Cat Man Do by Simon Tofield

I tend to focus on 3D animation on this blog as it is my main area of study, but of course 2D is where it all started. In fact, Disney is finding a renewed interest in 2D animation of late, as can be seen with their recent animated / live action release, Enchanted. Other 2D feature films coming out in the next couple of years include The Princess and the Frog as well as the Pixar / Disney's Up.
From what I've heard and read around the internet, a lot of the 2D push is a direct result of Pixar's John Lasseter, who, after Disney bought Pixar in 2006, has become the chief creative officer over at the house the mouse built. Interesting, considering Lasseter is the guy who basically drove the entire 3D animation industry to where it is today.

Anyway, today's video is a 2D Animation by Simon Tofield, an animator at London based Tandem Films. I don't think this is anything that was made officially for Tandem, but rather just a side project by Tofield, who I would guess owns a cat.

Nefarious Scheming

I don't know how many people actually check out my "Interesting Internets" links in the sidebar, but I suspect the number is rather low. Which is understandable considering the infrequent nature in which I shuffle things over there.

But once in a while I link to something I feel is note worthy. One such tidbit was a video with regards to a movie in the works called "Choke". This is a movie based on a novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, who also happens to be the author of Fight Club.

Palahniuk has many other novels as well, one of which (Survivor) was on its way to becoming a movie around 2001. It never made it because the subject matter of the novel involved the hijacking of an airplane... sensitive material around that time. Donnie Darko suffered a similar fate, being limited in the number of theaters it was released to for the same reason (Darko would later enjoy brisk DVD sales that elevated it to a somewhat cult status).

Sometimes I think that perhaps the terrorist threat isn't as straight forward as we had originally imagined, and that a mastermind had schemes of a more sinister and unpredictable nature.

Don't forget to check back on Thursday for another animation video.

Things they are a Changin'...

You may have notice that things look a little different around here at the ol' blogspot. Good eye friend. Nothing takes you by surprise.

I could tell you the change was an attempt to get away from the "Blogger" look, but that'd be a lie. This is just a modified blogger template. So you can still see many other blogs that look almost identical.

The real reason is because I posted that video on Monday and it was overlappying the sidebar on my screen - which really annoyed me. Sometimes I think I have a little OCD in me... but then I glance quickly around my room and realize that certainly isn't the case.

Dad you can verify that.

Also, now I should be able to post comics in their full size right on the blog page itself. No more "Clicking to Enlarge". Bonus!

Anyway, as a special treat to bring in the new blog design, I have another Stage 6 hosted video to share with you. The following short film is a movie called "The ChubbChubbs!". Some of you may have seen it before as it was released in theaters along side Stuart Little 2 and Men in Black II.

It won an Academy Award for best Animated Short that year (2002), and it was kind of a testing ground for Sony's animation studio before they took on full length feature films like Open Season and Surf's Up.

So without further ado, The ChubbChubbs!.

I'm planning on posting a video from the world of animation every Thursday from here on out, so make sure to check back often. Also, if you come across any good animations in your own searches, feel free to drop them in the comments.

The Best Laid Plans

Over this last weekend a group of my good friends from Texas and Nebraska came down to the Orlando area to visit little old me, which was awesome.

I love it when people come to visit me, but the one apprehension I have about such gatherings is figuring out how best to entertain my guests. Should we go to Disney? Universal? What other Orlando attractions might pique their interest? It's always hard for me to decide.

Luckily, this particular crew didn't have any qualms about lounging about the house for a few days, eating out and playing video games. These are friends of the highest calibre.

Throughout the weekend a few ideas for unique Floridian entertainment did crop up, but it seemed like every time something kinda threw a wrench into our impromptu activity brainstorms.

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Thanks again to Ross, Maggie, Blair, Andria, Matt and Andrea. I had a blast and I hope you did too. If you guys decide to make a couple of purchases at Best Buy maybe we can get the band back together before too long.

Use It or Lose It

Apparently I forgot how to draw, so the comic is going to be a little bit late. Look for it probably later this evening (still on Monday - my banner does not lie).

In the meantime, enjoy the following animation with my apologies for the delay..

Back in the Swing of Things

-----------COMIC BOOK SPOILER ALERT-----------

I'm about to reveal something about the world of Spider-Man (comic book Spider-Man, not movie Spider-Man) that may ruin some plot points for anybody who is attempting to stay caught up on Spider-Man related things, specifically the series called One More Day.

The only person who I know of that reads my blog that this might apply to is Mr. Fenley. For the rest you who don't care about the Spider-Man plot lines, read on good people.

Recently in the world of Marvel, Spider-Man and Mary Jane broke up. Specifically, Peter and MJ made a deal with a character called Mephisto, a villain who essentially represents Satan in the Marvel Universe. This bargain was struck not to avoid a sticky settlement in divorce court, but rather in an attempt to save Aunt May's life.

Now that Spidey is unattached and on the prowl, I gotta wonder how a super hero goes about looking for love. The traditional means can be difficult even for the suavest of wall-crawlers. I imagine that technologically savvy guy like Peter Parker might try out the latest and greatest in social networking options out there.

Then again, those present their own unique challenges.

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Big thanks to Double M for helping me flesh out the comic this week.

The More Things Change...

Hopefully everybody else had a wonderful break from the normal grind for a week or so around Christmas and New Years. I know I did.

As usual I went home to Nebraska for the holidays to spend some time with my family, which I always enjoy. Lots of great food, movie watching, and in particular quality time with Mom and Dad, which I wouldn't miss for the world.

Of course anytime I'm at home, my parents have inevitably come across some technical problem that they'd like for me to take care of, since after all, I grew up with technology and have been working with / studying it for going on 8 years now. Should be easy, right?

The weird thing is that my parents always manage to find the most ridiculous, impossible, never-been-heard-of-by-anybody-else kind of problems. And I'm not just talking about an extra hour or so of Googling to figure it out.

Their technical problems can become rather.... severe.

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Love you Mom and Dad. I'm always happy to help with anything - even if it involves calling in Sigourney Weaver.