Meet Buck: French Animation Win

I don't know why I am continuously surprised by the amazing French animation I'm finding, but ever since discovering the work coming out of Gobelins, I've been looking for even more. The short (no dialogue) film below is absolutely stunning animation, both due to it's amazing blend of 3D with hand-painted style and the fluid animation throughout... well worth the watch. Check it out!



Meet Buck from TeamCerf on Vimeo.

Gorgeous Animation

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo

Words really cannot describe how much I love this short. It's very simplistic, almost crude in style, but the overall look and obvious quality in every frame is flawless. Be sure to check out Mr. Woodward's other work as well, but this is easily the best animation I've seen since my recent Gobelins trip.

A Modern Roadrunner : Still Funny?

This short was recently released in theaters (along with two others by Warner Brothers), which you may have missed. I happened to see it on a plane recently, so I thought I'd share. So what do you think? Is the CG version still funny?

Personally, I think the style works really well and aside from the obvious stereoscopic shots feels really true to the original. Heck, even the in-your-face 3D shots lend themselves well to a lot of the Coyote's antics. Let me know what y'all think.

Gobelins: French Animation, FTW?

The above is just one of many examples of the old-school animation that the "applied arts" school, Gobelins, produces. All of their films are short, beautiful and often outlandish. After watching "The Secret of Kells," I had a desire to see more beautiful, distinctly foreign animation and was reminded of a few shorts I'd seen at this year's SIGGRAPH. If you want to spend some time getting inspired by truly beautiful and unique animation, just get on youtube and search for "gobelins." You won't be disappointed. I've embedded a compilation of some of their shorts after the jump.

Chewie and Han at RedBubble

People have been asking me non-stop where I got this shirt and I have to say, I can't blame them. A combination of Star Wars and Calvin and Hobbes... pure brilliance.

Created by artist Chris Wahl, he's got several other t-shirts to choose from, but this is definitely one of his best (perhaps I'm a little biased). It sells for $21.73, which is a little pricey for a novel-t... but so worth it in my book.

If you too are interested in this awesome combination, just click on the picture!

Schoolism

Schoolism. People know very little about the awesome classes that are offered here, nor how it works. I stumbled on it a little less than a year ago and fell instantly in love. It is basically a professional mentorship for the particular artistic area you're interested. Pre-recorded lectures and assignments are set every week, and the instructor will address your work in a really personalized, one-on-one fashion you can't get anywhere else. Offered as one-shot classes, the mentors and classes are updated all the time and have a wide (and ever-growing) range to choose from.

I've already taken a Comic Book drawing and industry-prep course here, and am now working on a ZBrush course with Michael Defeo. To find out more about them, check out the link below. If you're interested in joining a course, be sure to use their awesome new Referral Program they have up and running. The classes are pricy, but the experience is well worth it.