Ray Tracers: Blue Sky Studios
Susan Ohmer profiles one of the leading edge computer animation studios working in the U.S.
All AWN Content
Editor's Notebook: May 1997
Commercials Many years ago, when I was an undergraduate student, I volunteered to transcribe an oral history interview with Hans Richter, one of the pioneers of European avant garde cinema, whose career dated back to the 1920s. One of the comments that stuck with me all these years was about an offer he had to make an advertising film. As he considered himself first and foremost an artist, he refused. Later, after seeing the resulting film, he was so delighted that he changed his mind towards working on such films. Today, with the likes of Spike Lee making...
Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation.
Fred Patten reviews Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation.
Words From the Publisher
I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself, and to share some of the background that motivated me to publish Animation World Magazine and motivates me still in our great and growing venture. I would like also to introduce my esteemed partner in AWN, and co-publisher, Dan Sarto. Dan is our technical guru and the spark behind the creation of the magazine. We have just begun our second year in publication, successfully reaching people in more than 100 countries who all share a common interest, animation. We are connected by our fascination, appreciation...
Fumes From The Fjords
Gunnar Str investigates the history behind pre-WWII Norwegian animated cigarette commercials.
Making the Cel: A Profile of Women in Commercials
Bonita Versh profiles some of the commercial industry's leading female animation directors.
The PGA Connection
Gene Walz offers a look back at Canadian commercial studio Phillips, Gutkin and Associates.
Reviews in Brief
Wendy Jackson reports on new animation music, video and book releases.
Cats Don't Dance
Danny the cat.I came to Cats Don't Dance with few expectations, thinking only "a flick with six Randy Newman songs in it can't be all bad." Things got off on the wrong foot with a lifeless, laughless Foghorn Leghorn short, Pullet Surprise (directed by Darrel Van Citters for Chuck Jones Productions) tacked to the beginning, but took a more promising turn as the feature proper got underway. Any movie that borrows successfully from Sunset Boulevard and Singin' in the Rain in the first reel is well on its way to winning this old film buff's heart. Cats...
The Ink and Paint of Music
Amin Bhatia recounts a day in his life as an "electronic composer" for animated TV shows, explaining his tools and techniques.
Software Review: Web Painter
One of Totally Hip's "Hip Clips"In the last issue, I looked at Macromedia's Flash, a program that allows you to do animation for the Web. This month, I tested out Totally Hip Software's WebPainter, a program with the same general purpose as Flash, but aimed at a different market. While Flash works with vector-based images and allows a considerable amount of interactivity for a rather high price; WebPainter allows you to easily create GIF animations, and is inexpensive, but lacks the interactivity and more professional look that Flash is capable of.
If you already have a program like...
Dirdy Birdy
Gene Walz offers a look back at Canadian commercial studio Phillips, Gutkin and Associates.
Carl Stalling and Humor in Cartoons
Daniel Goldmark shows how Carl Stalling, who may have been the most skilled and clever composer of cartoon music Hollywood ever had, used music to create gags and help tell a story at the same time.
Event Preview: NATPE's Animation & Special Effects Expo
Renowned drawing instructor Glenn Vilppu continues with his ninth "sketching on location" teaching installment. This month we learn about creating a silhouette and the importance of positive and negative shapes.
Desert Island Series....If a Tree Falls on a Desert Island, Does Anyone Hear It?
Alf Clausen, Howie Mandel, Will Ryan and Luc Hamet.
Who's Afraid of ASCAP? Popular Songs in the Silly Symphonies
From 1929 to 1939, Disney's Silly Symphonies united animation with a rich array of music, including such songs as "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf." J.B. Kaufman reports.
"A Screw Here, a Crank There"e;: Payut Ngaokrachang and the Origins of Thai Animation
!["A Screw Here, a Crank There"e;: Payut Ngaokrachang and the Origins of Thai Animation](https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/small_featured/public/image/featured/819-screw-here-crank-therequote-payut-ngaokrachang-and-origins-thai-animation.jpg?itok=k3PGDb5g "\"A Screw Here, a Crank There"e;: Payut Ngaokrachang and the Origins of Thai Animation")
!["A Screw Here, a Crank There"e;: Payut Ngaokrachang and the Origins of Thai Animation](https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/tiny_featured/public/image/featured/819-screw-here-crank-therequote-payut-ngaokrachang-and-origins-thai-animation.jpg?itok=VlwkQyhZ "\"A Screw Here, a Crank There"e;: Payut Ngaokrachang and the Origins of Thai Animation")
The father of Thai animation, Payut Ngaokrachang, tells John A. Lent how he got his start through a set of fortuitous circumstances.
The Burgeoning of a Project: Pierre Hébert's La Plante humaine
Andrea Martignoni delves into Pierre Hert's radical method for marrying animation with music.
Voice Acting 101
Animation World Magazine, issue 2.1, April 1997, Music and Sound Design for Animation
La crescita di un progetto: La Plante humaine di Pierre Hébert
Andrea Martignoni delves into Pierre Hert's radical method for marrying animation with music.
Editor's Notebook: A Word on Music and Animation
A Word on Music and Animation
An Interview With Mark Hammil
Animation World Magazine, issue 2.1, April 1997, Music and Sound Design for Animation
The Dream of Color Music, And Machines That Made it Possible
William Moritz gives a quick and dazzling historical overview attempts to create visual music using "color organs."
Letters to the Editor
The Thief and the Cobbler Having read the review of The Thief and the Cobbler by Alex Williams and your own editorial on the matter, I thought you ought to read [the] article by Mike Dobbs [in] Animato magazine ["An Arabian Knight-mare," that appeared in the issue #35, summer 1996, and which was posted by Dobbs on the rec.arts.animation user group]. Mr. Dobbs had interviewed Fred Calvert, so in a sense the article is "Calvert's side of the story." In it a good and believable case is made that Mr. Calvert was indeed sensitive to the beauty of the...
The Influence of Religion on Early European Animation
P. Pluie-Toile expounds on the mysteries and surprising richness of religious imagery found in the fledgling works of various European animation industries.
