Here I am

This is an old drawing, but I like it. Suits my current mood.


Hallo I am still here. Just wandered off briefly. Animation facts to note? Well MIAF was great. Lots of magnifique animations. That was a while ago.

The Springvale Monash Legal Services Child Neglect Advert is on TV. If you've not seen it you can have a look here on the SMLS website (linked flash file)

Current projects? Some old, some new...you know how it goes. Something horsey - that is to say..animating something horsey. Quite a challenge methinx...but thats a project for later down the track. I'm in an awful rush can't you tell. Catching a taxi at 5:15am tomorrow morning to the airport. Gosh too early. I'm off to Port Augusta to work on an animation project with some of the local youth. Should be great. Checkout the usmob site.



Bye.

Tease

The New Zealand comic anthology was launched on Friday night. You can order a copy here if you fancy: My Soiled Sample
You can sample it here


Almost there. That is to say I am almost at the point where I can pick up the Render Project again. I am both daunted and excited. I'm excited about having a couple of weeks where I can just work on one thing. (Hopefully)
Daunted because there are some issues that need to be resolved with one of the plates, which may involve tossing it off a cliff.

The Melbourne International Animation Festival opens tonight.
These pics are my 'teasers'

Animation

Oskar Fischinger
is featured in the latest issue of Tate ETC. Tate Modern (in London) are screening some of his work at the end of the month. Pictured below is an image of Fischinger's Wax Slicer that he invented in the 1920's to create his fascinating 'sliced-wax' animation technique. This seems to be the technique used by Peter Lord (in 1986 along with with Steven Johnson, Nick Park and the Bros QuaY..and others), in their animated filmclip for Peter Gabriel's song Sledghammer. Though it looks to be plasticine - and figurative rather than abstract. Nonetheless it presents a curious and refreshing effect. Well judging from what I've seen in Sledgehammer, I've not actually seen the Fischinger wax animations. Yet.




Fischinger's Wax Slicer

It'll be interesting to see his animation Spirals at this year's MIAF. I don't know if this one contains wax-sliced animations. I imagine the ones screening at the Tate Modern do. I'll have to nip over.

Good grief!

A spontanious sketch of musicians








A quick initial harp about Melbourne International Animation Festival

miaf


Well the tix are on sale and the program is out. I am most excited - particularly as there is a new Marv Newland animation. Also new work by Chris Hinton, and Steven Woloshen. I haven't spotted any Paul Driessen..but I've only scanned through the program quickly. Hinton's looks like it might be abstract.???? Can't wait.


Here are some jellyfish pictures from the aquarium visit I ventured on afew months back.









I am listening to a Miss Kitten remix called Greyscale For Slow Building, from Radio Caroline compilation. Very very pleasant.




Good grief! I've discovered that Deathcab For Cutie are playing the very week that I am going to be away in mid July. I am tempted to venture to Adelaide specifically to see them.

5 in the morning

Tim's bird

Comics news
Finally I finished the comic for NZ anthology. I 'digitally propelled' it over to the Zealand at 4:55 this morning. To be honest I'm not 100% happy with the overall design of the comic - My crafting of the tonal elements needed afew more draft stages methinx. We'll see, it might look okay printed.



Here is a sneak preview.

It's not published yet so I'll not upload it to scale, just a web-friendly-coloured version to get the gist.



See the link for Tim Danko's snazzy design.

In tune

Ferret, Frets, and floating

Tooday just wizzed by. Here I was thinking I had everything runnning accordian to plam.



News is: The 2nd new computer has made itself at home in my studio.
The new Ferret Face comic, which is finished though not composited, may or may not get into the NZ anthology. I have been stressed all weekend about it. Everytime I feel deeply engaged in its production I have to tear myself away and do things like.... watch James Morrison and Joe Cindamo (spell?) at Bennet's Lane, or wiz over to the Ollistar abode to watch TOTORO (what again?), or float around in the pool for an hour, or venture out to Curly Kiz'z opening, or amble down to the Hib's opening, or trot off to some glorious music explosion at Hamer Hall. OR I have to play my guitar for two hours. Everything GETS in the way.
....which has been kind of nice I must say. Is it called displacement behaviour? Or is it just me and my dizzy-slowpoke-comicscreation-mode?

hmmmm... I could be scanning.


Here, a couple of snapshots of Ferret Face comic in production. Featuring Fat Whippet (left), and Herman O. Stickwhipple (above)






Animator of the week
Koji Yamamura

I've had him in my mind for a few weeks, showed the class Mt Head recently. It only just struck me the other day how 'Noh Theatre' the narrator/sound/music is. I knew it was traditional japanese. Maybe I am wrong, its just the whole build up of anticipation in the voice..