Kaeloo - Animated series in France

I discovered an animated TV series that been airing in France since June of last year. It's called "Kaeloo" and it features a frog who turns into something different when things aren't going his way. Created by Rémi Chapotot, designed by Rémi Chapotot and Jean-François Henry and produced by Cube Creative in association with Blue Spirit Animation, Kaeloo looks to be fun with high production standards. Here's an English version of the cartoon. I'll be developing the topic on the AN Forums with more animation from Blue Spirit.

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Netflix announces Qwikster - DVDs and video streaming

AN's webmaster Adrian Foster, whose moniker on the forums is Skynet, has been following developments concerning Netflix over the past few weeks ever since the company announced it was raising its fees. There's been a lot of disappointment in Netflix lately for several reasons, the price increase certainly high among those concerns. Skynet posted a topic about this subject in the Current Events Forum on July 12, 2011 and has been keeping us updated since. He's also added another forum topic today as Netflix announces Qwikster, a new aspect to their operations. So Netflix will be video streaming only, and Qwikster will handle DVD rentals. Skynet also explains some of the problems users may encounter with their streaming service. Here's a video released today of the founder of Netflix explaining what their customers can expect from the changes they've made, and apologizing for the miscommunication involved in their recent price increase.

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Medical Animation - a highly skilled art

When one thinks of the art of animation, the first images that come to mind for most would of course be movies and shows that feature cartoon characters. Not much attention is given to medical animation, which is a very advanced aspect of the art. I'm developing a topic on the AN Forums that features the work of several medical animation companies, including Microcosm Medical Animation and Nucleus Medical Media to name a few.

This video is from Ghost Productions of Roseville, Minnesota, USA. It was created two years ago in 2009. I chose to feature their company demo reel because of the narrative aspect they gave it. In the video, an artist is working on the restoration of the Sistine Chapel, when he has an accident and falls from the scaffolding. Animation is effectively used to show how his injuries would be administered.  

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Do good artists copy? Do great artists steal?

I don't think they do, friends. If you copy then you're a copier. If you steal then you're a thief. There's nothing great about that. Attributed to Pablo Picasso, the saying, "Good artists copy, great artists steal", has become a commonplace philosophy in many circles today, but I never bought into it nor do I now. The greatest artists create. They pioneer, explore, they discover new roads and new worlds. They don't duplicate, they originate. They innovate.

Adrian Foster, aka Skynet our webmaster extraordinaire, published an excellent commentary today on the forums. Here's a video he attached to his topic. It's Steve Jobs musing on this thinking of copying and stealing, and with all due respect of course, needlessly and erroneously perpetuating an unhealthy attitude and philosophy towards what it means to be an artist.

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Yarim Machado's demo reel

A member of the AN Forums, Yarim Machado recently posted his demo reel in the Gallery. Yarim is located in Puerto Rico. Based upon his reel, he looks to be a very versatile animator. I like featuring the work of talented individuals. As an educator that's something I've been doing for many years. When a member posts their work on the forums and it's of exceptional quality, I like to share it with our homepage audience. So take a look at Yarim Machado's reel and enjoy the show. Here's a link to Yarim's blog.

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Pixologic debuts ZBrush 4 R2 on September 20, 2011

Have you ever tried creating with ZBrush? It's an amazing and powerful digital sculpting software that allows artists to come up with extraordinary imagery. On September 20, Pixologic, a Los Angeles based company, will release its latest version of ZBrush for both Windows and Mac platforms. More info is available at the topic on AN's Business Forum. You can also access the Pixologic site and their community. Meanwhile, enjoy a video demonstration of ZBrush 4 R2 in action.

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Glen Keane draws upon the character of Rapunzel

The best character designers and animators who design characters are mindful of something very important. That is, the character of the character they're creating. Take a look at animation legend Glen Keane of Disney Studios as he sketches Rapunzel from "Tangled". He not only draws the character, he's aware of her personality as well. To see more of Glen Keane in action, follow this link to the AN's Education Forum for additional video.

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Dragões de Éter (Gigantes)

This video was posted on AN's Gallery earlier today by our member giljun, under the title of "Duel Giants". I don't know much about besides what was posted on the topic. "Done with Flash, After Effects and Blender Produced for the book's 2011 Biennial in Rio de Janeiro, as disclosed in the book Dragons of the Ether". The description on YouTube is in Portuguese, "Animação feita pela nossa empresa Duque de Cartoon. sobre a melhor passagem, para mim, do Livro Dragões de Éter círculos de chuva". It's gotten 5,234 views since September 10 when it was uploaded, as of this writing. Not bad for a few days. I like the video and am posting it here for our homepage followers to watch and enjoy.

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Rescuing Bambi - a real life drama

Even though it has nothing much to do with animation, I thought I'd share this none the less. It'll make people feel better about life.

A little baby deer is trapped among the rocks while its mother frantically circles the area. The boulders are too big to move without the possibility of hurting the deer, so Firefighters come to the rescue with the Jaws of Life. Here's what happens...

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