>>The "wacky" stuff in Alice is not very wacky any...

2007-02-12T06:29:00.000-08:00

>>The "wacky" stuff in Alice is not very wacky anyway. It's generic wacky.<

Check out Bill Nolan's animation in Lantz' OSWALD ...

2007-01-20T00:57:00.000-08:00

Check out Bill Nolan's animation in Lantz' OSWALD series - such cartoons as THE FOWL BALL (1930) - for some wonderfully wild cartoony contrasts, in the simple yet surreal black and white universe of the early sound era.

So basically, contrasts are a tool for use by tho...

2007-01-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

So basically, contrasts are a tool for use by those who have mastered other more foundation skills of drawing. Contrasts help to add interest, make both complimentary and contrasting images stand out against one another, and if done in the right hands it can unify an entire work. Without a contrast, black wouldn't never seem so dark, and white could never be as bright. Contrast help to bring out

You talk about many of these designs as being blan...

2007-01-18T12:39:00.000-08:00

You talk about many of these designs as being bland, but what about the tone and subject matter of the film? You held up some drawings of Annie from The Iron Giant as an example, but the Iron Giant is a fairly serious film that takes place in "real-world" 1957. I'm curious as to how you think she ought to have been designed and animated to make her more appealing, yet still be believable in a

You talk about many of these designs as being blan...

2007-01-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

You talk about many of these designs as being blan...

2007-01-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

So true John!But, it's so hard make understand car...

2007-01-17T03:57:00.000-08:00

So true John!But, it's so hard make understand cartoons'way is more funny to the bosses industries? Damn the differences are so clear! Good and beauty things bring money too!What monotone vision have they.Poor us and poor new generation!

They need to release a Tex Avery box set if they h...

2007-01-16T16:09:00.000-08:00

They need to release a Tex Avery box set if they haven't already ( not to mention all of the ripping friends episodes) on DVD, Instead of shelling out mind numbing garbage all over the TV screen.

Mouldey is correct-and-a-half about today's music ...

2007-01-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Mouldey is correct-and-a-half about today's music scene.Pandora is a good tool for finding those fabled "good musicians". They are out there, you just have to look.

"Instead of asking if 50 cent is valid, we should ...

2007-01-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

"Instead of asking if 50 cent is valid, we should instead be asking why it is so hard for modern virtuosi to get the attention they are due, or to exist in the first place."Good point, I think that the talent and skill is out there... It just doesnt sell. 50 cent, Barney and the Teletubbies sell. Marketing executives only care about one thing... Getting rich. Not art.

Forgetting for the moment that there was no contex...

2007-01-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

Forgetting for the moment that there was no context in which he could have existed, 50 cent could've made it in the 1940's for the same reason Barney the purple dinosaur could have made it. They both do the same thing. I'm not trying to dis 50. I'm being serious. They both show people how to behave. Neither of them are virtuosi, they are educational television. 50 makes party music for thugs.

This is a brilliant post. Thank you!!Seth

2007-01-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

This is a brilliant post. Thank you!!Seth

Does 50 cent even count? He's no more a musician t...

2007-01-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

Does 50 cent even count? He's no more a musician than I am a space cop.

to jack ruttan:you really should see the whole "St...

2007-01-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

to jack ruttan:you really should see the whole "Stimpy's Pregnant" cartoon! and in glorious DVD quality! buy rent or steal the Ren and Stimpy Lost episodes DVD. I think "Stimpy's Pregnant" is the best R&S ever, but Altruists and Naked Beach Frenzy are really high up there, too... and even the lesser of the lost episodes contain some of the best scenes ever animated(like Stimpy smoking in

A simailarly aged Frank Sinatra would kick 50 cent...

2007-01-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

A simailarly aged Frank Sinatra would kick 50 cent's ass, with our without weapons. Add the rest of the Rat Pack to the brawl and they'd easily take out eminem and all of those guys. Also, Ella could kick the shit out of Beyonce. I'm not sure about Hank Williams though, but maybe after he got his ass kicked he'd become an even better songwriter/ performer.

I am really digging these posts! It's almost too ...

2007-01-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

I am really digging these posts! It's almost too much to absorb at once. But I am filing them away, for when my skill improves enough to apply them properly.As a side note, I found this link that might be helpful if you decide to turn all of this knowledge from your Blog into a Book

Hey John, no worries!I can't remember what I said ...

2007-01-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hey John, no worries!I can't remember what I said specifically, but I'm pretty sure it was along the lines of: thanks for all these great "learning" posts. they've really been a great foothold, and my friends and i have run with them for studying timing and design and things of that nature.when i get my new apartment next month i'm going to get a bunch of the NYC animator crew together a couple

Gotta say, though, before I sound like a raving co...

2007-01-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

Gotta say, though, before I sound like a raving conservative, that the "Stimpy's Pregnancy" cartoon, at least what I saw of it on this site, was a masterpiece. Shocking, sure, but I've never seen such psychological depth in cartoon characters. You push the envelope, and it doesn't always work for me, but that's part of the price of being ahead of the pack.

Hey John,Mr. Tom Smo pointed out to me a few posts...

2007-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hey John,Mr. Tom Smo pointed out to me a few posts back that you're planning on starting a new company. It just put together a portfolio to apply to ConceptArt.org Atelier, so it's up if you're into taking a look:www.peterlazarski.com/applyI haven't studied your lessons yet but I'd be grateful for a baseline critique if you're willing. My email is listed on the page. Big images too, so mind the

Alice as a Katie Rice character just blew my mind....

2007-01-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

Alice as a Katie Rice character just blew my mind. Too much whackiness does have its drawbacks. I thought the characters in the "Tenacious D" cartoon moved like blobs of mercury on amphetamines: giving me sensory overload, and not letting me savour them, unlike the characters in "Coal Black," or Fleisher surrealism. The British artist John Searle did these fantastic, horrifying political

great post. thanks. i have a wierd comic online at...

2007-01-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

great post. thanks. i have a wierd comic online at www.dogboyfilms.co.uk/jonescomix have a little peep-anthony

in response to the scmhuck who called Ren & Stimpy...

2007-01-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

in response to the scmhuck who called Ren & Stimpy's designs bland:I dare you or anyone* to find any other character before or since with Stimpy's fat-neckless-sausage-bean shaped body that doesn't look like an egg on stilts. I'm also going to eliminate some neckless characters that might be confused for the same design. There's the Tasmanian Devil character which doesn't count because he has

sugarpete: You are beyond reasoning, which is a re...

2007-01-16T06:52:00.000-08:00

sugarpete: You are beyond reasoning, which is a real pickle seeing as how you can't SEE for yourself that you're argument is already wrong. Left-brained analysis aside, any artistically inclined personality can just percieve that R&S were clearly a tour de force in animation.toonamir: You have a valid point. As long as the money rolls in, the execs don't give a rat's ass about the quality of the

There are posters who seem to be confusing modern ...

2007-01-16T06:05:00.000-08:00

There are posters who seem to be confusing modern music with the shit we hear on the radio and see on x-factor. There are exceptional musicians and artists scraping a living, you just have to find them rather than relying on what you're fed. That's how most of us probably found this blog, by following our interests and seeking an alternative voice to the common crud.Of course this is not ideal.

Man, I loved Tex Avery's cartoons.On the subject o...

2007-01-16T02:11:00.000-08:00

Man, I loved Tex Avery's cartoons.On the subject of style and craft in 3d that someone brought up earlier with the Incredibles, one of the things thats always been messed up about 3d animation is that its near impossible to do a stylized character without them looking...well....frightening.With 2d, you allow the audience's brain to realize that things have depth, even though technically, its

Comments on John K Stuff: BGs and Style - part 3 - Contrasts in Direction, S...

>>The "wacky" stuff in Alice is not very wacky any...

Check out Bill Nolan's animation in Lantz' OSWALD ...

So basically, contrasts are a tool for use by tho...

You talk about many of these designs as being blan...

You talk about many of these designs as being blan...

You talk about many of these designs as being blan...

So true John!But, it's so hard make understand car...

They need to release a Tex Avery box set if they h...

Mouldey is correct-and-a-half about today's music ...

"Instead of asking if 50 cent is valid, we should ...

Forgetting for the moment that there was no contex...

This is a brilliant post. Thank you!!Seth

Does 50 cent even count? He's no more a musician t...

to jack ruttan:you really should see the whole "St...

A simailarly aged Frank Sinatra would kick 50 cent...

I am really digging these posts! It's almost too ...

Hey John, no worries!I can't remember what I said ...

Gotta say, though, before I sound like a raving co...

Hey John,Mr. Tom Smo pointed out to me a few posts...

Alice as a Katie Rice character just blew my mind....

great post. thanks. i have a wierd comic online at...

in response to the scmhuck who called Ren & Stimpy...

sugarpete: You are beyond reasoning, which is a re...

There are posters who seem to be confusing modern ...

Man, I loved Tex Avery's cartoons.On the subject o...