Hey This guy is really good. Should be hung in the Met and Louvre. Same last name? It is a common name like smith.

i really really really like your work.....it gives me something to do before i TRY falling asleep..:) so im wondering why did they cancel IZ?

hey chris- that was entirely too long an article trying to JUSTIFY the current decades of insane "animal" animations, you were too nice,and was hoping there would be more cursing! stewart little -2 promotions have hit the public pages,and i was just thinking about the same (historical- psychological- anilitical) items,you...so elequintly wrote about. these sequils about talking animals, like stewart little are making me wonder...if there are actually real people ..out-there who will go see this kind of commercial-animal-talking-crap! i can recall talking sled-dogs, from dizney,and that one really "skunked" me-out, but as to...WHY, would this kind of ameatureism -animation.......continues, is the big question. the answer needs to be revealed by the many (new concepts) which could easily out-compete this kind of studio-commercial-retro "monkeybusiness". if only the public viewing-movie-going folks NEW what they are MISSING! i feel it is up to the very brave..who will eventually over-come this tidal wave of talking animal trash.these brave "new-concept" folks will need all the media help they can get, as this is a monoply by the "old-school" big- money goons,and they are not going away, unless movie-goers start BOYCOTTING these films..exactly like the stock market.. INVESTORS are doing,with the statment... "stop the rip-off or else" ,and just watch...the "talking animal toons" dissapear! the starved-for-anything-animated customers need to "get-tough" and until they do...this is not going to resolve itself. dawk

The talk in this article about evolution was a distraction, and was poorly used as a literary device. The analogy breaks down (as much as the theory itself does) when the writer delves into clever explanations of theoretical biology, and fails to connect the themes to the narrative of the horses. Also, the narrative left out the many animated horses that were not part of feature length films, including entire shows where horses or ponies are central characters, even on regular Saturday morning TV. Too much focus on Disney to call this "well researched."

Jean Wright is an incredible source of knowledge and knows how to convey it. Thanks for the article on the Television Animation Outline. I'm inspired. Lauri Fraser

Anthopormorphism, taken to its inevitable, hellish conclusion. I don't think this is what ol' Tex Avery had in mind. www.furnation.com Yeep.

Cute, fluffy bunnies are used for the same reason "Star Trek" always delivered its messages through an alien or android: the same message delievered by a human would be preachy and boring. When it's delievered by a non-human character, we Learn a Valuable Lesson on the State of Mankind. I think I'll go have a beer now...one that's advertised by lizards and frogs...

Hello I am so grateful for this article. As a producer I am always looking to understand the process of writing for television animation. This article on outlining an episode was very informative and easy to read. Thanks Angel Harper Producer-Performer

Dear Pamela, I am glad to read your article and it is worth for me. I am a cartoonist. I love cartoon and creating. Now I am working on a hundred episodes funny cartoon series on my own. However, one thing I have wondering is what kind of the company can help me sell them. I hope you can guide me the way and give me some names of those company which want to find out some potential new cartoon.thank you so much. the awn site is wonder site for the cartoonist. I love it so much after I found it by accident. leohuang

I think your use of red arrows in the illustrations kind of confuse the issue: in one you show the force generating the wrinkle,- in the other you mark out the effect(ie the smile versus the frown and snarl examples). I would have thought wrinkle is generated more or less perpendicular to the forces pushing in, so perhaps a side on view of your first illustration would make that clearer(as opposed to a top view as it seems to be).

The one thing you forgot in your "simplifying" technique is what ANIMATES and what shapes and forms move best. The best designed characters ever created for animation were Disney's Seven Dwarves, because they were worked over until every inch of them moved fluidly in animation. Since then, people in the industry have gotten so obsessed with design that they put sharp angles all over the place in their designs - like in your wolf drawing - that slow up the fluidity in their animation. This is one of the main reasons we'll probably never see spectacular animation like Bill Tytla's animation on Stromboli ever again in mainstream animation. Animators and producers are too busy doing pretty little drawings to impress each other. Even your "simplified" drawing of the wolf was far, far too anal.

RE: Bushman Pete- my piece "strange frame" is done in a similar method. Lots of scanned elements tweaked in Photoshop to make clothing. I laid my arm on my scanner to get a set of arms for one character. You wrote that it was difficult to get the camera right. I did my animation in layers in After Effects and for some of the camera moves I used After Effect 5.5's built in camera. You can see the results in the Promo section of my webpage: http://www.strangeframe.com

Jhonen has really influenced my artistic view on life. Johnny kinda made me think about life, and how I'm going to die some horrible death. There was struggle, and question. I've been drawing since I was five, and I've always dreamt of making my own comic one day. I don't know if I'll ever achieve that dream, but I intend to try.

I understand that this was a far from exhaustive historical overview of horses in animated features... However, since the article managed to find room to discuss those famed horse operas CHARLOTTE'S WEB and SHREK, let me respectfully mention at least one animated equine character unsung -- and unmentioned -- by Greg Singer. I'm referring to CYRIL, the speedy cart- horse [and pal] of the reckless, irrepressible J. Thaddeus Toad in "The Wind in the Willows" section of Disney's THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD. [There might be something to be said about Ichabod's steed in the "Sleepy Hollow" portion of the picture, but, hey -- I'm only bringing up Cyril here.]

Jhonen is a genius. he probably hears this all the time as he should. his comics are amazing and touch on every interesting aspect in society. he is very original in every way. i love invader zim and am looking very forward to watching and reading whatever he comes up with next. i hope he makes a show for HBO, that would be a sight to see. the interview was very interesting and it just makes you want to hang out with him. he seems like hes would probably be one the coolest people in the world. whats funny is he reminds me a lot of my friend john, who just happens to know jhonen somewhat.

All though I have not watched the movie itself I think it is just awsome. It is more than the "Matrix", I am an animation student and I know what goes into producing such realistic pictures. This is more than I anticipated. Thumbs up to the entire crew that worked on this production.

WOW! A Disney movie without SONGS!!??? I have to see this one!

What you say, Pamela, is absolutely correct...should be self-evident, but, too often, is sneered at as old-fashioned. As one who must deal with many types, these basic virtues I hold sacrosanct. One nit to pick...and it may come to a matter of preference...but I prefer to see the word "focused", without the double "s" used here. Either is correct, by dictionary standards, but the double "s" reminds me of cussed. There are people who use "busses" to mean "buses", and the former only means "kisses"... which I extend you for your article. Virtual, of course.

It is a well known fact that you must always make an ovious story excuse for mixing a CG chacter with live ones, just as you do for cell chacters with live ones as the audience can never ever be fooled into thinking the cg was photographed. CG by it's very nature, can never be photorealistic enough to pose as a photographed phisical thing. so what story excuse was offered for the transformation of yoda. was he said to have been holographing, or in anoter dimension? what about the other cg?

Good Article! Except -- Missed The Last Unicorn, and possibly, Metamorphoses.