| Archive for 2dornot2dforum.myfastforum.org A place to discuss all issues relating to traditional 2D animation in a digital world. |
| idragosani |
What projects do people have in the works?It's been quiet in here, so let's get a good topic going...What 2D animation projects are people working on? For me, being quite an amateur at this time (picking up an old teenage hobby from the Super 8 days), I am making a short animation (2-3 minutes) in the 'Fantasia' vein to go with some of my music (see link in my signature), all produced in my own home studio (including the music). The music and imagery are inspired by Tolkien's Silmarillion. |
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| Blackwing602 |
Re: What projects do people have in the works?
I'm finishing up work on a video game made with hand-drawn animation, "The Act" for a new game development company, Cecropia, Inc. . Click on the link to see a "trailer" and more information. 
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| idragosani |
Re: What projects do people have in the works?
Very nice work. |
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| EddieP |
She looks like she's going to kiss him. Does she??? 
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| admin |
Hi Guys.
Welcome to the forum. Sorry for the tardy reply but, as I explained in another post, I'm actually preparing for our first animation festival in November while at the same time trying to finish my new film, "Fire Gods". Anyway, anything with a 'Fantasia' approach is good in my book! I still think that the original is my favorite film of all time... not so much for the fact that its a well structured film (I don't believe it is, overall) but its just got some of the finest 'character' and 'effects' animation ever produced... and with no digital technology in site for another half a century or so! I saw "The Act" material at SIGGRAPH this year and was most impressed that 2D animation can be integrated into interactive game technology. It was very amusing to see the various players responding to the various play options they selected. Great fun! Anyway, I just wanted to say 'hi' and apologize for my extended absence. I will be visiting the forum on and off for a while... at least until the festival is over in mid-November... but I will certainly keep up with postings and write back when I can. Have fun! |
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| idragosani |
'Fantasia' always amazes me, the artistry and downright gorgeousness of everything has never been topped, in my opinion. It always made me sad back in my college days (early 80s) when my friends and I would go to a local theater showing 'Fantasia' (always a treat!) and there would be a bunch of kids there complaining about how boring the movie was... As I struggle with digital stuff today, I see what they did in Fantasia and think "How in the hell did they do THAT?", knowing they didn't have compositing software and scanners and paint programs. |
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| admin |
I think the boring part of Fantasia is the orchestral sequences inbetween the real action that was created by the animators. It was a weak thread upon which to hang the masterly work. But with understanding (and a 'fast forwarding' remote) I can forgive Walt for doing it that way. Remember, that film was light years ahead of anything that was done in animation at the time... still is, in many ways. Audiences at the time didn't go to it in any great numbers unfortunately and so it took time for the film to get the respect it deserved. It was always Walt's intention to have animators working on new sequences while the film was on its world release. After that, the new material would be added... replacing the old... and it would be re-released as a refreshed new film, and so on, and so on. That way he saw the film as 'organic' and ever changing. He thought it would go on for generations. Sadly, the initial audience reaction, and the Second World War, put and end to that idea. But it was amazingly innovative and I still wonder if anyone of Walt's stature will ever emerge again... I guess John Lasseter is the nearest so far.
However idragosani, I do envy you your abilitly to both program and play music as well! You could start your own Fantasia in the making. Ever thought of that? 
Best wishes, |
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| idragosani |
Oh yes... just wish I had the time and money to produce something that ambitious (have a "day job" still plus a 2 year old to keep up with!) ... I'll have to start small and stay focused, quality is always better than quantity. |
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| admin |
I guess I've always chosen to stay small with my animation. I've never had the kind of money behind me that will allow me to consider anything as big as a movie anyway. But you know, often the best of the short offerings are more revolutionary, or 'breakthrough', than the big commercially based ones. Look at Chris Landreth's Academy Award-winning "Ryan" for example. That totally raised 3D's bar in my opinion. | ||
| idragosani |
I was just watching a debate from a video feed from a company trade show (the debate is on internet technologies, but that's irrelevant). There were a couple of big company guys (BEA Logic, IBM) who said innovation doesn't come from the big corporations, they are too fixed on the bottom line and only want stuff that is guaranteed to generate revenue... the innovators, they said, are the two guys in a garage with cheap gear and their imagination. Sadly, it's the corporate predators that ultimately stifle innovation and experimentation, as we all know. 
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| admin |
I totally agree. That's why in my film "Endangered Species" I described the 2D animator's species (i.e. the one that is endangered) as 'Animaticus Drawersaurus" and their main predator as 'Corporatus Excecutus'. (And the worst of these being 'Eisnosaurus'!)
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| idragosani |
Yes, I loved the names you gave everything. I am looking forward to seeing the final version! Will it be released on DVD sometime? |
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| admin |
Yes. Once the festival is done for this year and I've finished the last few scenes of my Fire Gods project, I plan to put together a 'greatest hits' collection of my animation from over 30 year in the business. All proceeds from this will go to the Animaticus Foundation. I'm hoping it will be available for Christmas, or at least in the New Year... all being well! | ||
| idragosani |
Neat, looking forward to it. |
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| RMills |
I'm currently working on my own film as well as doing freelance timing for Universal Studios on "the Land Before Time" tv series. I work around quite a bit in the industry but enjoy working on my own film which I'm doing on a tablet pc using Mirage. | ||
| tonymation |
I actually used Mirage to create the artwork on the cover of my new book. As I suggest in the book I do see it as a major factor in the future of 2D digital animation, although I haven't had an opportunity to investigate its entire potential on a significant film project yet. Combined with a Cintiq tablet I think it has to be every modern animator's dream though!
Anyone else? Thanks for visiting the forum by the way!
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| RMills |
Yeah, tony you actually used some of my artwork in the book. the screenshot of Mirage with the eagle flying is an example I posted on the Buahaus website of how to do multiplane type of effects.
I'm doing a film that is 2K in resolution on a motion computing tablet PC. it gives me the ability to draw directly on the screen like a cyntiq yet I can take it anywhere I want. I actually did a lot of the animation while riding the train to and from work while I was working at Disney. It's great to be able to take it with me anywhere. |
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| Scuzzbopper |
My ProjectsI've been working on a 2D/Stop-Mo animated short film for several years now called 'Storytime with Nigel.'If anyone is interested, I do have a production journal here... http://madkap.diaryland.com/older.html but I've discontinued it on that site so any further updates would be on my blog, or I've been thinking about creating a new blog specifically for the film itself. |
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| Nancy Beiman |
I'm about to spend three weeks on a communal farm in Virginia to clear my mental palate. I just wanted to get away from animation and academe for a while.
Once back, I have some good leads on the materials for the presentation Tony wants me to do at the new festival--Greg Ford has promised to help get some of the Warner material (this studio also now owns the Fleischer and Lantz materials, so that takes care of Verne Harding and Lillian Astor.) I will also be creating a workshop for my Singapore lecture at the end of November and prepping for next falls' classes at RIT. Come to think of it, that WILL take most of the summer. THE OTHER EDEN has been entered in eight festivals, rejected by one so far; we'll see if it plays in any of the others. |
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| MarkBorok |
I've been working on a Flash animation inspired in equal parts by silent-era cartoons and naughty postcards from the same period. It's called "A Tart for Art's Sake". | ||
| ViejoIvan |
Mine...Im just learning animation (so may i shouldn't post here... but what t hell); i am working in some animation with photo modification (Flash CS3 is the Heaven! Import Photoshop Files...), i bought the "The Animator'r survival kit" by Richard Williams a while ago so it will dont look so shity.The name is "The Rockstar Games Question", propably 4 minutes long; i will export all the frames to make the final render with Photoshop, that will give it a -little- cartoon style. It will be on YouTube someday... yeah, is just for fun, but if it gets a lot of visits (more than 500.000 i think) maybe i create a comercial episode for sell on DVD. |
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| idragosani |
Hi, ViejoIvan, and welcome!
I think this is a great place to learn about animation... I'm only a hobbyist animator (I still have a "day job") and have found everyone on here to be very helpful when answering questions. Check out the production blog thread also... those sites give good insights into some ongoing animated productions, both commercial and non-commercial. I have abandoned (or put on the backburner) the project I mentioned at the start of this thread and am working on some other projects instead, as detailed in my own blog at http://electricminstrel.blogspot.com (I talk about music production a lot also). I'd be interested in hearing more production details on your project. |
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