The Academy Exhibit

If you're in Los Angeles, and you have some free time, hurry to The Academy building on Wilshire and check out these exhibits.
I personally can't get enough Chuck Jones. 'Nuff said.
Ray Harryhausen is inspiring as an animator- made me start looking at some serious stop motion stuff. Anyone remember the Clash of the Titans on TNT or TBS- old Turner network and all those mythical movies with the old school special effects? THIS is the man.

Chuck Jones: An Animator’s Life From A to Z-Z-Z-Z

Through August 22 – An exhibition of the work of Oscar winner and master humorist Chuck Jones, representing his short animated films, features and TV specials, including “What’s Opera, Doc?,” “Elmer’s Candid Camera,” “Beep Prepared,” “Duck Amuck” and many others. More

The Fantastical Worlds of Ray Harryhausen

Through August 22 – An exhibition showcasing the work of stop-motion animation and visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen (“It Came from beneath the Sea,” “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “Jason and the Argonauts,” “One Million Years B.C.,” “Clash of the Titans”). More

Rats In Color

Some color for clarity...

Rat v. Trap

Thinking about some color for this one... now that's it's animated, the motivation for that is almost nil, but some color I think will make the cheese stand out a little better.
To make the action faster, I ended up cutting several drawings from the original (broke my heart after planning the poses) and the timing seems to be about right now.

Rats Are Cool

Just a quick idea for a rat eyeing a piece of cheese. Six, maybe seven seconds when it's through.
Animation of a rat batting a piece of cheese from a trap. Trap and cheese omitted for clarity. Work in Progress... some parts work, and others are kind of sticky. Rats are fun- they are easy to draw and classically smart. It's understandable why they make good cartoons.
Then there's the video (complete with timing issues)-

Pick Axe Drawings

Video of the drawings below. 24fps. The timing is off, it needs extremes and some inbetweens, but everything is there and it works. There are some things I would change for a character animation, but the spacing and mechanics for this movement are about where I think they should be, and there is plenty of room for overlap.

Sequential Drawing

These are lifedrawings with a model using a pick axe. (There are a few things you should never do naked- like exercise, use powertools, swing an axe...) Anyway, start at the back of your drawing pad, and work forward. I scanned mine in and spread them out. Terrific study in weight, and if you have enough control of your drawings, you can find some pretty good arcs too.

Not Just Another Walk Cycle

Character walk work-in-progress of a rotund man walking toward the camera, adjusting his pants. Right now I'm modifying a chart for a walk on 16's (legs and body) and I'll chart the arms and hands a little differently. Overall, I'm pleased. The silhouettes are easy to read and the arcs support the action.

ToonRex Rig Test

Maybe this one got away from me... this had some nice camera effects on it. Had to limit what I could up load so it lost a lot, but you get the idea.

Aunt Stephanie

My family makes calendars every year so we can remember birthdays and stuff like that. Somehow this picture of my aunt circulated around the family, and ended up in this year's calendar. I almost died when I saw it. I'm sure we were never meant to see it. Anyway, decided to caricature it.