Getty Publications announced the launch of its Virtual Library,  back in January where readers can freely browse and download over 250 art books from the publisher’s backlist catalogue! Go “Art Up” folks!
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Sony Takes Over ‘Robotech,’ Plans Film Franchise
Variety is reporting that Sony has picked up the rights to develop Robotech as a feature franchise.
From the site:
Sony Pictures has secured rights to the popular anime series “Robotech†and views the project as a potential film franchise.
The studio hopes to move quickly into production on the live-action feature, with Gianni Nunnari andMark Canton (“300,†“The Immortalsâ€) producing and Michael Gordon (“300,†“GI Joeâ€) writing the script. The series centered on humanity’s use of robot technology to fend off alien invaders and has an “Independence Day†meets “Star Wars†vibe. It is seen as having the global appeal necessary to become a blockbuster property.
You can read the whole article here.
News: Technicolor Closing Offices in Burbank And London
Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Technicolor  is closing Offices in Burbank And London and while it might seem that is only live action news, Technicolor provided animation for a number of TV series such as Dragons: Riders of Berk, Fan Boy and Chum Chum, The Legend of Korra, Penguins of Madagascar, Teenage Ninja Turtles and Barbie- A Perfect Christmas to name a few. A full list can be found here. They even received an Emmy nomination last year. It is interesting to note that a number of these shows have recently been cancelled so perhaps that is a factor. Nevertheless, sadly there’s a number of artists that will be out of work very soon.
From the site:
 In another sign of Hollywood’s ailing postproduction economy,Technicolor, Hollywood’s storied postproduction house, is closing two of its facilities in the U.S. and UK, including the recently opened 20,000-square-foot office in Burbank. The closure comes less than a year after the venerable Todd-Soundelux post house closed its doors for good.
You can read the entire article here.
2d Wednesday BONUS- Tie Fighter
Okay, granted I already posted the first 2D Wednesday video today but I HAD to share this crazy incredible feat on manliness by Paul Johnson which is blowin’ up the internet today called Tie Fighter! Now Paul is no newbie when it comes to animation and he’s got a long list of credits up on IMDB such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,  Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas and Fan Boy and Chum Chum to name a few, all animator credits I might add which makes me wonder if he’s overseas.
It seems there was some use of rotoscoping s well as some cell shaders for the ships but regardless it’s a MONUMENTAL amount of work!
From the Youtube post:
What if there was an Empire-focussed short Star Wars animation, drawn with the crazy detail and shading of classic 80s anime that’s all but vanished from Japan nowadays?
Well, I tried my best. Apologies in advance for not living up to Venus Wars standards.
Drawn and animated by yours truly over 4 years’ worth of weekends, with music by the living guitar solo Zak Rahman and sound design by up and coming audio technician Joseph Leyva. Fans of Lucasarts’ seminal 1994 TIE Fighter game may notice a few familiar sights and sounds. That “incoming missile†noise gives me horrible flashbacks to this day…Official poster art: http://mightyotaking.deviantart.com/a…
“Interdictor,†the music track: https://soundcloud.com/zakrahman/tie-…
Story/character info pdf file: http://www.mediafire.com/view/cpnc1oj…Special thanks to the good folk at Lucasfilm for encouraging people to get creative and make these kind of projects. It’s thanks to their extremely fan-friendly nature that we can enjoy IMPS: The Relentless, TROOPS, etc.
Don’t support me on Patreon, because I don’t have one! And don’t donate to my Kickstarter, because I don’t have one of those either. Instead, if you enjoyed this, give someone at your workplace, uni, school or whatever a random bar of chocolate or can of Coke or something. Seriously, it’ll probably make their day.
That would totally make my day.
2D Wednesday- Black Bear Moon
We’re starting a new feature here today on Wednesdays called 2D Wednesday. Yeah it probably should be a Tuesday or a Thursday but we’re using Tuesdays already for Tutorial Tuesday and we have something in the works for Thursdays as well so Wednesday it is!
Anyway, for our FIRST 2d Wednesdays we’re showcasing a beautifully animated 2d piece about a little girl and a paperweight bear that is more than meets the eye. I LOVE this painterly look animators are doing these days and hope to see an animated series someday in this style. In particular the backgrounds really stand out for me but also they blend so well with the characters and emotion in the scene.
Directors: Ta-Wei Chao, Tsai-Chun Han
Animation: Ta-Wei Chao
Art Design: Tsai-Chun Han
Advisor: Wei-Chung Chang
Music: Chien-Yu Huang
Sound Design: Yin He
Voice: I-Ming Yen
Color: Benett Kim, Shu-Yi Chiou, Hsiao-Hsuan Lin, Milan Hu, Chih-Chieh Hsu, Kuan Tien Chen, I-Ming Yen, Chiao-Mei Cheng, Yu-Chi Liu
If you have a suggestion for a 2d Wednesday focus, or you yourself have done a film you’d like featured give us a shout!
Jeff Starling
What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Jeff Starling and I am a commercial artist.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before gettting into the crazy buisness of animation I was involved in advertising where the art director has not done there job unless they have made some change,causting me more time and effort, to my work as an illustrator. A lot of those art directors new nothing about drawing but could sure critisize one. My foray into the world of animation came after leaving Sierra games to go to DIC (animation bootcamp), where I was introduced to a whole host of artists and animation directors.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
After a brief while at DIC it was my luck to land a job as a background designer at Warner Bros. working on Batman The Animated Series. Over the years I have worked with one of the shows producers Eric Radomski. He hired me early on at HBO or Boo animation where we did Spawn and with Ralph Bakshi, Spicy City. I and another employee won Continue reading
