i’m doing it again — signing up for another city to city project. i feel delighted, and also there’s a twinge of guilt. i’ve accepted that i’ll wait until the last minute to work on my book. the shame.
but good things happen from this!
old sketchbooks inspire me. a couple of our past themes will be in animation pre-production this year! like caterpillars, they become butterflies.
This is a great “everyday” card by one of my favorite illustrators, Carrie Gifford, founder of Red Cap Cards. She’s inspired by her childhood memories, her chihuahua, Bartleby, and her dad’s mustache.
More Carrie Gifford cards here! She is also a children’s book illustrator at Writer’s House.
Some favorites.
I’m finding these very inspirational at the moment as Joy and I go on to illustrate our first children’s book with writer Rhoda Ostashever. But that’s another story for another day, little ones.
I happily start the music, light the candles + drink so much coffee that I’m unaware the house is on fire… then draw!
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For my Sketchbook Project, I tried out certain lyrics, which wonderfully, are always stuck in my head. The brilliant artists are these guys: {Telekinesis, Beirut, Foster the People, The Muppet Show Theme Song, Okkervil River, Bishop Allen, Deer Tick} + some things I think too.
Oh! The only thing more joyful than watching Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is having a copy of his new children’s book. The independent creator~couple Jenny Slate + Dean Fleischer-Camp are my heros.
Jenny is the perfectly cute voice + Dean is the genius filmmaker. Together they make Marcel. Look at him!
The picture book has a very sweet + vibrant style. Their unique idea for using photorealistic oil paintings totally brings Marcel to life. Amazing artwork by Amy Lind!
I finally downloaded the app + was of course, delighted to find these funny, sketchy animations. Then I just pressed play + listened to the best bedtime story ever!
It’s my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project 2012. So shiny. So new. So … empty. This time, my theme is “The Worst Story Ever Told.” I think it’s a good one.
My last sketchbook project inspired an idea for the new short we are currently in pre-production on, so I hope this book stirs up more ideas for short films.
This project can be difficult because sketchbooks become very precious to their owners. Still though, its fun to send them off and share with all the people who thumb through the pages.
It’s been around for a while and seems to be everywhere I look – chevron + zig zags. Lately I’ve been pinning images of it and I can’t really stop, so I’m suddenly finding myself longing to get out the painter’s tape and DIYing myself some chevron on the furniture, walls or anything else I can get my hands on. I’m obsessed.
I’m currently saving my pennies for that gretchen jones chevron necklace.
Jon Klassen is an artist I have always admired, I just didn’t know it.
Today I accidentally stumbled upon his latest project – a children’s book coming out this fall called “I Want My Hat Back.” Enjoy the adorable trailer here:
The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Yep, I can just tell this story is going to keep me on the edge of my seat.
I originally found Klassen on my favorite greeting card site. If I’ve ever sent you real mail, chances are it was a Red Cap Cards greeting card. I love em, can’t get enough. Look! I got this one for my husband’s 30th birthday:
I got the card because it’s obviously the best. Turns out it’s a Jon Klassen card.
He’s also responsible for the visual development drawings for Coraline.
I’ll just shut up and let motion designer Steffen K explain it to you:
“Over a period of 30 days I challenged myself to created 1 second of animation every day. The idea was to experiment and explore workflow in the software package Cinema 4D and publish one frame from my experiments daily..
The rules:
-Animate 1 second everyday
-Publish one frame daily at blog.steffenk.net
-Put it all together to approx. 30 seconds of animation”
You can see the individual 1 second tests over at his blog.
I’m a big fan of exercises in variety vs. constants and envious of his motivation to do something like this. Not only is it a great challenge but it gives you simple, quick filler for your reel that would definitely stand out.
1 second a day … maybe I’ll start tomorrow? Off to a good start already.
