What would happen if you took some 1930's cartoon conventions, Tex Avery-style sight gags and married it with total debauchery? Your result would be Aaron Long's Fester Fish. In the short, Fester's...
Cool Stuff: Azureus Rising posted by Harley on
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010.
Azureus Rising is a slick sci-fi short from Black Sun Entertainment. It was created as proof of concept test for a feature film trilogy. The story arc of which will follow, Azureus, who becomes...
Work follows young Aaron as he decides to get a job at a corporation so that he might be able to afford moon shoes. The short was created by Michael Rianda as his third year film at CalArts.
I bring you a series of adorable shorts which mix live-action stop-motion and flash animation, called Kung Fu Bunny. The over-arching story involves an animator antagonizing his silent-but-deadly...
Cool Stuff: Red Dragon posted by Harley on
Friday, May 7th, 2010.
Today's Cool Stuff was created by Mike Kelly and features what I like to call 100% unadulterated awesomeness. It's a flipbook animation of a fight sequence featuring Bruce Lee titled, Red...
Cool Stuff: Wing Chun Mechanical Arms posted by Harley on
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010.
This quick bit of animation was created by Anthony McGrath and put online in 2008. In it, mechanical arms practice a martial art form against a wooden dummy. McGrath mentions Digital...
In Look Around, local villagers gather to slay a monster. One warrior becomes so consumed with training towards this goal that he ignores all else in life. This delightful short was written,...
Cool Stuff: Second Wind posted by Harley on
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010.
A limber old man and his gigantic feline frolic about during a journey to lands unknown. When elderly fellow befriends a spirit, the abnormally large cat's jealous side inadvertently causes his...
Cool Stuff: A Short Love Story posted by Harley on
Thursday, March 25th, 2010.
Today we have a really gorgeous short called, A Short Love Story. A young girl doodles on a page by her desk. After a short glance towards the boy across from her, she begins to daydream of...
Cool Stuff: Alarm posted by Harley on
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010.
In Alarm, a man's alarm clock wakes him every time he dozes off. He, much to my delight, inflicts violence upon the source of the ringing. This is a cute short, directed by Moo-hyun Jang of Team Mesai....
I think I might be a very simple-minded person, for a couple of reasons. The first being the part of this short's description which piqued my interest.
Cool Stuff: Old Fangs posted by Harley on
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010.
Old Fangs is a nice, moody short in which a young wolf decides to confront his violent father. The animation is appropriate to the character designs, which are simple and angular. There's a point in...
Cool Stuff: Vegeterrible posted by Harley on
Monday, February 15th, 2010.
Vegeterrible is a short in the food-comes-to-life genre. In it, a cherry tomato fights for his survival as a very angry rotten avocado hunts him. The short was created by Henrik Sønniksen and...
Cool Stuff: Pivot posted by Harley on
Thursday, February 11th, 2010.
Pivot was created by Kevin Megens, Floris Vos, Arno de Grijs, André Bergs, with music and sound design by Alex Debicki. In this short, a man becomes witness to a murder while out on a photography...
Cool Stuff: An Eye for Annai posted by Harley on
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010.
An Eye for Annai is an adorable five-minute long short created by Jon Klassen and Dan Rodrigues during their third year at Sheridan. In this a one-eyed creature named Annai sets off on a...
Cool Stuff: Oceansize posted by Harley on
Monday, February 8th, 2010.
Oceansize was created by Supinfocom Arles students Romain Jouandeau, Adrien Chartie, Gilles Mazières and Fabien Thareau in 2008. In the short, two oil-rig workers find themselves under attack by a...
Cool Stuff: Inka Bola posted by Harley on
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010.
Inka Bola starts on the tallest structure of a Mayan city where a guard half-heartedly watches over a mischievous toddler who enjoys throwing fruit at his head. After taking a tumble from his throne...
Cool Stuff: The Dark posted by Harley on
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010.
In The Dark, a teenager keeps hearing scary noises while trying to fall asleep. This short was produced by NMtrix, which according to their website, is looking to do a full series based off of this...
Cool Stuff: Space Alone posted by Harley on
Friday, January 22nd, 2010.
Space Alone was created by Ilias Sounas, illustrator, designer and animator. In this short, we meet a space alien with one more day available in his quest to find life.
Cool Stuff: Après la Pluie posted by Harley on
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010.
If you haven't seen this short yet, you're in for a treat. Après la Pluie teaches us the dangers of fishing with bananas. This short was created by the team of Charles-André Lefebvre, Manuel...
C Block was done as Vladimir Kooperman's 4th year project at Sheridan. Love the music. Nice pacing. Consistent animation. Adorable dog. Hijinks ensue as the aforementioned pooch loses his only...
Cool Stuff: Alma posted by Harley on
Friday, January 15th, 2010.
When I was 4 years old, I saw the Twilight Zone episode, Living Doll and it screwed with my tiny, little noggin'. I kid you not when I say it scared the hell out of me. My grandmother had bought me...
Here's a short from Emily Carr University of Art and Design graduate, Nat Dart. So far as environmental propaganda goes, this one was fairly enjoyable. It uses well-thought out shots,...
Cool Stuff: Two By Two posted by Harley on
Monday, January 11th, 2010.
2008 Sheridan graduate, Matthew Kalinauskas, animated Two By Two as his final year project. It's a cute short that pits the ever-prepared Noah against significantly less detail-oriented captain of...
One of the most challenging tasks to take on during a decade of undeniable and sometimes drastic change is to predict...
Toons of the 2000s: Top 5 Most Influential People in Animation posted by Harley on
Thursday, December 10th, 2009.
Animation is an art form. It taps into parts of the imagination you might not have thought possible. It effectively creates the illusion of life, and when...
Witches Brew takes us briefly into the lives and hut of a witch and her apprentice. I wasn't supremely impressed by the short. The animation seemed a little stiff, but the character designs were...
Animated Films: The Movie Theater Experience posted by Harley on
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009.
Most of the time, the theater-going experience is a waste. Fake IMAX. Obnoxiously loud patrons. Cell phones that have not been turned off. Bleh. People who really don't care...
Cool Stuff: CARDBOARD posted by Harley on
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009.
Here's a nifty little stop-motion animation created by Sjors Vervoort as his graduation project. I do so enjoy street art.
Cool Stuff: Mundo Mudo posted by Harley on
Friday, October 30th, 2009.
Mundo Mudo is a music video that teaches us that a stick figure man can be a glutton and kind of a jerk too. After (I suppose) a really bad day, stick figure man begins eating non-stop and then...
Yellow Cake is a great in that it disarms the viewer with a false sense of security and then viciously rips it away by effectively mixing some rather adorable creatures with horrific acts of war....
Cool Stuff: Ryan posted by Harley on
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009.
In 2004, Chris Landreth created an animated interpretation of an interview he had with Ryan Larkin (1943-2007). The short went on to win numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Short...
Cool Stuff: Burning Safari posted by Harley on
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009.
Burning Safari combines two of my favorite things: robots and monkeys. The short was created in 2006 as the final project by former Gobelins students, Florent de La Taille, Jeanne Irzenski,...
Cool Stuff: Tarboy posted by Harley on
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009.
Not too sure about the name of the of the main character, but I'm definitely digging the animation. Tarboy was created by James Lee, with music by Hania Lee. Enjoy the pretty thing.
Cool Stuff: Le Phare posted by Harley on
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009.
This is my favorite of the shorts I've watched in the last month or so. Le Phare (The Lighthouse Keeper) was created by Gobelins students, David Francois, Rony Hotin, Jérémie Moreau, Baptiste Rogron,...
Cool Stuff: Voltage posted by Harley on
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009.
In Voltage, robots prove that by working together, we can all reach a common goal. Except that sometimes working together causes power surges and everyone explodes. C'est la vie.
Cool Stuff: Sing Sang Sung posted by Harley on
Monday, October 5th, 2009.
It turns out that Air's music is not quite my thing, but the animation Mathematic did for the song, Sing, Sang, Sung is. This video follows a sometimes bouncing ball through a Yellow...
Cool Stuff: Muto posted by Harley on
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009.
Blu is a street artist based in Bologna, Italy. There is very little information of the biographical sort available on this man, leading me to believe he is either a robot, a unicorn or a robot unicorn....
Cool Stuff: Dead All Along posted by Harley on
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009.
Dead All Along has compelling visuals to go along with some equally cool music. This music video follows a child named Yorick. He enters a magic kingdom after being enchanted by a pixie. Upon his...
Cool Stuff: Urs posted by Harley on
Friday, September 18th, 2009.
The culmination of three years of work, Urs is the thesis project of recent recent Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg graduate, Moritz Mayerhofer. The 10-minute short follows Urs as he sets out on a journey...
Cool Stuff: Her Morning Elegance posted by Harley on
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009.
I'm told that if you love something you should set it free. If it comes back to you, then it's meant to be. (That was entirely stupid. I apologize.)
I enjoyed this short because it allowed me to zone out and simply absorb the imagery. Sometimes, that's just what you're in the mood for. This tasty bit of animation loosely follows the...
Cool Stuff: The Cat Piano posted by Harley on
Sunday, September 6th, 2009.
You'll find some great use of color in this somewhat dark short from the People's Republic of Animation. In The Cat Piano, we follow our feline protagonist as he attempts to find the source behind...
Cartoon Intro Cavalcade: Thundercats, Ho! posted by Harley on
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009.
From the opening trumpets, to the over-the-top whining electric guitars, to the beautifully detailed and yet still fluid animation, there's only one word suitable to describe the...
Cool Stuff: Oktapodi posted by Harley on
Monday, August 10th, 2009.
Originally released in 2007, here's an adorable short involving two octopuses attempting to escape from a restaurant cook. Oktapodi was created as the graduation film of Julien BOCABEILLE,...
Cool Stuff: Fenrir posted by Harley on
Friday, August 7th, 2009.
Here's a slick little bit of animation done by some second year students of Gobelins for Annecy 2009.
From Heaven to Hell with Civilization posted by Harley on
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009.
There's a very cool video installation over at the The Standard Hotel in New York City. Passengers are able to view the video as they ascend or descend in the hotel's elevator and are...
Today is Sand Animation day! posted by Harley on
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009.
(Not really, but sometimes that's just what happens when you end up on a Youtube kick.)
It's pretty cool if you're into that artsy stuff (which I happen to be).
Animation reused in Disney films - No one shocked posted by Harley on
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009.
The following Youtube video features a series of clips edited together as evidence Disney engaged in a practice common in the industry, repurposing animation. It saves time...
