Listen to this....

Change that distracting habit of watching Youtube videos while you work!
It always ends the same way - half way through that brilliant piece of art you've been creating, you realize that it's become secondary to the squawking 'Let's Play'-er who you've been watching, and that you haven't made any progress in the last ten minutes.

We're all guilty of it sometimes.
Richard Williams' mantra is 'Unplug'.

And he is of course right. However, if you have to listen to something (and I have to admit that I do more often than I don't), then treat your brain and ears to something motivational, fun, informative.

I give you the Animation Podcasts.

 

 

There are a lot of Podcasts worth listening to. These are the ones which to my knowledge are still running and being updated, and the ones I myself enjoy most. Click the titles to go to the sites.

 

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Speaking of Animation

 

 

 

Funny, charming, and I-cannot-even-stress-this-enough USEFUL interviews with incredibly skilled industry animators. They go in-depth on techniques and their approaches to a scene. I just wish that this particular podcast was more frequently updated!

 

 

Animation Fascination

 

 

This is more just like listening to a couple of your friends discussing recent animation news. It's a good way to keep up to date with the ins and outs of the industry, and it's strength lies in the humorous delivery of the presenters who are zany and relatable.

 

 

iAnimate

 



 

 

Just a really well done and professional podcast. A collection of interviews with a good range of industry veterans spanning a mix of disciplines. 2D, 3D, Visual Effects, etc.

 

 







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I would love to recommend to you 'The Animation Podcast' - no doubt the King of the batch but, unfortunately, it hasn't been operational in a while. Their back catalogue deserves your attention, though.

'The Pixar Podcast' is as good as you'd imagine it to be, but has recently been closed down. Again, the back catalogue is interesting although actually, I tend to find some of the other choices more accessible and fun.

 

-India

Inspiration

Let me inspire you with some images from the greats.



Absolutely magnificent drawing! Bold, but that expression is SO SUBTLE. But oh so very readable! The misalignment of the eyelids along with the unfocused gaze.... That skewed mouth.... The lean of the body. The silhouette is readable, too, and the graphic shapes that the body cuts while maintaining believability. Truly masterful draftsmanship!

Speaking of masterful draftsmanship....



Entirely different feel, right?

Enormously courageous yet explorative strokes of a brush here. Note how he feels out the form of the horse. The exaggerations, the depictions of movement, the manipulation of the form while keeping the unmistakable proportions of the animal! Look how those back legs peter to nothing - and yet, what weight it has! I could rant about this all day. You don't have to be one to one realistic to be an accomplished artist. On the contrary, the drawing out of the dormant or underpinning nature of a figure or object - the exaggeration - can make your pictures seem REALER than real. Yes! Realer than real life!

For the same reason that pure rotoscoping will lead to floatey animation, yet rotoscoping with exaggerated weight, up and down, squash and stretch, seem convincing and realistic, distilling the essence of your subject is the purest form of drawing that I believe you can do.

Lastly, here are some Animation tips from Patrick Giusiano:

Animation Tips

- India