AN EVENING WITH SOME LOCAL FLASHERS!
I was actually much happier at the event than I look here!
I recently spent a very enjoyable
evening presenting my work to the vibrant Seattle Flash Users Group at the downtown Adobe
Theatre. The event,
organized by group manager Keith Johnson was well attended… which is
always a relief!
I was especially overjoyed as my daughter, Sarah, was
visiting Seattle on an unexpected surprise visit from the UK… which made me all
the more proud to present my work in front of her. I was mindful of course that much of this work was created in the
UK when I lived there while Sarah was growing up! She told me afterwards that she didn’t know I had done so much
and that she hadn’t seen most of the animation I had shown. I guess we take for granted that the work we
do is seen by all those close to us in our live but it really is not so true I
now realize. (Personal note: Share
everything you do with those close to you… time passes quickly and it may one day be
too late!)
Apparently this was the first time the group had invited a
‘traditional’ 2D animator to present their work to them. As a result I attempted to show them animation that had the least
similarity to Flash-style animation… principally my more ‘illustrative’ and/or
‘painterly’ styles. I couldn’t avoid
showing Flash-generated work in my “Fire Gods” student film production of course but
beyond that all was very much created in the classical, traditional style…
whether that was ultimately 'cell' or 'digitally' finished at the time.
My showreel Menu.
I have created many cartoon-style commercials of course… pretty much all the standard cereal spot characters that appear on American TV and a number of other things, including the titles for the “Pink Panther Strikes Again” movie. But it is in my more ‘artistic’ work that I gain my greatest satisfaction… especially films like the British Academy Award-winning short, “Hokusai – An Animated Sketchbook”. (Although I did admit to the group that ‘Hokusai’ could actually be fully created and animated in Flash… indeed, I’ve even thought of doing it as a Web-based production from time to time!)
Hokusai's style lends itself to a Flash approach!
Overall I think the evening went really well. Afterwards there was much appreciation
expressed for my advertising work, where such a diverse range of styles and
approaches is most evident. It is
always my believe that whereas the ‘cartoon’ style of animation is now a
well-trodden path… possibly a too well-trodden path… traditional 2D animation
has barely scratched the surface of its potential in reality. There are many new
frontiers to explore and encounter yet, even in the ‘entertainment’ film
genre. Hopefully I will be able to
demonstrate this much more before I eventually depart to that ‘great lightbox
in the sky’!
So... when is the Tony White animation collection coming out as a DVD set?
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Thanks for asking Brett... I've thought a lot about it as I do have a huge archive to draw from. However, the problem is that the majority of my work involves intellectual property that I don't own... and have no way of owning. (For example, the majority of clients and advertising agencies I worked for in the distant past don't even exist any more, although the products do. It would be a nightmare to track everything down!) That said, I am investigating this right now and if I can find a way around it then I will.
So, watch this spot folks. If I can do it... I'll announce it here first!
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