Animation Nation

There's something new in the world of traditional animation media thanks to TraditionalAnimation.com. It's the New Traditional Animation Show and it debuts with an excellent interview with Disney feature veteran and independent animator Dominic Carola.

Dominic also has a Kickstarter campaign that is wrapping up in a few hours and will be successful! Follow the link cuz you can still support it even after its deadline has passed by contacting Dominic through the campaign.

It's great to see established animation artists succeeding independently especially in the realm of the 2D hand drawn world. Very inspiring. Looking forward to more intriguing content from The New Traditional Animation Show! Here's the interview with Dominic Carola...

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Here's a great stop motion animated short entitled "TheVoiceOver" from Dadomani Studio in Milan, Italy. They're a fine commercial studio represented by Duck Studios in New York City.

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Yet another indication of the extremely high level of quality that student films are achieving all over the world. This one from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. "Taking the Plunge" humorously exemplifies that a material thing doesn't make a relationship special. It's the love that a couple has for each other that creates the bond.

The excellent art and technical aspects of the film are attributed to Thaddaeus Andreades, Marie Raoult, Nicholas Manfredi, and Elizabeth Ku-Herrero among other talented individuals with music by Jerome Leroy. You can be a part of the film's community on Facebook and Tumblr.

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What can be worse than for the greatest wrestler of all time to retire for a life of working in an office. Check out this student film from the Computer Art Department of the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

"Viva Lucha" was produced and directed by Anne Fong and JD Gardner with Tim Quick composing the music, along with many other talented artists who rounded out the crew. 

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This is a heart wrenching animated short in the StoryCorps series by the Rauch Brothers along with Bill Wray's art direction and storyboarded by Rafael Rosado along. Several other talented artists rounded out the crew. "1st Squad, 3rd Platoon" underscores the extreme sacrifices and profound heartbreak and trauma that many soldiers experienced in the Iraq War.

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Can't get enough of these great student films! Here's another to add to this year's excellent turnout. It's a senior project entitled "Aloha Hohe" and comes from Kevin Temmer of the Ringling College of Art and Design. One of the leading art and animation schools in the world.

Fresh out of the box and the film is already winning festival awards...

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Another outstanding student film to enjoy. "Dodoba" a graduation project by Yon Hui Lee at CalArts along with a talented support team. Traditionally animated by hand with a captivating narrative...

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Student films keep getting better and better. Case in point is this senior thesis project from the Ringling College of Art and Design. Created by Millivette Gonzalez, Tabia Lees and Valerie Sattazahn and backed by a team of their talented peers, "Stellar Moves: The Story of Pluto" will charm you on a planetary level.

There's a dedicated Facebook page that features some behind the scenes info as well. Enjoy this excellent animated viewing experience...

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When it comes to a child's imagination there's not much that can compare. Case in point is this video using Legos as the animated medium. Take a look at "Lego_Adventure In The City" by Rogier Wieland. It was produced for Lego China and creatively backed by a team of talented individuals. There's also a making of video that follows which gives us a peek at the complexity of the production process...

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Bestselling illustrator/author Keith Graves and Rob Moreland have launched a Kickstarter campaign for a new animated series starring some of the most recognizable voices in animation. It's called "The Beef Sumo Show" and it's live until May 31 2015.

The show features John DiMaggio (Jake on ADVENTURETIME), Dee Bradley Baker (Perry the Platypus from PHINEAS AND FERB) and Tara Strong (MY LITTLE PONY, POWERPUFF GIRLS, DRAWN TOGETHER). Also, Jim Venable is doing the music (the theme to FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS).

The project's goals are simple enough - to create animated stuff and to make people laugh!

Follow the link to The Beef Sumo Show on Kickstarter and consider supporting the campaign and also help spread the word! You can find more Beef Sumo Show shorts on YouTube.