Noah Pezdek and the Art of Wall-e

Noah wanted me to pass this on to his heroes at Pixar.

Noah Pezdek and the Art of Star Wars

This little kid has some impressive skills, especially seeing as how he's only six years old. (Check out those poses!)














His work reminds me a little of Japanese artist Masaaki Yuasa, who's amongst my favorite animation artisans. For a sample, you can view the first episode of his 2006 series "Kemonozume" below.

"Alice in Wonderland"

Though I'm a big fan of Mary Blair, I have to say the newest installment of her work-via-children's book, "Alice in Wonderland" was a bit of a letdown. Despite the beautiful cover, the text design is a little bland for my taste. Plus, all of the images were already published in "The Art and Flair Of Mary Blair," unlike "Cinderella" which offered never-before-seen pieces for animation-art junkies like myself to drool over.

(I saw pieces, like the one below, at the San Diego Comic Con that would've looked fantastic in this book!)














Lastly, a few of the images seemed to be cut via Photoshop "magic wand" without regard for how haggard the edges would look.


















I'd say save your money on this one and buy one of Joe Sorren's books. (Some of his work below)

Bill Presing & the Totoro Forest Project

I really love the work Bill Presing's been doing (I'm sure he'd be proud to know that). I just finished his newest book, "Book Plate Betties." If you like classic pinup artwork or, more specifically, the work of Disney über-artist Freddy Moore, you'll love this book. Bill's the man.

[image above is not from the book but his website]



















He did this beautiful little piece for the upcoming Totoro Forest Project, defined by their website as "a fund raising exhibition/auction to support the national trust Totoro Forest Foundation established by Oscar winning film maker Hayao Miyazaki, featuring original art created by internationally acclaimed artists in the fields of animation, comic books, and illustration."

(make sure to visit the website and, at the least, check out the slew of artwork they're previewing)



















If you're in the bay area (and have already purchased your tickets to this sold out gathering), I'm green with envy as I'll be missing out on this sweet exhibition and sure-to-be incredible art book. :-(

Ragnar

I just finished Ragnar's latest book, "Symptomatica." Absolutely beautiful. The pictures are, of course, nothing short of phenomenal. Though I'm excited to see what comes next (in whatever medium he decides to explore), I was sad to read the following:

"No doubt about it. Here it is. The end. The third and final chapter in the vector trilogy. Somehow I think that I should feel some reluctance to close the door on this chapter but I don't. I'm not shutting off the lights, just turning the dimmer down a bit. Well, quite a bit. The things I had wanted to accomplish digitally I've accomplished to my satisfaction. It's run it's course.

"There's never been that 'Where do I go from here?' moment, that hesitancy to move on. One thing inevitably leads to another and soon enough it's a fait accompli. It goes where it goes, just follow it. Thanks for the company. See you on the analog side."

His previous books include, "Chromaphile," "Vernaculis," "Kings of the Road," "Izzy's Very Important Job," and "Got Your Nose."

Ol' Eyvind Earle

Years ago I was a huge fan of Eyvind Earle. Running into this little gem at Michael Sporn Animation reminded me why.

Since I'm posting pretty pictures, I might as well post this one too. There are more of these sweet little babies over at Cartoon Modern in their "Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom" post.

TR2N

This film had better be good. Though the teaser (shown at the San Diego Comic Con) looked fantastic, I'm not keeping my hopes up for this sequel-to-one-of-my-favorite-childhood-memories. I've been hurt too many times.

A bit of info for those interested: IMDB reports Pixar titan John Lasseter as co-director with Joseph Kosinski and it's rumored that Jeff Bridges will be reprising his role as Kevin Flynn. However, it's uncertain who will be producing the SFX, though Digital Domain (founded by James Cameron and now owned by Michael Bay) produced the FX for the teaser. It's listed as having a tentative 2010/2011 release date.

(Medicom Kubrick Tron toy set pictured above)

Thesis Update

This one's just for my friend, Ben, who's constantly insisting I put more of my work on this site. This little piece was done in January and is a development sketch for a possible character in my animated short.

Gorillaz New "Monkey"

The clever minds behind Gorillaz (Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn) have put together a spot for BBC Sport, promoting the '08 Olympic games. The short (viewable here) is based on the traditional Chinese folklore "Journey to the West."

Disney's "Story: The Archive Series"

Oh please, oh please, let this book be as awesome as I'm hoping.

Pixar Artists' "Afterworks 3"

It looks like we'll be getting this tastey new installment in the Afterworks series in '09. [design by Lou Romano]

Update

It's been a while since my last post, but that's soon to be remedied. Until then, however, chew on this surreal tidbit: A book for kids that helps them cope with their mothers' plastic surgery.




On a more inspirational note, Enrico Casarosa's newest book, "The Venice Chronicles," will be released November of this year. Sweeeeet.