CanAm Missing Project

David Paulides is a retired police officer that has a great channel highlighting the cases of individuals that have gone missing often under very peculiar circumstances. Dave has published numerous books and produced a few great documentaries on the subject that you can find at his website.

https://www.canammissing.com

https://www.youtube.com/@canammissingproject

I dont get much time to read due to my extremely challenging work schedules. So I very much appreciate the time Dave takes with his presentations talking about these cases so I can listen while im working. In my opinion he really makes a sincere effort to bring factual context and more importantly a face to these missing individuals.

Occasionally Dave will also discuss mental health topics and is a huge advocate for the support of that subject as well. 

He also loves his dog Huck. She inspired this bit of animation based on the MGM Lion and Mary Tyler Moore logos. Her cheeky side eye at the beginning of most of Dave's videos cracks me up.

Click on the image to see the animation:

Conan O'Brien

I've always really liked Conan, he is fearless with his absurdity.  His old school awkward sense of humor I can relate to and his sincere decency towards people I really respect.

I have observed over the years that Conan has the ability to converse with anyone from anywhere in the language of humor. He combine's the interaction with his quick wit and improvisational skills into something fun and entertaining for everyone present... most of the time. I do get a kick when situations really go awry resulting in his deadpan self deprecating look to camera.

This design is my take based on one of Conan's own drawings of himself.

Click on the space below to see some animation incorporating this design with dialogue from Conan's podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend"

Have a listen to his pod cast if you need some cheer. 

https://teamcoco.com/

Coloring Books

When I worked at various studios I occasionally would do fun drawings of and for coworkers, and if their kids and family stopped by the studio I'd do some drawings for them to color as well. So I thought why not take it step further and do a few proper coloring books.

Here is a link if you want to check them out:

https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ATwin+Pine+Productions&s=relevancerank&text=Twin+Pine+Productions&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1

When Hackers Run a Blitz, the NFL Relies on Cisco

This was a job that came in right out of the blue thanks to my friend Alan Barillaro. He recommended me to his friend and colleague Producer Marc Sondheimer, who was looking for someone to supervise the 2d animation and art direct this spot. So after the introductions and me learning about what the job expectations were, I agreed to gather up a small crew to get er done. Robert Milne helped me animate, in fact he did the majority of the shots.  Ron Chevarie and Eleonora Quario to do the animation assisting. There work would create the initial final chalk line look based on my rough art direction. Then the team at Logan.tv took all the completed animation artwork added their backgrounds and pieced it together in the final composite.

This was an enjoyable job for a lot of reasons. The creative team from Cisco were a super nice bunch of folks to work for. I enjoyed the opportunity to try a different artistic look in animation than what I'm used to. Working with talented  animation colleagues is always a win for me. But, one of the best things though, was getting to know and work with Marc.  He's a real professional top notch guy and great to chat with.

Marc actually was a lifesaver, his knowledge of American Football was such an asset to help me out on this job. Hopefully we can work together again in the future.

Here is a link to the 15sec spot:

https://video.cisco.com/detail/videos/latest-videos/video/6361448780112?autoStart=true

Peter and the Wolf

I had worked with Exec-Producer Adriana Piasek-Wanski on a previous job and she kindly invited me to animate on this short based on the character drawings done by Bono of U2. Visually speaking, I thought the hybrid mix of hand drawn animation and the building of background model set pieces is a very cool look. Yes, it has been done before in the past, But this is the sort of creativity I'd like to see more of in animated short films. 

The Day I Became a Bird

Andrew Ruhemann of Passion-Pictures directed this short based on the book of the same name. I contributed some boarding and hand drawn bird animation here and there. This was a fun project to be part of by having the opportunity to work with some old and new acquaintances. I also enjoy working in  various looks and styles that are different from the usual animation norms.

Cryptid animation and story channels I listen to while working.

I listen to all sorts of material when I'm working. Music, news, audio books, youtube channels, snow storms etc. There are a few youtube channels that discuss various topics from historical or even paranormal events which I find interesting. And it's such a nice break from the news. 

I had some extended unpaid down time and wanted to sharpen up on my prefered animation software TVpaint. It was also a great opportunity for me to mess about with other aspects of the program I usually don't utilize as an animator. Color processes and the FX stack for example. So I had a run designing these guys and thought I would do some simple animation of them as well. And why not do it for a purpose? Hopefully something fun for a channel I enjoy listening to. (not sponsored by the way)

These characters were inspired by the old Warner Brothers cartoons I loved as a kid. 

Click on the screen below to check out these guys moving.

If the news gets to much and you are looking for something a bit different to listen to, (off the top of my head) check out, Cryptids Canada, Buckeye Bigfoot, Dixie Cryptid, ThinkerThunker, CanAm Missing Project, HowtoHunt.com, Dogman Encounters, and there are many others to search out, but all have great material I listen to on a regular basis.

Oh and Edward French has an excellent youtube story channel called Fiction Fantastique. (fantasy, horror, sci fi) Edward does some amazing narration of classic stories from the past in my opinion.

The History Squad with Kevin Hicks. Is another youtube channel I thoroughly enjoy. It's a favourite actually. Kevin is a fantastic storyteller and excellent history teacher. And an impressive shot with a longbow as well!

Last but not least is Mr.Ballen stories.

And for any young animators out there. I mentioned TVpaint. I absolutely love it. Even a luddite bone head like myself managed to pick up the basics in a couple of days on the job- it was a Gorillaz job in fact. The program is a bit chunky cost wise though. So before spending a lot of money, I recommend DigiCel FlipBook while learning animation.

FlipBook is a fantastic program and extremely cost friendly for those starting out. With really great customer support. I used the program years ago for shooting my hand drawn line tests and later for draw over notes while supervising animation. It was a life saver.