anthea hearts animation mentor

quick sketches

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5 mins

posted by anthea @ 10:09 AM 6 comments

workshops and more learning

The Anatomy workshop I took this Sunday went really well. t was a lot of information to take in all in one day, especially for me since I had absolutely zero prior knowledge of anatomy. We covered every area of the body and I think I understand the skeletal and muscular systems a lot better now. here's no telling if this will help improve my drawing ability but I think there's a good chance it will help. It is so amazing how much this stuff just clicked listening to the instructor go over all the muscles that are in all of us, and now all I can see are the muscles underlying each form I encounter. It's almost like seeing bodies and faces in a new light, in a different way. No wonder all my drawings before looked like body suits, I had no idea of what was actually going on under there. And then I started to wonder why in all the schools I attended that anatomy wasn't required, it's a shame I've gone on this long as an artist without any anatomy information.

As a follow up I am going to attend a drawing seminar with Karl Gnass at the Animation Academy this Saturday on Using the Force: The Dynamics of the Figure. I am really excited for this jump start in my drawing education, hopefully I will have some good sketches to post soon.

posted by anthea @ 2:43 PM 1 comments

Intro to Anatomy Workshop

I just signed up for the Intro to Anatomy 1 day workshop this Sunday at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts. I've heard lots of great things about the instructor Rey Bustos, and can't wait to learn more. I feel that my drawings skills are still lacking due to my unskilled knowledge of the human anatomy, I've never taken an anatomy class before and don't know much about the skeletal and muscular systems under the skin. That may be why all the people I draw in the lunchtime drawing class here at work never have any muscles or definition, and why Karl Gnass keeps telling me I draw "bodysuits" He's right! They never have any muscles! Hopefully I can learn something about the human anatomy and improve my drawings.

posted by anthea @ 1:30 PM 3 comments

Meet the Robinsons Trailer

The release date of the movie has been extended to March of 2007, this will give us enough time to make the movie the absolute best it can possibly be and I'm really excited to see the outcome. For now you can view the "Meet the Robinsons" trailer. The character design, lighting and overall look of the movie is breathtaking. The animation department has been doing an amazing job, and so far it has been a great experience getting to be a part of it.

Watch the "Meet the Robinsons" Trailer

posted by anthea @ 9:14 AM 9 comments

The great outdoors

Living in California is so different than NYC. For one thing when you are "outside" in NYC you mostly just see buildings are high as the eye can see, there's never really any open space, unless you go to Central Park which is nice but essentially a "nature cage" Here is LA there are so many more outdoor activities to take advantage of like hiking, going to the beaches or mountains. So much is right within your grasp, and that is something I'm thankful for. And you can enjoy a meal at an outdoor cafe with an actual view, so different from the concrete jungle of NY. Yes LA has it's own problems and pitfalls but overall I am liking it much better than NYC. It's weird because I heard lots of bad things about LA, mostly from New Yorkers that moved here, that I didn't know what to expect, but I've been pleasantly surprised so far. There are a lot of compromises you have to make, and you do have to give up lots of conviences of NY but overall I think it's worth it. LA is also so spread out that I hear it sometimes takes years to find your niche and the area you like the most, it takes a lot of experimentation. I was just wondering if anyone else who's made the big move has had a similar experience, good or bad. It would be nice to hear some more perspectives on the subject.

posted by anthea @ 9:08 AM 7 comments

What the Bleep!

It's the movie that asks you "how deep into the rabit hole do you want to go?"

I have been taking a night class on meditation here at work, and the movie "What the Bleep?" came up. I had never heard of it so I immediately netflix'd it. It turned out to be the most fascinating movie/documentary ever, it's basic premise is that all life is connected. There are some really interesting parts on emotions and their neural transmitter connections to our brain, and how we can get addicted to our emotion patters. In a weird wild way, it totally makes sense. There was this one part on the effect of thoughts on water molecules that was really powerful. There was a study done on a few different glasses of water, some of them were blessed by a Buddist monk with thoughts like "friendship" or "chi of love" and also this message was written on the glass. Over night the water molecules changed completely, supporting the claim that thoughts can influence water, thereby influencing our bodies and all around us.

It's a pretty wild adventure for those brave enough to check it out.

posted by anthea @ 8:38 AM 11 comments

A Flurry of Drawings

Right now I'm reading "A Flurry of Drawings" by Hugh Kenner, about the amazing life and career of animation legend Chuck Jones. Jones is best known for his Looney Tune Masterpieces during his 60 year career span in the animation industry. Truly a lengend. So far the book has been a really entertaining but sometimes wordy exploration of the life and times of all that is Jones.

Also check out this DVD which explores the magic in the drawings.

***And by popular demand...Chuck Amuck, thanks for the recomendation Brad! I am going to look for this one in the library next.

posted by anthea @ 5:24 PM 5 comments