Author Archives: Mike

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600 and Counting!

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About a year and a half ago, I set out to interview the entire animation industry, 2d, 3d, Flash, video games and visual effects. It’s been a hard thing to do as many artists are shy and private but I am VERY proud to say we hit our 600th interview today! I could not have done it without my beautiful wife Laura, my brother Andrew as well as my daughters Melissa and Megan who help with the posting and management of the site. And of course none of it could have happened without all the people who shared their art, life, stories and advice when they took the time to be interviewed!

Yep, we’ve interviewed 600 artists so far and there’s many more interviews ahead. You should be next!

Email us to be interviewed!

Image credits (left to right):

RJ Palmer
Jessy Borutski
Lois van Baarle

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Bakshi Productions looking for old school animator!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The project I’m working on w/ Animation Legend Ralph Bakshi needs 1 “Old School” traditional, full animation style animator for Bakshi Blues.

You can help us spread the word.

Know someone who’d be great for this? Pass it along to them.

Can you post this on your site, blog, or tumblr for us? We’d appreciate it.

If you’d like to submit, email me a list of your credits or resume (IMDb or Linkedin), and a link to your animation reel (youtube or vimeo preferred). Please use the subject line: Bakshi Blues Animator.

Thanks!
-Jeaux Janovsky
allofmyheroes.blogspot.com/2012/08/bakshi-blues-animator-wanted.html

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Robert Valley just launched his crazy ass kickstarter campaign

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He’s looking to raise enough capital to finish his second and final
instalment in his PEAR CIDER and CIGARETTES graphic novel
series. These books chronicle the adventures of his longtime friend
Techno Stypes (not his real name). Techno’s incredibly bad luck
with road accidents was surpassed only by his incredibly good luck
with insurance settlements. Book 1 ends with Techno crippled and
rich in a Chinese Military hospital waiting for a liver transplant.
Check the project out here:
Eventually Robert hopes to develope this story into a 30 minute
animated short film, but for now it’s just baby steps.
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“Bottom of the Ninth”, A Unique Animated Graphic Novel App for iPad, Now Available on the App Store

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Latest story from professional animator and storyboard artist, Ryan Woodward, features the world of New Baseball, set 200 years in the future
Mapleton, Utah — June 21, 2012 – Veteran animator and storyboard artist Ryan Woodward goes indie again with “Bottom of the Ninth”, a unique animated graphic novel app designed specifically for iPad. The app is a reflection of Ryan’s industry experience, keeping with the integrity of a traditional comic layout, but enhanced with fully animated 2D and 3D animations, an original score, and professional voice actors.
The Story
Bottom of the Ninth takes place 200 years from now where the game of baseball has evolved into a rough gladiator-type event which sports a vertical infield and artificial gravity to enhance the danger of the game. The epic story starts with the first chapter, “Prologue”, which sets up the characters and the world of Tao City.  Subsequent chapters will further develop the story and introduce readers to the 18-year-old female protagonist, Candy Cunningham. 
Candy Cunningham was born with a phenomenal athletic ability. Her father, Gordy Cunningham is an aged major league New Baseball player who’s athletic abilities have atrophied into a crowd pleasing clown act. Candy’s incredible ability to pitch the fastest pitch in history lands her in the celebrity seat among a New Baseball crazed culture of sports endorsements, advertising and strategic manipulation. The story follows the two characters through the exciting and dangerous world of New Baseball. About Ryan Woodward Ryan Woodward has been a professional animator and storyboard artist since 1995.  His screen credits include The Avengers, Snow White and the Huntsman, Ironman 2, Cowboys and Aliens, Spiderman 2 &3, The Iron Giant(’98), Space Jam(’96), etc.  His recent independent productions are aimed at creating new genres of storytelling. His last short animated film, Thought of You, won several prestigious awards and is currently rated in the top 10 highest animation plays on Vimeo.com. Ryan created, designed, wrote, penciled, animated, composed, directed and produced this production. His small, yet elite team of dedicated artists assisted in areas of design, 3D animation, and app development. Baseball legend Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves lends his voice as “The Murph” a retired legend turned sports announcer. Dale was a 2 time MVP (‘82, ‘83) sporting 398 career home runs. The Bottom of the Ninth App is available for $3.99 from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore. New chapters of the graphic novel will be available via In-App Purchase as they are released. 
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Simon Piniel

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http://www.animationinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/reel.mov

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Simon Piniel and I’m the owner, creative director and everything else in my company Spin Animation. Me and my team are doing all sorts of animation for all sorts of stuff, predominantly TV commercials, banner ads, info movies and mobile apps.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing too crazy… My first job during Summer break when I was 16(?): garbage man in my home town in Switzerland. A team of two standing on the back of the truck, tossing bags in and hauling containers. I loved it! During art school I sold concert tickets on the phone and did interviews for a polling company.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There’s a few commercials here and there that I had the opportunity to basically realize from start to finish, and it’s always very fulfilling being able to take full credit in one or more departments. When it comes to bigger, team effort style projects that in return more people are familiar with: the Vancouver Winter Olympics (for which I did a animated projections for the closing ceremony, among others), the latest Swiss inflight safety movie (storyboard) and the Ed, Edd & Eddy Cartoon TV series (for which I spent 3 years storyboarding).

How did you become interested in animation?
I drew some flipbooks as a youngster, but that was just part of drawing a lot. My mom had the idea to Continue reading