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In a first-of-its-kind venture, a well known American studio is partnering with a Mexican studio directly across the U.S./Mexico border.

The post Film Roman and Boxel Studios Launch Unique Cross-Border American-Mexican Studio appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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A contemporary animated interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights."

The post ‘Paradise’ by Studio Smack appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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One of my favorite publishing houses, Flying Eye, recently sent me a fabulous graphic novel for younger readers that I positively flipped over. Happily, the creator of ARTHUR AND THE GOLDEN ROPE, Joe Todd-Stanton is here today to tell us more about it.

e: What is your creative process, can you walk us through it?
Joe: The main thing I try and do is keep a sketchbook on me and draw whenever I get the chance. Living in London this means 99% of my sketches are done on buses and tubes, which I think are a great place for inspiration. My ideas pretty much always come out of these doodles and it's really rare for me to ever get an idea for a story or single illustration fully formed in my head. Once I have done a drawing that I like I will try and come up with an extra element or see if I can fit it into a bigger narrative. I will then obsessively draw it over and over again until I have developed it into something I want to take to final or never want to look at again. This means doing a final sketch and then scanning that in and doing the final line and colour work using my tablet. e: What is your medium?
Joe: Very simple. Just a pencil, paper and Photoshop. I would love to branch out into other mediums but I am very non committal. I think these days Photoshop gives you the amazing ability to experiment with pretty much everything. e: Your palette seems so strongly red and green - is that a conscious decision?
Joe: They are both colours I love a lot. Especially Turquoise, which is a colour I have to actively stop myself from using to much. One reason is probably that books like Where the Wild Thing's Are, which uses a similar dark colour scheme, had a massive influence on me. Also, up until my last year of University I had always worked in Black and White, so since then I think I have always felt more comfortable with a limited colour pallet. e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call "Heart Art” - the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again? I’m looking for your definition of “Heart Art.”
Joe: That's a very hard question to answer! I think it's to what extent a book can inspire a kids imagination. When I was young, any book that gave me sense of a world beyond the pages would instantly have me hooked. Especially if that book gave me a sense of magic whilst still being somehow grounded in the real world so some part of me could feel like it was possible. e: Is there a unique or funny story behind the creation of this story?
Joe: Well, it's not very funny but it did come out of an idea that was completely different. Originally, I wanted to make a book that documented different kinds of mythical creatures with a narrator that kept souvenirs from each discovery. It would have been much more information based and I wanted to do analytical cross sections of the creatures and their environments. This narrator ended up becoming professor Brownstone and then the rest of the story morphed around his character. I would still love to come back to the original idea one day.

e: What was your path to publication?
Joe: Three years ago when I finished university we had our final show at the Coningsby Gallery in London. Someone from Nobrow must have seen my work because the next day they contacted me asking if I had any ideas for a project. Then with the incredible help and patience of Sam and Harriet from Flying Eye it took nearly two years of on and off developing and changing my original idea to come up with a solid narrative.

e: What is your favorite or most challenging part of being a creator?
Joe: I think that like pretty much every artist I am my own worst critic so making anything that I am kind of happy with is always great. I also love coming up with an idea and then trying to push it as far is it can go, whether that is just one character's individual expression or the detail in a massive image. (Joe's studio...) e: Is there something in particular about this story you hope readers will take away with them, perhaps something that isn’t immediately obvious?
Joe: I put a lot of emphasis on books in the story because they are a great way of having adventures in the comfort of your home. I think that amazing ability of being able to get lost in a book is something we shouldn't forget about passing on to the next generation. Although, I guess I would say that being an author!

e: What are you working on next or what would be your dream project?
Joe: I am currently just about to finish the art work on my second children's book, which is about a girl called Erin from a fishing town that discovers a secret. The story is based on an illustration I did back in university so it will be so amazing for me when I finally get to see it in print. In terms of dream jobs I would absolutely love to illustrate Peter Pan as it has always been my favourite story. So if any publishers are reading this!!

e: Thanks Joe! And I hope you'll come back to share Erin with us when she's ready for the world.

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I came across this colourful stationery range by Kikki K in London department store Fenwicks. Kikki K was founded in Melbourne in 2001 Kristina Karlsson and since then it has gained a reputation for beautiful Scandinavian designs inspired by Kristina's native Sweden. This particular range is called 'Cute' and features sweet little motifs such as animals and fruit in lovely pastel and bright

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Ten animated shorts will continue in the voting process as they vye for an Oscar nomination.

The post Academy Announces Shortlist of 10 Animated Shorts appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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So many great contenders this year. The first step to judging them is understanding how diverse the slate of films is in 2016.

The post 2017 Animated Feature Oscar Contenders: The Most Diverse Group of Films Ever appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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New videos explore the water and volcano effects simulations in 'Moana'.

The post The Effects Tech Behind ‘Moana’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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Fun stuff... The Undies Case Cover Awards were created to honor the art of the cover beneath a book's dust jacket. Charles Darwin's Around-the-World Adventure is on the shortlist in the category of "Best Sneak Peek at the Setting!"

Many thanks to Carter Higgens and Travis Jonker-– the two awesome librarians who dreamed up this idea!

The ballots are open until Monday, November 28th at 5:00pm EST, and you can vote for your favorites here.

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Anna Kulachëk crafts vibrant posters for schools, festivals, and entertainment venues throughout Russia and the Czech Republic. Her compositions range from sparse and minimal, to active arrangements brimming with large typography, geometric accents, and bold grids. Her use of saturated colors and emphasized modularity make her pieces ingeniously alluring.

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Also worth viewing:

Michael Spitz
Marta Gawin
Lamm & Kirch

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Thanks to this week's Sponsor // Foto Sushi

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Rather than rush around to see all the touristy things in Edinburgh at one time, Stan and I have been waiting for friends to come in town to see the main attractions. That way, we get to see them for the first time too, and with friends. So far, it's worked out great. And our friends are so varied and interesting, we have yet to duplicate anything!
     For example, recently Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman came to visit from New York. It was a whirlwind trip for them with book signings in Glasgow and London, finally landing with Terri Windling in Chagford (Devon) for some quiet writing time. We were lucky enough to have them in Edinburgh for a few days.
     As a thank you for lodging, they treated us to dinner at The Witchery. I had been eager to try this place and it's no wonder. It's right on the Royal Mile, just near the castle. In fact, our friend Dave B Mac was playing his slap guitar just up the street when I arrived. He jumped up to give me a hug. (I think he was just really cold!) We often go see him play at venues, and the Royal Mile is one of his regular spots during the day.

     Back to The Witchery... The interior exceeds expectations. Here's the dining room and us in it:
     Heck, even the ceiling was stunning!     Ellen and Delia chose to see The Palace of Holyrood House as their big thing. This is where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland. Luckily, she wasn't in, so it was open to the public for tours.You're not allowed to take pictures inside, so you'll have to settle for these exterior shots. But I think this will give you an idea of the grandeur.
The best thing about visiting the palace was seeing it with two history buffs who really know their subjects! We hung out in the portrait rooms (a.k.a. the Throne Room) while Ellen and Delia relayed fantastic stories about the people I was looking at and the scandals around them - awesome!
     It was dark when we left (4:00pm) and we'd been walking/standing all day. Ellen found us a lovely little tea shop where we could unwind.     She loves catching candid shots of folks when they're not paying attention. Here are me and Delia sporting all our glorious grey locks.Although sometimes she gets caught, like here at The Ox for dinner.     Truly, we have been so fortunate to have such wonderful friends come to visit us. We feel spoiled and grateful and so happy to share our new adventure with those we love!

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These super cute illustrations are all the work of designer Karen Thaco. Karen is originally from Texas, but has lived in Mexico since childhood. Now curiosity has brought her back in Texas she is working as a freelance designer with a passion for graphics and children's design. Karen loves designing patterns, cards, paper, postcards, educational materials and gifts. She is always ready to work

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via ILLUSTRATION ART http://ift.tt/2g6JDlj

In 1948, Ben Shahn illustrated an article for Harpers Magazine about the murder trial of James Hickman.

Hickman worked the night shift in a Chicago steel mill to support his wife and seven children.  The family lived in a tiny attic in a tenement slum, in one of the few neighborhoods where African Americans were permitted to live under Chicago's racially restrictive zoning rules.  Hickman tried to move out of his apartment but his landlord refused to return Hickman's security deposit.  The landlord  told tenants that if they raised problems, he knew "a man" who would come burn them out of their homes.

On the night of January 16, 1947, Hickman was working at the mill when his apartment caught fire.  The apartment was unsafe, with no exits, fire escapes or extinguishers.  His children were trapped inside.  When he returned the next morning his neighbor said, "Mr. Hickman, I hate to tell you this, four of your children is burnt to death."  They found the body of Hickman's 14 year old son under the bed, futilely trying to shield three of his younger siblings from the flames.


The Chicago police made no serious effort to investigate the landlord.  As the months went by, the anguished Hickman, devoutly religious, obsessed more and more about the babies that he'd lost, and the lack of justice in the world.  He said, "some day they would have married, someday they would have been fathers and mothers of children...."



Unfortunately, some officials-- already suspicious of Shahn's support for racial equality-- became concerned that the red beast might symbolize communism.  Henry McBride, writing for the New York Sun,  argued that Shahn should be "deported" for painting a pro-communist painting.

Shahn was indeed a socially conscious artist; he had previously participated in the WPA, where he worked with other artists who were interested in creating an American art that reflected the lives of ordinary people.  The following image, by another WPA artist, gives us insight into crowded urban life in the '30s for people of that class.



One critic noted that once the social injustice of the Great Depression and the existential threat of World War II had subsided,  former WPA artists became less interested in a representational, humanistic style:

Artists had to apply for WPA positions.  They were paid between $23 and $35 a month to produce a set amount of work every week.  "There were a lot of women participants... and it was very overtly welcoming to African-Americans....."  Perhaps because there was so much collaboration-- or because the artists wanted to keep their patron, the WPA, happy-- most of the prints remained representational and accessible.... "very focused on the present and engagement with the human experience.... The WPA officially disbanded in 1942, although artists continued to work in that style through Word War II.  But after the war, notions of art changed.  "The project developed a national identity that pulls away from the personal....After the war, artists reacted against it with abstract expressionism....It was a natural pendulum swing, I think, a reaction to the ways the WPA didn't speak to individual artists."        

Since the post war era, much of fine art has been self-absorbed and self-referential.  But it appears that there may be many opportunities for artists to play a socially conscious role in the years ahead.  It will be interesting to see how the art community responds.
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PS-- In 1948 the Supreme Court finally ruled that the racially restrictive covenants which had kept Hickman and other African-Americans confined to a narrow stretch of dilapidated, rat infested apartments were unconstitutional.  Here's hoping that the new appointments to the Court don't have a change of heart.

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We speak to three of the artists who presented at this year's event in Mexico: Melissa Ballesteros, Raven Bazan, and Ana Ramirez.

The post Pixelatl Festival 2016 Video Wrap-Up appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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 Katie boasted an impressive pedigree among mythological beasts; her father was a Minotaur, her mother a Satyr. Katie, unfortunately, hit the recessive gene lottery in the pairing.

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Jim Hillin, the cg supervisor of "Beauty and the Beast," reveals the making-of an iconic moment in Disney animation history.

The post 25 Years Ago: The CG Secrets of the Ballroom Sequence in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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The Print & Pattern Designers for Hire Directory has a new artist to introduce this week. Hollie Holden is predominantly a childrenswear designer, having previously worked at JoJo Maman Bebe as Senior Designer for 3 years and as a childrens nightwear & underwear print designer for a UK based supplier for a number of years prior to that. Hollie now lives in Vancouver, Canada working as a

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If you are looking for cute gift ideas then here are some ideas from UK retailer Accessorize. I had a browse around the store and website last week and picked out various designs on stationery, bags, and clothing.... Read the rest of this post

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