I Painted Something!!

This little doodle happened for two reasons.

       Reason 1) Lately I've been aching to try painting, but I've proven many times in the past that it's not my thing.

       Reason 2) I've been trying to think up ideas for my first tattoo, and it has to be animation-related. I had thought of a few character's that would be ok. Stitch and Rafiki came to mind because they're interesting and I love the way they're animated, but that's not enough to justify permanent ink. Then this idea hit me. Necron99 from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards. He would be a great tattoo for so many reasons. Wizards is now on my top list of favorites, and Bakshi has become my all-time hero for his view on the world and his persistence to produce art and stories that are important to him, no matter what others say. So the tattoo would serve as a reminder to always ask, "what would Bakshi do?" Let's not forget that Necron99's a bad-ass, so that helps too.

 Anyway, I searched google for some images of him, and found this great pose. I love the simplicity in his design and color, and that sparked this urge to paint it. So I drew it, broke out some acrylics, and Ta-Daa! I can officially paint a flat level of red and yellow. Look out, Picasso.

More Robo

All finished inbetweening this little guy. Now I'm gonna clean it up and color it.

I'm having a lot of fun with this, because I'm trying to play with Squash&Stretch and goofy inbetweens. Lately I've been wanting to do work like John Kricfalusi. I've never done really loose, cartoony stuff before, and it's something I want to practice for a while.

My hero

I first saw this video a couple of months ago, and it's probably the most inspirational video I've ever seen. Nothing gets me more gung-ho and ready to animate than this speech by Ralph.

(honestly, I'm posting it here so it's easier to find next time I need to light a motivational fire under my butt.)

Wizards, Again

   Ok, I've gotta rant about Wizards again. I'm trying to figure out why I love this movie so much. I honestly watched it four times in a row yesterday. I've never done that before! There are so many things about Bakshi's films that I adore. I love that you can see  it was made by hand. I love the low-budget feel.
   Yes, all traditionally animated movies are hand-made, but there's something about Bakshi's films that remind you you're watching something made by a group of passionate people. There's a saying about animation along the lines of, "If the audience can catch what you did, you're not doing your job well enough." But for some reason that's what I crave. I'm so excited to see little imperfections, because then I feel connected with the artist.
    Another great thing about his movies is the stylistic disconnect between the backgrounds and the characters. You have simple, animatable characters set against intricate backgrounds that are delicately inked with pen, or painted in watercolor, or even filmed in live action. And for some reason it works, and makes me want more.

   Ralph Bakshi proved that you can make a good movie that has heart without spending millions of dollars. All you need is a handful of determined artists (seriously, there were 5-6 animators on this entire film!), and an honest, heart-felt story that you want to show to an audience. I want my own films to reflect his style and outlook.

Robo

I had a lot of fun today animating this little shot. It's all on two's, and so far only contains keys and breakdowns. I'm actually really happy with this one and can't wait to finish it tomorrow.