Well with little under 10 weeks left for the film, I’m making a mad dash towards the end! So much to do, and absolutely zero time to do it in! But keeping in the spirit of everything, i still want to share with you some tid bits of my progress. Above you’ll see the theatrical poster (possibly the final) and some character cards. Enjoy!

Welps here I go again, decided to go and interview with some good friends of mine that have left the department. I felt the advice is so crucial, to learn from their succeeds or failures, which can steer us in the right direction, and what way to hear it better, then from the horses mouth! Now traditionally podcast don’t have videos, but since this is an art related one I figured, why not? Any way, please listen all the way through, maybe when your working or just want to dim the lights, curl up, and set the mood

DISCLAIMER:

Animation centric subjects

Language

The views expressed by the guest of the podcast are not the views of Laguna College of Art + Design itself …

LCAD Animation Podcast (Vidcast) Ep. 1 from Eric Elliott on Vimeo.

Well its BEEN AWHILE (since I saw you…staind…anybody? nevermind) Yes well over a month since I last blogged. But I’ve gotten towards the end of production of the film, and my sites are sight to finish. And although blogging might be an afterthought, I have plenty of content to show for it (which you’ll see later.) But inbetween work, school. and the film, we (Curtis Carlson) paint murals for the Edwards Aliso Theater, where we had a great time doing the Alice and Wonderland Mural (…maybe not such a great time watching it) but here are the pics from that!

Mr. Carlson Painting the Red Queen...he also loves warm pig belly's for his aching feet

He KILLED that Red Queen, one of his best pieces!

I hate how Cheshire Cat came out, but I love the hatter!

C's piece all together

Wow. Its not even friday and there’s been so many new previews and sneak peaks from things that interest me, its not even funny. Let me preface by saying I feel its an every artist best interest to expose themselves to all the wonders of their field. There more your “in the know” of the on goings of the industry, the better you’ll be prepared to look like a self righteous, arrogant @#$#(*! when criticizing it, but just in case you missed a post or two of some of the latest and greatest postings of the week to do so. I’m here to help you out. Toys, Avatars, and closing of entire animation company due to financial woes! Oh my.

The first, in a long history of businesses starting out, is the small independent animation studio Imgai, is no more. After 300 layoffs and empty pockets, the studio has called it quits for the time being. You might remember the TMNT movie they created not to long ago. Its always sad to see talented artist leaving. Although, I haven’t had the chance to catch Astro Boy, I do own TMNT, which despite its flaws, led me to believe this studio had a promising future. Hopefully, they’ll return one day.

to find out more about the uncertain future of the company and its Gatchman remake, you can read here

Moment of silence…And moving on, this week there have also been some recent updates in some upcoming features! LIKE TOY STORY 3 & AVATAR! oh joy.

Toy Story 3 Trailer 2 in HD

Trailer Park Movies | MySpace Video

I’m really starting to get into this un-subdivided look that some recent projects have been taking on. Most notably the Honda Crosstour commercials, if you haven’t seen em’ look them up! But I saw this the other day, and haven’t stop watching it, from the cinematography, to the extreme graphic stylization of characters, I would love to work on a project like this one day!

Pivot from Pivot on Vimeo.

LCAD Animation VLog Ep. 2 from Eric Elliott on Vimeo.

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES___________________________

Best Animated Feature

• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — Sony Pictures Animation
• Coraline — Laika
• Fantastic Mr. Fox — 20th Century Fox
• The Princess and the Frog — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Secret of Kells — Cartoon Saloon
• Up — Pixar Animation Studios

Best Home Entertainment Production

• Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas — Universal Animation Studios
• Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder — The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
• Green Latern: First Flight — Warner Bros. Animation
• Open Season 2 — Sony Pictures Animation
• SpongeBob vs. The Big One — Nickelodeon

Best Animated Short Subject

• Pups of Liberty — Picnic Pictures
• Robot Chicken: Star Wars 2.5 — ShadowMachine
• Santa, The Fascist Years — Plymptoons
• The Rooster, The Crocodile and The Night Sky — Barley Films
• The Story of Walls — Badmash Animation Studios

Best Animated Television Commercial

• Goldfish: In The Dark — Blur Studios, Inc.
• Idaho Lottery “Twiceland” — Acme Filmworks, Inc.
• McDonald’s Nutty Trade — Blue Sky Studios
• Spanish Lottery “Deportees” — Acme Filmworks, Inc.
• The Spooning — Screen Novelties /Acne Media

Best Animated Television Production

• Glenn Martin, DDS — Tornante, Cuppa Coffee Studios & Rogers Communications
• Merry Madagascar — DreamWorks Animation
• Prep and Landing — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios
• The Simpsons — Gracie Films

Best Animated Television Production for Children

• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse — Disney Television Animation
• SpongeBob SquarePants — Nickelodeon
• The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack — Cartoon Network Studios
• The Mighty B! — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
• The Penguins of Madagascar — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES___________________

Animated Effects

• Scott Cegielski “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• Alexander Feigin “9” — 9 L.L.C.
• Eric Froemling “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Tom Kluyskens “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
• James Mansfield “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Animation in a Television Production

• Mark Donald “B.O.B.’s Big Break” — DreamWorks Animation
• Mark Mitchell “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Kevan Shorey “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Tony Smeed “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Phillip To “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space” — DreamWorks Animation

Character Animation in a Feature Production

• Andreas Deja “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Eric Goldberg “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Travis Knight “Coraline” — Laika
• Daniel Nguyen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Bruce Smith “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Television Production

• Bryan Arnett “The Mighty B! – Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper Kite Productions
• Ben Balistreri “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Craig Kellman “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Bill Schwab “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Character Design in a Feature Production

• Daniel Lopez Munoz “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Shane Prigmore “Coraline” — Laika
• Shannon Tindle “Coraline” — Laika

Directing in a Television Production

• Pam Cooke & Jansen Yee “American Dad: Brains, Brains & Automobiles” — 20th Century Fox/Fuzzy Door/Underdog
• Rob Fendler “Popzilla” — Animax
• Bret Haaland “The Penguins of Madagascar – Launchtime” — Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation
• Jennifer Oxley “The Wonder Pets: Help The Monster” — Nickelodeon/Little Airplane Productions
• J.G. Quintel, John Infantino “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack: Candy Casanova” — Cartoon Network Studios

Directing in a Feature Production

• Wes Anderson “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
• Pete Docter “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Christopher Miller, Phil Lord “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation
• Hayao Miyazaki “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
• Henry Selick “Coraline” — Laika

Music in a Television Production

• Michael Giacchino “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Kevin Kiner “Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Weapons Factory” — Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.
• Guy Moon “The Fairly OddParents: “Wishology-The Big Beginning” — Nickelodeon

Music in a Feature Production

• Bruno Coulais “Coraline” — Laika
• Michael Giacchino “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Joe Hisaishi “Ponyo” — Studio Ghibli
• John Powell “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — Blue Sky Studios

Production Design in a Television Production

• Mac George “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Andy Harkness “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Janice Kubo “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” — Cartoon Network Studios

Production Design in a Feature Production

• Christopher Appelhans “Coraline” — Laika
• Ian Gooding “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Tadahiro Uesugi “Coraline” — Laika
• Christophe Vacher “9” — 9 L.L.C.

Storyboarding in a Television Production

• Sunil Hall “The Mighty B!: Catatonic” — Nickelodeon/Polka Dot Pictures/Paper
• Robert Koo “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Brandon Kruse “The Fairly OddParents: Fly Boy” — Nickelodeon
• Joe Mateo “Prep and Landing” — ABC Family/Walt Disney Animation Studios Kite Productions
• Adam Van Wyk “The Spectacular Spider-Man: Final Curtain” — Culver Entertainment

Storyboarding in a Feature Production

• Sharon Bridgeman “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
• Chris Butler “Coraline” — Laika
• Ronnie Del Carmen “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Tom Owens “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• Peter Sohn “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios

Voice Acting in a Television Production

• Danny Jacobs – Voice of King Julien – “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Nicky Jones – Voice of Chowder – “Chowder: The Dinner Theatre” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Tom Kenny – Voice of SpongeBob – “SpongeBob SquarePants — Truth or Square” — Nickelodeon
• Dwight Schultz – Voice of Mung Daal – “Chowder:The Party Cruise” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Willow Smith – Voice of Abby – “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production

• Jen Cody – Voice of Charlotte – “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Dawn French – Voice of Miss Forcible – “Coraline” — Laika
• Hugh Laurie – Voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. – “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• John Leguizamo – Voice of Sid – “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” — Blue Sky Studios
• Jenifer Lewis – Voice of Mama Odie – “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Writing in a Television Production

• Daniel Chun – “The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX” — Gracie Films
• Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers-Skelton – “Prep and Landing” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Valentina L. Garza – “The Simpsons: Four Great Women and a Manicure” — Gracie Films
• Billy Kimball and Ian Maxtone-Graham – “The Simpsons: Gone Maggie Gone” — Gracie Films
• Billy Lopez – “The Wonder Pets – Save the Honey Bears” — Nickelodeon Productions/Little Airplane Productions

Writing in a Feature Production

• Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach – “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — 20th Century Fox
• Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy – “Up” — Pixar Animation Studios
• Timothy Hyde Harris and David Bowers – “Astro Boy” — Imagi Studios
• Christopher Miller and Phil Lord – “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” — Sony Pictures Animation

JURIED AWARDS__________________________________

Winsor McCay Award — Tim Burton, Bruce Timm, Jeffrey Katzenberg

June Foray — Tom Sito

Ub Iwerks Award — William T. Reeves

Special Achievement — Martin Meunier and Brian McLean

Certificate of Merit — Myles Mikulic, Danny Young and Michael Woodside

Well, as of late I’ve run into a lot of opinions and afterthoughts on Disney’s Princess and the Frog. Some for it and some against it, but to each his own. What I’ve come to terms with, and what I would like to share now, is how quickly people are to judging someone’s hard work. And I am by no means an exception to this, in fact I do it subconsciously all the time. However, while passing judgment, I feel it’s always important to keep in my what somebody went through, in effort to entertain you. To give credit where credit is due, and find something to enjoy in what your seeing. I don’t wanna get to preachy about what others should do (that would defeat the purpose of this pose, while making me look like a dumba..) Either way, Slashfilm has provided a great inside look into some of the on-goings of the return to hand drawn animation. Enjoy!

Waking up this morning, and want something more in your system other then the taste of last night, and stale coffee? I gotcha covered …well your eyes at least. Sorry i can’t be more of help… I’m pretty useless (Weeps quickly in a corner)…

Here are some of my favorite clips and movies from this week, another oscar nom, and the NEW AVATAR TRAILER!

LADY AND THE REAPER: PATIENTLY WAITING FOR DEATH

Here’s and short film I’ve been “patiently” waiting for, but after the viewing, it was not at all what I expected. But I’m really pulling for this in the Oscars. A unique story, beautifully designed, all the fixings for a great short!

Skhizein. One of this most original shorts I’ve seen in a very long time!

Skhizein (Jérémy Clapin,2008) from Bertie on Vimeo.

Third and the Seventh. Simply Beautiful. Hard to believe its COMPLETELY 3D. Aside from the artist making a guest appearance.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

And last but not least. THE LAST AIRBENDER TRAILER. No big deal lol (this video embeddeds in a weird way, but if you full screen it, you’ll be fine)