A conversation with Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh

150609_CBOX_DanSwampyOffice.jpg.CROP.promo-mediumlargeSlate has a great interview up with both Dan and Swampy and if you loved the series like I do, you’ll enjoy this article.

As the final episode of Disney’s Phineas and Ferb airs this weekend I am proud to have been a small part of it and none of it would have been possible without Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh who were actually great bosses and did a fantastic job of bring the ‘funny’ out of everyone as we wrote and boarded the shows. I only worked on 7 of the episodes and did some revisions for the Phineas and Ferb Movie (which is how I got to be on the series full time) but everyone still let me feel like a part of the team which was a great feeling considering everyone else had two seasons under their belt. It also points to why it was so successful, because Dan and Swampy really were open to any sort of joke and they say as much in this interview.

 

From the site:

Povenmire: The reason we wanted to do several stories at once is Rocky & Bullwinkle, because that was what we grew up with. But they did it as an anthology, where they’d check in on one story and come back. The formula really came from Snuffleupagus onSesame Street, and how Big Bird had this big, furry, mastodon-type character that only he would see, and then he would, like, go to try to find other people to get them to bring them back and show them the Snuffleupagus, and then the Snuffleupagus would always …

You can read the entire article here.

The Simpsons opening in pixel art!

Genius! One of my first professional jobs was animating pixels for a company called Sierra Online working on old school Point and Click games such as Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest and King’s Quest as well as Keeping up with Jones and it was very hard to do so I take my hats off to these fellas!

Also check out Pat and Ivan as they talk a bit about the ‘making of’ the video’ below.

 

Sneak peek at Kung Fu Panda 3

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USA Today has an article up giving us a sneak peek in DreamWork’s upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3.

For two Kung Fu Panda animated movies, portly Po has believed all his bear kin were in panda heaven. That he was the lone survivor.

But Kung Fu Panda 3 proves Po wrong. The new film (opening Jan. 29, 2016) is Panda-palooza.

“There is great joy,” says Jack Black, the voice of Po. “Lo and behold, there’s a secret panda village. There’s intense rejoicing as I am reunited with my people.”

Po has a chance run-in with his long-lost panda father Li (Bryan Cranston), who brings Po back to an enclave where the pandas have been living since a fierce panda attack alluded to in DreamWorks Animation’s 2011 hit Kung Fu Panda 2.

You can read the entire article here.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles – “Twisted”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpu6yPAFHrs

Polygon has a nice post about a cool new joint project between Bruce Timm and Machinima called Gods and Monsters… it’s NOT your daddy’s Batman!

From the article:

We spoke to Timm a month ago about the critical differences he’s thrown into Gods and Monsters. This universe’s Wonder Woman is from the realm of Ares; its Batman is Kirk Langstrom, who transformed himself into a vampire with weird science; and itsSuperman was adopted by Mexican immigrants to America, rather than farmers in the heartland, and exposure to racial bigotry at a young age has significantly altered his perspective on America as a country.

You can read the whole thing here.

Redrawing Taylor Swift – Shake it Off Rotoscoped

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhT_gVh_73w

49 University of Newcastle Australia animation students were each given 52 frames of Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off music video, and together they produced 2767 frames of lovingly hand-drawn rotoscoped animation footage. http://bit.ly/1PzUznI Thank you to all the students of DESN2801: Animation 1 for your enthusiasm, good humour and terrific roto skills!

Compare our rotoscope to Taylor Swift’s original music video here: http://www.vevo.com/watch/taylor-swif…

DESN2801: Animation 1 is a first year subject in the Bachelor of Visual Communications degree at the University of Newcastle Australia.http://bit.ly/1PzUznI

Rotoscopers:
Jack Atkinson
Catherine Barham
Joel Bateman
India Beletich
Shannon Bellamy
Simon Besseny
Oliver Blunck
Todd Bourke
Silje Buxton Soldal
Ryan Cheeseman
Joyous Colley
James Corrigan
Tallulah Cunningham
Garrettsen Eckerson
Amy Ey
Jessica Farrugia
Sean Fitzpatrick
Callum Foot
Cristyn Franks
Christopher Garth
Katarina Gerritsen
Eloise Gordon
Thomas Hadland
O’Jhan Hakaraia
Gillian Hewitt
James Hodgett
Lachlan Keevill
Jessica Komene
Zoe Lawrence
Katie MacLean
Jenna Malinowski
Zoe Mallett
Sarah McDonald
Sam McIntosh
Renee McIntosh
Liam Montgomery
Luke O’Donnell
Belinda O’Hara
Iliana Oakes
Jace Prasil
Craig Reed
Candela Riveros
Daniel Smith
Kent Spencer
Hannah Stroud-Watts
Anna Thomas
Erin Thompson
Sebastian Turner
Andrew White
Lecturer: Jane Shadbolt

 

Apple iPad Pro with a stylus this Fall?

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Apple Insider is reporting that Apple may finally be unveiling an iPad with a stylus.  Apparently the device will be called the iPad Pro and is currently being beta tested as we speak. This is not the first time we’ve heard this rumor but recently Apple filed for a new patent concerning a stylus and that seems to have renewed excitement for a stylus enabled Apple device.

From the site:

AppleInsider’s own sources have indicated that the company is working on a 12.9-inch tablet, known colloquially as an “iPad Pro,” that will feature a Bluetooth-connected stylus. Separately, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has said that Apple plans to launch the larger iPad with a simple stylus this year, while more advanced features such as 3D handwriting, are unlikely to arrive until next year at the earliest, with a new and more advanced stylus.

All that said the article goes on to say:

This week’s patent application is far from the first filing by Apple revealing the company’s behind-the-scenes interest in developing a stylus. One concept detailed by AppleInsider last year included anextendable multitouch nib with onboard light and motion sensors, while another stylus patent published earlier this year described once again how a stylus can offer more precise input than a fingertip.

You can read the entire article here.