Here's a run down of some of the winners you may find relevant.
- Toy Story 3 won for Best Animated Film, which is no surprise. Randy Newman's song 'We Belong Together' from the film also won Best Song.
- Shaun Tan's 'The Lost Thing' won for Best Animated Short!
- Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' won for Best Art Direction and Costume Design.
- Inception took home awards for cinematography, visual FX, sound editing and mixing. Also the opening montage reel for the Awards finally cleared up the big question about whether that spinning top falls over or not!
For the full list of winners in other categories, go here.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Official Art Works now available!
Yoji Shinkawa's artbooks for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is now available at our store!
On a side note, if you haven't had a chance to play this amazing game yet, or you don't own a PSP, then you'll be glad to know that the system just received an official price drop this week and the game 'Peace Walker' has also been discounted!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Dead Island
Here's a trailer for an upcoming game that's been receiving much attention. It is very well made and well directed. Check it out for yourselves.
Our store carries many books and comics related to zombies, including 'The Walking Dead', the 'Zombie Survival Guide', and 'World War Z' and artbooks from games such as 'Resident Evil' and more!
Our store carries many books and comics related to zombies, including 'The Walking Dead', the 'Zombie Survival Guide', and 'World War Z' and artbooks from games such as 'Resident Evil' and more!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
more arrivals wakfu, tonty taka, blacksad 4 (french)
Here are some more of the new arrivals.
when it comes to French BD a lot of folks have the concept ALL OR NOTHING in their head. they want it in english, or not at all, even if they love the art. This in our opinion is a mistake, because the art is so special, all you do with this attitude is hold yourself back from enjoying the amazing drawings.
please note Blacksad 4 is in FRENCH ONLY. we dont expect an english version will ever come out. yes its possible, but really not likely. 99.9 percent of french comics are never translated to english, so if you like the art - consider getting it in French. Way better than not having it at all.
Rango
Here's an upcoming animated film that we've neglected to highlight. It's by Nickelodeon and looks very cool!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Aleksi Briclot, CFSL shuffle and tons more..
Just a few of the new arrivals from France - in Shop Wednesday. Lots more titles in the order - we hope to have more images up shortly.
ballad of durango - johnny depp - art book arrives this week
The Art of Ballad of Rango -the new Johnny Depp voiced cartoon arrives in shop this week Thursday or Friday.
X-Men Anime!
Following on the heels of anime series about Iron-Man and the still on-going Wolverine, a new series focused on the X-Men will be debuting soon! Here's the first trailer!
Inquire at our store about X-Men trades at U.S. Cover price!
Inquire at our store about X-Men trades at U.S. Cover price!
Monday, February 21, 2011
A new Metal Gear artbook is coming!
Hideo Kojima, the creator of Metal Gear, recently unveiled that a new official artbook for 'Peace Walker' is available in Japan! If you're interested in it, let us know and we'll tell you if/when we get them in!
The book is roughly 190 pages, you can learn a little more about it here.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Family Day Monday - closed
HAPPY FAMILY DAY MONDAY FEB 21ST
Monday the 21st is a holiday in Ontario. The Labyrinth will be closed, as we spend some time with our families. Hope you can find the time to spend time with yours.We are open today -Sunday the 20th regular hours, and will be open with regular hours starting Tuesday.
extreme perspective
David Chelsea has a new perspective book out and its really worth owning. His first book Perspective for comic book artists is possibly the best book on perspective out there because you can read it, learn all the basics and not fall asleep. Yeah -it sounds cheesy, but perspective is a dry subject to read about and what David does really well is make it fun and easy to learn.His new book covers more complex topics such as curvelinear perspective, curved stair cases and more challenging perspective topics. The good news is that once again the book is done in the format of a comic (like Scott McCloud Understanding comics). This makes the book accessible to everyone who wants to learn this stuff. On a side note, we have been looking for a book to cover curvilinear perspective for some time and this is the first book we found to do it and to do it justice.
check both books out in our shop now.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Q and A with Joseph Gilland - come meet him Saturday Feb 19th
Joseph Gilland is an animator and the author behind the terrific book ELEMENTAL MAGIC. Joe will be in our shop to meet folks on Saturday Feb 19th 3-5 pm. If you have a copy of his book, feel free to bring it with you to get signed.
Here is a short Q&A we did with Joe earlier in the week.
D. So how did you get started doing special effects?
J. I started out in animation doing a little bit of everything, as an assistant at the National Film Board in Montreal in the late seventies. Every time there was some animation like water, or smoke, or fire, I was attracted to the idea, and would offer to do it.
Turned out I had a real knack for it. In 1980-81, on the movie 'Heavy Metal' I apprenticed under FX guru Wayne Kimbell,and by the early eighties it was my main gig, and it's been that way ever since.
D. If you had to pick, what is your favourite kind of special effect to do, and is there an instance you can recall where you pulled this effect off and felt especially good about the results.
J. My favourite thing to animate is water, and some of the water in the surfing scenes of 'Lilo & Stitch' were my favorite scenes.
D. Would you say water is the trickiest type of effect to do?
J. Water is definitely the trickiest effect to animate, but it's always been my favorite thing,
But it's hard to animate, there's no question, and it's hard to teach as well. It takes a real affinity with fluids. You have to feel it.
The reason it's so hard? Well, watch a simple water surface for a few minutes and you have the answer.
It is so fluid and complex in its movement, and it has a staggering amount of detail, even in the most simple splash.
Keeping track of that much detail, and moving it in the correct fluid way at all times, is pretty daunting.
D.Not sure if you ever got to review demo reels, but assuming you have, what is the biggest mistake you have seen and would like to tell young animators to try and avoid.
J. I was on the review board at Walt Disney Feature Animation for several years actually, and was often called upon to review demos in many other studios as well, so I have seen
The things to avoid are: Including older, weaker work because it has sentimental value to you.
Even 30 seconds is plenty, if it's kick ass stuff. Always start with the best, and end with the best you have.
That is what a reviewer will remember most.
D. Most animated films these days are done on computer, and a lot of the traditional methods seem like they could be forgotten. What insight might a person doing digital effects learn from the traditional methods.
J. An animator who is working in CGI and expects to create quality animation, absolutely has to have a really good grip on the classical principles of animation. If not, it shows. Without understanding how to employ extreme exaggeration, anticipation, follow through, overlapping action, a solid understanding of weight, intention, and real physics, a computer animator simply does not have the tools to create the best possible animation performance. The more a computer animator allows the computer to do the work, the weaker the animation. Traditional animation methods also teach us the real value of every single frame.
The difference of a frame or two here and there can make an enormous difference to an animated performance. Many computer animators,not well trained in traditional techniques, who are used to simply setting a key frame here and there and allowing the computer to be their inbetweener, are unaware of how much better their animation could be if they added double the number of well placed key frames.
D.what question do you feel I should have asked, but didn't?
J. When is 'Elemental Magic' Volume 2 going to hit the bookstores? answer: Spring or early summer of 2011.
D. Thanks Joe. See you Saturday!
Here is a short Q&A we did with Joe earlier in the week.
D. So how did you get started doing special effects?
J. I started out in animation doing a little bit of everything, as an assistant at the National Film Board in Montreal in the late seventies. Every time there was some animation like water, or smoke, or fire, I was attracted to the idea, and would offer to do it.
Turned out I had a real knack for it. In 1980-81, on the movie 'Heavy Metal' I apprenticed under FX guru Wayne Kimbell,and by the early eighties it was my main gig, and it's been that way ever since.
D. If you had to pick, what is your favourite kind of special effect to do, and is there an instance you can recall where you pulled this effect off and felt especially good about the results.
J. My favourite thing to animate is water, and some of the water in the surfing scenes of 'Lilo & Stitch' were my favorite scenes.
D. Would you say water is the trickiest type of effect to do?
J. Water is definitely the trickiest effect to animate, but it's always been my favorite thing,
and for some mysterious reason, it has always come quite naturally to me. I've always had an affinity for water.
But it's hard to animate, there's no question, and it's hard to teach as well. It takes a real affinity with fluids. You have to feel it.
The reason it's so hard? Well, watch a simple water surface for a few minutes and you have the answer.
It is so fluid and complex in its movement, and it has a staggering amount of detail, even in the most simple splash.
Keeping track of that much detail, and moving it in the correct fluid way at all times, is pretty daunting.
D.Not sure if you ever got to review demo reels, but assuming you have, what is the biggest mistake you have seen and would like to tell young animators to try and avoid.
J. I was on the review board at Walt Disney Feature Animation for several years actually, and was often called upon to review demos in many other studios as well, so I have seen
literally thousands of portfolios and demo reels.
The things to avoid are: Including older, weaker work because it has sentimental value to you.
Get rid of it! Only include your very best work. Less is more. Keep it short, under three minutes or even less,
Even 30 seconds is plenty, if it's kick ass stuff. Always start with the best, and end with the best you have.
That is what a reviewer will remember most.
D. Most animated films these days are done on computer, and a lot of the traditional methods seem like they could be forgotten. What insight might a person doing digital effects learn from the traditional methods.
J. An animator who is working in CGI and expects to create quality animation, absolutely has to have a really good grip on the classical principles of animation. If not, it shows. Without understanding how to employ extreme exaggeration, anticipation, follow through, overlapping action, a solid understanding of weight, intention, and real physics, a computer animator simply does not have the tools to create the best possible animation performance. The more a computer animator allows the computer to do the work, the weaker the animation. Traditional animation methods also teach us the real value of every single frame.
The difference of a frame or two here and there can make an enormous difference to an animated performance. Many computer animators,not well trained in traditional techniques, who are used to simply setting a key frame here and there and allowing the computer to be their inbetweener, are unaware of how much better their animation could be if they added double the number of well placed key frames.
D.what question do you feel I should have asked, but didn't?
J. When is 'Elemental Magic' Volume 2 going to hit the bookstores? answer: Spring or early summer of 2011.
D. Thanks Joe. See you Saturday!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Author Signing this Saturday 3-5 pm
Stop in this Saturday to meet author Joseph Gilland, the man behind the book Elemental Magic.
Copies will be on hand, but if you already have a copy, feel free to bring it with you and get it signed.
Joseph knows a ton about traditional animation special effects, but is also a veteran studio animator, so feel free to come with questions.
Joseph will be running a workshop on Sunday Feb 20th with TAIS. Details on all their workshops can be found on their website HERE.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Scott Caple Retrospective
The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop is delighted to present 'Animation & Film: The Scott Caple Retrospective.'
Caple, an environmental designer and art director whose numerous projects over the last 3 decades includes the Disney/Pixar megahit The Incredibles, will walk guests through his dazzling array of animation artwork from some of the most popular and seminal films over the last 30 years.
Caple has carefully chosen works from his entire career in film and animation – from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan toInspector Gadget, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Incredibles. Please join us for a fascinating journey into the world of film animation.
There will be a limited number of signed prints for sale. Refreshments will also be provided.
The show will be at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop in downtown Toronto, 486 College St., that's between Bathurst and Ossington, opening on February 25th, from 7 to 11.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
in stock, or arriving shortly..
more anime art books arrived. you might want to stop by to see what they are..
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