Google just posted a cute new doodle commemorating the start of the 2016 Doodle Fruit Games! To join in on the fun, find out more at http://g.co/fruit.
Video Credits:
Design & Animation – Nate Swinehart
Layout Support – David Davis
Sound Credits:
Music & Sound Design – aivi & surasshu
Trumpet – Lachlan Day
Piccolo – Kristin Naigus
Guitar – Stemage
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I designed slot machines for a tiny outfit in Charlotte, NC, for a year. It was moderately interesting, in that there is some amazingly sophisticated graphic and animation work being done for slots and their related displays these days, but the downside is that the gambling industry is not that interesting. So it was fun to do the work, but what you were selling was not very challenging.
In between my magazine illustrating days and animation, I did web design for a few years. One temp job I got was with a pretty major NY ad agency where the entire web staff had walked out the day before, so they were desperate for freelancers to jump in and take up the slack. I worked there for a month and the odd thing was that since everyone had walked out, I never knew for that whole month who exactly I was supposed to report to. I handed in my work to a guy across the hall, but he wasn’t my superior or manager, he was just a guy who was still there. Â I’ve always managed to make my living as an artist though. I worked in a framing shop after college, assisted Joe Simon in his home studio back years ago, and did layout and pasteup for a physics journal, “The Physical Review” at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Â I spent most of my professional career as a magazine illustrator for pubs like Forbes, Parents, The New Republic, Cruising World, Medical Economics, The NY Daily News, a Consumer Reports magazine for kids called Zillions, and American Express, clients like that. One of my favorites was doing a regular humor feature for Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, called “Mooney’s Modules”. That ran for three years and was the first place the Gravity Poster was seen by a large audience.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Certainly that Asimov’s gig would be at the top of the list. I would submit a bunch of sketches, and I’d be surprised at some of the ideas they signed off on. I wondered sometimes if they actually got the jokes or if they just didn’t want to appear that they didn’t.
I completed an animated music video last year where I was given complete creative control. It was for Shawn Letts, an American musician who lives and works in Singapore. It was a dream job! I was just told, “Call us when it’s done”. I really felt free to explore imagery and effects that I could just play around with, without having to “sell” a client on the concepts. And then of course there’s my graphic novel, “Sister Mary Dracula”, which is currently being shopped around to publishers. It originated as a Flash animation that I did in 2001 and put online. It got accepted as an entry in the San Diego Comicon’s Independent Film Festival in 2004, which motivated me to expand it into a graphic novel that took me four years to complete.  These are all one-man projects, not strictly speaking things that I was “a part of”; I WAS the projects!
How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve always been interested in animation and dabbled as a kid with both clay and cel animation, but Continue reading
What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Cale Atkinson and my current full time job is Art Director for RocketSnail Games. I also do contract work in animation and children’s illustrations.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before I really decided to go into the job direction of animation I was madly into film and making movies. One job I had for a little while was ‘Wedding Videographer’, filming high-end weddings around Vancouver. Interesting times of chasing limos to find photo shoot locations, staying awake during extra long ceremonies, and having my camera eat the tape in the middle of a wedding :O !
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Honestly in one way or another I’m proud of everything I’ve been apart of.  I’m super proud of all the things we are currently working on at RocketSnail Games. The children’s books I’ve been able to illustrate are also something I’m always really excited to be involved in.
How did you become interested in animation?
Always a hard question, as I can’t remember not being interested in animation. As a kid I was crazy about drawing and loved getting any books about cartooning, animation, and comic strips. I can’t say I did a lot of animation practice as a kid (probably due to the amount of work and time it takes) but Continue reading
Following Animate’s rebirth just a few months ago, Adobe’s latest update is actually attempting to include animators and artists, which a huge welcome change! The two biggest additions are allowing a layer to be transparent! I know that’s SO 1995 but at least they’re finally listening! Also a new inclusion is the Frame Picker which mimics Lipper and Keyframe Caddy but is now included in the Application itself. The one thing I’m hoping for in the next version is to have the Frame Picker set a keyframe when you select a drawing form it’s display. Also there is the new-ish Pattern Brushes, which is very similar to Illustrator’s brushes and while I personally have not found much use for them, they ARE an artists addition and you might find a need for them. Actually I take it back, I made wallpaper on a background once using them.
(graphic symbol thumbnails)
Visually preview and choose the first frame for a graphic symbol. In previous releases, you could not preview the frames without getting within the symbol. This feature enhances the user experience for animation workflows such as Lip Sync.
You can now skip manual workarounds and sketch on top of other layers right inside Animate. To set the visibility of the layer to transparent, Shift+Click on the eye column in the timeline.
Paint a vector pattern along the path or stretch to its entire length. You can use the integrated global library within Animate to use Art and Pattern brushes. In addition to the default brush presets, you can import new Pattern Brushes to your Animate document using the CC Libraries. See them in action here.
What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Daran Carlin-Weber, and I’m currently a freelance Flash animator.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I worked at a KFC/Taco Bell (yes they are out there) right around when that freaky Doubledown sandwich came out. That sandwich made me fear for humanity and anyone bold or fool-hearty enough to order it. Oh, I also worked as a cashier/cook a Sheetz gas station up until recently. Not crazy, but they truly have some of the best food you could possibly get at a gas station.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I haven’t gotten to be involved with too many projects yet. But I did get to work on a Halo motion comic when I interned at MoreFrames Animation, which was pretty cool. My favorite project I’ve done myself would probably my current project “Summer Rec” since it’s coming closer to what I’ve envisioned than any other project I’ve ever worked on.
How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve been interested in animation as long as I can remember. I used to watch so many cartoons when I was little. Well, I still do so I guess not much has changed, same shows too. I used to draw comics and I tried to Continue reading
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I don’t know if they’d be considered “crazy”, but I’ve worked in lumber mills, delivered pizza, pumped gas, taught guitar and was once employed for a short time at Virgin Records.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Well, the show I’m currently working on is pretty awesome and special, but some of my fave projects have been animating on “The Buzz On Maggie” for Warner Brothers and supervising key animation for two seasons of “Kid vs. Kat” at DHX Media (formerly Studio B Productions), but my most favorite experience is also my very first job – Working in the art department for the Tom Green movie “Freddy Got Fingered”. When you’re on a movie set watching Tom Green whip around a rubber newborn baby, everything else kinda pales in comparison.
How did you become interested in animation?
After two years of Design school, I couldn’t find any work, so I started Continue reading
