Friday, April 30, 2010

WIP Pictures!

Hat on...

Hat off

Which looks better? I'm completly torn. I wonder if there's a way I could rig the hat to be detatchable so he could hold it some days and wear it other days. Any thoughts?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The 10 Best Stop Motion Animation Films/Shorts

I recently watched the Stop motion film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and I couldn't resist paying homage to what I would consider the best form of animation. The characters seem much more life-like. Cameras take pictures of real characters that can be touched by human hands. That's something you don't get with Pixar or the other film makers swimming in an ocean of CGI. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Pixar movie, but for me, nothing can measure up to these treasures below.

I give you my 10 favorite Stop-motion animated movies and shorts. Keep in mind, this is only my opinion!

10. Vincent- Written and directed by Tim Burton, this is the shortest film on the list, at a whopping six minutes. It has the typical dark Burton feel, which I consider a good thing.

9. Corpse Bride- Another Tim Burton winner.

8. James and the Giant Peach- Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors, and Henry Sellick is one of my favorite directors, so there's not much more to say here.

7. Wallace and Grommit Shorts- I'm kind of cheating here by lumping in four shorts into one rank, but I just didn't have enough room on the list. The Wallace and Grommit shorts are what first turned me on to stop motion

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox- As I said, I just saw this one for the first time, but it didn't take much time to climb to number six on my list. It's hilarious, atmospheric, and clever; like a Fox!

5. Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Were Rabbit- The dynamic duo look even better on the big screen.

4. Chicken Run- This is like a stop motion, chicken version of the Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite live action films. Plus it was created by Aardman, the makers of Wallace and Grommit, so you know it's a winner.

3. Madame Tutli Putli- I just found this short film on youtube. I've never seen such life-like puppets in stop motion, which somehow adds to it's creepy feel. Check it out if you haven't seen it


2. Nightmare Before Christmas- Needs no explanation. stop motion creativity at it's best, thanks to Tim Burton and Henry Selick.

1. Coraline- Written by Niel Gaimon and directed by Henry Sellick, this is my favorite stop-motion movie. I read an article about this movie about a year before it's release, and counted down the days from then on. Meanwhile, Steph and I read the book, and loved it. The movie version did not disappoint. It blended a bit of CGI with the old "claymation" art, making for a truly unique experience.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Spookytime Jingles April


It's STJ time again! Head over to spookytimejingles to see my new Frank piece, and a few acrylic art cards.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Moon Man Progress Report

Today, I realized it's been a while since my last moon man update. Most of the major structural work is now completed. This is where the fun begins! For the last couple of weeks, I've been applying clay over the paper mache exterior.

Thinking of the cost, I had not originally planned to have a clay exterior. However, I've decided after investing this much time into a single sculpture, it would be worth the few extra bucks to finish it properly.