New 2D Animation Software from ToonBoom – Animation-Ish
The great folks at ToonBoom have introduced a new 2D animation software package that anyone can use. It’s called Animation-Ish. It’s a cooperative venture with Peter H. Reynolds who writes and illustrates children’s books. His message and the premise of the software is that a drawing doesn’t have to look perfect to work. From ToonBoom:
Introducing the world′s easiest software program, designed to have your drawings up and moving in minutes! Created by Peter H. Reynolds, NYTimes Bestselling Author/Illustrator of The Dot, Ish, Someday, and the Judy Moody series, packed with Peter′s inspirational creativity tips and drawings, Animation-ish lets you design animations for movies, greeting cards, websites, presentations and school projects, and then share your creations with the world!
The price for an individual copy is only $59.95 US and that’s one tremendous deal. Dimples uses ToonBoom’s storyboard software and we love it. Thus, this software is probably created and published with the same attention to detail.
Dimples found a video on youtube with someone trying to use the program but it’s not very informative. See below:
What’s very interesting about this program is the ease and efficiency with which you can create simple animations and export them in a format you can share with others. Dimples thinks this makes the program an especially good deal for the weekend animator. From ToonBoom:
Top Program Features
- Over 50 “Inspire Me” video clips from Peter H. Reynolds
- 3 animation skill-levels
- “Project Vault” with Peter’s drawings and starter ideas
- “Share” feature for exporting into multiple formats
- Online lessons from Peter and the animators of FableVision
“Class” (Entre les Murs) Wins the Palme d’Or Prize at Cannes in Unanimous Vote
“Waltz with Bashir” did not win the top prize at Cannes. In fact, it was totally stiffed by Sean Penn’s jury. From Time:
Another surprising omission was the Israeli animated documentary Waltz With Bashir, which had critics cheering from Day Two, when it was unveiled, up to the announcement of the awards. At the post-Palmares press conference, Penn acknowledged that he wasn’t pushing for Bashir, since there were so many other films that “called out and provoked us in a new way.” He added, “I think it will find its audience without us,” suggesting that the Jury wanted to give affirmative-action pushes to luminous films in need of the worldwide attention a Palme d’Or can bring.
I translate this as animation isn’t serious film. Frankly, Dimples thinks this stinks.
Waltz with Bashir – Will 2D Animation Win the Palme d’Or Prize at the Cannes?
From the BBC:
An animated documentary about a massacre in the Middle East is the current frontrunner to win the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Waltz with Bashir is a daring and provocative attempt by director Ari Folman to bear witness to an atrocity committed during his stint in the Israeli army in 1982.
Waltz with Bashir is 2D animation paired with 3D effects. Here’s the official trailer:
It looks like a beautifully made movie.
Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2008 June 9- June 14
Annecy is one of the greatest of all the animation festivals and it’s coming next month from June 9 to June 14 in Annecy, FR. Every type of animation from short film to television to theatrical feature animation will be represented at Annecy. Toondra.com is offering a great sampling of some of the films at this year’s Annecy Festival. Dimples is going to qualify this by saying that the Annecy site says the films are previewed on toondra.com but the toondra site seems to have only films from 2007. We’re a bit confused but the animation is great and worth a look whether it is from this or last year’s Annecy festival. Meanwhile back at dimples, here is a sampling of animation from Annecy 2006. Here is L’Enveloppe Jaune:
Here Comes Bessie Higgenbottom in the Mighty B on Nickelodeon
It’s been a long wait since Dimples first posted on the new 2D animated series from Nickelodeon, The Mighty B, but it is finally time for the premier episode this Saturday, April 26, at 10:30 AM. This looks like a great series with a great lead character in Bessie Higgenbottom, great voice actors and excellent animation. Take a look at some clips from The Mighty B. First is a rough animation of a scene and the second is a promo for the series.
Dreams and Desires and T.O.M. Share the Public Choice 2008 Prize at the British Animation Awards
Joanna Quinn is one of our all time favorite animators and we’ve profiled her Dreams and Desires short film previously. It keeps on winning award after award for Quinn and Beryl Productions International. She shared the award with another Dimples’ favorite, T.O.M., from Tom Brown and Daniel Gray. Tom and Daniel have been kind enough to post on Dimples from time to time. From IC Network:
Dreams and Desires – Family Ties (Beryl, Y Briodas a’r Fideo), a co-production between S4C and Quinn’s company, Beryl Productions International, jointly won the Public Choice 2008 prize at the British Animation Awards.
Quinn shared the award with fellow Welsh entry, t.o.m., a short film by Tom Brown and Daniel Gray, produced at the International Film School of Wales, Newport.
Here’s a YouTube clip of Dreams and Desires:
And, here is her fantastic demo reel:
Finally, a very short clip from T.O.M.:
Fleischer’s 1941 Bugville Available on DVD
Bugville
Peter and the Wolf Takes the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman won the Oscar for best animated short, Peter and the Wolf, as Dimples predicted they would. Congratulations!
It was a great movie and we loved the goose. However, did anyone really watch anything last night except Marion Cotillard? La Vie en Rose was a badly made movie. The way the timeline was used to tell the story was very confusing and yet, no one can deny that Cotillard was absolutely brilliant.
Oscar Nominees for Best Animated Short on CBS Sunday Morning
CBS Sunday Morning did a great segment on the nominees for Best Animated Short today. The video for that segment isn’t available yet on their web page yet but it should be by the end of the day. It’s wonderful that CBS took the time to profile these fine examples of animation art on their Oscar show. They gave these animators more time than some of the high profile nominees in the major categories. Also, some of the scenes they showed are not available in on-line trailers.
T-Works – New Portal Planned for Warner Brothers’ Classic Animation
Warner Brothers promises a new web portal for their classic Looney Tunes animation as well as other properties. From The Hollywood Reporter:
Warner Bros. Entertainment will launch T-Works next spring, an interactive home for its iconic characters from Warner Bros. Animation, “Looney Tunes,” Hanna-Barbara and DC Comics along with newer animation.
T-Works will present old “Looney Tunes” cartoons, featuring characters like Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, alongside Hanna-Barbara offerings like “Scooby-Doo” and “The Flintstones,” as well as more contemporary animation like “Batman Beyond.”
This sounds like a Dimples dream come true.
[tags]2D animation, animation, warner brothers, t-works, looney tunes[/tags]