Tag: featured

Epic Games Acquires Quixel, Opens Megascans Library for UE Use
Kicking off Unreal Academy London, Epic Games announced the acquisition of Quixel, creator of the world’s largest photogrammetry asset library and bundled toolset, with all Quixel Megascans becoming free for all use with Unreal Engine. In addition, Epic announced significant Unreal Engine developments that streamline functionality to offer elegant solutions for creators across all industries.

Founded in 2011, Quixel‘s products include Megascans, an extensive library of 2D and 3D photogrammetry assets, supported by companion applications Bridge and Mixer. Leading game developers, filmmakers, and visualization specialists use Quixel Megascans assets to craft blockbuster games (Metro Exodus, Destiny 2, Battlefield V), blockbuster animation (The Jungle Book, Black Panther, The Lion King, Pacific Rim: Uprising), and lifelike scenes through high-quality content and access to a vast array of tools. Quixel’s primary operations will remain based in Sweden, with over 100 employees across six countries joining the Epic Games team.

“Building photorealistic 3D content is an expensive endeavor in game development and film production. By coming together with Quixel to make Megascans free for all use in Unreal Engine, this level of artistry is now available to everyone from triple-A studios to indies,” said Epic Games Founder & CEO Tim Sweeney.

“Our mission at Quixel has always been to make the world more accessible for everyone through ultra-high resolution scanning. As part of Epic Games, we’re now able to accelerate this vision as we grow the Megascans library, speed up the development of Bridge and Mixer, and improve integrations with all major 3D software and renderers,” said Quixel Co-founder Teddy Bergsman.

As part of making the Quixel Megascans library of more than 10,000 assets free for use with Unreal Engine, 10 high-resolution packs have already been shared for free on the Unreal Engine Marketplace, as well as a collection of assets from the popular Iceland collection used in the Rebirth cinematic short. Additional asset packs will be made available for free on the Marketplace at a future date within the Unreal Engine 4.24 release timeframe.

Quixel Mixer and Quixel Bridge are being made available for free to all, regardless of engine choice or license type. In addition, all Quixel Megascans users can look forward to more downloads per month and more generous license terms.

Epic also announced more streamlined features and workflows that advance Unreal Engine for all creators. Starting with Unreal Engine 4.24, features such as the Datasmith suite of plugins, static mesh editing and the Variant Manager — previously available through the free Unreal Studio beta — now ship as part of the unified binary tool. As a result, all Unreal Engine users will now have access to the same features, regardless of industry and use case: games, architecture, automotive and transportation, film and television, broadcast and live events, as well as training and simulation, with the entire community benefitting from a more diverse user base with transferable skills.

The Unreal Studio beta will be retired upon the release of Unreal Engine 4.24. Users remaining on Unreal Studio 4.23 or earlier will be able to continue using the product, however Epic will no longer release new versions or offer further support. The Datasmith plugin for 4.19-4.23 will be made available for all users for free on the Unreal Engine Marketplace.

Unreal Engine 4.24 highlights:
- New nondestructive, layer-based Landscape workflows enable more interesting and engaging outdoor environments where the terrain automatically adapts to other elements in the world.
- The Sky Atmosphere component generates a physically-accurate sky that can be updated dynamically depending on the time of day, and it can be viewed from the ground or from the air to create realistic-looking planetscapes.
- The new experimental strand-based hair and fur system brings characters to life with realistic, flowing hair.
- Screen-space global illumination allows for natural light-filled spaces using fewer resources.
- The Live Universal Scene Description (USD) Stage Actor creates a direct link to the USD file on disk for faster iteration and better collaboration.
- Project creation workflow now includes a wizard-style workflow centered around the industry or type of project you are creating so you only see relevant settings and tools.
The company has also touched on the future of Twinmotion in its announcements. Powered by Unreal Engine, Twinmotion is a highly intuitive, high-quality solution for fast and easy real-time visualization for architecture, construction, urban planning, and landscaping.

Previously, Epic had announced that Twinmotion would remain free until November 2019; once downloaded, the free version can be used indefinitely. Today, Epic is extending the free availability until the next release of Twinmotion, which is anticipated to ship in the first quarter of 2020. The new version will offer even greater photorealism, improved assets, tools to facilitate collaborative workflows, and more.

Learn more at epicgames.com, unrealengine.com and www.quixel.com.

Quixel
November 12, 2019
Hybrid Student Short ‘Facing It’ Wins VIEW Best Film Award

The results are in for the 2019 VIEW Awards, presented as part of the annual VIEW Conference for animation, visual effects, games, computer graphics, XR, interactive and immersive storytelling. Held in beautiful Turin, Italy, VIEW took place Oct. 21-25 this year, offering a week of talks, presentations and workshops with diverse topic experts and artists from around the world.

The 2019 VIEW Award for Best Short Film (2,000 euro prize) went to Facing It, an 8’30” claymation/live-action short written and directed by Sam Gainsborough and co-written by Louisa Wood. The film was produced at the National Film and Television School’s Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, U.K. It is an exploration of how relationships with people mold us – literally – expressed as waves of emotion form and reform across the main character Shaun’s often surreal plasticine face. The jury praised the unique animation technique used so successfully to convey emotions, and unanimously awarded it the VIEW Award first prize.

Whilst waiting for his parents in a busy pub, Shaun struggles valiantly to join in with the admirably happy people in the crowd, but the more he tries, the more he goes awry. As everything in the pub goes from bad to worse, Shaun finds himself confronted by the painful memories that made him who he is. His feelings, memories and desires overwhelm him and by the end of the evening he is ready to explode.

Jury Award for Story:

Trois Francs, Six Sous, a 6’30”, 3D animated short, was co-directed by Clémence Ottevaere, Florence Blain, Louise Leblond, Varoon Indalkar, Morgane Ladjel, and Hugo Valdelièvre-Rattier as their graduation film at Supinfocom Rubika in Valenciennes, France. The jurors called this animated story of a French farmer during World War II an excellent story well told, and praised the direction. Trailer]

Jury Award for Art Direction:

Blieschow, a 10-minute animated short written and directed by Christoph

Sarow at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany, who painted and animated the film largely in Photoshop. In the story, city boy Tom visits his grandfather’s farm where he competes with a seemingly better cousin. The jury found Sarow’s film beautiful with a sophisticated palette, and an overall design that served the story well.

Italianmix award for best national short:

Red Hands (Mani Rosse), a nearly 30-minute stop-motion short film by Italian director Francesco Filippi of Studio Mistral. In this film produced by Sattva Films, domestic violence is both physical and psychological. The two young protagonists move toward adulthood using the tools of imagination, dreams and spiritual affinity. To honor this timely story, the jury awarded Filippi with a Wacom Cintiq. [Trailer]

The international and Italianmix awards jury was comprised of President of the Jury Maria Elena Gutierrez (VIEW Conference Director), Jurys Chair Barbara Robertson (journalist), Carolyn Giardina (Tech Editor, The Hollywood Reporter), Danny Dimian (Oscar-winning VFX supervisor, Spider-Man: Enter the Spider-Verse), Glenn Entis (Co-Founder, PDI), Eric Darnell (Chief Creative Director and Co-founder, Baobab Studios; director, Madagascar movies), Max Giovagnoli (Director Visual Arts, Ied Rome) and Constantin Ionescu (Cinema Engineering student, Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy).

Learn more at www.viewconference.it.

Trois Francs, Six Sous

Red Hands

Blieschow

November 12, 2019
Acclaimed War Drama ‘Another Day of Life’ Deploys in February

GKIDS and Shout! Factory announce the home video release of award-winning war film Another Day of Life, on Blu-ray + DVD on February 18 and digitally on February 4, with bonus features including a making-of featurette, a piece on creating the animated characters, and trailers. The film is available for pre-order now on Amazon and ShoutFactory.com.

An official Cannes selection and winner of festival prizes and awards worldwide, Another Day Of Life is a daringly ambitious dive into the chaos and carnage of war, based on the book by the journalist Ryszard “Ricardo” Kapuściński, one of the world’s most compelling chroniclers of conflict.

Intercutting a graphically bold animation style with interviews and archival footage, the visually striking film conveys a rare immediacy as it tells of the outbreak of civil war following Angola’s independence from Portugal in 1975. Against all advice, Kapuściński is intent on driving south into the heart of the bloody conflict to find the isolated rebel leader Farrusco. His animated trip through corpse-strewn roads conveys an undeniable urgency, while the documentary testimony reminds us that we are watching actual history.

The film is directed by Raúl De La Fuente & Damian Nenow, and written by Raúl De La Fuente & Amaia Remírez with Niall Johnson, David Weber and Damian Nenow, Another Day of Life is an official Spanish-Polish-German-Belgian co-production.

Home video bonus features are: Creating the Animated Characters, Making Of, and Trailers.

Another Day of Life Blu-ray

November 12, 2019
Harley Quinn Comes Out Swinging in Full Trailer

If you love violence, cursing, villains with amazing hair, talking plants and unexpected Buster Keaton call-backs, then Warner Bros. Animation has got a trailer for you. Yes, the full length trailer for Harley Quinn has arrived, and this ain’t no cartoon princess. The original, mature-auds series premieres Friday, November 29 exclusively on DC Universe.

Synopsis: Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) has finally broken things off once and for all with The Joker (Alan Tudyk) and attempts to make it on her own as the criminal Queenpin of Gotham City in this half-hour adult animated action-comedy series. The series features Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) and a whole cast of heroes and villains, old and new, from the DC Universe.

Check out the trailer below and don’t miss our cover story on Harley Quinn in the January issue of Animation Magazine, coming soon!

The voice cast of rogues and heroes also features James Adomian as Bane, Jason Alexander as Sy Borgman, Diedrich Bader as Batman, Briana Cuoco as Batgirl, Andy Daly as Two Face, Giancarlo Esposito as Lex Luthor, Ron Funches as King Shark, Tony Hale as Dr. Psycho & Felix Faust, Rahul Kohli as Scarecrow, Phil LaMarr as Jason Praxis & Black Manta, Vanessa Marshall as Wonder Woman & Giganta, Tisha Campbell Martin as Tawny Young, Christopher Meloni as Commissioner Gordon, Matt Oberg as Kite Man & KGBeast, Jim Rash as The Riddler, Will Sasso as Maxie Zeus, JB Smoove as Frank the Plant, and Wanda Sykes as Queen of Fables.

Harley Quinn is produced by Ehsugadee Productions and Yes, Norman Productions in association with Warner Bros. Animation. Executive producers are Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, Kaley Cuoco, Dean Lorey and Sam Register.

November 12, 2019
Trailer: Suped Up New ‘Sonic’ Makes Tracks…And Friends!

After the great character design kerfuffle of 2019, Paramount has debuted a retooled super-speedy hero in the new Sonic: The Hedgehog trailer. The design update recaptures the big-eyed, thimble-nosed looks of the SEGA video game star that fans of his other cartoon iterations will recognize.

As the pic races to theaters on February 14, it remains to be seen if the redesign is enough to draw in skeptics — but the trailer shows that family audiences can expect plenty of effects-fueled action, snappy quips and an energetic Dr. Robotnik performance from Jim Carrey.

Synopsis: Based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega, Sonic: The Hedgehog tells the story of the world’s speediest hedgehog as he embraces his new home on Earth. In this live-action adventure comedy, Sonic and his new best friend Tom (James Marsden) team up to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his plans for world domination. The family-friendly film also stars Tika Sumpter and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic.

Oscar-nominated animator Jeff Fowler (Gopher Broke) directs from a script by Pat Casey & Josh Miller (Golan the Insatiable). The feature is presented by Paramount Pictures in association with SEGA SAMMY Group, produced by Original Film, Marza Animation Planet and Blur Studio.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog

November 12, 2019
Walt Disney Family Museum Explores World War II Impact in New Exhibit

The Walt Disney Family Museum has announced a new special exhibition, The Walt Disney Studios and World War II — a remembrance of The Walt Disney Studios’ extensive contributions to the Allied effort, curated by World War II historian Kent Ramsey. Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, this immersive exhibition will be displayed in the Diane Disney Miller Exhibition Hall from May 13, 2020 through January 11, 2021.

With the Disney studio lot in Burbank requisitioned as an Army anti-aircraft base after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Walt and his staff pledged to support the war effort without hesitation, devoting over 90% of their wartime output to producing training, propaganda, entertainment and public-service films, while also designing an extensive collection of insignia and print media. This original exhibition includes rarely-seen artwork, film clips, photos, literature and other historical objects and ephemera from this unique period in animation history.

As the anchor attraction in the Presidio of San Francisco, The Walt Disney Family Museum is an ideal location for The Walt Disney Studios and World War II. The Presidio served as an active U.S. Army base from 1846 until 1994, when it was decommissioned and designated a National Park. Constructed in 1897, the main museum building is one of five prominent brick Army barracks on the Main Parade Ground. The museum also occupies a second brick building, built in 1908, which served as a combination gymnasium and post exchange, and which now houses the Diane Disney Miller Exhibition Hall.

The Walt Disney Family Museum provides free admission to the museum and this exhibition year-round for active and retired military personnel, as well as their spouses and dependents with valid ID. The Museum also participates in the Blue Star Museums program, which grants free general admission to all military ID holders — active, retired, spouses or dependents — and up to five of their family members between Armed Forces Day (Saturday, May 16, 2020) and Labor Day (Monday, September 7, 2020).

November 12, 2019
41 Ent. Announces YA Sci-Fi Original ‘Roswell Conspiracies’

41 Entertainment announced a second YA animation project, in the science fiction space: Roswell Conspiracies. The company created the project in-house, owns exclusive, global, multimedia and animation rights. The CG-animated series will blast off in fall 2021 with a 8 x 44’ first season, targeting males 12-24.

“Science fiction is always interesting – especially to older kids and young adults! This project speaks to a current, and consistently, trending topic of UFOs, aliens and the world’s desire to know what’s really hidden behind the locked gates of Area 51,” says Kiersten Halstead, Vice President of Acquisitions, Development and Production. “We developed it in-house to speak to a global audience who knows that aliens are indeed real!”

Monsters aren’t real, but aliens are. And the creatures that humans call vampires, werewolves, ghosts and goblins are actually different species of extraterrestrials – most of whom are peaceful and able to pass as human beings. They live among us, hiding in plain sight. However, there are some aliens that are more horrible and bloodthirsty than any monster of myth or legend. These dangerous creatures are hunted by a cohort of humans and aliens who work for a top-secret multinational organization known as the Alliance.

It’s been 20 years since the Alliance locked up the last of the enemy aliens, leaving the peaceful extraterrestrials to further assimilate and forge new lives alongside their human neighbors and friends. The Alliance has shrunk in size and scope, leaving a bare-bones team in charge of maintaining the ruse of “Area 51” – and an aging team of complacent guards to watch over their alien prisoners. But then a so-called internet “joke” changed everything. This summer over 2 million users RSVP’d to a Facebook invitation to “Storm Area 51 (they can’t stop all of us)”. The event known as “Alienstock” was scheduled to happen on September 20, 2019. Although it was officially cancelled due to “safety concerns” – thousands of conspiracy buffs still showed up and actually stormed Area 51!

The skeleton crew of Alliance agents were completely unprepared for the onslaught and in the ensuing chaos, several of the alien-monsters managed to escape, including the biggest and baddest monster of them all: “Nosferatu, the Vampire King”. This ancient, cobra-like alien, with his sharp fangs, hooded-head and unquenchable thirst for blood, is the original source of all vampire legends. Seemingly immortal, 20 years ago Nosferatu was finally captured, but now is back on the loose – leaving a bloody trail of death and destruction in his wake – and it’s up to a new generation of Alliance agents to hunt down and recapture this dangerous escapee. Leading the search for Nosferatu is a pair of hotshot alien hunters – 24-year-old Nigerian-born Michael “Eek” Ekong and his new partner, a 21- year-old rookie from Norway, Valerie Torsdotter.

“This story will resonate with fans of science fiction who like their alien conspiracies mixed with plenty of action, a bit of romance and a lot comedy,” adds showrunner Kaaren Lee Brown, who created the original project in 1999.

“Logan Lubera (Deadline: A Sequential Zombie, Stranger in the Dunes) is a Marvel cover artist and he did an incredible job with the comic book style” adds Halstead. “We envision this style in animation.”

Roswell Conspiracies

November 12, 2019
Artifex Scares Up 200 Shots (and 10K Scorpions) for Nick’s ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’

Vancouver’s Artifex Studios provided over two hundred sophisticated visual effects shots for the reboot of fondly-remembered frightener Are You Afraid of the Dark, which returned for a three episode arc on Nickelodeon this October. The series focuses on the evil character of Mr. Tophat (Rafael Casal) and his Carnival of Doom, as he battles against heroine Rachel (Lyliana Wray) and the iconic Midnight Society, known for telling terrifying tales around the campfire.

Artifex was the sole VFX provider for the show, with VFX Supervisor Rob Geddes handling set supervision and even providing test footage shot with a 360 panoramic Ricoh Theta camera that informed new shots that were created for the final show. Artifex utilized a large array of skills from the studio’s toolbox, including matte paint environments, set extensions, magical effects … and literally tens of thousands of CG scorpions.

“This was a tremendously fun project for us, giving us the opportunity to bring a lot to the table both creatively and technically,” said Artifex Studios Founder Adam Stern. “Supervisor Rob Geddes and our whole team had their hands full, delivering terrific shots on a tight timeline, but you can see how much fun and passion they put into Are You Afraid of the Dark by the quality of the work.”

The studio’s work can be seen throughout the three-episode arc, beginning with several character reveals. Graham (Jeremy Ray Taylor; IT), who viewers soon learn is a member of the Midnight Society, is introduced when he is narrowly missed by a hurtling CG football, created to avoid any chance of injury to the actors. Additionally, a creepy ticket-taking clown wearing sunglasses who plays a recurring role is shockingly shown to have no eyes under the lenses.

While the series was shot in Vancouver, the setting is in several rural American towns, which required Artifex to step in with matte painting to augment the physical carnival sets with backgrounds of rolling farmlands. When the members of the Midnight Society travel to their secret hideaway by a rope-pulled boat, Artifex brought the night forest to them to complete the scene.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

CG assets were created and leveraged in several scenes. In episode two, Artifex brought a self-aware pencil to life, which etches a menacing message to Rachel. Later, in a creepy Tunnel of Love, zombified actors were made to look like animatronic automatons by virtue of cleverly created CG metallic chest plates, including virtual LED lighting and wires. To round out the episode, a character goes missing and the ink on the “missing child” posters mysteriously melts away.

The final episode brought the most robust work in the series. One particular sequence involving a police officer in a rest stop bathroom called for CG scorpions emerging from the sinks, ceiling, toilets and every other opening to trap their victim. The scorpions were spawning at a rate of 600 per second, with over 10 thousand scorpions skittering and pinching in the scene by its finish. Artifex created every scorpion seen in the series, save one shot of a physical specimen (which thankfully wasn’t the one that Mr. Tophat consumes in episode one).

The show concludes with an epic battle, as Rachel faces off with Mr. Tophat — highlighting the “Devil’s cane” from which he draws his power, and for which Artifex added lens flares, distortion and Tesla coils. When the evildoer is vanquished (and with him, his ageless visage) the studio helped age Mr. Tophat 100 years in roughly two seconds, before making him disappear in a cloud of dust.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

In total, Artifex provided 217 shots for Are You Afraid of the Dark, using 18 artists. Hardware and software applied during the project included Maya / V-Ray for modelling, animation and rendering; sculpting in Zbrush; tracking in Syntheyes; Houdini for FX simulation work; matte painting in Photoshop; compositing in Nuke; scheduling and production tracking in ftrack and I/O in Resolve.

Founded by industry veteran Adam Stern in 1997, Artifex Studios is a fully staffed creative service studio servicing global TV, film and OTT clientele with best-in-class effects on a streamlined and client-centric timeline. Artifex is based in Vancouver and provides VFX services for North American and international clients like Disney, DreamWorks, AMC, Blumhouse Pictures, History Channel, Nickelodeon, Paramount, FOX, Netflix and others. www.ArtifexStudios.com

[Source: Artifex]

November 11, 2019
“We Don’t Have Any Rules That I Can Think Of”: Dan & Justin Talk ‘Rick and Morty’ S4

The world’s most beloved, foul-mouthed, substance abusing mad scientist and his hapless grandson are blasting off on more unfathomable (and likely uncomfortable) adventures as Rick and Morty Season 4 debuts on around the world. Following the season’s highly-anticipated U.S. debut on Adult Swim this weekend, other markets are preparing to embrace the madness. In South Africa, fans can catch new episodes on SVOD platform Showmax starting November 18.

The help get hyped for the new season, Showmax conducted a colorful interview with series creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. Check out the graphic (literally) Q&A and find out what amazing new guest stars and returning characters to expect, and how the creators come up with this smash-hit adult toon.

November 11, 2019
Animation ‘Ties’ Takes Top Prize at Oscar-Qualifying Interfilm Berlin

Boasting a record attendance of 23,000 visitors — including over 1,000 intrigued attendees of the “30 Years Peaceful Revolution – Fall of the Wall” program and more than 9,000 kids and youths packing screenings for the concurrent KUKI young audiences festival — the 35th International Short Film Festival of Berlin (Interfilm) wrapped up this weekend, announcing 18 film prize winners.

The festival awarded 40,000 euro worth of prizes this year. Notably, this year’s Best Film distinction (a 6,000 euro prize endowed by Medienboard) was awarded to poetic animated short, Ties by Dina Velikovskaya (Germany/Russia). The line-drawing animation centers on a young woman who leaves home to forge a life of her own as an adult — but remains literally connected to her family, creating consequences for everyone in her path.

TIES trailer from Dina Velikovskaya on Vimeo.

Two other Interfilm prize winners have earned Academy Award qualifying status: Best Live-Action Film winner From Matti with Love by Jarno Lindemark (Finland), and Best Animation (3,000 euro prize endowed by SAE Institute) winner KIDS by Michael Frei (Switzerland), an animated interactive project created with game designer and artist Mario von Rickenbach which hones social misconduct to a fine point in a highly original way.

KIDS Trailer from Michael Frei on Vimeo.

Full list of award winners available online.

In addition to more than 60 screening programs, the 2019 Interfilm also boasted special events, workshops and parties where it was possible to mingle with the 500-plus accredited guests from across Germany and the international film community.

Learn more at www.interfilm.de.

35th International Short Film Festival of Berlin

[Photo: Klaus Heymach]

KIDS

November 11, 2019
Cartoon Animator 4.1 Opens Up to PSD Tools & Wacom Tablets
Reallusion’s Cartoon Animator (CTA) — recognized among the easiest 2D animation software solutions — is releasing version 4.1, which opens CTA up to all mainstream PSD tools, such as Adobe Photoshop, Krita, Affinity, Clip Studio and Photopea. Users of these PSD tools and Wacom tablets can now swiftly turn their creative concepts into animation using their original processes via Cartoon Animator.

“Reallusion enables artists with a clean, roundtrip workflow between digital content creation tools and Cartoon Animator,” said John C. Martin, VP of Product Marketing, Reallusion. “Now, the mutual connection between Cartoon Animator and mainstream PSD tools enables users to simultaneously work on their concept art and drive it to a final look while animating from even initial sketches. That means that through every stage of art from doodles to production there is an opportunity to send your drawings to Cartoon Animator already auto-rigged for animation and then return to edit the PSD and roundtrip to CTA without losing a single keyframe animation.”

Cartoon Animator

Major new features and updates to CTA 4.1 include:
- Turn PSD into Scenes. Manageable scene elements can be created from PSD layers and sent to CTA for the arrangement of Z-depth. Use 3D depth to sort 2D scene elements and decide the relative order of characters and props.
Cartoon Animator
- Turn PSD into Props. Import a PSD file as a prop and apply Elastic Motion effects to generate organic animations or follow PSD layer naming rules to group items and set object hierarchy for Compound Prop Animations.
Cartoon Animator
- Turn PSD into Character Rigs. Rig any imaginable 2D character design with the Free Bone Tool or utilize PSD Character Templates for biped human and quadruped animals. Simply replace the image layers with your own design to automatically set up the character rig.
Cartoon Animator
- Free PSD Editor. Photopea Reallusion’s alliance with Photopea provides this browser-based PSD editing service to all users for free. For those who don’t have a PSD editor at hand, this is a good option. CTA provides purchased users an AD free Photopea.
- From Sketch to Final Production. Wacom tablets users realize a pipeline for concept art to animation production. Start with storyboard sketches and bring them to CTA for animation. Keep updating the artwork while keeping the animation intact.
Cartoon Animator
November 11, 2019
A Special Sibling: Siqi Song’s Award-Winning ‘Sister’

***This article originally appeared in the December ‘19 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 295)***

Siqi Song’s powerful new animated short Sister has received raves for its delicate handling of the tough “one child” policy formerly enforced in China, which offered few exceptions for families to raise two or more children. Song was inspired by the personal experiences of herself and her friends to make this stop-motion short. “As a ‘little sister’ myself, I was born as the second child in my family,” she recalls. “At that time, it was really hard to have a second child in the area we lived in China. In most cases, the ‘little sister’ was always the one to get aborted or sent away. Luckily, my parents put in a lot of effort trying to keep me. Otherwise, I would not have existed and lived a life. Most of my friends don’t have siblings.”

Siqi Song

Song says throughout her childhood, the question that had been asked a lot by her peers was, what is it like to grow up with a sibling? “I’ve heard stories of my friends and cousins who lost their little sisters and brothers because of the one-child policy,” she notes. “So, I wanted to make a film to tell my friends what it is like to grow up with a sibling. More importantly, I also want to tell the story of an only child in our generation, who would’ve had a different life if their siblings were born.”

妹妹／SISTER – trailer from Siqi Song on Vimeo.

The script process for Sister began four years ago, during Song’s second year at CalArts. Then she spent most of her final year at school working on the fabrication and stop-motion animation. After graduation, while she was working at an animation studio, Song used her spare time to work on editing and post-production. Overall, the beautifully crafted short took her about three years to complete.

“The budget for the film was about $7,000, not including the labor and equipment costs,” she points out. “Because Sister was my graduation film at CalArts, I was able to shoot the film using school resources. Most of the people who worked on the film were student volunteers from CalArts. I only used the budget to pay for the materials, hard drives and sound services.”

Sister

Finding the Right Material

Having made several stop-motion films in the past and experimented with different materials, Song believes that finding the right materials that work with storytelling is essential for a stop-motion film. “I chose wool was because it’s very soft and delicate,” she says. ”It can create imagery that conveys the theme of the film: family, childhood and memories.”

Since Sister has played in many festivals and showcases around the world, Song has received lots of heartfelt feedback on her work. “I’m really surprised that not only the audience in China were able to relate to the film, but also the audience from all over the world.” She says she was especially moved by a review of the film written by a Chinese-American viewer. “As another ‘little sister’ survivor, she was sent away after birth and adopted by an American family,” she recalls. “Since the film grieves the loss of the almost-sister, she also grieves the loss of her almost-family. She said Sister is the only film that’s dedicated to her, and she is glad to know she is being missed by someone. I’m happy to hear the film can come across time, continents and language barriers to connect China’s children around the world who share similar memories.”

Song says she was a huge fan of animation from a young age, watching animated shorts made by Shanghai Animation Film Studio on Chinese TV. “Watching those well-made shorts made me really interested in animation,” she notes. “So, I eventually went to art school and started making my own animated shorts. I especially love the movie Mary and Max, directed by Adam Elliot. I love the authenticity of the film and how the story was unfolded through a unique visual style. I’m also a big fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox, Coraline, The Nightmare before Christmas, Spirited Away, Wallace & Gromit, Coco and many others.”

The young artist’s future plans include making another short film, as well as developing an idea she has for a feature film. “Having had the opportunities to live and work in both China and the U.S. for many years, I have seen both cultures from different perspectives,” she mentions. “Sometimes I feel how small the world is, but at the same time, I think we know so little about each other. Through films, we are able to experience different lives and empathize with the emotions we have in common as human beings. I want to make films that can connect people and make us know and understand each other and ourselves a little better than before. The challenge is that we can only make very few films throughout our career. So, I’ve got to hurry up now and try to make more films before I retire!”

For more info, visit songsiqi.com.

Sister

November 11, 2019
‘Hors Piste’: That Irresistible Alpine Humor

***This article originally appeared in the December ‘19 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 295)***

It has been quite a year for France’s École des Nouvelles Images grads Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert and Oscar Malet. Their CG-animated graduation short Hors Piste, which follows the madcap trials of two mountain rescue experts, picked up the prestigious BAFTA Student Award for Animation, an Annie nom and several other prizes. That means their short qualifies to run in the Oscar race.

“Thanks to the film, the four of us [each] found a job right after our graduation,” the co-directors tell us. “Loris is now a lighting artist at Mikros in Montreal and working on some pitch on his own, while Léo is developing his own feature film as a director at Illumination MacGuff in Paris, and Oscar and Camille are working together in the MegaComputeur collective, in Passion Pictures London. Now that the film is eligible for the Oscars, we keep on meeting new people every day from all around the world!”

Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert and Oscar Malet

The quartet started working on their short during their last year at ENSI. The school asked them to come up with three ideas, and their first one was about people getting lost in a snowstorm in the mountains. “Two of our fathers are Alpinists, so we really used that factor in this universe,” they note. “We wanted some slapstick elements and matched that with having two losers who guide tourists in the wild.”

Hors piste – Trailer from École des Nouvelles Images on Vimeo.

Nine Months of Labor

The team worked day and night for nine months on their short. In terms of animation tools, they mostly relied on Maya, some modelling in ZBrush, texturing with Substance Painter, Yeti for all the fur, Nuke for compositing and Houdini for special effects. They also relied on Guerilla Render as the look development and rendering tool, and scripted their own pipeline, which saved them a lot of time. The short’s catchy music was composed by Nicolas Peiron from MAAAV, a music school in Lyon, which has a partnership with ENSI.

Looking back at the experience, the team says they faced two main challenges. “We wanted it to look professional, and it had to be funny,” they recall. “We really wanted great animation, effects and lights. We worked hard to try to get the hybrid cartoon/realistic look. The special effects took some time to deliver and were probably the most challenging technical part. In terms of comedy, we had to draw a huge amount of little jokes on Post-Its, we imagined about 200 comedy moments, situations and slapsticks effect, and then narrowed it down to keep only the best ones in the short.”

Hors Piste

The directors say one of the best reactions to their film happened at the BAFTA student awards ceremony. “The introduction works pretty well. Since the beginning of the project we really wanted this ‘80s vibe during the helicopter sequence. We’re so happy when we have laughs at screenings. The first time we showed the film for our graduation jury, we were stressed that we wouldn’t get good reactions, and it was a huge relief to see the audience laugh.”

Brunel, Cavalier, Jalabert and Malet name animation stars such as Genndy Tartakovsky, Alberto Mielgo, Pete Docter, Eric Guillon, Alex Hirsch and Fabrice Joubert as some of their biggest idols. They also believe that they’re quite lucky to be living during what some consider the dawn of a new golden age for animation. “When we see the level of the students coming out of schools, big studios trying out new things like Sony did with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the change of consumption paradigm towards streaming, we can say that we are living in a very interesting period with a lot of opportunities!”

Finally, we have to ask them about the best animation advice they got from their elders. “It has to be ‘keep it simple!’ I think we heard this so many times by so many different people that we can’t really attribute to just one person, but it has many truths in it. It’s something we tried to convey in every part of our short.”

Hors Piste is available to watch online: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/horspiste. You can learn more about the short at facebook.com/horspistemovie.

Hors Piste

November 11, 2019
‘Abominable’ Adventure Comes Home in December
DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s magical, action-packed family adventure Abominable is coming home just in time for the holidays. On Digital December 3, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, DVD and On Demand December 17, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, the home release features tons of fun bonus content including 2 original shorts, deleted scenes, and activities for the entire family to enjoy.

This heartwarming and humorous story follows teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet) as she encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building in China, she and her mischievous friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.

Written and directed by Jill Culton (Open Season, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc.), co-directed by Todd Wilderman (Open Season 2) and produced by Suzanne Buirgy and Peilin Chou, Abominable also features the voices of Tsai Chin (The Joy Luck Club) and Michelle Wong (Scandal).

With a 95% Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and boasting the biggest opening for an original animated film this year, critics are calling this new animated classic “pure magic” (Dave Morales, Fox TV Houston) and “an epic, colorful journey home. Beautiful and exhilarating to behold” (Glenn Kenny, The New York Times).

Bonus features:
- DREAMWORKS SHORT – MAROONED – Marooned tells the story of a cantankerous and selfish robot named C-0R13. Stranded on an abandoned lunar outpost, C-0R13 longs to return to Earth. With a partially built ship and his last power source, this determined robot will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
- SHOW AND TELL – Back home in the Himalayan Mountains, Everest puts on a magical show-and-tell for his fellow yetis after he receives a special care package from Yin, Jing and Peng.
- DELETED SCENES with Intros by Writer/Director Jill Culton and Co-Director Todd Wilderman:
  - Spa Day
  - Villains at the Map
  - Magic Montage
  - Yak Attack
- MAKING A MYTH (MOVIE) – In this entertaining ‘making of’ we learn from the filmmakers and stars how they brought the heartfelt and whimsical story of Abominable to life – from the use of magic, music and humor, to the themes of family and nature.
- ANIMATING ABOMINABLE – From production design to storyboarding and animating, the creative team behind Abominable will take us through the design and animation of the film.
- MEET THE CAST – This fun featurette introduces the audience to the cast of Abominable and the characters they play. Learn first-hand from the actors what their personal inspiration was for the role and how they went about performing the voicework.
  - Chloe Bennet as Yi
  - Tenzing Norgay Trainor as Jin
  - Albert Tsai as Peng
  - Tsai Chin as Nai Nai
  - Joe Izzo as Everest
- YOUR YETI CARE GUIDE – Chloe, Albert and Tenzing provide tips and tricks to caring for your newly adopted “Yeti”. In this case YETI stands for pet – dog, kitten and bird.
- COURAGE TO DREAM – This featurette explores the character Yi, the strong, independent and untraditional female lead at the center of Abominable. Actor Chloe Bennet and the filmmakers discuss what makes Yi special and why she is the ultimate role model for young girls and boys today!
- AN ABOMINABLE TOUR WITH CHLOE BENNET – Like her father before her, Yi dreams of travelling across China to see the many beautiful, natural and culturally significant locations featured in Abominable. Chloe Bennet, the voice of Yi, will take viewers on their own magical journey.
- EVEREST’S TALK BOX – Shooting on the DreamWorks Animation campus, we bring in some real kids to meet the man behind the voice of Everest, Joe Izzo, and the audio team from Abominable to learn about all the cool tech that went into Everest’s voice.
- COOKING WITH NAI NAI – Can Tsai Chin, the voice of Nai Nai, learn to make Nai Nai’s famous pork buns in real life? Let’s find out!
- HOW TO ABOMINABLE – Bring Everest, Yi and Nai Nai to life in your home with this How-to-Draw with a difference. Not only will we show you how to recreate your favorite characters from Abominable, but also how to magically bring them to life through a homemade Chinese style lantern!
  - How to Draw
  - Everest
  - Yi
  - Jin
  - Peng
  - Nai Nai
  - How to Make a Chinese Lantern
- YOU CAN SPEAK YETI-ESE – Inspired by foreign language courses, viewers can learn how to speak Yeti-ese with these easy teaching guides hosted by Chloe Bennet.
- NAI NAI SAYS – Narrated by Nai Nai, Yi’s wise grandma gives us life lessons on how to be a strong, independent, modern woman.
- FEATURE COMMENTARY – Writer/Director Jill Culton, Co-Director Todd Wilderman, Producer Suzanne Buirgy, Producer Peilin Chou, Production Designer Max Boas, Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Edwards, and Head of Character Animation John Hill
Abominable Blu-ray
November 11, 2019
‘SCOOB!’ Gets Wagging with Epic Teaser, Selfie Lens

The origins of the Mystery Gang will finally unfurl in the new, all-animated Warner Bros. feature SCOOB!, in theaters May 15. In the official teaser trailer, fans are transported from the heartwarming first meeting of Shaggy and Scooby Dooby Doo to a high-stakes, high-tech dog-and-dude-napping. Get a taste!

The studios has also launched a new augmente camera activation with scoobselfie.com, which lets fans play with Scoob with a custom Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat compatible interactive lens. Strike a pose with Scoob licking your face or on your shoulder, or flip the camera to play fetch with the famous canine sleuth.

Synopsis: SCOOB! reveals how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined with young detectives Fred, Velma and Daphne to form the famous Mystery Inc. Now, with hundreds of cases solved and adventures shared, Scooby and the gang face their biggest, most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this global “dogpocalypse,” the gang discovers that Scooby has a secret legacy and an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.

Voice starring are Kiersey Clemons (Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, TV’s Angie Tribeca) as Dee Dee; Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman, the Neighbors franchise) as Fred; Will Forte (Booksmart, TV’s The Last Man on Earth) as Scooby-Doo’s best friend, Shaggy; Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films, TV’s The OA) as the infamous Dick Dastardly; Ken Jeong (Crazy Rich Asians, The Hangover trilogy) as Dynomutt; Tracy Morgan (What Men Want, TV’s 30 Rock) as Captain Caveman; Gina Rodriguez (Deepwater Horizon, TV’s Jane the Virgin) as Velma; Amanda Seyfried (the Mamma Mia! films, Ted 2) as Daphne; two-time Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter, The Departed) as Blue Falcon; and Frank Welker (the Transformers franchise) returning to the role of Scooby-Doo.

SCOOB! is directed by Tony Cervone, Annie Award nominee for the feature Space Jam and two-time Emmy nominee for his work on Duck Dodgers.

Keep up with Scoob at www.scoob.movie.

SCOOB!

SCOOB!

SCOOB!

SCOOB!

SCOOB!

November 11, 2019
Animation Returns to Original Canadian LGBTQ Film Fest
image+nation, Canada’s first LGBTQ film festival, returns in cinemas and venues across Montreal for a 32nd edition from November 21 to December 1. As well as continuing to offer a pioneering platform for queer stroies that defy the conventional LGBTQ narrative, the 2019 festival will present one more its animated shorts program, Animation: Drawn to You, back by popular demand!

“As we live through times of social change in the world, image+nation 32 proudly brings new films from countries that share stories through LGBTQ cinema’s newest voices,” said Programming Director, Katharine Setzer. “With an emergence of exciting Eastern-European filmmaking, the cream of local talent, and even a pioneering Guatemalan production, this year, more than ever, we’re bringing the best new and innovative storytelling to Montreal.”

Following a decade-long hiatus, image+nation 32 is bringing back an old favorite; the animated shorts program, Animation: Drawn to You. From a mesmerizing stop-motion based on an Anishinaabe poem to a campy queer western with some rib-tickling naughtiness thrown in, moviegoers can enjoy an evening of cinema where imagination is the champion of change and affirmation.

The 96-minute program features 10 stylistically and thematically distinct shorts from across Canada and around the world:
- Drawn to You (Eleanor Davitt | Canada) A heart-warming animated gem that shows the struggles and joys that come with being true to your heart.
- Les lèvres gercées (Fabien Corre | France) In a kitchen, a mother and a child struggle to establish a dialogue.
- Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) (Amanda Strong | Canada) Accompanied by a 10,000-year-old shapeshifter, Biidaaban sets out on a mission to reclaim the ceremonial harvesting of sap from maple trees. Driven by the words of Anishinaabe writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, this mesmerizing stop-motion animation intricately weaves together multiple worlds.
- A Double Life (Job, Joris & Marieke | Netherlands) A deliciously dark comedy about a husband and wife whose different ideas of gender conformity lead to an unexpected confrontation.
- Bacchus (Rikke A. K. Planeta | Denmark) Alex, a young woman bored with modern life, is lured by Bacchus into a colorful and mysterious world to explore her deepest desires.
- Tangle (Malihe Ghloamzadeh | India) Hauntingly told in black and white, this exceptional animated short tells the tale of a girl in wartime.
- Stinkhorn (Hilary Harp & Suzie Silver | Canada) Set in a campy western mining town, Stinkhorn tells the tale of a lady blacksmith named Dusty and her naughty trickster paramour, Blaze. A psychedelic trip wrapped in a queer western, Stinkhorn is a magical who-rides-who tale with a twist.
- Tom Has a Plant (Thinh Nguyen | Denmark) Tom has a plant. He just wants to give away to the one he loves.
- Docking (Trevor Anderson | Canada) Trevor reflects on his fear of dating in this sci-fi send up.
- Kiko’s Saints (Manuel Marmier | Canada) Kiko, a Japanese illustrator on assignment in France, finds an inspiring obsession with a gay couple on the beach. Secretly drawing them, these two bears provide just the push she needs to change her life and break the rules.
Tickets for Animation: Drawn to You available online. Learn more about image+nation at www.image-nation.org.

Les lèvres gercées

Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes)

Docking
November 10, 2019
Fantawild Introduces AFM to ‘The Wild Life’

Leading Chinese animation company Fantawild has set the domestic release date for feature film Boonie Bears: The Wild Life — the latest installment in the hit franchise, which introduces a sci-fi spin on the beloved characters. The picture will carry on Fantawild’s tradition with a Chinese theatrical debut during Chinese New Year. The film is now available to buyers worldwide at the American Film Market (Nov. 6-13).

In the film, a thrilling new place opens on Pine Tree Mountain: “Wild Life”, where guests can transform themselves into a variety of animals. Vick, Bramble, and a mysterious man named Leon team up for a competition held by Wild Life and win the massive grand prize. Soon afterward, Leon is caught trying to secretly copy the park data by the owner, Tom, and Vick discovers that hybrid guests are going feral and attacking others…

“This is the first time in the Chinese animation industry that we turned human beings into animals, which is also more demanding on the production side,” says Daisy Shang, Executive President of Fantawild Group & President of Fantawild Animation. “For this, we have developed a special rigging system to combine the transformed human beings with animals, and the final result is very subtle and realistic.”

The Wild Life is the seventh film in the Boonie Bears franchise, a household name in China and a global brand with a footprint in over 100 countries and territories. The previous six films have performed well at the box office, with a total of over $415 million, each surpassing its predecessors. The most recent Boonie Bears film, Blast into the Past, made $106 million, surpassing the Chinese box office of Kung Fu Panda 2.

“We have been producing a Boonie Bears film each year for seven consecutive years, and it is the audience’s positive feedback that gave us the confidence and motivation to continue to do so,” shares Ben Li, Deputy General Manager of Fantawild Animation. “As always, we’ll not only treat the audience with a visual feast, but also aim to make every age group laugh and enjoy the story.”

Boonie Bears is the tentpole brand of Fantawild Animation, one of the biggest entertainment companies in China. The brand has so far had 300+ billion clicks on digital platforms and produces over $735 million annually in merchandising sales worldwide.

November 10, 2019
VRV Launches ‘Epithet Erased’ Comedy-Adventure from YouTube Creator

WarnerMedia’s fandom-focused video platform VRV (vrv.co) has debuted a colorful new comedy-adventure, Epithet Erased. Launched on Friday, the animated series is created by Brendan Blaber (YouTube’s JelloApocalypse), and draws visual and story inspiration from everything from video games and anime to crime thrillers and westerns. For Epithet Erased, Blaber came up with a unique style that mixes traditional animation, portrait puppeteering and the flash of video game cutscenes.

New episodes will roll out every Friday on VRV.

Epithet Erased is set in the world of Sweet Jazz City, where a lucky few are born with powers attached to their very souls known as “Epithets”. An Epithet stems from a single word attached to a users soul that can grant them any kind of power. Words like “Fire,” “Coupon” or … “Soup”. A magical artifact known as the “Arsene Amulet” is rumored to be able to steal an epithet away from its user, and they say it’s hidden somewhere in the Sweet Jazz Museum. Thieves burst down the doors in the middle of the night! Inscribed warriors do battle in the dark of the abandoned exhibits! Dinosaur bones come toppling to the floor! And a little girl named Molly is trapped in the middle of it all. Will her epithet, “Dumb” be enough to save her? Or will her epithet be… erased?

The voice cast is lead by Dani Chamber as Molly, Kyle Igneczi (Giovanni), Lindsay Sheppard (Mera), Anthony Sardinha (Indus), Zack Maher (Sylvie), Sandra Espinoza (Percy), William T. Sopp (Ramsey), Jay Preston (Martin), Dawn M Bennett (Zora), Oliver Tull (Arnold), Ari Ross (Gorou), Cyrus Rodas (Dr. Beefton), Heath Morrow (Bugsy), Jordan Dash Cruz (Bartender), Justice Washington (Howie) and Wyatt Baker (Car Crash).

Brendan Blaber is a voice actor and internet content creator best known for his work on his YouTube channel JelloApocalypse, where his “So This Is Basically” series parodies different cartoons, games, and anime. He’s done a little of everything, and he’s extremely excited (and a little overwhelmed!) to be producing his own show on VRV! It’s been extremely fun to try to combine all his favorite mediums into one singular thing!

Epithet Erased

November 8, 2019
Building Nara Normande’s ‘Guaxuma’ Grain by Grain

Once again, the wide world of animation has produced an incredibly diverse and inspiring crop of shorts, exemplified by those films which have earned Oscar eligibility by wowing festival juries throughout the year. One of the most-lauded works of 2019 is Guaxuma, a deeply personal mixed-technique work by Brazilian filmmaker Nara Normande (Dia Estrelado, live-action short Heartless). Produced by Les Valseurs & Vilarejo Filmes, Guaxuma has won top awards at SXSW, Palm Springs ShortFest, Cinequest and Guadalajara (to name a few) as well as making the official selection of prestige animation festivals Annecy (France) and Anima Mundi (Brazil).

“…People, groups and regions that have been silenced for so long are starting slowly to have their own voices.”

GUAXUMA | Trailer from Les Valseurs on Vimeo.

Tell us how you came up with the concept for Guaxuma?

The beach [where] I spent my childhood (called “Guaxuma,” the same name of the short) is a source of inspiration for me. I had the will to do a film with a more personal approach, about my memories of that place that I left when I was aged 13. After my best friend had an accident, making this film became a necessity to me, so I wrote the script and some years later I was shooting Guaxuma.

What inspired you to use a variety of animation techniques?

Guaxuma is a film about my memories and dreams and to represent them I wanted to mix different styles of animation with the sand as the basis to sew the narrative. The story is set on the beach and the sand gives this idea of transience of time.

How long did it take to produce the short? How many people worked on it?

We spent two years and eight months since the production began (with some pauses in between). During the process, 12 animators collaborated, 13 with me. The whole team is around 50 people from different countries (Brazil, France, Portugal and Canada).

What was it like returning to animation after making a live-action film?

For me it’s interesting to change — one time animation, one time live-action. It gives me a break, it’s healthy! Both are processes of creating films and I don’t see a huge difference. Of course, they have their particularities — in animation, for example, you should have a precise animatic before arriving on set to not lose time and money, and you have to be much more patient as the time of making it is much longer. To resume, it’s quite simple: in live-action you give the coordinates directly to the actors and in animation you give them to the animators that will then give to your characters.

What was the biggest challenge of creating Guaxuma? What are you most proud of?

I had some challenges in the process: to tell a very personal story to a big audience, find a co-producer and be able to get the necessary budget to make the film, coordinate a team coming from different parts of the world and to keep the motivation during the entire process. I did the film I wanted to do with a very nice team involved and I’m proud of it.

Are you pleased with the response from festivals and audiences?

I’m very happy with the response from festivals (we’ve reached the 60th award now) and it’s amazing to see how people from different cultures react to it, I’ve received such nice feedback (some very personal) and I’m deeply touched by them.

What do you think of the current independent animation scene around the world?

I think the independent animation scene nowadays is quite bursting and it’s becoming more diverse: people, groups and regions that have been silenced for so long are starting slowly to have their own voices. In Brazil, the animation was growing strong and fast, but we are now very worried about our future with this government of the extreme right in power. We are losing many rights and big events such as Anima Mundi only happened this year because of a crowdfounding campaign.

How did you get started in animation? Who are your animation heroes?

I had a strong connection with art when I was a child, I loved modelmaking, and my father who was a cinephile influenced me to like movies. When I was a teenager I watched some animated independent shorts that caught my attention, and when I was a bit older I discovered Jan Svankmajer and it changed my life — I was sure I wanted to work within this universe. There are lots of animators that inspired/inspire me, such as Michaela Pavlatova, Regina Pessoa and Michael Dudok de Wit, for example.

Now that Guaxuma is out in the world, what’s next for you?

I’m developing my first feature film A Garça (“The Heron”), co-written and co-directed by Brazilian filmmaker Tião (Heartless); a live-action coming of age story set on the beach. I’m also consulting on scriptwriting and direction for some animated shorts and I’m writing an animated TV series for children for a Brazilian public channel.

Learn more at http://lesvalseurs.com.

GUAXUMA by Nara Normande | Making Of from Les Valseurs on Vimeo.

Guaxuma

Guaxuma

Guaxuma

November 8, 2019
First Trailer for ‘Dino Girl Gauko’ Ready to Roar

Ready to meet a kindred spirit? Netflix has debuted the first trailer (in Japanese) for the anime comedy Dino Girl Gauko. Set to debut November 22, the 20 x 7’ series comes from Crayon Shin-chan creator/director Akira Shigino and producer Hitoshi Mogi.

Set in Japan, the series follows Naoko Watanabe — a typical 14-year old, except for her strange gift/curse. When her anger exceeds a maximum level, she transforms into Gauko the fire-breathing dinosaur girl.

In the new spot, Naoko introduces us to the other colorful personalities that populate her “ordinary” home town, and we get a look at Gauko in action. It’s surprisingly relatable!

Dino Girl Gauko

Dino Girl Gauko

Dino Girl Gauko

November 8, 2019