Monkey Man: Origins

Had the joy of getting together Bun House Films (a group of my oldest friends) to make our 4th film together, Monkey Man: Origins.  This one is kind of like the prequel to our original Monkey Man film, aside from the fact it has nothing else to do with the film other than the monkey mask.  Either way, we made this in 2 days so take it for what it it.  If you like what you see then feel free to like us on our Facebook page. We will be bringing you more comedy horror in the future, of that I can assure you.

Geometric Portrait Timelapse

Every time someone new is hired at the place I work they get a unique portrait created by one of our artists.  Once in a while I will volunteer my creative services to this cause because not only is it fun, but it's a great way to flex your skills.  Usually the person I'm creating a portrait for doesn't have much of an opinion on what I create, but this time they came with a specific style in mind.  I really liked the geometric vector style they had in mind, but because girls tend to have softer, rounder faces I found it challenging to replicate.  In the end I think the result came out great and it only took me about 2.5 hours to create. You can check out the making of below.

Monkey Man with Commentary

This past weekend I had the privilege of reuniting with my old film buddies, Bun House Films. During our time together we managed to shoot a brand new film called Monkey Man: Origins, but that's not what brings us here today. While everyone was together we were able to sit down and record our second directors commentary. Seeing as how we were filming a new Monkey Man video, it only seemed right to commentate on the original. Below you can find both the original video as well as the commentary we shot. Please enjoy and don't forget to like our Facebook page and keep an eye out for the new Monkey Man: Origins.

San Diego Studies

Cy Kuckenbaker has made some really interesting videos he calls "time collapses". Not to be confused with time lapses. His first two time collapses were merely documenting the amount of airplane departures and arrivals in San Diego over one day. The result is both beautiful and interesting; however, his recent video on the color of cars in San Diego is taking this technique to a whole new level. It's easier to watch the video than have me explain it, but if you'd like to read a little bit more about Cy's process, check out this article here.

Tarantino & Friends

Thought this animation from Timor Barshtman was a fun little way to pay tribute to Tarantino and the many actors he chooses to use in his films. It's also fun to see the timeline and progression in art form.

WIND

Just sit back and enjoy this animation from Robert Loebel.

Life of Slim - Behind the Scenes: Creating The Bar

As promised, a timelapse of me creating one of the backgrounds I'll be using for the next animation. Really like how this one turned out actually.

Life of Slim - Behind the Scenes: Creating and Rigging Hot Chick

So I've decided to create a few behind the scenes videos in an effort to keep myself motivated throughout the process of creating the first Life of Slim episode. My first scene involves Slim attempting to talk to a hot chick in a bar, so I needed to develop and rig a new character. I plan on doing a timelapse video of creating a background scene and possibly short animation tutorial as well. Stay tuned for more!

The Great Heidecker/Scharpling Twitter War

Loving this short from Tim Heidecker about the pains of social media, the tortures of LA, and how we manage our friendships and expectations through this new form of contact that makes us all so accessible. The writing is tight and the animation from Titmouse is a great pairing. I love the use of color in this piece.

DisneyShorts Releases New Mickey Mouse Cartoons

Apparently Disney has been releasing some new Mickey Mouse shorts. I used to absolutely adore the old Disney shorts with Goofy when I was a kid so I was excited to check them out.  I was pleasantly surprised immediately to see that the style has taken on a little bit more of a modern edge (I especially love zombie Goofy), but the slap stick humor and animation is still on par with what you'd expect from Disney.  I only wish now that we could get some new Looney Tunes that were as good as the old ones.

Adsy - It's a kind of magic

Love the style of this little animation done by Sweet Crude and Fraser Davidson for the new app Adsy.

CONAN Season 3 Supercut

Amazing use of clips in this CONAN Season 3 supercut. I can only imagine the drugs this guy was on while he made this.

YouPost - Service providers

This animation for YouPost from Jumbla is a really good example of a learner video done well.  These types of animations are becoming much more commonplace in our society, and thus there are a lot of poorly executed ones out there.  This is not one of them.

How To Animate a Photo | The 2.5D Effect

Have you ever had a photograph you wanted to animate? Or maybe your client only had archival photos and no footage. There are a ton of situations in which this tutorial from The Creators Project could come in handy for you.

Cowboy Painting Timelapse

Trevor Conrad has taken the time to make this wonderful timelapse of a cowboy character he created from scratch in Photoshop. While the timelapse is long, it gives you the time to really inspect his process and learn a thing or two. I always love watching other people work, and you should too.

New "Movies R Fun" Images

I'm happy to say that Josh Cooley has gracefully given us a few new pages from his illustrated book, "Movies R Fun." I absolutely love this collection and I think any movie buff would as well.

Life of Slim: Movember Short

So I've been getting around to making a Life of Slim short around Movember.  This .gif is proof that I'm at least doing something productive.

Photoshop Animation Tutorial

Do you like the animations of Charles Huettner and Caleb Wood of Late Night Work Club? Have you ever wanted to learn to animate in Photoshop? Well if you answered yes to either of these questions then I think the below video would be worth your viewing time. Charles and Caleb do a short tutorial on animating two different ways in Photoshop; frame view and timeline view.

Mustache Dash!!

In honor of Movember I plan on making a little animated short this weekend. Nothing crazy, just a mustache running away from a razor and shaving cream. Hopefully this effort will boost my donations on my Movember page. You can visit and donate as well, all proceeds go to men's health.

SUPER SMASH WARS: A Link To The Hope - A Star Wars / Nintendo-verse Mashup

This animation from James Farr is an amazing tribute to both the Nintendo and Star Wars universe. It was almost as if they were destined to be married together.

Printing Totes

Got into printing a tote bag last night for a friend. Way easier than shirts and the result came out pretty good.

The Elegant Gentleman's Guide to Knife Fighting

If my art history classes in college had been anything like this, I might have remembered a little bit more.

Burning Rubber

Love this little short from The Ruud & Jonas Show. Normally I'm used to seeing walk cycles of characters, so it's fun to see the same premise done with various cars. It's amazing the personality you can inject into an inanimate object.

The LEGO® Movie - Official Main Trailer [HD]

Come on, who didn't love LEGO growing up? This movie literally encapsulates what my imagination was seeing when I played with them as a kid.

LEFT - trailer

Eamonn O'Neill has just released a new trailer for his short animated film, LEFT. His work is always so emotive and inspirational, I can't wait to see this one released.

The Art of Editing in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A very interesting analysis of the editing in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Max Tohline. It's always intriguing to me when people are capable of breaking down scenes to their core components. Normally I'm just enjoying the film, but it's always fun to see exactly why I'm enjoying one film more than another. That and Clint Eastwood is just a badass.

OK Go - I'm Not Through

Everyone that knows OK Go knows how over the top and crazy their music videos tend to be.  They've made it their business to create viral music videos with every hit, but this time, in another brilliant tactic, they looked the fans for their inspiration.  OK Go held the Saatchi & Saatchi Music Video Competition and the winning video can be seen below.  It's a really fun idea with a very OK Go feel to it so you can see why it won.



The video below was the viewer's favorite. This one went a totally different angle. More story driven, very well shot, and some really nice effects. I must say, after seeing this one, I think the only reason the other video won was because it felt more "OK Go". While both are amazing, I think I like the viewer's choice better as a music video. I mean honestly, who doesn't want to see some little kid traveling through time to make it right with a girl.

Night In The Woods - Kickstarter Trailer

Welp, Scott Benson is at it again, and this time it's with the help of Kickstarer and indie video game designer Alec Holowka.  Literally every job Scott works on would be a dream job for me, and this one is no different. Scott and Alec are creating a new indie game called Night In The Woods, and the work they have done so far looks pretty impressive.  The game looks exactly like one of Scott's animations, you almost can't tell that it's gameplay.  The game also looks like it's going to be fairly character and story driven, which could make for some memorable gameplay.  Needless to say, I've already pledged my hard earned dollars to them, now it's just time for them to make it!

Root Portrait

At the company I work, Root Inc., the artists will create unique and original portraits for each and every hire. Recently I signed up to do one and I thought the result came out pretty well, so I figured I could do a brief step by step of the process.

It all starts out with a picture and a few ideas from the person you are creating. Stephanie, the girl who's portrait I created, told me she had a dog named Frank and loved to bake.

So with my photo of Stephanie and Frank I started to do a quick sketch. Damn this looks fucking sweet!

I then took my sketch and references in Adobe Illustrator and started to define it. With the help of some movie magic we can see the final immediately! Check it out below.

Fight!

There are so many things to love about this animation from Marc James Roels. The music, the composition, and the style of the characters. But above all else I love how they made such a light and soft material look as though it carries massive weight. The shot of the two characters falling through air makes my eyes light up.

2D Effect Reels

I always find 2D effect work like this stunning, especially when it comes to the smoke and explosions. Both Sébastien Iglesias and Jason Keyser have given us some inspirational work in that area. Check them out!

I Didn't Know That - Episode 1 (Elton John)

Really like the visual style and audio used for this animation by Young. I've always wanted to see an infographic made out of a shoe.

Svenska kraftnät - Infomercial

I can't understand a word of this animation, but I love the visual style BRIKK used for this piece.

A Relationship in 5 Minutes

Brilliantly written and acted piece from the folks at Restless Short Films.

Bee and PuppyCat: The Series - Kickstarter

I don't know what it is but I've been really into Kickstarter lately. More specifically I've been into supporting great cartoons.  Bee and Puppycat is a created by Natasha Allegrithat first appeared on Cartoon Hangover's Youtube page.  They created 2 pilot episodes (check them out below) and now they are asking for your help to create more.  I'm going to do my part to support, and you should to.  Visit their Kickstarter page here.

TEEN HALLOWEEN | ANIMATION DOMINATION

Another amazing short from the folks at Animation Domination.

'Classic Ghostworth' - Sam Sweetmilk Ep.1

Let me ask you a few simple questions.  Do you like cartoons?  Do you like funny cartoons? Do you like funny cartoons about space adventures? Do you like supporting funny cartoons about space adventures?  Well if you answered yes to these questions then Sam Sweetmilk may be what you are looking for.  This animated series just launched it's rough first episode, and with the help of Kickstarter they are hoping to produce more fully fleshed out episodes.

What I enjoy about this cartoon is that although it's set in space, they don't use that as an excuse to go completely over the top with the story.  The humor lies more in the writing and interactions of the characters which I enjoy in cartoons every once in a while.  It's sort of like a cartoon mixed with a sitcom.  I think with more time that the characters of Sam Sweetmilk could become pretty well rounded and relatable.  I'm truly interested in why the main character has wiped his memory, and although this series has a light hearted aspect to it, I believe there is room for some serious tones later on. Here's hoping.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by RagtimeWillie on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
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UPSTAIRS

Creator Matthias Hoegg describes his work as, "a short story about how much we know - or want to know - about the lives of our next door neighbors in urban flats." I recently moved to a bottom floor apartment and I constantly hear squeaks that could be a simple footstep or as Matthias demonstrates in this piece, something so much worse...

Procrastination

This is another old one that I am just now seeing.  I guess you can say that's my way of procrastinating. I should be searching the internet for more videos instead of making so much tea....or maybe my constant search for inspiration is my own form of procrastination.  Well either way, now you understand why this piece from Johnny Kelly is so near and dear to my heart.

EXERCISE

A lovely little exercise from Chloe Nicolay. I love getting to see the many different stages of the process and then at the end to see it all come together. I think I need to start working out my animation muscles too.

ChildLine: First Step

I'm a little late on this one, but for this one in particular I'd rather be late than never. This is a beautifully choreographed piece from Buck and Antfood for ChildLine, a UK-based, confidential counseling service that deals with a wide range of issues facing many children and young adults. The sound design meshes so well with the animation that it keeps you stuck tight to the screen the entire time.

Coca-Cola "Happiness Is Movement"

This little piece from Antfood for Coca-Cola oozes happiness.  There were definitely a few moment that made me smile, that's for sure.

Linked Learning

I really like the visual style Owen Davey chose for this piece and the transitions from scene to scene are fun and engaging way to tell the story.

Palm Springs

This animation from Conor Whelan oozes that California feeling through it's visual style and colors. I also absolutely adore the use of the square frame, it makes for a very photographic composition and he uses it well.

Planet Nine

I've absolutely loved this series from Andy Martin.  As long as he keeps creating them I'll keep sharing them.

Toasted

Exactly how I feel on a Friday afternoon.

Two Great Music Videos - One Animated and One Filmed

I must say that a good music video has always been something I appreciate.  It probably dates back to when I first saw Thriller, or any of Michael Jackson videos for that matter: Bad, Smooth Criminal, etc. Throughout my childhood I continued to watch and treasure good music videos.  I spent my weekdays after school watching MTV's top 10 countdown.  In college I began falling in love with Michel Gondry's work.  Now, in this day and age, finding a good music video, for me personally, is a lot harder.  MTV rarely plays music anymore, and most big name artists do big budget videos that don't really seem to have any rhyme or reason to them.  However, with the internet and Youtube booming, indie bands have gotten a stronger voice. Thus the dawn of a whole new age of amazing indie music videos is upon us.

Below are two very different examples I came across recently that I enjoy.  The first video for C2C's song Delta was created by the masterful animators at CRCR.  The second is for Hanni El Khatib's song Penny and was created by Simon Cahn and Isaac Bauman.

I'm Late...

Sometimes you just need something simple. From Ronda.

IBM Datagrams Showcase

Just a slew of interesting and colorful infographic animations from the lovely people at BUCK. Created for IBM.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by programmed to rust on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
new gripp

Coin

This animation from EXIT 73 Studios is not only an amazing display of talent and humor, but it's also a wonderful homage to video game history in general. Everything I love all rolled into one.

THE DOODLE PROJECT

Yet another amazing collaboration project. This one comes from the creative people over at podoboo.  These works always seem like so much fun to be apart of.  I hope that one day I can be called in to add something to a project like this.

The Idioms Challenge

I'm not going to spoil this one for you. Just take the challenge for yourself. Animation by Flavor.

Benjamin Phillips

It's been a while since I've posted some illustrations on here.  I've been particularly struck by the crude and strange works of Benjamin Phillips.  There is something interesting about the line work in his morphing piece. Well, that and it kind of reminds me of an Animorphs book cover.

Drink Up - Energy

I'm always amazed at the things BUCK can do with a simple design.  The design of this piece is rather simple; however, the transitions are something else.  I absolutely love when the character dives into the water and it creates a kaleidoscope effect.

The Final Episode of MeanMug 'n Slim

If you had told me I would be making this 2 months ago I wouldn't have believed you. I spent the better part of a 3 year relationship with my ex girlfriend taking inspirations from various things we did and talked about and making a goofy cartoon about it.  I never thought it would have to end.  Much like in my real life, it's very hard to imagine continuing on alone. So much so it almost prevented me from creating the final episode at all. I like to make things that are goofy and funny, so to create something so personal and sad didn't feel right at the time. Initially I went through a phase where I wanted the final episode to be heavy hitting and almost hurtful. Thankfully I got over that phase and moved on to just make something that was funny at my own expense; hitting on the humor surrounding a newly single guy. But as I started developing around that idea, the funny parts slowly became less important and almost seemed like a cheap laugh that was covering the real story behind the whole thing. So I made something that pretty much summed up exactly how I felt being newly alone and dealing with it. I just hope that maybe if someone else is going through the same thing at some point, they can watch this and know they aren't alone in feeling that way, and that there is always a tomorrow.

Nothing too crazy here, just an awesome retro style animation inspiration from Charles Beckman for a new NBC ID.

Inappropriate Flash Mob

This is your basic PSA on Flash Mobs in today's society. I really like the tiny style Yankee Peddler has going here. Just enough of the scene to get the point across.

Robin Davey

Really loving the style and amount of personality Robin Davey has been able to get out of these looping animations he made in partnership with Wired Italia.

Photo of the Moment - Bubble Grandmother

Bubble　Grandmother, a photo by Kazuyuki Kawahara on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Camera:Hasselblad 500C/M
Lens:Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8T*
Film:Fuji PRO400

Late Night Work Club presents GHOST STORIES

11 inspiring works from some very amazing animators. I can't say enough how I've been waiting all year for this. And Late Night Work Club delivered. For those that don't know Late Night Work Club is a loose, rotating collective of indie animators. Over the past year they have been working diligently between their day jobs to create short films based on the theme "Ghost Stories." It's great to see 11 very different works of art come out of this theme. At the same time it was also interesting to see how some of them incorporated the idea of technology into their stories. I'll be curious to see how that will come up more and more in horror films in the future.

Enjoy the show.

Films:
00:45 - I Will Miss You by Dave Prosser - (daveprosser.co.uk)
04:46 - The Jump by Charles Huettner - (charleshuettner.tumblr.com/)
07:22 - The American Dream by Sean Buckelew - (seanbuckelew.com/)
09:53 - Mountain Ash by Jake Armstrong & Erin Kilkenny - (jakedraws.tumblr.com/) & (erinkilkenny.com/)
14:29 - Rat Trap by Caleb Wood - (vimeo.com/calebwood)
16:23 - Loose Ends by Louise Bagnall - (elbooga.blogspot.com/)
18:47 - Phantom Limb by Alex Grigg - (alexgrigg.com/)
23:02 - Asshole by Conor Finnegan - (conorfinneganan.tumblr.com/)
25:22 - Ombilda by Ciaran Duffy - (hellociaran.com/)
29:39 - Post Personal by Eamonn O'Neill - (eamonnoneill.ie/)
32:31 - Last Lives by Scott Benson - (bombsfall.com/)

Client Character Hit List Vol. 1

As animators working for the client, we all know that some ideas work and some ideas get shut down.  One aspect of that idea could be a character design.  As a new way of coping with client's rejecting my characters, I've decided that once a character is cut, they fucking die.  Yea that's right, I kill them.  Is this what you want clients!?  Does this make you happy?!  Well keep it up and more characters are going to die. Don't test me, this is your only warning!

R.I.P.
TD Client
8/22/13 - 8/27/13

R.I.P.
Hector the Hampton Ant
8/16/13 - 8/20/13

 

5 MORE MINUTES

A wonderful little animation about the power of imagination from Tom Yaniv.

Invisible To You

This series from MAKE is an amazing collection of animated short stories from different people dealing with tough issues and problems. People we may pass by every single day without a second thought. It's good to walk in someone else's shoes once in a while.  The storytelling of this series and character animation is wonderful and I can't wait for more.

Photo of the Moment - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by Terry Magson on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
facebook

Moleskine Monogram / Director's Cut

Edgy and sophisticated, two words to describe this ad from n9ve for Moleskin's new logo and monogram. The sketchy line style pairs perfectly with the brand and the transitions are lovely.

Irie Maffia - Badest (Official Music Video)

Loving this new music video Kickass Factory created for Irie Maffia's new track Badest. Looks like they were just going all out and having a good time experimenting with different motion graphics.  Basically I'm jealous because to an animator it looks like the world's biggest playground. Great work and music!

The Video Dating Tape of Desmondo Ray, Aged 33 & 3/4

I see a lot of infographic animations and animations talking about new apps, or clothing, or technology....but every once in a while you come across an animation with a serious story. A character that makes you want to know more, and even make you think a little bit more about yourself. This work from Steve Baker is one of those animations.  I absolutely love his mixture of video and animation, it's done on a level that I've never really seen before.

Internet Explorer – "Things Aren't Always What They Seem"

A lovely concept and catchy tune are the highlights from Digital Kitchen in their new animation for Internet Explorer. It's work like this that the writing becomes a huge part of the story, and I must say this had me chuckling a few times. Job well done.

Capital One / Maps

I'm always looking for unique ways to animate maps and globes. This piece TENDRIL created for Capital One shows maps in a fresh light. I really enjoy the photo animations like the one used for the ski resort.

Levis - Get The Right Fit

This is one of those cases where the animation style and brand image just seem to meld. I absolutely love the texture and color palette for this series.  You can really tell that this series was sparked from print work and then later adapted to animation, because it really has that textured feeling.  Lovely work from Deanna Halsall.

Office Posture Matters: An Animated Guide

As someone who suffers from sitting all day at work, this animation about office posture from Flikli really hits home...

Photo of the Day - Untitled

Untitled, a photo by Pierre LaScott on Flickr.

Kynect 'Education'

Really like the character design and soft pallete of this animation from Picasso Pictures.

Adventure Time Title in LEGO

Enough said. Created by Screen Novelties.

Sweet Crude

Recently came upon two amazing little animation from Sweet Crude. These guys are so good at telling stories and getting loads of information across in a fun and interesting way, and being the creative collective of Fraser Davidson you know they can't be bad right? Don't believe me? Just check out these works below and see for yourself.

Storyboard for the Final Episode of MeanMug 'n Slim

My girlfriend recently dumped me and for those of you that don't know I my cartoon series, MeanMug 'n Slim was loosely based on our lives.  Seeing as how I'm currently falling through a pit of despair, I found it only fitting to end the series and possibly gain some of my own personal closure on the subject.  I found a beautiful song on the Vimeo Music Store by Nicole Reynolds called Heavy Sleeper.  I listened to it about 30 times today as I quickly scratched out this rough storyboard. As you can see I tend to just draw out the broad strokes, but most of the final product should be pretty similar. Stay tuned for the end of a series...

The Innovation of Loneliness

Seeing as how I just deactivated my Facebook account, I don't think I could have found a better video to post today. This infographic animation from Shimi Cohen is a brilliantly written and executed work of art that truly tries to explains the paradox that is social media and how it is effecting our ability to tell the difference between communication and connection.

Rithm Loops

Sometimes animations don't have to have a real purpose or make sense. Sometimes they just exist to make you laugh and make you feel good. I think this piece from AllaKinda is one of those works.

AT&T Connected

Just a really professional and well put together animation from CHRLX for AT&T. Everything from the color scheme, to the transitions, to the character designs just seems to work well together.

Son of a Beach

This student film from Natan Moura oozes fun and creativity.  Such a delightful concept for a short animation.

Print Art

A well thought out animation from VeracityColab for the company PrintArt. Their task? Produce a video that has little to do with print or art in a way that people get what PrintArt does. There had to be a transcendent message and that was, “setting creative minds free.” Once the theme was locked, the style and story followed.

Smoking Fish Gif - Tom Bunker

Tom Bunker

Oreo Daydream

A wonderful new animation from Snyder New York and Maria Raymondsdotter for the recent Oreo Wonderfilled campaign. I really love this campaign and the art style they've chosen to go with it. This one is particularly beautiful and sad at the same time. I think they're hoping I'm going to get depressed and fall back on Oreos...and ya know what, they're right.

Planet Seven

Andy Martin has just released his 7th planet. Seems like my kinda place, very relaxing with a little bit of philosophical questioning mixed in.

108 years of Herman Miller in 108 seconds

Part of a Bigger Plan has created this truly elegant piece on the history of Hermann Miller furniture to launch their new website. I really love the style and the way things animate together in parts in 3D space. It's a unique look that I haven't really seen before, definitely worth storing somewhere back in the brain.

Creating Pixel Art in Photoshop

Nice little tutorial on creating pixel art in Photoshop by Ryan Boyle.

Arr & Howdy - Animation Tests

Delightfully bright and cheery character designs and walk cycles from Henrique P. L.

A Loaded Deck Teaser

Just a little teaser I made for fun for a film my buddies and I are putting together.  I created it using After Effects and Video Copilot's Element 3D.  I wanted to go for a James Bond sorta thing and using Element 3D I have to say it was fairly easy and fun!

Wonderland | A Short Form Doc on Creative Commerce

Wonderfully inspiration and down to earth documentary from Eskimo on art and the commercial world. I was pleased to see how many great artists they got to take part in this piece, it truly made it worthwhile to hear how these different creators are all dealing with the same issues.

MeanMug 'n Slim: The Mug

New episode of MeanMug 'n Slim! I tried to approach this one a little different than normal. Usually I work tirelessly to get these finished because I love seeing the end product; however, I consciously tried to take my time with this one, only working on it a little bit at a time here and there. In the end it's all in an effort to produce a higher quality cartoon, so I hope it shows. Enjoy.

The Pixel Painter

Hal Lasko, better known as Grandpa, worked as a graphic artist back when everything was done by hand. His family introduced him to the computer and Microsoft Paint long after he retired. Now, Grandpa spends ten hours a day moving pixels around his computer paintings. His work is a blend of pointillism and 8-Bit art. Meet 97-year-old Hal Lasko, The Pixel Painter.

 

Party Etiquette

Amazing little spot on "Party Etiquette" from director Kevin Dart. I love the visual style, the depth, and the way they transition from scene to scene.

Kevin Smith Presents THE DIRTIES -Official Trailer-

Definitely going to check out this new film from Kevin Smith, THE DIRTIES.

Locomotion

Awesome walk cycle reference created from the many works of Robert Milne.

Ali Graham's 99 Problems of Jay Z

Illustrator Ali Graham is doing exactly what her title implies; illustrating. This time bringing to life the 99 problems of Jay Z's life in a wonderfully humorous way. Check them all out here.

THIS IS HOW YOU DIE.

An awesomely quirky piece from Michael Mohan. Inspired by the anthology THIS IS HOW YOU DIE: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable MACHINE OF DEATH.

New MeanMug & Slim Coming Soon: The Mug

I know I haven't been posting as much lately, but I've been on vacation and also working on a new MeanMug & Slim episode.  I've been consciously trying not to rush this one to finish like I seem to do with all my others, so hopefully my and your patience pays off in the end.  I hope to have in finished by the end of this weekend. Until then, enjoy this .gif.

The Missing Scarf

Really excited for the debut of Eoin Duffy's short film The Missing Scarf. Narrated by the great George Takei, this story is sure to capture the imaginations of many. Lately I've had an infatuation with all thing's kid's entertainment. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I would love to work on something like this.

Mothership

Absolutely adore this little piece from Me & You Studio which celebrates their representation by Jelly London.  I love how the piece just seems to go on and on all while getting bigger and broader.

About Korean

A fun an interesting infographic on Korean life from the good folks over at Vice Versa Design Studios.  Really loving the clean design and the way they chose to display the numbers so they tie in to the scene.

Photo of the Moment - graffiti

graffiti, a photo by fkluger on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Mamiya M645
Sekor C 80/2.8
Fuji Provia 100F

Chrome Super Sync Sports: Launch film

NOMINT created this awesome ad for Chrome Super Sync Sports, Google’s awesome new online racing game. This animation oozes fun, and the game reminds me of Nintendo Tack & Field a bit, so it must be awesome.

College Humor - Everyone is an Asshole

A piece of animation that is all too true from CollegeHumor. The writing is spot on and I love the children's storybook style they've paired with it. The content and style are so opposite each other that it truly makes for a good time.

Green Design Festival 2010

Two years old, but I love these tiny environments created by David Kamp for the 2010 Athens Green Design Festival ad. I also love the music they paired with it, fits perfectly.

Phantom Limb

Finally, the first trailer has been released for Late Night Work Club's first series of short films - Ghost Stories. Phantom Limb comes to you straight from the mind of Alex Grigg.  I absolutely love the style, it seems a bit like a dream that's not all there.

Guitarist

Guitarist, a photo by hin yiu on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Massacre Of Mothman

Wish List

I love this animation from Griff for managing to be both down to earth and relatable while at the same time remaining hilarious and off the wall absurd. A very difficult combo to pull off.

Handymartian's Illustrated Aliens

Happened upon this brilliant project from Andy Martin called 'Handymartian's Illustrated Aliens'. You can follow the progress of his project here.  He uploads a new alien illustration every day, building up to a monthly illustration of their planet.  I love how each world he creates is unique and explores a different topic.  He's up to 6 unique planets at this point,  I love them all but I'd have to say my favorite is the Planet 4.

The Changing Shape of Cinema: The History of Aspect Ratio

An interesting and engaging video from FilmmakerIQ on the history of film and the changing aspect ratio.

Cat March

I'm going to watch this any time I need a pick me up from now on. I suggest you do the same.

Planet Cube

Recently found this AMAZING short series from David Alvarez called Planet Cube.  David's animation is spot on and I love how he manages to keep the episodes under 20 seconds.  Each one is like an awesome little bite of animation.

Gap Kids - Shine On Saturdays

Fun and colorful stop motion advertisement from Hattie Newman for Gap Kids new event, Shine On Saturdays.

Five Years

Animator Adam Plouff has created a touching animation as a gift to celebrate his 5th anniversary.  As a fellow animator I can say that animations, though time intensive to execute, make for a great gift.  It's like giving 1,000 home made cards all at once.

Mean Mug Working Screen

I'm currently working through a new Mean Mug & Slim. Here is a little sample of what's to come.

Bunhouse Logo Animation & Director Commentary

Bunhouse Films has been a long lasting project between myself and a core group of my closest friends. We've been making stupid movies together since we were in gradeschool. Well we're are all grown up with jobs and adult responsibilities, but we're still trying to keep the dream alive. Recently I've been digitizing old family tapes and I stumbled upon a video of the Bunhouse team on a "night off" from film making. In high school we didn't have a lot else to do so we decided to grab some boxing gloves and punch each other senseless. It's been about 10 years since that night and I only found it fitting to sit my friends down and have them say a few words on the subject. I also created a logo and animation for Bunhouse Films to open up all of our content. I hope to do more Bunhouse commentary in the future.

LSD ABC

A trippy take on the ol' 26. Created by Laura Sicouri & Kadavre Exquis.

SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE NINJA TURTLES

Don't know why I'm just know stumbling upon Animation Domination but their Youtube channel is chock full of hilariously irreverent cartoons.  This particular piece is a view on what the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be like if they were scientifically accurate....and it's a tad NSFW.

Rejected - Best Oscar Award Winner Movie

An oldie but a goody. This short film by Don Hertzfeld is a truly inspiring piece of 2D animation. He really pushes the boundaries of perception with a variety of unique techniques. That and the humor is spot on.

Photo of the Moment - wisteria

wisteria, a photo by _miqqi on Flickr.

BELOW - HORIZON TRAILER

Ever since I saw Indie Game: The Movie I have had a real affinity towards indie games and their developers. They are true works of art in my opinion with nothing more than an absolute passion for gaming and what gaming should be to drive them. With that said, this trailer for Below - Horizon gave me goosebumps. Everything from the music to the mile high perspective you have on this world. The adventurous open world feeling remind me of playing Legend of Zelda when I was little, while the massive open world maps remind me of the Shadow of Colossus. Needless to say I'm excited for this one.

Walk for Water

Animade is at it again with this simple spot for Mobext's Walk for Water app. The animation is on par and the concept is beautiful.

Beauty In Danger

A beautiful and hypnotic short film from MK12.

Apple - Designed By Apple - Intention

I love the simplicity around this piece. It's executed brilliantly. You don't always need a bunch of bells and whistles to create something memorable and powerful. Sometimes its those quiete moments that leave a lasting impression.

SNY - BUCK

A few new animations from Buck for Sports New York in which they explored what it means to be a true New Yorker.  Some tight, humorous writing gives each video it's own theme and flavor.

Phonix

Yet another great piece from Fraser Davidson. This one is fairly long, almost 2 minutes, yet Davidson managed to hold my attention through constant motion and a variety of locations and people.

Roll a joint in 200 frames

I was so inspired by Steffen Lyhne's work "Coffee in 200 frames" that I decided to make my own version.  There was something about confining yourself to 200 frames that I liked.  Also I enjoyed the idea of showing a process of some sort.  I feel there should be some sort of contest or website dedicated to 200 frame animations.  Maybe I'll get on that...

Bruton Stroube // Slo-mo Booth Supercut

Some extremely hilarious and awesome footage from Bruton Stroube captured by the Phantom Micro at 1500fps.  As long as people keep coming up with new things to do in slow motion I will never get sick of it.

Poop The Loop

From James D Wilson. It is what it is.

A Car A Day

A lovely little illustration project from Lindsey Balbierz.