PENCIL LINES: Recent Comments

Comment on AN INCREDIBLE PILGRIMAGE!

tonymaticus — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:08:00 GMT

Hi Gary.

Glad you found it. Its on one of my YouTube sites as well. Anyway, I would have loved to have met you guys on our California trip... always glad to meet fellow travelers (on the animation path that is)!

Endangered Species was finished in early 2007. A work-in-progress version came out in my 'Pencils to Pixels' book in 2006. But it finally took me till 2007 to formally wrap it all up. I'm more than happy to have it shown at the festival. If you decide to go with it, let me know the version you want for screening. A QuickTime, high-def quality version on DVD is probably the best I can give you I believe.

Thanks again for your interest.

Tony. :^{)}=-

Comment on AN INCREDIBLE PILGRIMAGE!

Gary Meyer — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:01:41 GMT

Tony,
Karl Cohen sent me a link to your ENDANGERED SPECIES posting on Cartoon Brew and it led me to your blog.

If only I knew before as our offices are near Pixar and we screen there often.

Anyway...I am interested in possibly showing endangered species at Telluride this year, Aug. 29-Sept. 1.
When was it made?
Please contact me asap.
Thanks
Gary

Comment on RICHARD WILLIAMS STRIKES AGAIN!

tonymaticus — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:28:06 GMT

Yes, I started as Dick's own assistant on that film! I arrived at the studio knowing that I'd been hired but didn't actually know what job I'd been hired for. When they told me that I was to be based in Dick's office, and be his personal assistant, I was blown away... he was my college hero! Anyway, I can tell great stories about the production... we call can... but suffice it to say that when I joined the studio it was many weeks behind schedule with something like three months to go. We all worked 14 hours a day, seven days a week for the last few weeks and four days and four nights without any sleep whatsoever at the very end. We made the deadline by just one hour on the last day... we were standing in the lobby of the studio at 7:00 am, drinking champagne and celebrating the last scene that had just gone to camera and was being shot at the time. Heady days! This was the very beginning of December and most people took off as he officially closed the studio till the New Year. However, I came in every day on my own for that month and started my "Hokusai" film... specifically I animated the 'big crane' shot at the beginning of the film at this time.

I think there is always a danger of animators being a slave to 'formulas' (look at the Disney movies over the last few decades for example... although that's more the fault of management than the wonderfully talented artists involved!) but unless you know the rules you can't break them consistently and successfully. I will never, for one moment, regret the incredible disciplines and formulas I learned from Dick, Art Babbit and Ken Harris in the studio at that time. Now I can animate to all the rules or break them, but with complete knowledge. If I want to create boiling, random, straight-ahead animation that is not slave to keys, breakdowns and inbetweens I can, and do it well. But if the same time if I have to analyze precisely and space precisely an action that is required to fit within tight timing and action parameters, I can do that too. Its all a matter of being a master of your craft and I thank Richard Williams for giving us all the opportunity to become that.

Tony. :^{)}=-

Comment on RICHARD WILLIAMS STRIKES AGAIN!

Brett — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:53:02 GMT

Yes, you worked on the 'Christmas Carol' special from the 70s, right? Something I remember with delight from my childhood.

I know some 2D animators who kind of poo-poo the Williams book and find his approach to walks too formulaic. I disagree, I learned a lot from the book. Even stop-motion and Flash or CG animators use it as THE animated walk bible. Once you learn the formula, you can go way beyond it when designing walks, and you start noticing how people walk in real life and you start thinking "Now, let's see, if I were going to make a 16 frame walk out of that, I would..." .

Comment on GOOD TIMES!

tonymaticus — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:24:25 GMT

Hi Dominic... great to hear from you too! Glad to hear also that you're doing well at Amaze. I must come over sometime and we can all have a big 'Cogswellian reunion' with all of you there!

Definitely keep in touch!

Tony. :^{)}=-

Comment on RICHARD WILLIAMS STRIKES AGAIN!

tonymaticus — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:21:30 GMT

I agree Brett... definitely a 'wow' factor piece! I can't wait to see what else is to come.

I don't know if you know but I was Richard William's assistant for two years and then was a director/animator at his studio for a further 5 years... and I'm still blown-away at what he produces at times. This one's been a long time coming however, but well worth the wait.

And for all you animators out there who don't know about the Richard Williams' "The Animator's Survival Kit" book... shame on you! It's truly the animator's 'bible' and should be on every self-respecting animator's desk, whether they be a 2D or a 3D animator... or even a Claymation/Stop Motion artist!

The mind boggles as what else we might see animated from that book as time goes by!

Tony. :^{)}=-

Comment on RICHARD WILLIAMS STRIKES AGAIN!

Brett — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:07:21 GMT

I saw this the other day... all I can say is WOW. This will be a "must have"!

Comment on GOOD TIMES!

Dominic — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:22:05 GMT

Hey Tony! Glad to see some updates with you! Also cool to hear Bob is still painting! Hope all keeps well for you

Comment on GOOD TIMES!

tonymaticus — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:28:47 GMT

Hi Elaine. Nice to hear from you... give my regards to all the 'Cogswellians' at Amaze when you can. I'll write to you via private email immediately.

Tony. :^{)}=-

Comment on GOOD TIMES!

Elaine Eudy — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:27:25 GMT

Heya! I was trying to get a hold of you and found a link to your blog through linked-in. Wow, it's awesome to see Bob is still doing well!! And from your blog it looks like you are too! :D Hey, I had a question about life-drawing models. So shoot me an e-mail when you get a chance. I know all the former Cogswell people here at Amaze would love to hear from ya!