Embroidered animation

Have you seen this?! Aubrey Longley-Cook has made what is probably the first animation done with embroidery. Having done some embroidery myself, I have an idea how much work must have been involved in this. Amazing. I really like the reverse side, as it reminds me of Bill Plympton's work.

Embroidery animation by Aubrey Longley-Cook

Thanks to the guys at the Alt Animation podcast for bringing this to my attention!

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Mary and Max

There aren't nearly enough stop-motion animated features out there. And, although Talk Like A Pirate Day is less than a week away, Aardman's The Pirates! Band of Misfits won't be out for another six months. But I'm temporarily satiated after stumbling upon Adam Elliot's Mary & Max, which I seemed to have missed two years ago. Although the themes are similar to those in the director's previous works ("Uncle", "Brother", & "Cousin"), this film is neither creepy nor depressing. It's a little bit quirky, and absolutely charming. Check out the trailer:

Instead of spoilers, I'd like to share one of my favorite little details from the film: The Noblets. It's an animated cartoon that both Mary and Max watch on television. I'm always fascinated to see animation depicted within animation. How do animators pull that off? When it's done right, an audience can distinguish between "real life", "live-action film", animation, and even fantasy sequences -- all within an animated world. It's amazing to see so many distinct styles gel together in a single piece. Mary & Max may only employ the two styles, but I think they pair very nicely.

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Full of Awesome

"There was a time when you were five years old, and you woke up full of awesome," blogs Melissa Wardy on Pigtail Pals.

You don't have to be a girl to appreciate the sentiment. No matter how hopeful, carefree, and energetic we may have been once upon a time, somewhere along the path to 'adulthood', most of us have lost touch with our inner awesome. But you can get it back. I did.

During a particularly rough week making my student film, I found myself drowning in doubts and fears. What was I thinking? What on earth had I gotten myself into? How was I ever going to get through it alive? And then I had an epiphany; It occurred to me:

"I'm in animation school... Fuck yeah!"

Thank you, Amelia, for reminded me of that feeling.  It's one I'd like to remember more often. So I hereby declare: I'm full of awesome!

Are you full of awesome, too?

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Draw on paper; capture digitally

As much as I love the idea of doing paperless animation with Wacom's Cintiq, there are a few problems. One, at $2000, I don't have it in my budget to purchase one right now. And two, I've not spent enough time on it to master the skill of drawing directly on a screen. There's just something about drawing on paper and flipping those drawings by hand that feels right. Three, it's not quite as portable an an animation disk.

Well, Wacom has just introduced a new technology that, with some modifications, could bridge that gap. The new Inkling is smaller than a cell phone, costs only $200, and allows you to make ink sketches on paper while capturing them digitally. Could the stylus be altered to use non-ink, such as graphite or Col-Erase? Could the receiver be modified to fit on a peg bar instead of clipping directly to the paper?

In any case, it's a fascinating advance of drawing technology. See for youself:

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.

What's "Up", Doc?

Pete Docter, the director of Disney/Pixar's "Up," got his hands on some architectural drawings by Utah home builder, Blair Bangerter. The plans were for a full-size, functioning replica of the "Up" house. Rather than shoot the project down, he gave it two thumbs up.

The completed house is explicitly faithful to the original, down to the very last detail. Everything including the furniture, wall paper, coin jar, and paintings, were painstakingly replicated from the movie. Although it may not sit atop Paradise Falls, it could certainly be paradise for someone! Check it out:

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Film festival: Kino sen limoj

July marked a monumental moment in the history of Esperanto cinema. The international language made its "big premiere on the big screen" in São Paulo, Brazil. Being the first of its kind, the Esperanto film festival, Kino sen limoj, is a big deal. Although Esperanto culture has accumulated a wealth of literature, drama, poetry, and music during its 124-year history, its cinema has remained shamefully meager. Until now. The appearance of this Esperanto film festival is the beginning of a new era.

As part of the program, my film, Ĉapeloj, had the prestigious honor of screening as a non-competing entry. This may be the first time my film has played for an entire auditorium of its intended audience. Although I'm always grateful to hear English speakers laugh at all the right places, it's feedback from the Esperanto-speaking audience that really makes me proud. I take no offense when the words "naughty" and "rude" are used to describe my film; it's nearly always meant as a compliment. But when I hear it praised as "witty" and "genius" time and time again, I know my audience appreciates my visual puns on an intellectual level, just as I trusted they would.

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Julie venis monumenta momento en la historio de la Esperanta kino. La unua Esperanta kinofestivalo ravis spektantojn en San-Paŭlo, Brazilo per dekoj da filmoj kaj videoj. Kiel pironira entrepreno, Kino sen limoj estas rimarkinda. Malgraŭ la granda kvanto da literaturo, dramo, poezio, kaj muziko en nia kulturo, E-istoj sentas la mankon de kino en nia lingvo... ĝis nun. La apero de Kino sen limoj estas tre esperiga. Finfine komencas nova erao.

Mia filmo, Ĉapeloj, estis unu el la honoritaj (ne-konkursantaj) filmoj, kiujn oni prezentis en la programo. Eble temis pri la unua fojo kiam tuta kinejo da Esperantistoj spektis ĝin kune. Kvankam mi dankemas kiam krokodiloj ridas ĉe la ĝustaj momentoj, plej fierigas min respondoj de Esperantistaj spektantoj. Priskribante mian filmon, la vortoj "fia" kaj "maldeca" ne ofendas min. (Kutime temas pri komplimento.) Sed pli kaj pli mi aŭdas laŭdojn je "sprita" kaj "genia". Tiam mi scias ke mia spektantaro komprenas kaj estimas la videblajn vortludojn, tiel kiel mi fidis.

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Betty Boop ain't no brunette

A year ago today, Betty Boop celebrated her 80th birthday. And she remains as charming as she was in 1930. But despite her persisting popularity at the age of 81, few realize that Miss Boop isn't actually a brunette. All her modern depictions, and 89 of her 90 short films lead us to believe she has inky-black hair. But, in fact, she's a redhead.

During her whole career, Betty Boop starred in only one color film. Playing the role of Poor Cinderella, Betty's hair was neither black nor brown. It's fire-engine red:



Happy birthday, Betty! Don't let them take your Boop-Oop-A-Doop away!

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Simmon Keith Barney is an animator living in Fort Collins, Colorado.