This must be watched over and over and over again. The timing, the control over volumes, the spacing.  Sigh.  A much needed bout of animation inspiration early on in this week.

Link to Video

What's New in Character Animation...
Jun 19

Pixar grants girl’s dying wish to see ‘Up’

Heartbreaking.  Animators have the biggest hearts.

Sep 18

What were the seagulls saying in Finding Nemo?

I didn't know this was an issue.

Aug 19

Oktapodi

Great animated short.

The Disney Animation building in 1959 - the era of Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians and The Sword in the Stone.  From a 50-year old time capsule that was recently raised from the Magnolia Bridge.

Playing around with Cooliris for the first time (definite recommend if you’re into eye candy), guess what popped up when I searched for “disney animation”?  A picture of me and my first job on an animated feature Pocahontas.  That’s me crouching down in the middle.

To have this kind of control over animating 3D characters! Not sure how practical it would be in the short term, but the prospects for future development are certainly encouraging.  An entire new subset of animation could exist - hand-drawn in 3D!

Link to Video

Glen Keane on his Mentor, Ollie Johnston

Over a month ago I was lucky enough to attend the tribute to my favorite animator of all time, Ollie Johnston.  While it was nice hearing from his friends and families, the greatest part of the night came from the memories of Glen Keane and John Lasseter.  If you’ve ever heard Glen lecture or watched a video with him on YouTube you know what a wonderful storyteller he is.  He painted a wonderful picture of an artist who loved his craft and spared no expense in sharing that with those who were to follow him.

The following clips are provided in 5-minute segments and are not of the greatest quality.  But for those who couldn’t make it I hope this somehow inspires you as much as it did me.

A nice round-up of the evening’s events can be found here.

Listen...

Chris Sanders is now the director on the next film I’m working on, How to Train Your Dragon.  Dean DeBlois is coming on as a writer as well.  Have to admit, I always liked Lilo and Stitch, so this is pretty exciting.

Look who made the Fall Movie Preview in People magazine this week!  That’s my scene there and let me tell you - it took quite awhile to get all 6 of them in there for a group hug!

Disney Animation Reveals Brand New Site

Saludos Amigos Concept Sketches

Mid-century Textbook Takes a Tour of Disney’s