Bid on a box of Blackwing Pencils-and more-and help the Hodges

David Nethery provided this fantastic coup to the Hodge auction-yours if you're the lucky bidder

Want to buy a perfect and unused box of 12 Blackwing #602s? You'll have a shot at scoring them this week.

I don't know Tim Hodge personally. I know he's worked as an animator and story artist at Disney, and I know his icon well from comments he's left on blogs I've visited...and I also know him from hearing about the auction organized by friends to help defray some of the costs of medical care for his son, Matthew.
Matthew had a horrible accident last August that has left him in a deep coma. The Hodge family is doing everything they can to care for Matthew and bring him back to full consciousness. Obviously the expense involved is tremendous.

The Hodge's story is detailed on the site Help The Hodges. The site and the auction was conceived by their friends and colleagues in the artistic community who wanted to help the family, and it's quite a list. A lot of great stuff donated by many, many of animation's best-not only as regards skill but most importantly, heart.

For just two examples-apart from the eponymous pencils mentioned above-how about a drawing by Pete Docter of Carl and Kevin the bird from "Up"-signed by Pete--and Ed Asner?








Another beauty: Vicky Jenson donated not one but three items-among them, two of her own gouache paintings, visdev art done for "Road to El Dorado". I still have old color copies of some of her remarkable paintings for that film(sadly much crumpled from frequent pinning and repinning on my various office walls). These are really rare.
And there's much, much more. It's all detailed at the auction website.

So have a go at bidding on fantastic, one of a kind art and collectible goodness while helping the Hodges.

The auction is going to go live on Ebay starting this coming Thursday, January 21st .

Gainsbourgia, and French Roasted Animation

Serge Gainsbourg - animation des graffitis sur 5 ans du mur rue de Verneuil from Arnaud Jourdain on Vimeo.

I saw this posted on animator Matt Jones' Facebook page and felt compelled to share it.

The backstory-all of it that I think I know-is that since the death in 1991 of the legendary French singer-songwriter and world class roué, Serge Gainsbourg, the walls of his home on rue de Verneuil in Paris have been used by fans as an ever-changing palette to express their love and regard for this epic character. Seeing the various scrawlings, pictures and messages, put to Gainsbourg's music and literally parsed as they are in the clever film process used is not only hypnotic but for me quite moving.

Apparently (difficult for me to make out as I don't read french) there's a film in production that is making some use of this graffiti via animation done by a studio named Zebulle. And at the end of the piece appear some great drawings by an artist named Joann Sfar, who's making a film on Gainsbourg which is incorporating the Zebulle animation...I think.
I've seen his book "The Rabbi's Cat", but unfortunately don't own a copy of any of his work-which makes me think I'd better place an order at Stuart Ng's when my piggy bank is replenished. I think a post about bande dessinée and french animation is called for at any rate.



And speaking of the fair nation of France, yesterday I was at a screening of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science's short listed animation nominees, among which was a really wonderful short written and directed by the veteran, ex-Dreamworks animator Fabrice Joubert, "French Roast".




This captivating film has fantastic atmosphere, staging and character animation-in its lead character in particular. While watching it I wondered, "Didn't Bibo have something to do with this?" and sure enough, he produced it. Another familiar name designed it: Nico Marlet. And yet another: one credit goes to the charming and wonderfully talented animator and illustrator Aurélie Blard-Quintard; a visit to her blog is a must.


Illustration by Aurélie Blard-Quintard, from her blog "tea-time, isn't it"?

I just love this short. Here's a link to watch it all.
And here's more good stuff about how Nico's designs were translated to the screen (one of the best 2D to CG translations I've seen) from the French Roast production blog.
Amusez-vous bien!