LAIKA ‘Animating Life’ Exhibit Coming to Portland Art Museum

The past few years have seen an increased use of animated cartoon by sponsors at Franchise Update Media conferences. Whether aimed at franchisees, franchisees, or marketers, these presentations are not only a departure from "standard" promotional and marketing videos, but judging by audience reaction, they also seem to draw more eyeballs (as well as a few smiles) - despite clearly being marketing pieces pitched to sales and marketing pros. Toonimo, a company that produces animated cartoons, presents their top five reasons to consider incorporating moving pictures into your brand's online marketing mix. Below are some edited excerpts.

From the intro

Cartoon animations can be a powerful marketing tool for online marketers. Whether marketers choose an animated character that chimes in to sell office products on television or a 'Tony the Tiger' type that actually becomes integral to the brand, animations provide powerful imagery and associations. Animations have broad appeal and, when used cleverly, can help build brand awareness, improve brand perception, and boost conversions and sales. ... arketers are flocking to animations because they are quick to deliver messages, lighten up tough subjects, shareable, disarm the cynics, and are cost-effective.

Mobile phones have become necessity of life nowadays, but somewhere we are not using it correctly. Mobiles are technically advanced & have too many options like Hi-tech games, radio, and internet, downloading, etc. Everyone from youngsters to old aged uses mobile phones for different purposes.  But teenagers use it for texting, music, games & net surfing.

We have started to rely upon the cell phones now. With a touch alarm blows & we wake up, easy conversation is possible, reminders & notes to make you alert, social chats to remove the distance, in fact GPS for navigation. But it's a distraction which can bring harm to us, life & property. Mobiles can damage the brain as well.

Teasers consist of a picture, title, publication date, and short description. Teasers link to articles. Teasers can also link to other web pages, such as a page on LDS.org. All articles have teasers, and when you create an article page, you will also create the teaser at the same time.  You can select which teasers appear on the Home page.

Teasers on the Home page appear in order according to publication date, with the newest article appearing first in the large teaser spot. You can also order teasers using a teaser sequence field to specify which teaser you want first, second, and so forth. Any teasers with a sequence will show above teasers without a sequence number.

If you are turning age 65 soon, are eligible for Medicare and are not covered by an employer plan, you’ve got some homework to do. Understanding basic Medicare coverage and the terminology of Parts A, B, C, D and Medigap is the best place to start. Everything new comes with potential challenges, but by laying the foundation with solid information, you will have what it takes to select the right Medicare coverage to protect your health and your wallet.

Sidestep These Potential Medicare Mistakes With Knowledge

The biggest problem that artists must overcome is not one of technique or of inspiration. The biggest problem is the lack of seeing. When people go through their lives every day, they do not see. They look. There is a very simple reason for this; no-one could possibly notice every detail in the world around us. So the brain filters out the details for us. When you are walking down the street, you see the street, the sidewalk, the other people, and the buildings. You do not notice the cracks in the sidewalk or the weeds growing in those cracks; the quality of the pavement or the type of cars on the street; the expressions of the faces of the people around you; the texture of the bricks on the buildings you pass. All of these things will have an impact on you, but mainly on a subconscious level.

The part of the brain responsible for this filtering is the left side of the brain (all those who have read "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, please skip to the first exercise). It replaces the bricks in the building with the word "wall", the vintage Model T with the word "car". But when you actually start to notice and observe what is around you, you can force another part of your brain into action; the right side.

aorrelle: Getting into Pixar was a three year project. I studied at the academy of art in SF and took Pixar´s short film class there.In that course I got to know the teachers and made it clear to them that I want a job at Pixar... I had to prove myself worthy through working my ass off and exceeding expectations. Even if you are as good as animators at Pixar, it doesn´t mean you have a job there. It´s very much about timing...
morobuse: What is your background? Traditional cell animation? Claymation? Life drawing? Tell us the secret."To get into Pixar you have to be good. There´s no secret."
aorrelle: My background is a lot of drawing. Since I was a kid I would draw, make home movies with my friends and a super-8, and even try to shoot animation. It was very unsuccessful but at least I tried. To get into Pixar you have to be good. There´s no secret. You have to love animation, love talking about it and understand what makes it so appealing...
galrt: Going to schools in the US is quite expensive in local standards. How did you handle it financially if you don't mind me asking?aorrelle: School was very expensive for someone who can´t work. It´s a privilege I owe to my parents.

For more details:  Business Explainer Video

Remember when cartoons were made of hundreds of thousands of animated cells, places over a static background? When an animator's job was to spend hours at a time, hunched over a desk, drawing? 

Lately though, it seems that two-dimension animations have all but gone extinct. Computers have found a major role in today's animations, removing much of the tedious and repetitive drawing from the process. But is 3D animation here to stay? What does this mean for animators? 

It's always a little suspicious when flashy new technologies replace old practices. Over the past 20 years though, 3D animation has risen from being flashy and new to acting as a new standard for animation. 

For more details:  Brand Video

In terms of training, few actually get the "right" training. They go to a crash course program like Mesmer f/x (which teaches you about brand X software in 3 short weeks), put together a rather weak demo reel in the same timeframe, and then hit the streets looking for a job. These people, in my opinion, have no training at all because they know nothing of the art of animation, nothing about lighting, nothing about story telling. They just "think" they know the software. The majority of the failures occur amongst these individuals. Sound a little disheartening? It should. You are attempting to break into the film industry. You are just like an actor auditioning for a part. Everyone wants the part, you have to want it more than anyone else, so much so that they couldn't cast anyone else but you for the role.

If you go to a top quality and reputable school (and do _well_), your chances of getting your foot in the door for an interview increase ten-fold. The recruiters know what is taught at these schools and can assume that you are versed in a lot of things that most other candidates are not, but not always though. A person who has been trained in cinematology will stage their animations differently than those who have not. It's called framing a scene. Every scene or shot is framed so that it has the maximum impact on the audience in other woods, it tells a compelling story. Students of crash course programs tend to mimic what they've seen before, whether good or bad,

For more details:  Explainer Video

So far as professional pedigrees in animation go, Dan Povenmire's and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh’s are about as purebred as they come. The pair met while working on “The Simpsons” in the 90s, before going on to titles like “Family Guy”, “Spongebob SquarePants” and “Rocko’s Modern Life”. Eventually, they found themselves at the House of Mouse, where they created their hit cartoon “Phineas and Ferb”.

Their latest series “Milo Murphy’s Law” follows Milo (voiced by singer Weird Al Yankovic), a descendant of Edward A. Murphy Jr., who coined the term ‘Murphy’s law’ — which dictates that anything that can go wrong, will. The cartoon exists in the same universe as “Phineas and Ferb” and was produced in Toon Boom Harmony 2D animation software.

All characters have a head, mouth, two eyes, generally two legs and two arms and it can be tedious to always rebuild the node system to rig your puppets. Use this blank rigging node system template to start your characters on a solid base with pre-made connections and pre-named nodes.