Animation Nation

A new trailer for "Brave" is out on YouTube today. The scene is somewhat reminiscent of Errol Flynn's 'Robin Hood' from 1939, but still powerful as it gives us an insight at the core of the story and a peek at some main characters. Think this'll be a hit? 

I've been maintaining the subject on the Forums for several months now, showcasing production art and videos from Brave that's become a widely followed topic. You can find it at this link on the Forums.

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Always happy to share the good news concerning the creative efforts of AN members. Such is the case with Mister 1234 as he posted that his film, "The DJ Is a Psycho' will be screened at the LES Film Festival in New York City this coming March 10. One of the things I enjoy the most in this film is the song, a haunting melody which MR. 1234 composed and performed. Here's the Forum topic and here's the video...

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Celebrating the release of his limited edition sketchbook, "Please, Wake Me for Duty Free", Axel Ortiz will be at Petra Gallerie in Beverly Hills, California for their monthly Last Saturdays event this February 25 showcasing his latest creative accomplishment.

A graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and a Gnomon School of Visual Effects Grad grand master, Axel is an extraordinary talent. He raises the bar while reminding us how much fun art really is. "Please, Wake Me for Duty Free" is a very limited edition print run of a small portion of Axel's incredibly vast sketchbook pages from many editions recording his creative journey thus far. For more info about Petra Gallerie's Last Saturdays with Axel Ortiz visit this link to the Forums. Meanwhile, enjoy the video Petra's proprietor Snakebite Cortez produced in honor of Axel's publication...

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In a country with a great legacy in animation, The British Animation Awards will be taking place soon on March 15 in London.

The British Animation Awards are a one of a kind event. Unique in that it's the only venue that brings together all the key players, emerging as well as established talent, from the many and varied sectors of the UK animation scene. The evening is very different and very fun. Moreso than any other awards ceremony of its kind. For tickets email info@britishanimationawards.com to reserve your place at this year's BAA. For more info including this year's national poll to discover Britain’s Favorite Ever Animated Character follow this link to the Forums.

A new member to the AN Forums, Chris Smallfield initiated a discussion on the Pros and Cons of 3D Animated TV Series with a listing of prominent productions over the past 20 years. Meanwhile, the 3D FX animation he creates is very impressive and shows an amazing talent. Here's something that was done for Nickelodeon's Spongebob giving due credit to his colleagues here.  

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Check out this hilarious and extremely compex spot for CareerBuilder.com. You can also see many additional videos on his Vimeo Channel as well as this website for Shape in Berlin through which he's associated.

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Bryan Ha is a senior at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, a residential secondary school in New England established way back in 1778 which specialzes in academic excellence in the liberal arts tradition.

Last year he created an animated film about the dangers of global warming and pollution entitled "The Breaking Point". This was screened at Environmental Film Festival and Green Film Festival (GFFIS) in Seoul 2011. He's on a worthy campaign to continue to spread the word and build awareness about the effects of global warming on the earth. We're happy to help by featuring his film. Here's the link to the Forum topic.

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Check out the amazing work of Thijme Termaat an artist in the Netherlands. Thijme is a new member on AN. Here's his website and below is his video. The Forum topic is here.

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And who is YourFavoriteMartian? None other than YouTube superstar Ray William Johnson of course. Animated by Cosmic Toast in Burbank. Uploaded two days ago with 673,815 views in that time. The subject of this music video is bullying...

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Many have heard the news recently about a graffiti artist who painted the walls of Facebook's offices in 2005 and accepted stock instead of cash in exchange for his work. Today, that artist is worth more than $200 million by virtue of the stock he owns. His name is David Choe and here he is in an interview with Barbara Walters from a few days ago. David had a measure of notoriety before his sudden thrust into uber fame. There's quite a few videos about him on YouTube that have been up for several years. He was quite a controversial figure. You can view some of them here. I enjoy seeing the success of others, especially fellow artists, and I hope that David can find balance in his life now that he's famous.

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Among the most interesting, exciting and avant garde hip of live creative experiences happening in the LA art scene today is Last Saturdays at Petra Gallerie on South Robertson Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The mastermind behind Last Saturdays is Snakebite Cortez, a long time member of AN going way back to The Great Alliance - our very first organized walkout of the artists of the animation industry on April 1, 1999. Snakebite is a brilliant artist, renowned in animation and comics for his Photoshop skills, a visionary and a bold outspoken leader within our community.  Here's a look at the last Last Saturdays gathering at Petra which took place on January 28, 2012. Last Saturdays occurs on, naturally enough, the last Saturday of each month. You can also see Snakebite in creative action by following this link to a follow up video of the event.

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