Pixar's Intro Parody

I don't really know exactly who made this but I have to say it made me laugh so loud that I woke up my neighbors for sure. Take a look at it here

Alma - An awarded Animation Short

About a month ago here in Bradford we had the annual Animation Festival, where I first saw "Alma".We fairly gave it the Grand Prix Award. I still consider it as one of my favorite animation shorts.

More Info: almashortfilm.com

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Shrek: The Final Chapter 2010

SHREK is back.

MIKE MYERS, CAMERON DIAZ, EDDIE MURPHY and ANTONIO BANDERAS have returned to lend their voices to the latest, and last, instalment of the hit animation franchise.

Read more: @ the sun

DC Universe - Mass Animation - Animation Contest

This December DC Universe is making an Animation Contest giving us already rigged models, animatic, sound and most important the software!! (Maya) Have some free time? Choose the scene you like the most from their list and download the files to start animating.

Here is the link for the trailer:
www.massanimation.com

And here you can find everything you need for the contest:
DC Universe Animation Contest @ Facebook

Enjoy Animation Time!

Rosebleed- A very promising Band

Rosebleed is a 5 piece alternative experimental rock band from Athens, Greece with male vocals. The members of the band came together in 2004. Rosebleed believe that music has to evolve into something better and new as the years go by, so thats what they're trying to do by experimentation and by not imprisoning their creativity in one specific genre of music. The band has a wide range of influences from classic bands like the cure and nick cave and the bad seeds to modern rock bands like placebo and many more. Enjoy the music!!!


Rosebleed - Until Next Time on Vimeo.

Nando Costa - His great online portfolio

This is Nando Costa, a graphic artist focused in illustration and animation living in Portland. Check out his site for his great illustrations and animations!!

 

www.nandocosta.com 

Happiness Is Overrated (UK Video) - The Airborne Toxic Event

French Roast

A beautiful short animated film I've seen at Bradford's Animation Festival which also won the "Best Professional film" award. Go check it out at www.frenchroast.fr

Moby - Pale Horses

City Harvest: Making Of

I just found out that the hole video was filmed on iPhone (!) using attached led tracking system!!! Check out the following topic at Its art Forum.

"Lost Teddy Bear" Ford Everest Animated Commercial

For the launch of the new Ford model Everest they created a TV commercial which tries to show that the new SUV is suitable for adventure and nature loving people. The commercial features a family who goes for a walk in the nature. The man looses his key from the Ford Everest they came with. The key pendant, a cute bear, struggles through the forest to return to the car. ( funny commercials world )




Credits:
Agency: JWT
Creative Director: Paul Strappini
Art Director: Neil Lindsay
Copywriter: Aadil Dhalech
Producer: Cathy Collins
Production: Luma
Animation Director: Paul Meyer
Team Leader and VFX: Erik Kruger
Lighting and animation: Tim Morer
Modelling and animation: Sue Sauer
VFX and tracking: George Bergh
Tracking: Ryan Crocker
Animation, Lighting: Martin Sen
Animation: Sam Cutler
Matte Painting: Brendan Noeth
Compositng/Flame: Jean du Plessis
Producer: Nikki Shackleford
Director: Greg Rom
Producer: Julia Schnurr 

"A Happy Holiday" animated commercial for the UPS Store

Making of "Meet Meline" : The Creation of a 3D Animated Short Film

This is a 12-minutes featurette with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, talks about the story, the characters and the environments, shot breakdowns and much more : the Art of making a short film!

The official trailer of "Meet Meline" : vimeo.com/3872070
More information on the official website : meetmeline.com
  

MEET MELINE : THE MAKING OF (Sebastien Laban and Virginie Goyons) from Sebastien LABAN on Vimeo.

"HEY" - Awarded Animated Music Video by Eatliz

One of the Best Animated Music Videos I have seen lately which also recently won the "Best Music Animation Video" award at Bradford's Animation Festival..

Eatliz - Hey

'Hey' Music Video by Eatliz (HD) from Studio Aiko on Vimeo.

"Pigeon: Impossible"

"Pigeon Impossible is the tale of Walter, a rookie secret agent faced with a problem seldom covered in basic training: what to do when a curious pigeon gets trapped inside your multi-million dollar, government-issued nuclear briefcase.

The film took nearly 5 years to complete and is the first attempt at animation by writer/director Lucas Martell: "When the project started, it was mostly an excuse to learn 3D animation, but by the end of the project I had spent so much time reworking and polishing the story that I just wanted people to laugh." 

 

The end-result is a hilarious 6-minute romp through the streets of Washington D.C. as our hero fights to save himself, and the world from the chaos reigned down by a hungry pigeon. Breathtaking visuals and a sweeping soundtrack showcase the work of nearly one-hundred talented artists and musicians, and the film stands as a testament to what can be accomplished by a team of dedicated volunteers working for the love of their craft."

 

 More Info!! ; )

 

ps to all Animators: You WANT to check their blog and their video podcasts!! It's really Amazing!!

An Animated Chat With 'Up' Director Pete Docter

"The animated 3-D movie Up — directed and co-written by Pixar veteran Pete Docter — became the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. An adventure story featuring a grouchy old man, a chubby, dauntless scout, a 13-foot flightless bird and a house borne aloft by balloons, it was a buoyant summer hit for Pixar, earning ecstatic reviews and taking in more than half a billion dollars at the global box office. It's out now on DVD and Blu-ray. "
 Read More / Listen to the story!

 Script Docter: Writer-director Pete Docter co-wrote Pixar's summer hit Up and earned a story credit on 2008's enormously successful Wall-E.

"Mariza" By Constantine Krystallis

A very special Animation with great potential for Nickelodeon Animation Festival 2009 representing Hellas (Greece) is the one following, made by Constantine Krystallis.




Vote for it!!
*
Movie's Page
*
Director's page

"The Passenger" by Chris Jones

Recentrly I found that 7 minute short Animated film which is really great! Later I read that it took 6 years so Chris (the creator) can finally complete the short!! He says:

"Six years in the making and completed in 2006, The Passenger was written, designed, modelled, textured, illuminated, animated, composed, recorded, mixed, edited, produced and directed by Chris Jones."

More info: www.chrisj.com.au

Heart by Laurent Clermont

A sweet little piece from Laurent Clermont

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

I suppose Henry would be proud to see that! Great Job!

Tim Burton: A retrospective

A collection of movie stills, drawings and other artwork produced by the famed director is on display at the New York Museum of Modern Art.

A cinematic artist

Artist, illustrator, photographer, writer and director Tim Burton appears at New York's Museum of Modern Art on November 17 to help launch his career retrospective featuring drawings, paintings, puppets and films.

A jaw-dropping entrance

The show of Burton's works, which runs at MoMA until April 26, shows artwork generated during the conception and production of the director's films, pieces from unrealized projects, student art, his early non-professional films and work for non-film endeavors.

 

A close-knit group

Joining Burton at the museum was his girlfriend, actress Helena Bonham Carter, second from left, frequent collaborator Johnny Depp, left, and actor Danny DeVito, right.

A wide-eyed view

These figures, including Stain Boy, center background, and Robot Boy, right, are part of Tim Burton exhibit's at the Museum of Modern Art.

Up in arms

This sculpture, which looks like many of the dark, menacing characters in Burton's films, is one of the more than 700 works of art on display.

Like minds

Tim Burton on set with actor Johnny Depp, who frequently works with Burton, during the filiming of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" in 2007. The movie is about a man unjustly sent to prison by a lecherous judge who vows revenge.

Take that!

Johnny Depp starred as the title character in Burton's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." The director often has taken classic tales and put his own dark spin on them.

Romance on the job

Bonham Carter and Burton discuss a scene on the set of "Sweeney Todd." The British actress has been in several Burton films, starting with "Planet of the Apes." They have been a couple since working on the 2001 film and now have two children together.

Inspiration for exhibit

It was while watching Burton's "Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory" (2005) that MoMA assistant curator

Ron Magliozzi dreamed up the exhibit.

A director and his 'Bride'

 Tim Burton on the set of the movie "Corpse Bride," which he co-directed in 2005.

 

An unlikely match

"Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride," an animated movie is set in a

19th-century European village, tells the story of young Victor,

who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious

Corpse Bride, while his real bride, Victoria, waits bereft in the land of the living.

Not a happy face

This shows an image from "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" storyboard from 1993.

A 'Christmas' affair

This movie still from "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993) shows Sally and Jack. The movie is about Jack Skellington, aka the Pumpkin King, who is bored with his job and feels that life in Halloweenland lacks meaning. He stumbles upon Christmastown and promptly decides to make the Yuletide his own.

An unwelcome guest

Michael Keaton stars in "Beetlejuice," directed by Tim Burton in 1988. The movie is about a dead couple who attempt to scare a modern family out of their house with the help of a "bio-exorcist."

It all started on paper

This 1990 sketch of the character Edward Scissorhands is one of the many artworks on display.

Feeling blue

This sketch comes from Burton's 1997 children's poetry book "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories." Some of the characters in this book would later appear in a Flash series called "The World of Stain Boy."

Going at it

Another sketch from 1982–1984 that would inspire stories for Burton's children's book, "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories."

A strange land

This 1982 sketch would inspire "Frankenweenie," a live-action film Burton released in 1984.

 The big staredown

"The World of Stainboy," written and directed by Burton, was released in 2000. He drew this image with pen and ink, watercolor wash and colored pencil.

 Let's call this one "Six"

This piece, created with pen and ink, marker, and watercolor wash on paper, was produced in 1982.

Musical influence

The artist-director shows his musical taste in this drawing called "Untitled (Ramone)."

Shades of 'Beetlejuice'

Burton created this pen-and-ink collage, called Untitled (Trick or Treat), in 1980.

wanna see more?

Taken from msnbc.msn.com

Character Designing using a Tablet

Children In Need music animated video

Every year, the BBC airs a Children In Need charity fundraiser. This year they produced a stop motion music video which, especially for cartoon buffs in the UK, is a pretty big deal. It collects around 120 characters (approximately) from British children’s shows from the last 30 (or more) years. It features classics like Paddington Bear, the Wombles, Roobarb and Custard, Peppa Pig, Bagpuss and Muffin the Mule, along with newer characters like Fifi and the Flowertots, Pingu, Bob the Builder, Postman Pat and many more (including a few cameo appearances from US superstars Scooby-Doo and Spongebob Squarepants).

It took many different companies (many of them rivals) coming together to make this piece. Chapman Entertainment produced and Tim Harper directed.

Adrenaline Lemmings CGI

Adrenaline Lemmings CGI test from Alex Orrelle on Vimeo.
Animation test for series of original shorts created by JP Vine with Alex Orrelle at Crew 972.

A look at Sesame Street’s first CGI Muppets

"I love this and hate it at the same time.

As a 3D artist, I think it’s pretty sweet.

But as a kid who grew up with Sesame Street and the muppets, and as a storyteller-consumer in general, I kind of fucking hate it. It has none of the heft, floppiness, or lo-fi lovabality that has always been a huge part of the Jim Henson experience.

No matter how good cloth solvers, hair simulation, fur rendering and v-ray might get, it will never, ever, ever have that je ne ses quois that made everything Muppet so warm and transporting. I feel like kids today are missing out if this is where they’re getting their dose of Vitamin M. I hope to God everything has been archived.

High five to the technical directors for this one. A true feat.

Shame on everyone else."
ericalba

Bradfod Animation Festival 2009 *starts tomorrow

I am really so excited about the BAF (Bradford's Animation Festival) that's starting tomorrow!! I also just got my full pass from my Uni (YAY!!)

So I was looking at the diary page to see the timetable and  after all the cool events I found that as an opening film for Baf's festival they have Mary and Max!!!

 The other thing that's really amazing (even though we all knew it would happen) is that the passes for BAF are all SOLD OUT!! Even so if you don't have a pass for the festival you can still get a ticket for some events. More information and for a schedule visit BAF's web page

One Of These Mornings (video clip for Moby's song)

*found on utube

DreamWorks's New Animation: How to Train Your Dragon

Wow.. I just saw the trailer from DreamWorks's new animation movie and I thing it is gonna make a difference from their previous works.. Take a look HeRe!!

New Trailer for Despicable Me

Hey there.. I've been really busy these days with a model in maya which i will talk further and give pics in another post. Anyway I just saw The new Trailer for Despicable me from apple.
Here you can watch it. TrAiLer

A few words about: Mary and Max (2009 Movie)

Sometimes after i watch an Animation movie for the first time i feel happy, some other times i feel excited. Tonight it was the first time i felt thrilled, depressed and satisfied at the same time.
It all began when i got a mail from a friend about a movie called "Mary and Max" that won awards at Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. After I've seen it tonight i strongly advise you to spare some free time for it.

Watch the Trailer!


Plot:
"A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York"

Plot translate in Greek:
"Η ιστορία μιας φιλίας δι`αλληλογραφίας μεταξύ δύο εντελώς διαφορετικών ανθρώπων, της 8χρονης μοναχικής Mary Dinkle που ζει στη Μελβούρνη και του 44χρονου Max Horovitz, ενός Εβραίου που πάσχει από το σύνδρομο Asperger (μιας ήπιας παραλλαγής αυτισμού) και ζει στη Νέα Υόρκη"

Extra Information 

Disney Nature Proudly Presents

Disneys Nature  trailer about Oceans

(also check: DisneyNature for Earth Documentary)

Despicable Me

I haven't heard of Illumination Entertainment before but this trailer looks so cool that I can't wait to see the movie..

Enjoy the Trailer!

Project: Bone in 3D

Last night I started sketching a new cartoon caracter called "Bone" (originaly made by Jeff Smith) hoping to get it to Maya as good as possible and here i have my first results:

*at this point I have to admit that I am not that good at hand drawings

Toy Story 3 New Trailer Just Came Out!!

YaY!!! Apple just releashed a new trailer for Toy story!!!
Watch the new Trailer!

Project: Coffe table

Last night I started a project from tutsplus in Maya and now after I am done modeling I've got my first image results. From now on I am going to change a little bit the lighting, the texturing and rendering.



UPDATE



UPDATE



Changes:
i) Reposition my camera
ii) Setting off Global illumination (mostly for rendering speed)
iii) Change some of my attribute editor's settings for the lights and the carpet



Changes:
i) (Maybe) Sofa's color
ii) Camera settings
iii) Lighting settings
iv) Little bit of photoshop :P

Rous- Εξαιρέσεις (exceptions) Jumping Fish Octombers Song

I had a lot of time to listen to a song and like it from the very first moment without Media's "help". No more introduction, I give you a greek song called "Εξαιρέσεις" (Exceptions) By Rous.

Download it!!

Extra Information!