AWN Blogs
Plympton3D
Mel Blanc and How Animation Students Learn Character Development
Strong character development is the foundation of any animation, of course, but contemporary animators might run into copyright infringement issues when they borrow heavily from existing characters in other creative properties.
A Writer’s #1 Most Important Creative Tool is...
So what is a writer’s #1 creative tool? Experience? Education? Vocabulary? Scriptwriting software? Jack Daniels? It’s none of these. The #1 creative tool of every writer is...
The Stressful Adventures of an Aussie
This guy I know...let's call him Elliot... Elliot Cowan. He's a good guy. Aussie living in Brooklyn or one of those places. He sent me songs about balls and heartache last year. Then he mocked me.
Five Steps To Slaughter Your Career
When it comes to finding ways to sabotage your career efforts think of how a poor Thanksgiving turkey wound up a sacrifice for the joys of your holiday meal. It’s not so much that you have to be plucked, sucked and tucked to fit into your turkey suit, but what have you done to help escape your fate? Here are five sure fire ways to slaughter your career in any season.
Great Stories in Voice Over: Mike Meyers and the Story of Shrek’s Voice
What would Shrek be without his Scottish accent? Can you even imagine it? But not only was the character of Shrek NOT Scottish in William Stieg’s original books, (in fact, his name comes from Yiddish) but Mike Meyers very nearly never got the chance to play Shrek.
From Serbia to China – A World of Difference
Nancy Phelps travels to Changchung, China to attend the The International Animation, Comics and Game Forum.
The Promised Land: Part 1
The issuing reflections are probably the most complex of all of those I have written until now, difficult and troublesome for me to reflect upon and even more so verbalize. Nonetheless, I feel a deep need to face a challenge of distilling and then sharing my personal thoughts and observations on this perplexing topics.
ASIFA-PEI Workshop
Reel Fine
Tributes for Fyodor Khitruk
We thank those AWN readers who contributed their thoughts on the passing of legendary Russian animator Fyodor Khitruk.
I’m Glad, Im Sad & I’m Mad
These are three sentiments we have all felt at one time or another when it comes to how we may feel about our careers.
Netherlands
Should current technologies motivate and dictate new innovative designs or can concept designs inspire novel technologies? Which one is better, wiser, more advantageous in a long run?
FROM SERBIA TO CHINA, A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
Arriving in Changchun, China for The International Animation, Comics, and Games Forum was a very abrupt switch from my previous weeks in Kosovo and Serbia. Any thoughts of long, leisurely meals with friends and watching good animation went out of my head when I was handed my schedule.
“Breakfast 7:00-7:30 AM PROMPT”. Immediately after breakfast we boarded a bus for the trip to the Jilin Animation Institute. Most mornings we went straight into the auditorium to listen to speakers. The rest of our day was equally regimented right up to our 6:30 PM dinner time.
The only exception was on the first morning when there was a visit to the Jilin Animation Institute from 8:10 to 9:50AM. The 9 year old school, located in the new industrial park, has a staggering 6,500 students in the institute’s 5 departments: animation and comics, games, design, and advertising. That is an amazing number of students studying media arts in just that one school alone. One afternoon I was astonished to walk out of the auditorium to find a group of students standing at attention in military uniforms. I later learned that every student, including those in the animation department, is required to undergo a month of military training along with their regular classes.
Bill Dennis blogging from Fujian Province, China
Bill talks about plans for animation production expansion in Fuzhou, China.
Celebrity Deathmatch: Those Nagging Questions Finally Answered! (Part 3)
Question: What are some of the positive responses from celebrities who got skewered on the Celebrity Deathmatch?
R.I.P. Mourning Your Career
Before you turn into a cast member from “The Walking Dead” know that you can manage the loss of your career and let it RIP.
'Rise of the Guardians' – Why Did It Flop?
“Rise of the Guardians” is almost as big a flop as “Mars Needs Moms”. What is wrong with this picture? Ed Hooks takes a look and points to significant animation industry trends.
FESTIVAL OF EUROPEAN STUDENT ANIMATION - Belgrade, Serbia, 1 & 2 September 2012
When I left you in my last article I had finally arrived in Belgrade, Serbia after my 19 hour bus adventure from Peja, Kosovo and was enjoying a 4AM meal at my good friend Rastko ?iri?’s home. I was in Belgrade to attend the Festival of European Student Animation on 1 and 2 September.
I had never visited Belgrade before and Rastko was the perfect tour guide showing me the sights as we ran the last minute festival errands. I had time for leisurely walks and, of course, Rastko took me to charming restaurants for delicious meals.
Belgrade is a beautiful, historic city and The Main Powder Magazine of the historic Belgrade Fortress was a perfect site for the premier edition of The Festival of European Student Animation 2012 (AESA ’12). Located atop a hill overlooking the juncture of the Sava and Danube rivers, the fortress was built as a defensive structure between the 2nd and 18th Centuries, and is now the Belgrade History Museum. The main powder magazine where the festival was held was built between 1718 and 1721 during the large reconstruction of the fortress undertaken by the Austrians who occupied the territory at that time. The building was a huge technical achievement consisting of two halls with nine pillars each cut into the rock and an entrance passage with massive exterior walls. Although the temperature outside was very hot we were advised to bring a sweater because the interior of the fortress was extremely chilly.