Kung Fu Panda Dragonfly Flipz Video Posted On Youtube

Here's the finished Kung Fu Panda Dragonfly Cinema Flipz™ videoI posted on Youtube.


The cool graphic style of the opening sequence was a real treat and helped make this one of my favorite animated films.  I thought the 2D animation would make a good flip book.  I think of it as a salute to the animation team who are credited on page 2 of the flip book.  I also included an art gallery of the ending credits.  I thought of doing a separate Dragonfly Flipz™ book of the credits but , maybe someday.  Since this is still a "Concept Demo" it is still not for sale ( I keep hoping get these in front of the right eyeballs).  But, I will be sending one to my friend, Cyrus Voris, who was the co-writer of the story.  As a animation geek, I think he'll like it, and I hope you do, too.


Enjoy.

Kung Fu Panda Dragonfly Flipz Preview

  It been a while since my last new Dragonfly Flipz™ Book.   I've been busy securing gainful employment and  I'm happy to say with I've had some success.  So, I'm hoping to get back to produce more Dragonfly Flipz™ book "Concept Demo" samples (not for sale, as always).


  Here's a preview of the next one, the Kung Fu Panda Cinema Flipz™.   I started this after the release of the film last year.   I wanted to do it as a tribute to my friend Cyrus Voris, who was one of the co-writer of the story, and the artists who worked the film.  But, after a couple of rejections of Dragonfly Flipz proposals for other properties, not Kung Fu Panda, I pulled back from doing Concept Demo books.  Now, I'm ready to give it another try.  I've got a couple of Dragonfly Flipz books started, several other flipz book ideas worth doing.

Click on the picture for an enlarged view of the first ten "comic book layout" pages and the first flip book page, and two art gallery pages.  I plan to finish printing the book this week and have a video posted on youtube by next week end.

Enjoy.

Magus Robot Hunter Valiant Comics Party Flyer

  Back in April I posted a Dragonfly Flipz Book video on Youtube of a Valiant Comic Magus the Robot Hunter flip book I made form a unused video promo. I mentioned it was based on a Christmas party invitation Valiant had sent me. Well, I found it in my old files and thought I share it here. The original art by Art Nichols, one of Valiant's core artist.

You can click on the images for a supersized closeup.  Enjoy.

Concrete Motion Comic and Goofy Gold Record Spot

The lazy, hazy, days of summer are over, so it time to post more stuff on youtube and my blog. First up, some old fun videos I find while moving some boxes around the basement.
Concrete Motion Comic


The Concrete Comic book / Video Adaptation (as I called it back then) is something I put together on my old Amiga computer. I figured I'd better dump it to digital file before the tape goes bad.
I pitched this to Paul Chadwick (who has copy of it on VHS) and Dark Horse long before they got into movies. I also used it for one of my Dragonfly Flipz books. I'd like to update and finish it, someday.


Goofy Gold is a old cheesy, novelty record spot I worked on back in the 1970's. Remember 8-Tracks cassettes!! It is funky, but still fun. Basically, I was just created animated scenes, site gags and lame jokes, to match the song clips. These were totally low, low, budget. But, they made tons of money for the record producer, not me. Leave a comment if you remember seeing this, or remember any of the songs.

In both them you see why I never sell myself as a true "animator", but they were fun making. I got other record spots to put up that are just as cheesy. they're good for laugh.

Enjoy

My Demo Reel

Here is my animation Producer / Director Demo reel. Some what dated, but there is still some nice stuff in it. Gargoyles, and Thundercats have been released on DVD, but Ozzy and Drix, and Men in Black, have yet to be released. I'm especially fond of the Nascar Racers series. I still think it looks pretty good for it's time, and better than the new Speed Racer series. There was a lot of great CGI racing action in the show. I'll have pull some more clips to show. The series is now owned by Disney and I doubt if it will be released on DVD. (They have a property call "Cars", you know)

It nice to revisit these shows, but I look forward to moving on to my own projects.

Enjoy

New Youtube Posts

Here a batch of new videos I posted this past week or so. They run the gambit from Dragonfly Flipz books to a special animator debut and showcase.

First up is the Alien Parade,- Part 1 - Web Flipz™ based on the animated CGI short of Den Beauvais, award winning Comic (Aliens), Fantasy and Video Game artist (Vanguard, Saga of Heroes). Den and I recently renewed our licensing agreement, so, I'll continue selling this, and making more Alien Parade flip books. This flip book is on my ebay store, Dragonfly Emporium.



Next up is my Dragonfly Web Flipz™ based on my movie of the American Presidents slide show on the White House web site (www.whitehouse.gov). This is a test printing, as such, the second side has some images out of order. I thinking of doing a four flip book set (if I can get permission to use the images from the slide show), with added featured when you group the book's back covers together. I'll post them soon.



The Magus, Robot Fighter flip book was something I found in my old art files. I made it from an promo video I did on my Amiga Computer with Deluxe Paint. If enough Valiant Comic fans show an interest in it and post a comment, maybe I'll do a free download version, since I don't know who owns the rights to Magus at this point.



Here's my Sound Sketch #4 - Just a Thought, A short piece I wrote on April 26, 1980 (I had the date written down on chord sheet) I imagined it as being the calm music piece to follow a hard rocking tune to end a live gig at a small club. Someday , I may get up the nerve to play at a open mike night at one of our local clubs or coffee house. Until then, I just share it here. Enjoy.



Last, but not least, is this debut animation by my 11 year son. In his words: "This is a film about a Giant Lobster that eats pig-stealing aliens, and there is a surprise at the end!!!" It was done one at the 2009 Brighton schools Festival of Ideas (stop-motion animation workshop). Keep in mind the class was only an hour long. Great job!



Enjoy.

I pick up several DVDs this week. The Wonder Woman animated original movie, Immortal (Limted Edtion), the live action Sci-Fi movie base on the French graphic novel (amazing visuals), and the Watchmen - The Complete Motion Comic, containing all 12 episodes (an added bonus is a movie coupon for $7.50 off the admission price for the theatrial release. That makes it almost free in my area where the theater ticket is $8.00)

(Note - I haven't seen the movie yet and I've only gotten through the first episode of the motion comic)

I'll just write about the Watchmen DVD first. This is the collection of the shorts that were offered online. I only saw one episode, and not all the way through. So, I'm glad they released the this. "Motion Comic" is the "new" format being hyped my several companies. Us, old-timers, recognize them as updated versions of the first funky "Marvel Comic TV animation" from the 1960's. That said, this animatic style works really well for telling the Watchmen story. It's success, in my opinion, has to with the great Dave Gibbons artwork. Also the audio presentation is more like a audio book, one narrator, doing all the voices. I'm enjoying this limited animation version very much. Today's graphic/video editing technology has may the type of animation very appropriate for the right project. It will be interesting to see this "Motion Comic" concept develop.

Another great example of the style, actually pre-dates the Watchmen stuff. (I mentioned this before) It is the Metal Gear Solid - Digital Graphic Novel released for the PSP Playstation Portable in 2006. It adapts IDW Publishing MGS comics with artwork my Ashley Wood but it was only release for UMD, PSP format only. Sony would be wise to dump it to DVD and Blu-Ray. You could probably download it from the Playstation Network, but a hard copy wouldn't hurt.

By the way, this is a format I proposed to Dark Horse and Valiant Comic back in 1990's and I used for my own Warrior in the Mist Comic/Video/flip book project. I called it Comic Book/ Video Adaptations. Okay, that tagline is a little long winded. Magus Robot Hunter Promo, Dr. Solar Valiant Promo, Paul Chadwick's Concrete Comix Flipz, and are all samples of my Comic / Video Adaptation concept. Look like early "Motion Comics" to me.

Looking back, I'm starting to think I'm a neither a f**kin' genius, ahead of his time, or the worse salesman ever. I can only hope my Dragonfly Flipz book format take off, under my stewardship and not ten year down by somebody else, with "new" name. Such is creative life.

The Wonder Woman DVD leaves me with mixed feelings. It's a solid presentation on par with the Superman and Justice League: New Frontier DVDs. I won't go into the full back story here. You can go to DC / Warners Bros. official web site for that. The PG-13 rating not withstanding, it still comes off rather tame for the subject matter. The staging of the battle scenes are good, but missing convincing punch even for animation. There plenty of sword play, but the lack of blood letting is oddly apparent. Looks like they self-censored themselves too, much. The style's TV animation roots are plainly visible, and that may be the root of the problem, for me. I'm a little tire of seeing this super hero styling. In stark contrast, check out HIghlander: The search for Vengeance, directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri produce by Manga Video (part of Starz Media), Both stories have simuliar elements, flashbacks, big battle scenes, but the action scenes in the Highlander DVD are amazing. So, if I have to rate it, I'd give the Wonder Woman DVD a B-.



The Immortal DVD is another beast, altogether. It is a amazing blend of CGI animtion and live action and total blend. Live actor and CGI characters populate this visually rich adaptation of the graphic novels by director Enki Bilal, "The Carnival of the Immortals and the "The Woman Trap" Les Humanoides Asscies. Here's the story line (From the back cover text) "New York City, year 2095. A floting pyramid has emerged u in the skies above Manhattan, inhabited by ancient Egyptian Gods. The have cast judgement down on upon Horus (a falcon headed god), one of their own. With only seven days to preserve his immortality, he must find a human to inhabit, and search for a mate." That just scratches the surface of this stunning film. I remember seeing his work in the U.S. editions of the Heavy Metal Magazine and hardcover graphic novels. Thisis great stuff, but definitely for a mature audience, in a good way. In checking the imdb.com, Enki Bilal has several other films to his credit. I'll be sure check those out some time.