Art

First Quarter Storm: 40 Years Later…

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Yesterday marked the 40th Anniversary of the First Quarter Storm in the Philippines, which was a series of protests against a corrupt and unjust Marcos Regime. The significance of which was the catalyst that eventually started the People Power Movement and the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos.

Now how does this relate to animation, comics, and cartoons? Well, the First Quarter Storm also produced a creative spark that artists have been feeding off of for the past 40 years. I know its inspired me, and has also other more well renowned artists. And its something I WE keep in the back of my OUR mind(s) as something that drives me US as I WE progress (slowly) through my OUR (neverending) process of learning animation…

For now, I present to you a video of a poem by Carlos Bulosan called “If You Want To Know Who We Are.” Produced and voiced by Ron Antonio (yes the same dude from here)

I have talked with many folks who feel that its best if politics stay away from art/ animation/ cartoons/ etc. NOT ME, as far as I’m concerned, no matter what, politics is always involved, and that makes the art that much more powerful. But you know what, I’m always down for dialogue.

Will Draw For Food: Compare Your Life To Pixar

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In this current world of iPhones, reality TV, instant streaming, and basically instant gratification, I think many of us forget that the things we want to accomplish in life take time and perseverance. I think fellow artist Josh Mirman nailed it on the head with this animated piece:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

I think its time to do some work! Check out his site and artwork here.

Thanks to the homie, Aimee, for pointing out this video to me.

MLK Day: A Message to Animation Students….

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Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I got many hits for my previous Bootleg Classic post about it. Well, I decided that I had to say a message to not only animation students, but anybody else that wants to listen about the importance of yesterday, and the vital dialogue and work needed to fully realize Dr. King’s OUR dreams.

I kept it vague, and I probably could’ve added more of my own commentary, but I think folks are smart enough to have their own opinions…

I only hope that folks are listening…

Adidas Originals x Star Wars

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Anyone else as excited as I am?

Let’s see, David Beckham, Snoop Dogg, Calle 13, Daft Punk, and a great cameo by DJ Neil Armstrong!

Oh and don’t forget Darth Vader!

What does this have to do with cartoons and animations?

EVERYTHING! I’m so inspired now!

Set the VCR: It was you, it was always you…

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In a reasonably good anime series, there are “aww…” moments, and there are “A-HA!” moments. “Aww..” moments usually happen when dealing with relationships, sometimes between parents and children, sometimes between friends and family, but most of the time it happens between significant others. “A-HA!” moments occur when a major plot twist  or loose end is finally concluded or tied up. Both moments offer an amount of satisfaction when through, and both moments tug at your heartstrings. However, there aren’t many cases when the “aww…” moments and the “A-HA!” moments are one in the same.

For this Set the VCR moment, I chose what I believe was the defining moment of a magnificently done series, RahXephon.

RahXephon/ dir. Yutaka Izubuchi/ Movement 26 “Time Enough For Love”/ 2002

(hit the jump to witness this moment)

Continue reading →

Fantastic Mr. Fox

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Fantastic Mr. Fox/ dir. Wes Anderson/ 2009

For most of 2009, I would head out to movie theaters usually before noontime and watch animated films in a near empty theater, maybe one or two more adults, and possibly a family. I felt content too, the less the better. By myself, I could analyze the animation, the story, the acting, the characters, etc. and after, while the credits roll, I have a moment or two to process what was just presented to me. However, this all changed after watching Fantastic Mr. Fox. Instead of being an early morning loner, I decided to see this movie on a Wednesday night with my friend, Jessica, and wow what a difference. Before the movie, I had someone to dialogue with about expectations for the movie, and at the end, we were able to chat about our thoughts after. Now obviously I have watched movies with other people before (I ain’t that un-social), but it was quite a long time since I saw an animated feature with someone else (the last time being here), so you can imagine how unique this experience felt to me.

Now how does this relate to Fantastic Mr. Fox? (I bet you were wondering…) After a whole year of watching animated features, they all just kind of blended together. What I got from Fantastic Mr. Fox was something different than most animated features that are released. Yeah, there were some animated features this year that were really good, and some not so good, but none were as unique or as fantastic (Oh and a pun!) as Fantastic Mr. Fox… Continue reading →

Ponyo

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崖の上のポニョ Gake no Ue no Ponyo (English: Ponyo)/ dir. Hayao Miyazaki/ 2008 Japan/ 2009 US

It takes real skill to fill the screen with emotion and high drama without having an actual antagonist. It also takes real skill to transport the audience into a world based on real-life, but at the same time have so much magic and awe-inspiring moments that seem so natural that you can’t help but be transfixed to the screen. This is Ponyo, Miyazaki’s latest film loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid about a young goldfish that longs to be a little girl. Unlike other quality animated movies this year, that attempt to cater to the younger audience AND at the same time add in some flair here and there for the adults in the audience, Miyazaki does NONE of that. He knows his target audience is going to be 10 years and younger, but he does something equally impressive. Instead of trying to preen some adult themes into this film, he does the almost inconceivable task of transporting the whole audience back into their childhood.

And for me it worked… Continue reading →

And The End…

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It’s amazing really…  It has been 3 months since I last posted. In that time, I started a new “part-time” job, and tried to “focus” on school. Didn’t really work out out on both accounts. New job feels almost like a full time job, and haven’t been really able to focus on school. Yeah, things got rough and I’ve stumbled these past few weeks, so much so that I’m going to retake this last class. Anyway, witness my class 3 reel:

On the surface it may seem alright, but now that I pick it apart I see all kinds of things wrong, and I see why I need to keep learning…

Along the way, I’ve lost sight of many of my inspirations. It’s no coincidence that once I stopped writing, many of those inspirations that kept me going vanished into thin air. But luckily there are things like this that bring me back:

And then there’s _______. Okay, so I promised that I wouldn’t do sappy-ass cryptic posts, so I’ll just say this. I think I can officially close the chapter on HER…

As always, as one chapter ends, the next one begins. Yeah, it’s been a rough past few weeks. BUT that’s why they call it a struggle…

Art of the Cartoon is in for a revamp… and I’m up for the challenge.

2010 I attempt the impossible…

ISANG BAGSAK…

Isang Bagsak! Barely made it, but still made it!

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Just started Fall Term today, and while I still had a blast Summer Term, that last animation assignment almost did me in. There’s a reason why I discontinued the Ron Antonio Dance Project posts, and that reason was because my animation plain sucked! Now why did it suck? It was a combination of things, I got busy with work and training for the Portland Marathon, and my priorities just got all screwed up. And honestly, I didn’t put as much time and effort into that animation as I should have. Suffice to say that that was one of the main reasons I have decided to leave my job and focus on school. That’s right, as of October 16. I will no longer be working at the Wing Luke Asian Museum (well at least full-time, I’ll probably still have to train the new person). Anyway, take a look at my progress reel from last class… looking back its not that impressive, and it shows that I have to step it up.

But still, I made it. We may not finish the way we like, but sometimes all that matters is that we finish. I’ve learned that lesson in the ND movement, in marathons, and now in animation. It’s a good lesson, but I want to do more than just finish…

Isang Bagsak!