New York-based animation studio The Ink Tank has created four minutes of animation for ENCUENTRO, a two-hour documentary produced by Ninguna Ciencia for Puerto Rican television. The documentary features interviews with and music from several well-known Puerto Rican musicians including actor/songwriter Ruben Bladés. The animation is interspersed throughout the program and follows the life of a fictional musician from conception to the afterlife.

Montreal-based software developer Crater Software has released the latest version of its 2D cel animation software, CTP Pro version 1.5. In addition to reducing the list price of the software package to $1,299, the company has also released CTP Pro Lite, a limited version of CTP with the same ease of use interface, priced at $299. According to Crater Software President, Joe Alonso, "We have always looked out for the animation student and independent animator.

Bardel Entertainment is going into production on nine more episodes of its cross-platform Flash animated series THE MR. DINK SHOW. The four original shorts were broadcast on CTV’s Comedy Network, and shown online at AtomFilms.com. CTV has committed to the nine follow-up episodes, which will be available in spring 2003. THE MR. DINK SHOW was recently honored with the Grand Jury Prize for Animation in the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival. The show, created and directed by Ron Crown, follows the eternally optimistic yet blissfully unaware Mr.

Perky Pickle Studios, a new full-service animation studio has launched in Burbank, California. Helmed by award-winning animation filmmaker Jordan Reichek, Perky Pickle will offer a variety of animation techniques including 2D traditional, 3D and Flash. Said Reichek, "Top talent with strong leadership and financial responsibility are the cornerstones of the Perky Pickle Studio mantra. With this idea, we hope to provide a creative haven for our clients and employees." The studio has already partnered with artist Robt. Williams to develop his bizarre artwork into animated properties.

Electric Rain, Inc. has announced the release of Swift 3D version 3.0, a standalone application allowing designers to build and export 3D animations to the Macromedia Flash (SWF) file format, as well as other major vector and raster formats. This latest version provides realistic vector rendering with new RAViX III rendering options, photo-quality raster export and SmartLayer Technology for direct integration with Macromedia Flash MX.

Elephant Productions, the UK-based media company behind such series as GRIZZLY TALES FOR GRUESOME KIDS and JOHNNY CASANOVA THE UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE, is to join forces with animation company Fictitious Egg to launch a new studio, Elephant Egg. The studio plans to offer a full range of animation services including traditional 2D, Flash, CGI and Celaction, as well as development and co-production services. Sarah Muller, managing director of Elephant Productions, will head up Elephant Egg, with Andy Wyatt, managing director of Fictitious Egg, as head of animation.

Independent filmmaker Tonya Hurley has launched Ghostgirl.com, a new Website that introduces Charlotte Usher, an unpopular girl who wakes up dead one day and finds herself just as unappreciated in the world of the Great Beyond. The site, aimed at teens and tweens, features Flash animation, weekly comic strips, games, tips and quizzes. GHOSTGIRL is based on a story and screenplay by Hurley and was produced by JOHNNY BRAVO creator Van Partible. Hurley has written and directed numerous short projects, both animation and documentary.

Marietta, Georgia's Aneville Designs is looking for a COMIC BOOK ARTIST/CARTOONIST (UNPAID) . . . Hollywood, California's AnimAction,
Inc. is looking for an ANIMATION FACILITATOR . . . Carbunkle Cartoons Inc. is looking for a 2D TRADITIONAL ANIMATOR . . . Brooklyn, New
York's Cimera FilmWorks is looking for VISUAL FX AND COMPOSITORS . . . Company Name Withheld is looking for a AGENT/REP . . . Fresh Media
is looking for a FREELANCE FLASH ANIMATOR . . . Southport, UK's Leisure Business Recruitment is looking for an ARTIST/GRAPHIC

Future Animators Of The Future 3rd Annual Animation And Video Show.

Boston and New York, USA.

Thursday, October 10 - Wednesday, October 30, 2002.

Entry Deadline: Friday, August 30, 2002.

Vancouver, Canada's Pork and Beans Productions recently moved to a brand new 5000 square foot studio in the Yaletown district of Vancouver. The company is expanding to accommodate a growing staff as they prepare to start Flash animation production on the series YAKKITY YAK, in association with Studio B Productions. Distributed by MTV Networks International, YAKKITY YAK was created by Australian company Kapow Pictures and follows the life of a yak that longs for his big break into show business. It is scheduled to broadcast on Teletoon and Nickelodeon Australia in 2003.

Kids' WB! is introducing a Flash animated series to U.S. broadcast television with the premiere of ¡MUCHA LUCHA! on August 17, 2002. The series explores the Latino cultural phenomenon known as "Lucha Libre" and follows Rikochet, Buena Girl and The Flea as they study and live the "Code of Masked Wrestling." ¡MUCHA LUCHA! was created by Eddie Mort and Lili Chin and produced by Warner Bros. Animation under the creative supervision of Alfred Gimeno, Joel Kuwahara and Michael Ryan. The series features the voices of Carlos Alzaraqui, Candi Milo and Kimberly Brooks. "Kids' WB!

Barcelona-based Grupo Neptuno has completed a major deal with Basque television producer Euskal Irrati Telebista (ETB) for the distribution of its catalogue worldwide, excluding Latin America and Spanish-speaking stations in the United States. ETB's complete line up of more than 1,000 hours of documentaries, entertainment, animation, feature films and live-action series will join Grupo Neptuno's existing catalog, which includes the preschool series CONNIE THE COW, distributed by AAC Kids and TV-Loonland, and the Flash animated series 2020, a co-production with Megatrix.

Animation and interactive entertainment company Unbound Studios
recently took home the gold. The Gold Broadcast Design Award for
Educational Websites, that is. Unbound won for Sesame Street's MUSIC
ZONE Website, which combines animation, interactivity and structured
learning of music for a pre-school audience. Using the charm and
humor of the Muppets, Unbound designed and worked closely with
educators to fashion an engaging site that combined Macromedia's
Flash and Director programs with Beatnik audio to create operas and

Torrance, California's Animation Design Center is looking for a 2D TRADITIONAL BACKGROUND DESIGN INSTRUCTOR and a 2D TRADITIONAL PROP DESIGN INSTRUCTOR . . . Los Angeles, California's Bambola Entertainment is looking for an INTERN (TV AND FILM) . . . Bruzz.com is looking for a FLASH SPECIALIST . . . Chennai, India's Chennai Studios Ltd is looking for a TECHNICAL DIRECTOR - CGI ANIMATION . . . Clay Pixel Studios is looking for a SENIOR 3D ANIMATOR . . . London, UK's Datascope Recruitment is looking for a 3D ANIMATOR, an ANIMATOR/ARTIST, an EXPERIENCED 3DSMAX ANIMATOR and a LEAD ARTIST . . .

Visit all of AWN's Discussion Forums to stay in touch with the animation community! This week, hot forum discussions include the importance of learning Flash, the best anime films and more on LILO & STITCH. In The Animator's Desktop, Tony White has posted lesson #9 in his "Making Things Move Well" series. This lesson focuses on Flipping. Over in Show and Tell, check out "First Kiss" plus demo reels and portfolios posted by Forum users. Don't miss The Animation Flea Market, where users can post items wanted or for sale. Visit all of AWN's Forums.

Canadian animation house Studio B
recently unveiled a roster of new shows, including plans for an
all-new preschool series based on the '50s live-action series LASSIE.
Created for LASSIE rights-holder Classic Media and illustrated by
Rebecca Dart (WHAT ABOUT MIMI?), the new 2D animated series (52 x
11-minutes) will maintain the spirit of the original series but
feature everyone's favorite collie in all new adventures as a puppy.
Studio B is also lining up some wackier projects including Gerry

New
York-based production company Dogmatic has created a 60-second
animated and live-action commercial for Pepsi, now airing in more
than 3,000 movie theaters nationwide. Featuring live-action footage
of Britney Spears behind-the-scenes in production of the Pepsi
commercial "Now and Then," the new spot, titled "Can Caper," frames
the live-action footage with an animated story where a basic
television turns into a curvaceous femme fatale and a mysterious
masked man is revealed to be a can of Pepsi. The animation was done

Los Angeles-based digital
animation studio Animax Interactive has teamed with entertainer Dave
Coulier (TV's FULL HOUSE) and F3 Entertainment to bring the WEAVER
BEAVER AND FRIENDS characters to life. Animax designed and developed
a Website to support the release of two new kids' audio CDs featuring
Dave Coulier with WEAVER BEAVER AND FRIENDS. In addition to creating
the Website, Animax was significantly involved in everything from
initial character development to the jacket design used on both CDs.

Visit all of AWN's Discussion Forums to stay in touch with the animation community! This week, hot forum discussions include careers in Flash animation and the state of 3D animation in India. In The Animator's Desktop, Tony White has posted lesson #7 in his "Making Things Move Well" series. Over in Show and Tell, check out the CG short "Cubism," and "The Fellowship of the Frisbee," an animation project featuring 24 animations in various styles and techniques by 24 Israeli artists, plus demo reels and portfolios posted by Forum users.

India's Chennai Studios is looking for an AGENT, a DISTRIBUTOR and a SALES DIRECTOR . . . Sunnyvale, California's Clay Pixel Studios is looking for a BUSINESS PLAN DRAFTER . . . Ukiah, California's Digitech, Inc. is looking for an ANIMATOR . . . Hollywood, California's Klasky Csupo is looking for a CGI ANIMATOR, a LIGHTER, a MODELER and a TEXTURE ARTIST . . . Dubai's Media Tech is looking for a COORDINATOR and an EDITOR . . . Chennai, India's MUV Media is looking for a COMIC BOOK ARTIST and a STORYBOARD ARTIST . . . Glendale, California's NeoPets, Inc. is looking for a CONTENT WRITER . . .