Todoroki Kawaii

In the 1980's Don Bluth produced Dragon's Lair, Space Ace and Dragon's Lair 2: Time Warp. A series of laserdisc video games using hand-drawn animation. The animation from Bluth, and other animation greats such as Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy is irresistibly appealing, exciting and definitely fun.  Fans still dream of a Dragon's Lair (in my case Space Ace) hand-drawn feature film that recaptures the pacing and fun of the originals.   A major part of what gave these projects an amazing sense of scope and a very clear universe were the background paintings.  They are are amazing and a must study in terms of color, design, and creative use of perspective.  According to Gary Goldman the background painters who worked on these films were Don Moore, Ron Diaz, Dave Goetz and William Lorencz.   The games are available as downloadable applications for mobile devices now.   Totally worth getting if anything for study and analysis.  Below is an interview I found ...

Apologies to everyone for not posting this sooner. Those who follow Master Drawing Japan are well aware that this summer, its biggest and most ambitious seminar to date was held. Aaron Blaise, veteran Disney animator of over 20 years,  film director, illustrator and wildlife artist was our guest in Tokyo for an amazing 13 days! In partnership with CG World  / +ONE Knowledge , Master Drawing Japan invited this animation heavyweight to share his priceless knowledge with the aspiring artists of Tokyo.  During that time Aaron held two seminars on animation, creature design and an additional two intensive masterclasses on character design and human/ animal comparative anatomy. Well over a hundred students and professionals came in attendance for Aaron's first teaching seminars in Japan. Aaron covered all the essentials of animation and design.  A very interactive instructor, Aaron designed the lion above with direct guidance from the audience. And Aaron went on to anima...

A second home-run thanks to master draftsman, painter and illustrator   Glenn Vilppu and the Suidobata Fine Arts Academy.     A four-day intensive drawing seminar in Tokyo on figure drawing, and drawing the human head, Glenn Vilppu, gave an amazing class to students, professionals and teachers from both Japan and abroad.  Some students came as far as from Kyoto in order to attend.  This was Glenn Vilppu's second collaboration with Master Drawing Japan but his first (of hopefully many ) at the Suidobata Fine Arts Academy in Tokyo. "The people who developed animation, were taught by people who never studied animation."  - Glenn Vilppu Glenn Vilppu, who has taught drawing in the  animation industry for over 20 years (notably the Disney Animation Studio) made this note about the tools and terminologies that are used in animation which were carried over from classical painters and illustrators.  Essentially the aim the the same:  to create a sens...

Funded by CIA, animated in the United Kingdom (Halas and Batchelor).  George Orwell's anthropomorphic allegory for the Russian Revolution and the birth of the Bolshevik (Communist) government was brought to life in this powerful and haunting animated film.  Part of the USA's cultural offensive during the Cold War.    Very much worth viewing at least once.  (Link below)

Considering the buzz over the live action Robert Rodriguez Fire and Ice film in the works, and the resurrection of the Frank Frazetta museum, this was a nice find.  Enjoy and be inspired.

Apologies to Mr. Blaise for copping his title. How could someone not be inspired by this man? Aaron Blaise is an accomplished and amazing artist, animator and filmmaker who has been extremely generous in sharing his work, insights and advice on his website The Art of Aaron Blaise ( www.creatureartteacher.com )   Aaron Blaise has produced beautiful work on films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan and Brother Bear which he directed.  All artists are always trying to learn, grow, build up on what they have spent years mastering.  Whatever motivates the artist,  there are always stumbles and outright obstacles.   Every now and then, the artist finds an oasis of information or inspiration that can help keep him/ her going.  Aaron's online advice is certainly one.  One of the most important things about the art process is that it's not so much "what you do" but "how you think" about your work.    This is one of the greatest areas of advic...

This animation short entitled, "A Warrior's Dream" by animation director Li Jing has been floating around for the past week.  Given it has two of my greatest passions animation and martial arts, I had to say something.  Donnie Yen is one of the leading popular martial arts actors today.  Son of another famous martial arts master, Bow Sim Mark, Donnie has a long history in the martial arts world.  Recently he has been noted for his portrayal of the Wing Chun Kung Fu grandmaster, Ip Man. (Sometimes written as Yip Man)  Grandmaster Yip Man is greatly renown as Bruce Lee's first formal martial arts teacher.  Bruce Lee of course needs no introduction.  Founder of the Jeet Kune Do philosophy,  greatest influence on modern martial arts in the 20th Century.  Forever the king of martial arts motion pictures.  Period.   The film does fall a bit short with some of the nuance that gives animation sparkle and true life.   Some performances ...

Watched the animated anthology film, "Short Peace" featuring two short films by Katsuhiro Ootomo:  Hinoyoujin ( 火要鎮 /  ひのようじん)   (not translated but entitled in the USA as "Combustible") and Bukiyosaraba ( 武器よさらば /   ぶきよさらば) .  (Translated as Farewell to Weapons) 4 short films in total, each story using a combination of handrawn animation and computer animation.  In the past, there were reservations about how these handrawn/ CG fusions were done as both mediums clashed against each other battling for attention.    In most cases it worked, especially Tsukomo ( 九十九)  which arguably stole the show.  Ootomo's films were great and particularly thoughtful towards Japanese culture of the past and future. They didn't exactly have the the great acting animated performances that Ootomo's "Akira" had but it they still delivered compelling visuals.  The timing for Farewell To Weapons / Bukiyosaraba ( 武器よさらば /   ぶきよさらば)  is intere...