When the Art Institute of California in San Francisco laid-off a few people this summer it wasn’t mentioned by the media, but it should have been part of a major news story.

And so, while this series of blogs is not really related to animation per say, they are truly inspired by the power of imagination open-mindedness is capable of unveiling to us all.

A fully configured HP Z820 workstation tragically self-destructed Wednesday by short circuiting and bursting into flames in a desperate act of protest against being forced to work on a remake of the film Carrie.

While the AniMazSpot 2012 Jury Panel is reviewing the 54 nominees to pick the winners, the rest of the team is keeping busy, working on the festival programs and tours.

I see a lot of TV animation for kids. Sounds pretty enviable, doesn’t it? Well, it is when you stumble upon godsends like the shows Yo Gabba Gabba! Otherwise, it’s a pretty hellish experience being forced to hear god-awful music and watch screaming adult-voiced kids, bad animation, idiotic storylines, and annoying dialogue, writing, and plots that read like they’re were made by a factory of Ned Flanders clones.

I came across this amazing sculptured scene contained within a small, simple box. As I swung open its flimsy doors, it unveiled to me an astoundingly fantastical realm hidden within its tiny confinements. Its thoughtfully choreographed scene bloomed with magical stories exploding with imagination and fantasy. It rightly took my breath away.

Ben Brownlee returns with “Fundamentals of mocha,” including over four hours of HD training videos ; 14 exercises from streaming series available free to all mocha users.

We've posted two-time Oscar-winner Andrew Stanton's (Monsters Inc, Toy Story, John Carter, Finding Nemo and others) commencement address from last month's Animation Mentor graduation. Humor, insight and enthusiasm from one of Pixar's brightest stars.

Parsons The New School for Design announces the appointments of new deans for its School of Art, Media and Technology, and School of Design Strategies.

Noted historian and professor Karl Cohen surveys top artists and educators on what is great animation.

In a four-day master class, Oscar-winning animation director Suzie Templeton gives insight in her creative process and working methods.

Digital Domain Media Group, the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts and the City of West Palm Beach announce the arrival of the inaugural classes of students to their pioneering accredited four-year BFA degree program in Animation and Digital Arts.

Emmy-winning screenwriter Jeffrey Scott sheds light on the importance of theme in developing plot, subplots, characters and dialogue.

Paul Mason turned his life-long love of superheroes into a burgeoning career, recently celebrating the release of the fourth issue in his distinctively Australian series “The Soldier Legacy”.

So how do you compete against someone’s relative for a job you know you want? The simple answer is, you can’t. But what you can do is find someone, anyone, cousin, relative, distant neighbor, someone you meet in line at Trader Joe’s or at the car wash and use your trump card to get an interview.

Ottawa International Animation Festival

Sept 19th-23rd Ottawa, Canada

From September 19th to 23rd, the nation's capital will once again become the center of the animation universe.  The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is the largest event of its kind in North America, a major film event attracting attendees from around the world. Film buffs, art lovers and cartoon fans won't want to miss this year's great line up of screenings taking place at ByTowne Cinema, National Gallery of Canada, Empire Theatres Rideau Centre and Arts Court Theatre.

This year, the Ottawa International Animation Festival received a total of 2377 entries from 81 different countries. Of those, 94 short films and 4 feature films were chosen for competition. In addition, 49 showcase films were chosen to represent the efforts of the Canadian, International, and Student communities.

Professional Development events take place Saturday, September 22nd. If you are working in animation or think you may want to, join industry professionals, animation schools, software companies, and recruiters for a day of presentations and the annual Animarket Tradeshow.

Georgia Tech researchers are developing a way to simulate and control movement of computer-generated characters without a skeletal structure.

Learning animation on your own is very doable. This third of the four part series on the tools of the trade looks at vector based softwares for animation.

Faceware Technologies announced that it is rolling out its Educational Program to educational institutions around the world.

Nothing says you are old news because you have not landed the perfect job unless of course you are beginning to believe those tall tales yourself. Here’s how to avoid becoming and urban legend and make recruiters and hiring managers stand up and take notice.