My new roommate: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Even though I work on the Disney Studios lot, I had to go to eBay to get my hands on this lovely plush Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. If you haven't seen the old Ub Iwerks/Walt Disney Oswald cartoons of the 1920's you're in for a treat!

...and I've also fallen in love with the Oswalds that were done by Walter Lantz and Bill Nolan:

They Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges!

“WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ BADGES” - INDIE ANIMATORS TAKE HOLLYWOOD’S REINS

[WHITTIER, CA] Twice Oscar-nominated, indie animator Bill Plympton will headline a FREE showcase of rebel animators with his Academy Award short-listed film “The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger.” On January 22, 2011 at ‘Geeks’ a comic shop in Whittier, CA will host the event sponsored by the Nuvein Foundation.

Plympton, also on this year’s Oscar short-list for his feature “Idiots and Angels” had little industry support when he hung up his spurs as syndicated cartoonist, declined to be roped in by Hollywood animation mills, and forged new trails after producing the Oscar nominated short “Your Face” in 1987. Now he shares the trails he blazed with "outlaw" animators who have looked to him for inspiration.

Of the show’s coordinator, Plympton states “I love [Jim Lujan’s] shorts. Great soundtrack and character design and wicked humor.” Lujan himself describes the show as “A band of rebel animators who ride into town armed with a ‘do it yourself’ spirit.”

Here's a look at Jim Lujan's newest epic:

Geeks comic shop, 6747 Greenleaf Ave. in Whittier, CA will host the event. The Nuvein Foundation of San Gabriel Valley will sponsor. The Nuvein Foundation's mission is to raise scholarship funds for students and professionals in the arts, and showcases art via community performances and educational programs.

Shorts will range from the cut-out style of Grasiela Lopez to the mature Saturday-morning-satire of the Steven Sievers/David Kolodny-Nagy team to Ken Mora’s computer-animated spoof of ‘Dirty Harry‘ films, along with industry mavericks like Dominic Polcino (director of The Simpsons and Family Guy), Disney veteran Raul Aguirre Jr. who will create a short especially for this show, and object-animator PES, plus surprise guests.

A pre-show mixer, with refreshments, is open to the public at 7:00 pm with screenings to start promptly at 7:30. This show's content is recommended for teens and adults.

Limited priority seating is available for Press and Industry at "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges." RSVP to Jim Lujan at jimlujan@gmail.com 

I can't wait! I'll see you there on Saturday!

Don Bluth Vs. "Man Vs Art" -- a great new interview

I don't always listen to podcasts, but when I do, I prefer Man vs Art. Raul Aguirre's show has been my companion for many late-night drawing sessions.

Raul Aguirre Jr. has been an animator and storyboard artist, writer, producer, etc for 16 years, working for all the big houses like Disney Feature, Nickelodeon and Fox. And he's got a heart as big as Southgate, CA.
His passion and love and humor shine thru with every podcast he puts out. Now Raul has scored a sweet interview with Mr.Animation Renaissance himself: Don Bluth!

Listen HERE: http://bit.ly/ManVsBluth

It's a great listen...not the usual cookie-cutter glad-handing puff piece you usually hear when an industry legend gets interviewed. You get these two guys in a room and start talking about the joys of traditional animation...there's no holding them back! Seriously -- Man vs Art is hands-down my favorite podcast (and not because I've had the honor to be a guest), and this episode is a great way for the show to kick of its second season!

Man vs Art: The Don Bluth Interview
http://bit.ly/ManVsBluth

My first attempt at animating with Toon Boom Animate

My first animation in Toon Boom Animate. I just want to go on record that I have no idea what I'm doing. But my goal was to animate something this weekend -- learn how to use the program -- so I consider this a victory.