There are obvious benefits to attending an animation school, but for those who are unable to do so, the wealth of how-to material about creating animation continues to grow on-line. Some noteworthy examples:

Bill Wray posted a beat board he drew from an episode of The Mighty B! that shows the planning involved in producing a TV cartoon.

And below, a series of instructional videos that Scott Wills created to guide the Korean background painters working on Samurai Jack.

More videos by Scott Wills after the jump.

Haha I look like that creepy girl from The Ring

It’s a week late. But  Beautifique Homemade is finally up.

I actually wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to make this site live or not yet because there’s still a whole lot of stuff to do. So I’m considering this the beta version until I figure everything out. I just didn’t want to prolong it from being live anymore as I did set up a deadline for this. It’s still pretty empty, but thankfully I’ve managed to finish setting up most of the hard stuff….! Stay tuned for more updates! Until then…

Happy Hump Day!

Network’s First-Ever Original CGI Movie Airs Wednesday, November 24 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT)

Cartoon Network’s first-ever CGI original movie event, Firebreather, premieres on Wednesday, November 24 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT). Directed by Peter Chung (Aeon Flux) and based on the comic book series by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn, Firebreather delivers fierce action in the clash of two worlds where monsters roam the Earth and past secrets are exposed. At the center of it all, a teenage boy named Duncan struggles to find his place as half-Kaiju and half-human.

It’s not easy being a teen like Duncan. His mom wants him to pay more attention to his homework, while his dad – a 120-foot, fire-breathing Kaiju from the depths of the earth – wants him to follow in his monstrous footsteps. Duncan faces trials by fire from two worlds — in one, overcoming his father’s challenges to prepare for the Kaiju throne; in the other, coping with life in a new high school. Ultimately, Firebreather is a story of a boy choosing between two different paths put before him by his parents. Through it all, only Duncan can determine his own future.

Firebreather is written by Jim Krieg (Ben 10: Alien Swarm) and executive produced by Julia Pistor (Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events).

The Firebreather voice cast includes:
· Jesse Head as Duncan
· Dana Delany as Margaret
· Kevin Michael Richardson as Belloc
· Reed Diamond as Barnes
· Amy Davidson as Jenna
· Tia Texada as Isabel
· Dante Basco as Kenny
· Josh Keaton as Troy

Cartoon Network (CartoonNetwork.com), currently seen in more than 97 million U.S. homes and 166 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s ad-supported cable service now available in HD offering the best in original, acquired and classic entertainment for youth and families. Nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (ET, PT), Cartoon Network shares its channel space with Adult Swim, a late-night destination showcasing original and acquired animated and live-action series for young adults 18-34.

Contributed by Melissa Kojima

Do you have a favorite artist or illustrator who you follow and who continually feeds you inspiration? Olaf Hajek is that illustrator for me. If his art were a meal, it would be a lavished Christmas feast with no expense spared. I visit his website every few months and he always has dish after delicious dish of new work posted. This time, I found that he has an African art show in Capetown, South Africa which inspired the below series of paintings. They are beautiful and some are sad. I love that he can evoke that kind of emotion. Enjoy.

8.5″ x 11″ with a white 1″ border around the image.

Comes unmatted and unframed.

Signed and dated by the artist

Only $15

Not sure when Lindsey going to be posting the NaNotoons that Errol and I co-wrote, but I'm going to start posting comics from past NaNoWriMo events:

CHRISTMAS IS HERE has received its 3rd starred review! Can't quiet believe it...Thank you Publishers Weekly!

CHRISTMAS IS HERE

Adapted from the King James Bible and illustrated by Lauren Castillo (SSBFYR;9781442408227)

Snowflakes fall on a young family watching a live nativity scene in their city neighborhood. As the boy peers into the manger, the story shifts to an ancient field underneath gentle moonglow and a brilliant star's guiding light on the holy night observed by shepherds. By literally bookending the traditional account of Jesus' birth (with text from the King James Bible) with cheery modern imagery, sans commercial trappings, Castillo underscores the connection between past and present. Sketched in thick, black line, her kind-looking figures, human and animal, convey a wealth of emotion. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)

I thought I would mention that I will be speaking at the SCBWI Illustrators Day this November 13th here in Los Angeles, CA. You can find out more about it here at this link. Speakers include myself, award winnign illustrator/author Brian Floca, Editor Abigail Samoun from Tricycle Press, agent Jen Rofe from Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and Sr. Creative Director Rich Deas from MacMillan Children's Publishing.

I'll be talking about several topics which include....

How I get your artwork to step it up a notch

Promoting your books

The similarities and differences in the process of making picture books and graphic novels

How I got started in the business and what I've learned that can help shape your future? I guess?

I'll be honest with you, I haven't prepared my speech yet but I promise you that I'll bring the fun and excitment that only one can expect from seeing at an SCBWI Event....

I'm currently busy with man different projects right now which is why I've been so aloof with working on the presentation. I'm working on several projects and trying out new styles for each one so that each book will seem fresh and different from the others and people don't say, "Oh, gosh, there's ANOTHER book by Santat. That silly GUY!.... Lets go get corn dogs!"(Then the kids dart off to the mall food court)

Here are just a few things I'm currently working on....

Firemen...(and woman)

A dog in charge....

and finishing up my graphic novel....

Yeah... busy busy.

In the era of the slick, white, one-dimensional portfolio site, one quickly glazes over after clicking through multiple nearly identical sites. The flip side being that tedious, overly constructed sites become more frustrating and conceptual than actually useful for seeing a designer’s portfolio.

Kelli Anderson has a great site on her hands. It’s unique, fun and easy to use, and it doesn’t get fussy. Her work is exceptional as well. I noticed a nice balance of smart thinking and great hand skills. Kelli has a letterpress in her apartment, so much of her work has a very hands-on, tactile, cared-for feel.

Via Swissmiss.

——————–

Also worth viewing:
Studio MPLS
Shaun Lind
Ptarmak

Not signed up for the Grain Edit RSS Feed yet? Give it a try. Its free and yummy.

——————–

Share This

one of the postcards i made to be sold on an exhibition to raise money for the tsunami and volcano eruption victims.

I have no idea what I’ll use this for. This is how it goes when I’m left with a pencil and my moleskine. It doesn’t always make sense. It doesn’t always have to. Kind of how salted caramel lattes might sound gross on paper but in real life… yum. I tentatively titled this Pants Across America. Maybe I’ll start a movement.

When I sketch, I am all over the place. I mean geographically, not conceptually. Sometimes I have a sketchbook sitting in front of me, but I’ll reach for a ballpoint pen and my spiral notebook. Even though I finish everything digitally, I love the feel of ink when the ideas are flowing.

Roughity-rough rough.

The final illustration.

I probably reach for the spirals because I spent more time in school decorating my textbooks than listening in class. I file it under “Early Art Training.”

Struggling Museum Now Allowing Patrons To Touch Paintings | The Onion:

“You can’t grasp the brilliance of a great painting just by looking at it,” said Phil Brehm, 32, who acknowledged that he hadn’t set foot inside a museum since a mandatory field trip in high school. “To truly appreciate fine art, you need to be able to run your fingers over its surface and explore its range of textures.”

“Or just rub your face all over it, like I do,” Brehm added.

Today’s Grain Edit interview series takes us to Brooklyn, New York, home to illustrator Julia Rothman. I remember first being introduced to Julia’s work through her repeat pattern tutorial on Design*Sponge. The process blew me away, and caused me to fall in love with the multitudes of energetic inventive patterns and fresh illustrations she creates.

In this interview, Julia discusses being a native New Yorker, the influence of Sweet Pickles books (YES!), and the process behind the creation of her latest book, The Exquisite Book. She also reveals something that most people don’t know about her…find out more after the jump!

You’re a native New Yorker, originally from City Island. What are some of your favorite things about living and working in New York? Would you ever consider relocating?
I always feel strange about the fact that I haven’t really lived anywhere else besides New York City (except for college in RI). I feel like maybe I haven’t experienced enough. But every time I visit anywhere else, I’m always happy to come home at the end of the trip. All of my family lives here and so many of my college friends moved here after graduating. I think that’s probably the biggest reason I’ve stayed. Also, I love the diversity and that there’s always something to do — although I don’t take advantage of that nearly as much as I should. The only thing I wish I had more of living here is space. When I visit friends who live in other places who own houses and have studios, I get pretty jealous.

How and when did you first become interested in art and illustration?
I always liked to draw since I as far back as I can remember. I used to win a lot of drawing contests in elementary school. It was never the thing I was going to do with my life, but it was always something I was good at. In high school, I didn’t take art class until senior year because of my schedule. I only applied to one art school, RISD, after someone suggested it to me. When I got in, I took it more seriously and decided that was what I wanted.

You graduated from RISD. What was your experience like there? Do you have any advice for recent graduates looking to pursue a career in illustration?
RISD was pretty amazing. I always look back at those years as some of the best I’ve ever had. It was hard work, but the kind of work I love doing. Everyone there was so talented, and just being among all the creative minds was so inspiring. The illustration department at RISD, when I went, was the department a lot of people went into not knowing what else to do. Students looking to study comics, and character design and video game art all wound up with the students who were interested in being editorial or children’s book illustrators. Sometimes the broad interests in the classroom got frustrating, other times it helped me understand the

Auf Des Hechtes Geheiss (by Max Fiedler)

Max Fiedler created this wordless comic based on a Russian fairy tale. Click through to read the whole thing.

I've been expanding my portfolio and my skills lately. Here's another anthropomorphic animal image in the new style. It is a pencil drawing, scanned, digitally colored in Photoshop. This is just the bottom portion of the image; I'm still fooling around with the top. I love doing these though still insecure about where exactly I am going. Tim is building a new portfolio site for me - just a splash page so far but I love it: www.karenleeillustration.com