forward to the Blue Ray already.