Signe Baumane is a significant animator, right up there with Bill Plympton. I’m so happy to see her film at Seattle International Film Festival this year. And, if you are in Seattle, you must go! Details on this funny and frank flick follow including how to seek it out in Seattle:
My Love Affair With Marriage uses music and science to examine the biological chemistry of love and gender, as well as the societal pressures on an individual to conform to social mores.
My Love Affair With Marriage at SIFF takes place May 20th and May 21st. Details are right here.
A battle between Zelma’s prefrontal cortex and her nucleus accumbens.
Signe Baumane’s work has been accepted in over 300 film festivals around the world and received many awards. She was also awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in 2017.
Greg Cipes snagged the role of Beast Boy on the Teen Titans franchise on Cartoon Network on his first-ever audition. That was twenty years ago. It’s one of the highlights to a wonderful career which also includes playing Michelangelo on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It could not have happened to a nicer guy. Cipes is a mellow and spiritual person with a deep respect for animals. He also happens to know a lot about blockchain technology. This led to him becoming a founder of Bright Moments DAO, an arts organization focusing on NFTs. And that has led to him founding NFTV, a new form of entertainment showcasing the work of NFT creators.
NFTV, boldly heading to Web3!
Imagine a mellow day on Venice Beach. That’s where you’ll find Greg Cipes taking it easy with his dog, Wingman G. Greg is just the right person to be leading a venture that taps into the people power spirit of blockchain technology. His connection to the public and entertainment has led him on this journey. As someone with a keen interest in pop culture, spiritual matters, and the next big thing, I couldn’t help but be interested in the opportunity to chat with Greg. My impression is that he’s very sincere about his efforts to create a space where people can go to get educated about NFTs, build a community and support NFT creators.
NFT art on NFTV!
Greg is in a very good place to be part of the early adapter phase to Web3. He is a co-founder of Bright Moments DAO, an NFT arts organization. And now he is leading the way with NFTV. His advice is to learn all you can before buying anything. Greg believes that NFTV can be an oasis during this time of change when most people, of all ages, are still very new to anything having to do with Web3 innovations.
In the not so distant future, NFTs will become more and more common and the path to becoming involved will be smoother. Of course, there is plenty of buzz on the net about the metaverse, avatars, tokens, and the blockchain. If you’re patient and willing to take the time to focus on the details, in no time, you too could have a digital wallet and participate in the brave new world of disruption and decentralized autonomous organizations. The biggest stumbling block of all is lack of money. You need money to make money. Greg says his main reason for starting NFTV is to help level the playing field and make the price of admission affordable to all. He stresses the need for NFT education and community. And he says that NFTs featured on NFTV will be within reach for everyone at an average starting price equivalent to a hundred dollars.
Much like NFTs are new, Greg Cipes is riding a new wave with NFTV. I can see that progress is steady and the network will continue to grow and develop. It will be very interesting to see where it’s at in the coming years. The NFTV segment below is just a taste. Keep in mind that this is all blowing up and expanding before our eyes. These are early field notes from the pop culture frontlines.
Greg Cipes is very much a guy on a mission. Before we ended our talk, he wanted to bring out one last very important fact and it demonstrated where his head is at. Greg wants to share with you a special NFT connected to Dog Blessed, a charitable group that helps connect people with dogs. The idea is to provide the means to connect people with dogs and that includes paying for dog adoption, dog food, and paying the “Dogblessed” certified and trained human to take care of the dog. This is a project that is under development and will be featured on NFTV. You can keep up with the progress of NFTV here, here and here.
Helping those in need that love dogs! The first series of “Dogblessed” pays for dog adoption fees, dog food and pays the “Dogblessed” certified and trained human to take care of the dog. A Greg Cipes social impact project around meaningful intellectual property and an extraordinary community of Dog lovers.
Samantha Vilfort has been a Story Artist with Disney Animation for four years, working on Ralph Breaks the Internet and Frozen 2. In this episode of Sketchbook she draws Mirabel, the star of Encanto. (Disney/Richard Harbaugh)
SKETCHBOOK: an intimate instructional documentary series featuring talented artists and animators. Disney Plus Originals. Premieres on April 27, 2022.
Sketchbook is a new behind-the-scenes series, that features Disney top artists sharing their art process in a combination of a profile and dynamic how-to-draw demonstration. In a brief interview, I chatted with one of the featured talents, Story Artist Samantha Vilfort. She recently worked on the Disney acclaimed 2021 animated feature, Encanto. For her episode of Sketchbook, Vilfort did a step-by-step character study of Encanto‘s main character, Mirabel.
Mirabel is a kid just trying to figure things out, someone anyone can relate with. As a longtime cartoonist, I was intrigued by Vilfort’s very natural, careful and graceful approach to the character. This is an impressive demonstration that will inspire anyone interested in drawing, whether you’re totally new or a seasoned pro. During our conversation, I had to share with Samantha the drawing I did from following her instruction on Sketchbook.
It was a lot of fun drawing along with Samantha!
Samantha gained so much inspiration as a kid drawing from a Mulan how-to-draw book. So, it all comes full circle as she has a chance now to give back to fans and guide them on their creative journey. “I firmly believe that drawing is a teachable skill just like anything else,” says Samantha. “Anyone can draw–and not just stick figures!” This is something that I love to pass on to folks every chance I get! I encourage you to seek out Sketchbook on Disney Plus!
I love this still from the upcoming animated feature, Arco. I have to hand it to the French as this looks like something very weird and wonderful–and will live up to its promise. All the little details, so delicate and precise, speak to the dedication of a true graphic novelist, which Ugo surely is as he has a fine and consistent track record of actually creating numerous graphic novels. You really can’t call yourself a graphic novelist without actually being one! So, here is a bona fide bande dessinee artist!
Here is the news on Arco which appeared in Variety last month:
Maybe like me, you grew up with Walter Foster books. In the ’70s, when I was a boy, these oversized (old Life Magazine format) books were already wonderful relics from a bygone era, most dating back two or three decades. I knew, right away, that they came from another time and place but they were so well put together and the instruction seemed so crisp and clear that I just loved them even if I had no idea how I was supposed to take that information and become a famous cartoonist in New York or a famous animator in Hollywood. No matter. That could always be dealt with sometime in the future. These same Walter Foster books have been reprinted many times over filling the heads of countless people of all ages with fanciful dreams that may or may not ever come true. It didn’t seem to matter. The books themselves were so wonderful! I have been looking at a recent book from Walter Foster, now an imprint at Quarto Publishing Group. It is a classic and brings up a lot of happy memories, Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair.
Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair
Animation with Preston Blair is a fine example of the lineup of Walter Foster books from Quarto in a contemporary trade paperback format. Preston Blair, born in 1908, was trained in fine art and illustration and went on to become a leading animator at Disney. Blair animated such famous work as the Hippos dance in “Dance of Hours” and Mickey Mouse in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” both in 1940’s Fantasia. Blair is also known for his work at MGM, most notably his animation with Tex Avery. And he is also known for his work at Hanna-Barbera for The Flintstones. Blair offers plenty in the way of lively and inventive examples.
A page from Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair
Upon a closer examination, it’s clear that this book is a treasure trove of samples and guidelines to inspire an artist at any level. A book like this will help get you on track because it makes no pretense and gets to the heart of the matter: page after page of straightforward drawing. And new animators will appreciate plenty of examples of anatomy, perspective, and various movement along with timeless principles.
From Cartoon Animation with Preston Blair
Combining two previous titles, this manual is organized into six chapters covering cartoon construction, character development, movement, animation principles and animated acting. The retro drawings alone are worth the modest price for this 128-page fully illustrated book. Solid instruction never goes out of style and is timeless. This is recommended for all ages.
For more details, visit Quarto Publishing Group right here.
Superman: Red Son. Made-for-Video Animation, 84 minutes. Directed by Sam Liu. Written by J.M. DeMatteis. Executive Producers: Bruce Timm and Sam Register. DC Entertainment. Release Date: March 17, 2020
The timing could not be better for one of the great Superman stories. DC Entertainment presents the 2020 animated feature adaptation to Mark Millar’s 2003 Superman: Red Son. This time around, the script is by another DC Comics stalwart creative, J. M. DeMatteis. This is a great time for the alternate-history genre. There’s For All Mankind on Apple TV, a what-if about the Soviets landing on the moon first. And there’s The Plot Against America on HBO, a what-if about a Fascist America. Now, make room for a what-if about a Soviet Superman. This is about what would happen if the future Superman never crash-lands in some corn field in Kansas. But, instead, baby Superman crash-lands in the heart of Cold War-era Russia.
Comrade Superman?!
This is arguably the very best of DC Elseworlds adventures. In this very heated and confused time for U.S.-Russian relations, a story like this provides refreshing perspective. What would Superman do if he found himself part of Mother Russia and developed a loyalty to Communism? Apple pie and baseball don’t mean a thing to the Man of Steel. Superman is more loyal to the latest five-year plan for the people. Capitalism is just a funny concept and the U.S.A. is more suspect than respected. And leading the “greed is good” pack is, of course, Lex Luthor.
What will appeal to a lot of viewers is the clever look at how the world works. No sooner does Superman, innocently enough, prove to be the strongest man at the Kremlin than he’s elevated to the post of supreme leader. To Superman’s way of thinking, he is genuinely compelled to do good. That’s just how he’s built. But he has to do it within the confines of the Soviet Union. Conversely, Lex Luthor, not so innocently, proves to be the strongest capitalist, riding an “America First” campaign, that lands him in the White House. Along the way, we have different versions of the Korean War, the Berlin Wall, and even a taste of Dr. Strangelove thrown in for good measure.
If you’ve never read the original comic book or collected graphic novel, then you’re in for even more of a treat as this story unfolds. I think the animated feature hits all the right marks and could not be better. Voice actors like Jason Isaacs, as Superman, and Vanessa Marshall, as Wonder Woman, lead a lively cast. This is something that I could even see as a major live action movie version. It is certainly a compelling example of what can be done within the formidable world of the DC Universe.
Dave Pressler in 2004 for a Halloween show at The Key Club, We Have Your Toys.
Robin Williams and Scarlett Johansson are among the stars who have flocked to the art of Dave Pressler. Do you like robots? Do you like monsters? There’s bound to be something to your liking from the multi-hyphenated artist. Indeed, Pressler excels as an illustrator, painter, sculptor and character designer. You can always find him at his website and, if you’re in Colorado, you can go view his latest show, The Right Tool for the Job: The Future of the Robot Industrial Revolution, at Telluride Arts HQ Gallery from August 30 to October 1, 2019.
Scarlett Johansson buys a Dave Pressler sculpture from Munky King in 2004.
In this interview, we chat about the process of making art, the loneliness of robots, and how anyone with a healthy determination can become the artist they’ve always wanted to be.
Dave Pressler at Telluride Arts HQ Gallery
Telluride Arts HQ Gallery
presents
DAVE PRESSLER
THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
The Future of the Robot Industrial Revolution
EMMY AWARD-NOMINATED, MULTI-HYPHENATE ARTIST DAVE PRESSLER RETURNS TO TELLURIDE WITH NEW SHOW EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF ROBOTS AT WORK
OPENING RECEPTION
Telluride Art Walk
Thursday, September 5, 2019 | 5-8 pm
ON VIEW
August 30, 2019 – October 1, 2019
Telluride Arts HQ Gallery 135 W Pacific Ave, Telluride, CO 81435
The Telluride Arts District is proud to present the next solo exhibition of artist Dave Pressler, The Right Tool for the Job: The Future of the Robot Industrial Revolution. As the specter of automation and artificial intelligence continue to advance, slowly replacing more and more blue collar jobs, Pressler imagines a parallel universe in which his classic robot characters must show up for factory work the same way we begrudgingly did at the turn of the 20th century. The illustrator, painter, sculptor and character designer has already had a busy 2019, but this show once again breaks new ground for him as an artist: it will be the first time he’s exhibiting a new body of work comprised almost entirely of graphite on paper.
“We’re having another industrial revolution right now, but most people aren’t really talking about it,” explains Pressler. “There’s all this rhetoric about immigrants coming in and stealing blue collar jobs, but it’s not really true. It’s the same thing that happened in the 1800s, when local furniture-makers and garment makers were suddenly replaced by factories powered by steam and assembly-line workers. We’re seeing the same kind of job displacement that we did at the start of the 20th century, but this time it’s being driven by automation and AI.”
Pressler, a self-described blue collar artist, hails from a working class background in the southern suburbs of Chicago. Growing up in a factory town, he was always surrounded by people who made a living working with their hands. To this day, it informs how he sees his role in Hollywood and the low-brow, pop art worlds. Pressler originally moved to Los Angeles in his early 20s to pursue work as an actor, but in the 90s, he shifted dramatically toward production and character design. This work required the creativity of an artist, yes, but more importantly, it required the discipline to sit down and do it—to put in a hard day’s work and get ‘er done, not unlike a blue collar job. From there, his career path almost became traditional, seeing him rise through the ranks to become production designer on the Jim Henson Company’s B.R.A.T.S. of the Lost Nebula, followed by The Save-Ums and Team Smithereen. Eventually, he co-created the Emmy-nominated Robot and Monster for Nickelodeon, all while continuing to develop himself as an illustrator, painter and sculptor in the low-brow art market. All of his two decade plus career was explored recently in his retrospective museum exhibition, “Idea to Object,” at Lancaster Museum of Art.
The humorous but gritty worlds populated with robots and monsters that Pressler creates have always involved his characters begrudgingly fulfilling their duties, almost like holding up a robot-tinted mirror to the lives we have to live to make money and keep society going. For the first time ever, with this automation and AI-driven industrial revolution we’re currently witnessing, Pressler’s whimsical robot world is coming into its own and perhaps serving as an extension of reality. Pressler’s newest exhibition humorously goes behind the scenes of what the robots will have to deal with as we pass off more and more work to them.
Listen to the podcast interview by clicking the link below:
Inside Family Guy: An Illustrated History by Frazier Moore
Family Guy, is celebrating being on television since 1999. If you look it up for a basic description you get a “sick, twisted and politically incorrect animated series featuring the adventures of the Griffin family.” That’s a good place to start. It’s one of those shows that may or may not have been on your radar and, if it did catch your attention it could leave you loving it, hating it, or scratching your head. And that’s okay since that is apparently what creator Seth MacFarlane had in mind when he first conceived of the show back in college. Twenty some years later, it a good time to take stock of a pop culture icon with the release of Inside Family Guy: An Illustrated History by Frazier Moore, published by Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
The family at rest.
Here’s the thing to keep in mind about Family Guy: this is the brainchild of Seth MacFarlane, a young, talented, ambitious guy with a certain point of view with a subversive edge. If you don’t care for his idea of satire, then this show may not work for you. If you revel in his particular sense of humor, then this show may work for you without a problem. It’s one person’s vision of crossing the line. That has so much to do with what Family Guy is all about. You’re looking at an unrelenting pursuit of crossing the line, much in the same vein as South Park. In this regard, this book does a great job of presenting the ins and outs of such a journey, warts and all. It also does a fine job of providing an in depth look at how a major network animated series in put together covering ever detail from drafting a script to post-production.
The notorious un-aired abortion episode, “Partial Terms of Endearment,” from 2009.
The book’s author, Frazier Moore, makes no secret about being a superfan of the show no matter what. What makes for the most interesting section to this book is when Moore explains the controversial history of Family Guy, a mashup of kooky family TV tropes and explosive content. It is in-your-face humor and that can be quite a bumpy ride for all involved. The best case in point is the notorious abortion episode, “Partial Terms of Endearment.” The justification from Moore for a Family Guy episode on abortion is that Norman Lear wrote about it for Maude in 1972. Well, let’s just say that this justification is quite a stretch. The way Family Guy handles the subject is to have the main character, Peter Griffin, engage in a variety of acts of torture to induce his wife, Lois, to have a miscarriage. Towards the end, Peter begins to have misgivings but, at the very end, matter-of-factly, Lois has an abortion. So, yeah, not exactly Norman Lear. That said, a typical episode of Family Guy is pretty impressive and just what you can expect from a show that is upfront about its goal of being “sick, twisted and politically incorrect.” This new book honors the eight-time Emmy Award-winning show and proves to be an essential guide.
Character designs
Inside Family Guy: An Illustrated History is a 256-page fully illustrated hardcover, published by HarperCollins, available as of May 14, 2019. For more details, go right here.
“The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime,” by Toshio Ban, published by Stone Bridge Press, is a work in manga fit for one of the greatest manga artists ever, Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989). Manga is a very particular experience and much can get lost in translation. One key trait to manga is that time constraints often go out the window, the format embraces extended scenes. I like this approach and find it can be quite effective in setting a mood. Like any other technique, it can be overdone. I thought this to myself as I began to undertake this behemoth of book clocking in at 928 pages. Could it have benefited from some restraint? Well, yes and no. Overall, I highly recommend it on many levels. It provides much needed context and general information. And, in the end, there is an enthusiastic spark throughout that lifts the reader.
Manga is inextricably linked to a different world view, as opposed to most Western comics. We Americans, even the most seasoned readers among us, have been conditioned to more tightly edited work. You just need to come into reading this biography with the same spirit you would approach a gloriously sprawling foreign film. Yes, expect to find many detailed scenes with the little boy Osamu. And, yes, expect various detailed scenes of Osamu, the man, at his drafting table.
Osamu Tezuka in his prime.
Who exactly was Osamu Tezuka? you may ask. In the United States, Osamu Tezuka is not as well known as he could be. But, in Japan, he ranks as high as, say, Charles M. Schulz does in America. There is every reason to believe that Tezuka could become as beloved an artist as Schulz. And that adds to the importance of this biography. In America, a certain number of enthusiasts know Tezuka for his landmark Buddha series. In Japan, Tezuka is also celebrated for Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Black Jack. Also covered in this book is Tezuka’s trailblazing work in animation. It is no exaggeration to say that Japan’s manga and anime owes greatly to the work of Osamu Tezuka.
Working for Osamu Tezuka proves challenging.
Among the memorable detailed accounts: Tezuka, up to his ears in work, is literally fleeing anxious editors from various publications hounding him to meet his deadlines. The King of Manga, hiding out in hotel rooms from publishers, with the press not far behind, became a veritable cause célèbre. At the height of so many conflicting deadlines piling up on him, Tezuka had to devise various systems to cut down the time-consuming process of creating manga. This included hiring a team of assistants. The poor devils were left to do various bits of piece work without a clue as to what would ultimately go where. This would be just a taste of what it would be like once Tezuka began to work in his own anime studio.
You are in for a treat. Yes, here you are dealing with a mammoth book. Take it bit by bit and you will be rewarded. Frederik L. Schodt’s translation works smoothly with Toshio Ban’s original script and artwork which greatly emulates Tezuka’s own artwork. This is indeed a treasure trove. The original work was published in 1992, three years after Tezuka’s death. It originally came out as three books: Osamu to Osamushi (1928-1945), Dreams of Manga (1945-1959), and Dreams of Anime (1960-1989). With that in mind, it is more reasonable to see how we ended up with such a big book. I think a graphic novel should be as long as it needs to be. Some 300-pagers could easily be half as long. But, in this case, here is a story that is well justified in spreading out as much as it needed to.
“The Osamu Tezuka Story: A Life in Manga and Anime,” by Toshio Ban
THE OSAMU TEZUKA STORY is a 928-page trade paperback, published by Stone Bridge Press. Visit them right here. You can also find it at Amazon right here.
