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Animation

Help! My Son Is In 3D…

Chris Callahan is a writer and artists who has worked for several years in the animation industry. Evidently, he has something to say about it… Check out his new comic book creation, Robochuck: “With the introduction of computer-generated characters, the World Of Entertainment”s population is now sharply divided between two types of cartoon characters: the Flats and the CGs. In Flattown, Robochuck is the only CG character most of his neighbors know.  He dreams of restoring his city to its glory days, when flat toons like his adoptive father, Inksplat MaGee, were the world’s biggest stars. However, one person in the World of Entertainment will do anything to keep that from happening.  As Chairman of Piczar, Don Masshurter developed the computer technology that changed the landscape of animated entertainment, and he will stop at nothing to protect his new reign…” Nope, no reflection on the real world here at all, nope. So go ahead, check out the Robochuck web site. We won’t tell anyone!

image c. 2014 by Chris Callahan

image c. 2014 by Chris Callahan

Like Punnies in the Spring

Well okay, the middle of summer, but hey… Llyn Hunter is an Emmy Award-winning storyboard artist, also known for her humorous illustrations and poetry. Many of those have been collected over the years in her Little Book series (like A Little Book of Monsters, reviewed here previously) put out by her own Bobcat Publishing. Her latest work is called Punnies — a collection of pun illustrations (cat fish, duck tape, cow bell…) each accompanied by a verse. She’s started up a Kickstarter campaign to help her fund publishing the book in a large-size coffee table format. The campaign is up from now until the end of September. Also make sure to visit her home page to see samples of the many other projects that she’s worked on over the years.

image c. 2014 by Llyn Hunter

image c. 2014 by Llyn Hunter

The Evolution of The Mouse

Needless to say there have been many, many books over the years (official and otherwise) showing you how to draw your favorite characters from Disney Animation. This latest book from the famous Walter Foster art how-to series takes a little different tack: How the look of Mickey Mouse and some of the most well-known Disney characters has evolved over time since they were first created. “A collection of vintage artwork from the Disney archives reveals early designs, sketches, and poses of Mickey Mouse as well as other classic characters such as Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends Through the Decades creates the opportunity for an artistic celebration of the world’s most beloved mouse, by bringing together a collection of step-by-step projects and inspirational illustrations for rendering these timeless characters as they originally appeared. Featuring 128 pages of art instruction material, this title makes a covetable collector’s item for any loyal Disney enthusiast or aspiring artists interested in learning to draw in classic cartoon style.” Learn to Draw Mickey Mouse & Friends Through the Decades (whew, long title!) is coming next year to Amazon and other sellers.

image c. 2014 Walter Foster Publishing

image c. 2014 Walter Foster Publishing

Pictures Coming At You!

We’ll let Lyla Warren tell it herself: ” Recently relocated to Portland (from San Francisco via Denver) Lyla Warren is a self-taught freelance artist. Her education was forged by late nights in the halls of the animation industry and by wonderful mentors. Through her career, she’s worked for a variety of clients such as Disney, Cartoon Network, Sony, Mattel, Zynga, Laika, and Leap Frog, to name a few. These days she is focused on sculpture, character design and personal art work.” And what sculpture! Her leaping-out-of-the frame 3D pictures of various Disney and Pixar characters have been featured at the Disneyland Wonderground Gallery, and her other works have drawn from many sources. She even found time to create her own 2D animated short film, Beaver vs. Platypus, as well as shorts for the Happy Tree Friends series. Take a look at her web site to see all that and more.

image c. 2014 by Lyla Warren

image c. 2014 by Lyla Warren

Beasts Invade the Rain Forest

It might seem like an age ago, but earlier this year the animated sensation of the moment was Rio 2. Now that we’ve moved on to the summer, Paperkutz have announced a new tie-in graphic novel, carrying on after the events of that film. “While recording bird calls, Linda loses her new digital recorder, but when Blu finds it, it’s full of strange and horrifying growls! Is some sort of new predator on the loose in the sanctuary? Before the gang can solve the mystery themselves, monster-hunters and reality shows invade, turning their quiet jungle home into pandemonium. ” Rio 2: The Creature from Blu’s Lagoon is written by Arie Kaplan and illustrated by James Silvani. The full-color trade paperback is available for pre-ordering; otherwise look for it in stores this fall.

image c. 2014 Paperkutz

image c. 2014 Paperkutz

Return of the Ghost Warrior

Ten years ago furry fandom — and animation fandom in general — saw an amazing new event with the premier of Kaze: Ghost Warrior. A multi-species fantasy adventure, it was most astounding for having been financed, designed, voiced, animated, and rendered by one person. Now creator Amadhia Albee — having spent the interim as a professional effects animator — has decided the time is right for a resurrection of the warrior tiger. Kaze: Winds of Change is to be a new series of audio dramas following Kaze and his world, this time with a full crew of voice actors, musicians, and singers involved. The project has a Kickstarter campaign going — and as of this writing they have already exceeded their goal, but you can still contribute to get involved and be kept up to date.

image c. 2014 by Amadhia Albee

image c. 2014 by Amadhia Albee

The Gumball Rally

More animation coming to comics! The Amazing World of Gumball is of course a popular Cartoon Network series created by Ben Bocquelet. It brings us the adventures of Gumball, a young blue cat, along with his younger sister Anais, a pink rabbit, and his younger brother Darwin, a goldfish. (Hey look, it’s cartoons! It make sense, okay? Trust us!). Now Boom! Studios have brought Gumball to the world of comics through their Kaboom! imprint. The new series is written by Frank Gibson (Adventure Time) with full-color multi-media art by Tyson Hesse (Bravest Warriors). Of course Kaboom! has a write up on the whole thing.

image c. 2014 Boom! Studios

image c. 2014 Boom! Studios

They’re Angry Even On Paper

The unstoppable international phenomenon known as Rovio Studio’s Angry Birds continues with the new Angry Birds full-color comic book series from IDW Publishing. It’s written by Jeff Parker and illustrated by Paco Rodriques.Angry Birds is based on the wildly popular mobile game by Rovio in which less-than-pleased birds launch all-out attacks on nefarious porkers. IDW’s series is just the latest feather in the cap for Rovio’s monster franchise, which has already spawned countless toys, shirts, games and more, including a film set to land in 2016.” Now you know. Check out the interview with Jeff Parker over at Comic Book Resources.

image c. 2014 IDW Publishing

image c. 2014 IDW Publishing

30 Years of Turtles

As part of the build up for the (somewhat controversial, ahem ahem…) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie coming this summer, comic book non-fiction author Andrew Farago brings us Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History (in hardcover from Insight Editions). As you can see from the cover, it does indeed cover several different iterations of our favorite heroes in a half-shell. “Discover the complete story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the first time–from their humble beginnings in black-and-white comics created in a home studio in Dover, New Hampshire, to their multimillion-dollar breakout success, and their position as four of the best-loved characters of all time. Featuring interviews with every key figure in the Turtles’ evolution, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History presents the tale straight from the mouths of those who were there, including co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, animation legend Fred Wolf, creature effects maestro Brian Henson, and even the man behind the Ninja Rap, Vanilla Ice.” Ooo, now there’s a plus… O_o Anyway, check it out at Amazon.

image c. 2014 Insight Editions

image c. 2014 Insight Editions