Upcoming
Event
February 25th, 2007
Interview
@ AnimWatch
February 22nd, 2007
French
Sci-fi Pulp
About
a year and a half ago, my brother from Québec
sent me a stack of old science fiction novels that
used
to belong to my mom. I devoured all the books in
a matter of days and started hunting ebay for more.
Thus, began my love affair with the French pulp
sci-fi
collection, Fleuve
Noir Anticipation,
from the
50s, 60s and 70s.
Reading
these novels has not only helped stimulate my imagination
but it also
got me back into reading and writing French (which
I hadn't done in about 20 years). I still
love the
American and British sci-fi
authors, but I find these lesser known novelists
to be refreshing and unique.
Despite
a few clunkers, most
of the tales are fun, exciting and on occasion,
brilliant and very thoughtful. I've been particularly
impressed
with
author B
R Bruss,
a fantastic writer who, to my amazement, has never
been translated in
English.
After
reading about 80 of these, I haven't lost
my interest yet and I keep looking forward to
my reading
time every night. I love it when I discover something
new that gets my imagination fired up!
February 16th, 2007
In
Praise of ANIMO
Since
acquiring my full license of Animo
6.0 software
last Fall, I've been extremely excited about animation.
Animo
has allowed me to turn my home studio into a
fully functional animation studio. It's so cool
to be able to produce my brand of animation
(at film
resolution no less), from start to finish, without
having to leave my home!
I
first worked with Animo years ago when I did Prelude
to Eden. While making that film, my
friend Jon Hooper and I helped the programmers
design the
software through
feedback and recommendations. Because of that initial
arrangement, Cambridge
Animation System promised
us both a
lifetime
license
to the software. I never made good on that promise
until last year. Now, I'm wondering how I ever
lived without Animo!
I
just wrapped up my first big "film resolution"
commission using the software to scan my drawings,
paint, composite and render, and everything
worked out beautifully. You will see
the results
in Brad
Bird's next movie!
Now
on to the next animation project...
February 8th, 2007
Prelude
to Eden Final Mixed Score
When
I put together the Prelude
to Eden Music Page,
sound maestro, Joe Campana, provided me with
a bunch of MP3s from the recording session. The
only thing missing was the final mixed score which
no one seemed to be able to locate. Joe dug
some more in his archives, finally unearthing
the elusive
recording. Here it is, Shirley Walker's mini-masterpiece:
Prelude
to Eden Score - Final Mix (3:36
min. / 5mb)
February 3rd, 2006
ZED
#6 Reviewed
@ A Comic A Day...
"Gagne
is a ruthless writer, gently building a house of
cards for the reader and intentionally swiping
at it to excite our empathy and excitement." (read
more...)
February 2nd, 2007
ZED
#8 Preview
ZED
#8 is really coming together. Here's a little
preview to whet your appetite!
Click
here for a larger view.
February 1st, 2007
ZED
by Peter Warkentin
Click
here for a larger view.
Peter
(who lives in Vancouver) got an unusual present
this Christmas. His Aunt (who's a friend of
my wife and I) gave him a visit with me in my
studio! Peter is an aspiring artist you see.
The
day after Christmas, Peter and I hung out at my
studio as I shared insights about the work I do.
Judging
from the
nice letter I received, I'd say
he had a really
good
time.
I did too!
Above
is an inspired drawing of ZED he sent me.
