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Former Pixar artist Neth Nom explains why he used the game engine Unity to render his new short film.

The post The Animated Short ‘Sonder’ Chose An Unconventional Rendering Solution: Unity appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The hi-tech startup founded by top Dreamworks Animation employees is seeking filmmakers and animators to beta test its online platform.

The post Sign Up To Be A Beta Tester of Nimble Collective’s Revolutionary Cloud Animation Platform appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Virtual animation studio platform Artella reveals details about its recent shot, 'Duel,' debuting exclusively on Cartoon Brew.

The post 46 Artists From 16 Countries Made ‘Duel’ Using Artella’s Online Platform [Exclusive] appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Oculus has announced that its vr drawing tool Quill will be made available in beta next month.

The post Oculus’ VR Drawing Tool Quill Allows Artists To Create Immersive Illustrated Worlds appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Web-based collaboration on storyboards and animatics takes a leap forward with the new app, Shottio.

The post Collaborating On Storyboards Just Got Easier With The New Web-Based App Shottio appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Animation software Moho has added support for Microsoft's Surface Studio and Surface Dial.

The post Moho Adds Features Directly For Microsoft’s Surface Studio and Surface Dial appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Nintendo 3DS has a surprisingly powerful and cheap animation tool, thanks to "Waking Life" animation director Bob Sabiston.

The post Portable Animation Tool Inchworm Just Got Updated for the Nintendo 3DS appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Microsoft is edging into Apple and Wacom's territory with its all-in-one touchscreen desktop Surface Studio.

The post Microsoft’s Gorgeous Surface Studio Might Be A Cintiq Killer appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

An inspiring DIY project for anyone who creates digital art on a tablet.

The post Japanese Artist Builds Custom Cintiq-Embedded Desk appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The next frontier for classical animation: virtual reality.

The post Creating Hand-Drawn Animation in VR Will Soon Be Possible with Animvr appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Shiyoon Kim, who designs memorable characters for Disney films like "Zootopia" and "Big Hero 6," introduces a personal character of his own, Nelbert the Introvert.

The post ‘Nelbert the Introvert’ Trailer and Photoshop Brushes by Disney Designer Shiyoon Kim appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

What if you could sketch a pattern or design on a piece of paper and have all the hand-drawn intricacies of your work instantly preserved in the texture of a 3D model? It may soon be possible.

The post Video: StyLit Presents An Exciting New Way To Stylize CG Animation appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Corel has added significant improvements to the 2017 edition of its digital paint software Painter.

The post Texture Painting, Glazing Brushes, Customizability Among New Features in Corel Painter 2017 appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Creating rotoscoped pixel art animation is made easy with Paint of Persia.

The post Paint of Persia Is A New Free Tool for Rotoscoping Pixel Art appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The producers of "The Simpsons" called on Adobe to help them bring Homer to life in real-time.

The post How ‘The Simpsons’ Used Adobe Character Animator To Create A Live Episode appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

There’s never been a better time to composite your vfx/animation projects and do color grading -- for free.

The post Fusion Compositing Software Is Now Free And Available On Macs appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Artella is a valuable new tool for animation projects where crews don't work in the same physical space.

The post Cloud-Based Animation Platform Artella Launches Worldwide appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The new subscription-site Craft aims to become an "ever-evolving interactive art-of book" for your favorite animation projects.

The post ‘Song of the Sea’ Production Files Available on New Site Called Craft appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

We all know that it’s not the tool but the artist, not the camera but the photographer, not the hammer but the carpenter… but that…

When the batteries in my drill stopped holding a charge, I decided to look into replacing them. I soon discovered that this can be fairly expensive. I soon came to realise that you can “hot rod” a battery, basically, this means repairing the battery yourself, but after looking at what was involved, I decided that this was unsafe and certainly not practical at all. I would rather invest in a new battery and ensure I was safe whilst using the drill.

As I mentioned earlier, batteries can be expensive to replace. In fact, it is sometimes more cost effective to replace the whole unit. When you buy a “bare unit” (basically, the drill without batteries or charger) you can usually spend as little as half the price of a set that is supplied with batteries and charger.

I soon realised that my old drills were basically worthless without batteries, so I decided to replace the whole unit.

The next task was to decide on which type of battery would give me the longest lasting life span, take the least maintenance, have the highest working times and the best value for money. There are 3 types of battery:

• Nickel cadmium (NiCad)
• Nickel metal hybrid (NiMH)
• Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion)

Each battery has pros and cons. The list I have compiled is basically the order in which they came onto the market. Like anything these days, things improve and become more user friendly. Plenty of information can be found about each of the batteries here at DrillsAndDrivers.com 

NiCad Batteries 

These batteries require substantial maintenance. You have to completely discharge the battery once a month to maintain peak performance, and with the fast paced life we all live today, this is far from practical. These also hold less charge than the other two (1.3 -2.2ah). Although they may suffer on the maintenance side of things, they do have a very long life; they are very durable and work well in hot or cold temperatures. Not many tools are supplied with these batteries in the modern market. 

NiMh Batteries 

These batteries require less looking after than the others. You would only have to discharge the battery once every three months. They charge and discharge quickly and they are more efficient than the aforementioned. The batteries are generally around 2.2-3.0ah. Although they are more user friendly than NiCad batteries, they are extremely sensitive to heat. 

LI-IoN Batteries 

Most modern drills you will buy today are supplied with this type of battery. They are the most advanced and user friendly of any available on the market today. They have a higher capacity than the others (3.0ah and above) and there is no discharge required with Li-Ion batteries. They are lighter and smaller than the others, which is a big reason for the rise in popularity. They are the most expensive of the three and have a shorter life span but are simply the quickest to charge, most powerful and the lightest!

Which to Buy?!? 

When I decided to replace my whole drill set rather than just the battery, my choice was clear. The more modern batteries are of a much higher quality and last longer. Most of the superior drills come with Li-Ion batteries, so I decided they are the obvious choice.

Adobe's new Animate CC is making strides to be more animator-friendly, but is it too little, too late?

The post Adobe Kills Flash Name, Rebrands It As Animator-Friendly Animate CC appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

I can’t believe this type of tool is in the works. Their claim is that this is “The first robotic arm that makes anything, anywhere” It 3D prints, laser, carves, plots, assembles, picks/places and more on your desktop. It is built with a simplistic design and an arm that is designed to have the precision […]

Hello fellow illustrators!

As promised last Friday, we are now in full effect taking Illustration Friday to the next level. The natural evolution of a fun weekly illustration challenge based on ideas is a deeper focus on the art of idea generation itself.

Yesterday we shared a stream of conciousness word list for this week’s topic of POINTY, and today we’re sharing some visual inspiration based on a simple image search using some of the words from that list. Use can use the images above to brainstorm for concepts that you might not have considered otherwise, or do some searching of your own!

Have fun!

In our continuing effort to keep you inspired we’d like to tell you about this really fun online course that will walk you through the steps necessary to take your character illustrations to the next level.

In this class Matt Kaufenberg will take you through his process of illustrating a character, starting with the concept, then moving into Illustrator to create the shapes, and finally, rendering it in Photoshop.

What You’ll Learn

• Finding Inspiration
• Character Concepts
• Building the Foundation in Illustrator
• Rendering in Photoshop
• Color Adjustment and Texture

Click here to learn more about this class >>

Morning writer.

Since I started getting picture book contracts (yay!) I've put my novel writing on the back burner. Then last summer at SCBWI-LA, I was talking with my editor at Simon & Schuster (Justin Chanda) about my middle grade novels and time management. Justin said that if my novel writing was important to me, I needed to set aside some regular time to work on it...no matter how much other work I had going on.

Absolutely! I said. I am SO going to do this. And yeah, well. I was right on top of that for a few weeks and then the reality of work deadlines plus personal commitments pushed my novel projects onto the back burner again.

I've since come to terms with this. I am having SO much fun with my picture book projects these days and things are very busy for me in a good way. To those who didn't know: I used to write nonfiction while I worked on middle grade novels; Writer's Digest even asked me to write a book for them. I met my wonderful agent because of my middle grade writing, through children's book writer, Lee Wardlaw; Lee critiqued one of my first MG novels (thank you, Lee!). The two middle grade manuscripts that Ginger and I sent out never found a home, though we got close a couple of times near the end. I could tell from the rejection letters that my writing was improving. I shelved the older mss and began working on new stories. One of my new manuscripts that never got sent out was nominated for the SCBWI Sue Alexander "Most Promising For Publication" Award; it didn't win but the nomination was encouraging; I could tell I was getting closer.

Then my picture book illustration career took off, thanks to the SCBWI and Simon & Schuster Children's. My heart is in picture books now, and I always want to help create them...I love this genre SO MUCH and connecting with the young readers continues to be one of my greatest joys.

There is still a part of my creative soul, however, that is still drawn to middle grade novels. I read middle grade constantly; not for market research but because I've always enjoyed reading them. It's okay that my novel writing on the back burner right now, but that doesn't mean I can't still keep writing! Even if it's only for a few minutes a day. 

So I decided recently to get back on my own 250, 500 and 1000 Words A Day Challenge.

 I created this challenge for those who are looking for extra motivation to get back into a daily writing habit but who also need some flexibility. Challenges like NaNoWriMo are wonderful (I've done Nano in the past and had great fun) but can sometimes be discouraging if, for whatever reason, you start falling behind.

Anyway, I have been trying something new which has been working pretty well, so I thought I'd share it. Here's what I do:

I bought the iAWriter app for my Mac and iOS devices (iPhone, iPad) and use it for my daily morning writing ritual. I've played around with MANY note-taking apps on my iOS devices ever since the first iPhone came out, and this remains one of the favorites because of its minimalist approach.

No settings to fiddle with, which means I'm not as likely to procrastinate. I love the easy-to-read monospaced font. 

I find using my iPad with my external keyboard works the best for this. Why not my Mac? Because I do most of my book illustration project work on my Mac, doing morning writing on a separate and very portable device helps deceive the "oh my gosh I can't work on my novel I need to get back to contracted paying work" part of my brain. Sounds stupid, I know, but I find it helps me focus. I can also take my iPad outside of the house at a moment's notice and work on my writing ANYWHERE.

When it comes to later revisions, I'll probably go back to my desktop computer so I can take advantage of the bigger screen space and two monitors. For a first draft, however, my iPad is perfect. I also tend to be the kind of writer who over-edits as she writes, and I'm finding that writing on a smaller screen encourages me to keep writing (editing is more of a pain). I know I will revise later. 

After I finish my session in iAWriter, I send the document to my Evernote account; happily, I can do this from within the iAWriter app. I know there are many other means of backing up my data and getting writing snippets to my desktop computer. I have tried many of them. This is the way that seems to work best for me, mainly because I don't need to open any other app that may possibly distract me. Did I mention that I'm easily distracted?

From the iAWriter app, I can share directly to Evernote and even choose the receiving project folder. I figure that I can always organize later on; I try to put a note at the beginning like "near end of book" etc. I also tend to write in scenes and snippets rather than from start to finish, and will organize them later. I *used* to write from start to finish but found that I tended to overedit and spend way too much time near the beginning.

I use Evernote for so much more, of course. Two of my favorite features: (1) with the paid version of Evernote, you can email anything to your Evernote account, and (2) when searching for a word or term in Evernote, the search will include any scanned documents...including business cards and handwritten notes (!).

I also use the Day One app for my Mac and iOS devices. I've tried other journaling tools before but like Day One the best because of its super-simple interface without all the bells and whistles.

As with iAWriter, I'm drawn to the minimalist interface because it makes it very easy for me to just open and use, without being tempted to tweak settings. 

I've been using the app to quickly record ideas and thoughts and character/title ideas as well as other personal observations, and I use tags (like "goals", "bookidea" etc.) so I can access them more easily later. One of my tags is "happy," by the way...whenever I'm feeling down, browsing all my "happy" entries always cheers me up. Another is "thanks", which I also try to use each day, to write down people and things and events I'm grateful for. 

I also use the DayOne app to quickly snap photos, which is great for grabbing a reference photo for illustration, character idea, a friend's book I want to read, etc. You can only take one photo per entry, though. If you plan to do this a LOT, I'd recommend Evernote instead. Also, you can share DayOne photos/text to social media as well! I don't do this, though; I'm too worried about accidentally sharing a post that's meant to be private. :-)

I do love Scrivener, by the way, and use it for many of my book projects (more on this in a future post), but the lack of easy syncing across all my devices makes it tough to count on Scrivener for my daily writing exercise.

Do you have any tools or tips to share that you've found useful in your writing? Feel free to share them below.

Good luck with your writing!