If you can, you should sit down in front of the TV tonight and watch the Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special on NBC. I saw this a little while back and it was amazing! I can’t wait to watch it again tonight. I’ve always been a fan of holiday specials. Even the ones with familiar characters from TV and Film. Some may be cheesy, but there is something about a holiday special that just seems….well…SPECIAL. That being said the KFP Holiday special does not disappoint. There is so much heart and warmth in this little short that it spills right off the screen. Plus our very own Adam Strick and Ben Willis had a hand in making it!! So if you have some time tonight at 8:30pm or when it re-airs on November 27th at 8:00pm Watch the KFP Holiday Special, you’ll be glad you did.

Between all of the online schools, professional and student blogs, and various websites there’s a ton of animation/visual effects content and knowledge being shared online these days.  People hear about a technique or start to study an art form they are new to and are happy to share what they’re learning due to the excitement of their newly learned concept.  This shared wisdom really allows students and those art forms to progress at a relatively fast rate.  I just heard about this new school being setup by the guys over at Stan Winston Studios on the Animation Mentor forums.  It’s exciting to see what they’re going to be teaching after viewing some of  the video clips on the school’s home page, especially since it’s coming from a group of people at a studio with a long and significant history.

Check it out here:

http://www.stanwinstonschool.com/

]]> http://www.speakingofanimation.com/2010/11/stan-winston-school-of-character-arts/feed/ 0 http://www.speakingofanimation.com/2010/11/idiots-and-angels/ http://www.speakingofanimation.com/2010/11/idiots-and-angels/#comments Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:05:41 +0000 Stephen http://www.speakingofanimation.com/?p=1386

Bill Plympton stopped by the studio the other day to share some of his latest work.  It’s always great fun when Bill stops by, his work is so fun and his stories about working as an independent animator are always brutally honest.  Afterwards we got to have some lunch with Bill and talk about his career and how he works.  And yes we are talking to him about doing a podcast with us…can’t wait!  So if you haven’t seen any of his work, or are a big fan, he has a new film out called Idiots and Angels.  Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to see it when it was in L.A., but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out.  Here is a link to the Idiots and Angels website so you can find out if and when it’s playing in a theater near you!

http://www.idiotsandangels.com/

In animation, reference is very important because you have to know your subject before you can animate it. Makes sense. Sometimes searching for reference can be a difficult task. Thankfully a new Vimeo group, at least new to us, is posting a bunch of animation reference videos for us all to check out. There seem to be a lot of high quality clips both in real-time and slow-motion. Some of the horse trots are worth a visit alone.

CLICK HERE or on the image to visit the site!

Thank you to Ed Herft for sharing the link!

|Ben

I haven’t had a chance to see this yet, but from the trailers I think this looks like a pretty cool movie.  If anyone has seen this Owl  movie from Animal logic hit us up in the comment section and let us know what you thought!