it wasn't really a question, here's some stuff i made this week:



that's a self-portrait of me



uhhh....that's some fan art



this was a character design challenge based off of the words "glamorous fierce destroyer genie"





i wanted to draw a vespa but ended up drawing a lady too


i'm basically doing one illustration a day, i started this week. i think i might take weekends off to recharge/practice sketching.

i'm 19 though so it's not as good as helter skelter's


really the only thing good about it is the intro i guess


you can watch it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BVhtX6BN1g

i made it for a merit scholarship at my school. i'm a sophomore. this is currently my second year in the animation program, though it feels much more like my first (freshman year is just stupid art school foundation classes)


by the time i'm through with school i'll probs have a veeeery different demo reel. also this one has some stuff i made in high school so yeah


gimme some critiques, i like them

hello here are some boobs. who's following the evony story??


Now, it just so happens that if you click an actual Evony ad, you'll be greeted with this:


Turns out it is a pretty terrible online version of Civilization that has nothing to do with boobs!

Turns out the whole thing is some dumb scam. A very, very successful one at that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/jul/15/games-evony-spam-internet

Quite possibly. If you've been anywhere near the internet in recent weeks, you may well have noticed the vast number of promotions for a game called Evony – campaigns on websites featuring buxom fantasy queens; countless Google ads and (more disturbingly) millions of spam comments left on blogs.

On the surface, Evony is a pretty standard online strategy game – a simulation in which players take the role of a medieval noble who must build up an empire. But the way the game has been marketed has created a bit of a stir: the games marketer Bruce Everiss has charted the volume of spam being sent by its creators, while Jeff Atwood, a US programmer and blogger, has documented the ads' increasingly racy nature – from a simple medieval warrior promising the game would be "free forever", through a string of increasingly racy images ... until, finally, it was simply advertising itself by showing a pair of breasts.

"Thanks for showing us what it means to take advertising on the internet to the absolute rock bottom ... then dig a sub-basement under that, and keep on digging until you reach the white-hot molten core of the Earth," he wrote last week.

It's not just the advertising that has got the internet up in arms, however – the game itself has drawn criticism from many quarters. Evony takes its inspiration from Civilization, the classic Sid Meier series. In fact, its slavish devotion stretches not only to its original name – it was known as Civony until recently – but also to the details of the game itself; a format so familiar that more than a few gamers to question whether Evony has simply ripped off its predecessors.

And as if bad advertising and tenuous intellectual property were not enough, the game is also under fire for its business model – a system that seems intent on getting players to spend as much money as possible. Players are encouraged to buy in-game extras to speed their progress – but the confusing way the game prices its add-ons means that many users may not realise that a simple action, such as sending a message to another player, can cost 15p a time.

All of this has swirled into a storm of criticism around Evony – except on the game's own web forums, where mentions of its most controversial practices are deleted by moderators. So if Evony is the world's most despised game, who is behind it?

It turns out that the site's backers are equally unpopular. Evony is the product of Universal Multiplayer Game Entertainment (UMGE), a developer linked to a Chinese gold-farming operation called WoWMine. That site has also come in for regular criticism, but the real kicker comes with the news that the company's owners are being sued by Microsoft over allegations of click fraud.

Perhaps Evony isn't the most hated game on the internet: but it certainly runs close.

hey i bolded some parts of that article for emphasis because we always do that

Anyways, Evony tried to sue the blogger that was mentioned in that article. You can read about it here.

Most recently, some crazy shit has been going down with that whole thing--read the cached post here.


So, who's been following this? And what do you all think? It looks pretty gross to me 

notice: There have been many topics REQUESTIN' ANIMES and whatnot and this isn't one of them. If you just want give a list of your favorite animes in this topic please please do not do it.

There are tons of animated films and shows out there. And of these countless animated works, there are some very interesting pieces that can be obscure or have never been brought up before. I want to see these, because I know they exist. And I'm sure a lot of other people here would like to know more artistically unique animations that are out there.

"Artistically interesting" is a pretty broad term though! What I'm looking for is animated that have (1) a unique way of telling a story, (2) a different or really interesting approach to the animation, (3) good or interesting or unique timing to (unique) music and sounds.

Note that this list does NOT exclude anime. But it can't have stuff like, say, INUYASHA or NARUTO, unless there is a very good reasoning behind it...which there isn't. If you're going to suggest an anime, suggest something like Mindgame (for it's interesting, unique approach) or The Big O (film noir anime??? with giant robots that fight realistically????? this is interesting and artistic i guess!!).

I'll start off with a couple of animations I find interesting, and will add more as (if) the suggestions come in.

Samurai Jack - Wikipedia link
I made a topic about Samurai Jack a long time ago. It's directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, who is also known for Dexter's Laboratory and Clone Wars. The art style and animation of Samurai Jack is very, very distinct and sets it apart from other cartoons. The story is nothing to rave about, but the action and the different events that each episode centers on is really neat.

The Thief and the Cobbler - Wikipedia Link
The story is nothing fancy, and is quite simple. The main characters are mute. The setting and, at first glance, the art style is very similar to Aladdin. What sets The Thief and the Cobbler apart, though, is its excellent and unique approach to animation. Richard Williams' original intent was to make it his masterpiece, and put a lot of work into it. It's pretty hard to find traditional animation so smoothly put together like in this one. It's a cult film, though, and though there are some flaws to it, there will be people who praise it endlessly. There's a lot of interesting history behind its production. To see how Richard Williams intended it to be made, check out the "Recobbled" cut here.

Gertie the Dinosaur by Winsor McCay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY40DHs9vc4
one of the earliest examples of animation, the first character-based animation, and the predecessor of pretty much every mainstream animation today. not the most exiting thing to watch these days, I posted this one instead of like STEAMBOAT WILLIE because gertie isn't very well known while pretty much everything from the Disney era is. you can check out Little Nemo, also by Winsor McCay (the animation starts a couple minutes in) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcSp2ej2S00&feature=related
-earl chip


Akira sXe SUBS NOT DUBS hXc seriously the english voices are unbearable.
Akira is often regarded as one of the greatest animated films. a popular verbal example of its animation is a scene where Tetsuo is sitting in front of a chain-link fence. the wind blows and every single link moves with it, reacting to the swirls of wind and opposing drafts realisticly. the amount of detail put into just the MOVEMENT of this film is astounding.

also, like the thief and the cobbler, it has a huge cult following. a lot of them are pretty dumb people who will scoff at Naruto and Halo but still enjoy some really dumb shit like idk waging wars against Naruto and Halo. these people claim it not only has incredible animation, but it also has the greatest story, characters, music, everything. that's definitely a stretch! it's still a pretty good film, but it is kinda lame at parts iirc and these days tetsuo isn't too SHOCKING towards the end.
-earl chip

Windsor McCay's Work - example
Winsor McCay was the man, there's something called 'The Centaurs' on youtube that's the last remaining footage of a full movie he was working on. It's just a few disconnected scenes but it's pretty incredible in terms of realistic movement when you consider most other cartoon characters at the time moved like they were made of rubber. I think it was all handdrawn by McCay too.
-thecatamites

Ren and Stimpy - Wiki link
I love how ridiculous and over-the-top the movements and expressions are in it, its great. Everything has character. It has this quality to it that is rarely found today I think!
-Frankie

Aeon Flux - Wiki Link
I haven't seen this yet so if anyone can give a brief overview of what makes it special that'd be pretty nice!

Adam Phillips work/Biteycastle - Homepage
This is one of the more popular flash animations out there. Adam Phillips worked in the special effects department at Disney on some movies iirc, and decided to independently develop his own animations. His work in Flash is pretty stellar and he really knows how to create water. All of his work is available on the internet for free. I recommend seeing  Littlefoot, the Yuyu, and Waterlollies, his most recent ones.

Prelude to Eden - Watch here
I really like Michel Gagné's work. Prelude to Eden is animated using an obscure computer program that makes it look traditionally animated. It's just pretty cool work I guess, and is pretty short. Gagné does a lot of other types of art and I recommend you check his stuff out!

Cowboy Bebop - Wiki Link
I'm sure nearly all of you have heard of this show. It's an anime, yeah, and it's probably one of the most popular ones out there. I'm guessing quite a few of you may disagree with me in regards to it being a good animation, but I feel it's really worth mentioning because of its style. Very rarely have I seen a cartoon or a TV show with a really jazz-heavy soundtrack and an overall great musical theme. I really respect Shinichirō Watanabe's work because he doesn't just MAK ANIME. He blends multiple genres and has really interesting pacing. Cowboy Bebop is one of those shows that's just bound to be a classic. I really like it, though I know some of you won't. Animation-wise, it isn't the best thing in the world. But it's really timed very well, I think, and the music is just a really cool theme. Overall it's highly unique for an anime and even an animated show overall, so if you haven't seen it yet check it out.




There are a lot more I could add, and I know that there must be a ton of really good, obscure works out there that you all know about. Mindgame was mentioned in another topic, and it surprised me that it hasn't really been talked about here.

Short Version:
anime is kind of lame watch this instead


Long Version:

Let's face it. 99.98% of the fans of anime do not realize that artistically, it has pretty much nothing to offer. Sure, you have the Miyazaki films and the stylistically mature things like Bebop or Big O, but the vast majority of modern animes contains (1) shitty j-pop music, (2) shitty animation, (3) shitty characters, (4) shitty stories and (5) a shitload of unnecessary episodes.

But let's take our minds off of this anime, for a moment, and look at other forms of animation. In the western world, animation is very, very different--or at least, it was. I won't go in depth on the history of animation, but I'll tell you what I've gleaned from my experience and Wikipedia: the modern era of animation in the west is seeing a significant rise in computer animation, while traditional animation is declining rapidly.

That's not to say traditional animation (which means pencil and paper, for those who know little in the ways of animation (stupid) ) is completely dead. In fact, Disney is currently producing a new, traditionally animated feature film that is due out in 2009. And if there's anything I respect about anime, it's that anime is pretty much one of the few things in the world that use a significant amount of traditional animation, though its quality is on par with cheaply produced Saturday morning cartoons.

There are tons of things to hate about Disney, though, and I'm not up for talking about that. Instead, the main focus of this topic, which has been skewed in the introduction, is on a traditionally animated, incomplete masterpiece by Richard Williams: The Thief and the Cobbler.

These next few facts are taken directly from Wikipedia:

"The Thief and the Cobbler (released as The Princess and The Cobbler in Australia and South Africa, and Arabian Knight in most other countries) was the twenty-six-year animated feature film pet project of Canadian animator Richard Williams. Beginning the work in 1964, Williams intended for the film to be his masterpiece, and a milestone in the art of animation. The Thief and the Cobbler was in and out of production for over two decades, until Williams, buoyed by his success as animation director on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, signed a deal in 1990 to have Warner Bros. finance and distribute the film. This deal fell through when Williams was unable to complete the film on time. As Warners pulled out, The Completion Bond Company assumed control of the project and had it finished by producer Fred Calvert without Williams."

So what do we know about Fred Calvert's lovely rendition of The Thief and the Cobbler? Again, from Wikipedia (hmm what a handy website):

"Calvert made several significant changes to the film. Much of Williams's finished footage was deleted from the final release print to make way for newly created scenes and song sequences. Steve Lively was brought in to record a voice and narration for the previously mute character of Tack and several other characters that already had vocal tracks prepared for them were re-voiced. The new scenes were produced on a very low budget, with the animation being produced over a short period of two months by freelance animators in Los Angeles (some from Kroyer Films, who is also credited), former Williams animators at Premier Films in London, and Don Bluth animators working under Gary Goldman in Ireland. The ink and paint work was subcontracted to Wang Film Production in Taiwan, who themselves outsourced most of the work to their satellite studio in Thailand; additional ink and paint work was done at Varga Studios in Hungary. The end results have been compared to Saturday morning cartoons from Korea, and it is obvious that little regard was given to matching the painstaking quality of Williams's original scenes; the primary concern was to complete the film in as little time and for as little money as possible."

Provided you're still following this story, The Thief and the Cobbler then gets published twice: once in 1993 as The Princess and the Cobbler and again in 1995 by Miramax as Arabian Knight. Much of Williams's original artwork is gone; originally, Williams kept this material in his vault. When the film was taken away, this material was sent to artists in Thailand and presumably discarded by the artists there.

The story doesn't end there, however. The Thief and the Cobbler has a loyal fanbase, perhaps more loyal a fanbase than any anime has ever had. Using sources from The Princess and the Cobbler and bootlegged workprints, and help from some of the original animators of the film, fans have produced unofficial restorations of The Thief and the Cobbler. Other plans for restoration have been made by professionals, more notably by Roy E. Disney in the mid 1990s. The only restoration that has any content in it, however, is the fan-restored version.

I won't say much on the plot, other than that it involves a thief, a cobbler, a princess, and has a strong influence from Near Eastern folklore.

The fan made cut of The Thief and the Cobbler is available online and can be watched here. It's still unfinished--a couple spots here and there have no content and are portrayed by stills. Any person who has some respect for the craft of animation is really obligated to watch this. Richard Williams is a brilliant animator, as seen in his work and his rather well-written Animator's Survival Kit. The film is also animated by some of the most highly regarded animators, Ken Harris being one of them. Though I may be generalizing just a bit, most people here don't know any of these people. Well, you fucking should. Read some Wikipedia articles or something. I reccomend reading the ASK if you're into the craft of animation or are an animator yourself. Williams was the animation director for Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which I'm sure many of you have actually seen.

For those of you who actually watch (or have seen) this, I'd like to read your opinions on the film. At first glance, a couple people may immediately get the idea that it stole from Aladdin, but if you read closely in your Wikipedia articles, you'll notice that it pretty much came before Disney's Aladdin was even thought up. The Thief and the Cobbler vastly different, regardless--in terms of style, transitions, story, characters, and pretty much everything. It's the last film that has Vincent Price voice in it. Oh yeah, and Sean Connery voices the main character.

yeah i'm referencing and quoting wikipedia articles but hey it's easier for me i have to write less.

edit: i added a shorter version of this post because the long version is fucking long

Seven years ago, Cartoon Network began airing an emmy-award winning masterpiece of animation known as Samurai Jack. Directed by the Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter's Laboratory, it definitely has one of the most unique art styles I've seen so far. This is one of my favorite animated TV series because of its style, action, and characters.

For some reason, production halted in 2004--it was never officially canceled, after all. It was recently featured as number 42 on the documentary 100 Greatest Cartoons (imo too low, but at least it answers lue. some of this list is shit, anyways) and a feature film that will end the series is being planned right now by Frederator films, though not yet in production.

There's a wikipedia article for the uninformed.

Since I never had cable and therefore no access to Cartoon Network, I was introduced to Samurai Jack by my (flash) animation teacher last semester when he showed us the premier movie. I was really awestruck at the style and was immediately hooked. I've went through the first season and am going through the second right now.

My favorite episodes so far have been "Jack Learns to Jump Good","Jack and the Scotsman, Part I", and "Jack and the Blind Archers."

Anyways, I was just wondering what everyone else thinks about it. Maybe some of Tartakovsky's other works, too--I rather enjoyed Clone Wars, too.