Author Archive
Planning Animation at 6 fps
I’ve experimented with a lot of different frame rates over the years, but my favorite has become 6 fps. It allows me to focus more on the design of each drawing, the acting of the sequence, and proper balance with the audio. The key to making it work is planning the timing and spacing of [...]
Pencil Test
Today, we’d like to share a pencil test from a work-in-progress. We recently sold our Cintiq, a digital drawing tool, and re-upped our commitment to drawing on paper. Other animators have encouraged us to go the digital route, but I never felt I had the same control I get with well-sharpened pencils on animation bond. [...]
Annecy 2009
Mike and Tim at Annecy
Hello all. June has been a very busy month for Mike and I, and it started off with a bang: the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “Q&A” had it’s European premiere at this prestigious annual event which takes place in some of the most breathtaking scenery I can imagine. The festival [...]
Ivan Mestrovic (1883-1962)
Self Portrait, 1931
I always envy the ability of a great sculptor to create a riveting piece from a single figure or a small, tightly composed group. No background, no color. Just masses composed one next to the other. Few sculptors have ever done this with the kind of imposing presence that Ivan Mestrovic brought to [...]
“Q&A” showing at Annecy
Rauch Bros. work inspired by W. H. Johnson
As mentioned here last week, the above image is from a new Rauch Brothers project for which we are using William H. Johnson’s work as our visual inspiration. Looking forward to diving in on this one!
A little festival news. As noted before on our Twitter page, “Q&A” will [...]
William H. Johnson
William H. Johnson
For the visual aesthetic of one of our upcoming projects, Rauch Bros. is looking at the work of William H. Johnson.
Born in Florence, South Carolina in 1901, Johnson took off for Harlem in 1918 and immediately became involved in the community of artists that was beginning to bloom at that time. He was [...]
Peter Lord’s “Going Equipped”
Mike and I were first turned on to animation by Disney films, but it wasn’t until we saw a collection of Aardman Animation’s short films that we said, “This is IT!” We nearly wore out a VHS tape that had “Creature Comforts”, “Next”, “War Story” and most importantly for me, “Going Equipped” (1987).
“Going Equipped” was [...]
New Character Designs
“Q&A” played for the ASIFA-East jury last night and Mike and I were pleased to hear a lot of warm responses. The experience brought us right back to showing our very first film ever at the same event last year. I posted about the experience on the ASIFA-East blog, you can read that here.
Besides “Brewer’s [...]
