I have some new material to post about, but right now, after what happened in Paris this week, I’m a little too down (and angry) to think about writing reviews and showing off cool stuff.
I went through my past blog entries yesterday, and discovered several of the classic cartoon videos I had linked to had, in the interim, been removed by Youtube for one reason or another. I was able to find the same content elsewhere on Youtube, in most cases, so those links have been updated.
My series “Star Voyages” has been a real learning experience, and coupled with all the tutorials, books and video lessons I’ve absorbed over the past couple of years, helped prepare me for “Frank-N-Nazi.” Two years ago I never would have expected to make such a neat “true” cartoon. “Star Voyages,” although animated, is supposed to be grounded in the “real” world, meaning that classic cartoon techniques can only be used so far. A human arm or leg can only “stretch” so far, the human head can only “squash” so much, and still remain within the realm of the particular cartoon “reality” you’ve established for yourself in the format. Within the confines of the “look” of “Star Voyages,” I was limiting myself to what could be done.
In “Frank-N-Nazi,” I used tools like skew, stretch and rotate to make the crazy squirrel and stupid dog more elastic. It was fun figuring out how to make a character pick up a big mallet off screen, but also knowing I had the freedom within this cartoon world to have the squirrel’s arms extend and flatten to more than twice their original length to reach his weapon.
(On a side note, I spent an entire evening’s thought on just WHERE cartoon characters produce all of these items FROM, even resorting to examining some old cartoons frame-by-frame. Usually they reach behind them, the club or mallet popping into existence between one frame and the next, producing items much too big to have been there all along. I used this gag in one scene by having the items come from off screen out of nowhere as the character reached for it. Of course you can “hide” and oversized item by making it smaller when it first appears, then grow to full size over a handful of frames.)
“Frank-N-Nazi” is 90% finished, and I can’t wait to expose the world to it. The various shots have been assembled in my video editing program, music has been edited and added, title cards, etc. My voice artist, Steve Cassals, is working to try and reproduce that unique, stuffy, squeaky voice of the squirrel. Once he provides me with the voice tracks, I should have them in place and synced up to the animation in about a week.
I’ve been thinking about my next project as the production of “Frank-N-Nazi” comes to a finish. I’m so pleased with it that I’m thinking about doing another “Crazy Squirrel” cartoon almost immediately, this time giving the squirrel the Chuck Jones “Duck Amuck” treatment. My idea to give this a new, 21st century twist by having the character interact with the Flash environment, as well as the unseen protagonist.
My favorite “Screwy Squirrel” cartoon is below. When I was a kid, I got frustrated with TBS because the would only show the same handful of “Screwy” cartoons over and over. I didn’t realize that there were only five ever made…
UPDATE: Ah, the ever-changing nature of the internet! Seems my favorite “Screwy Squirrel” cartoon has been removed. Here’s someone’s inferior compilation that will just have to substitute.
I’ve had this blog for several months now. I’ve neglected it, but plan to make more entries for 2013. It’s one of my New Year resolution. I thought it was time for a little more detail about me and my interests. My name is Lee, and I’m a 47-year-old animation enthusiast. I attended South University in Montgomery Alabama where I earned an Associate in Paralegal Studies., and I studied Animation and Visual Effects online at the Academy of Art University for a year and a half.
Projects:
“Mystics” pilot 2010 (This was my first animated cartoon, inspired by Golden Age comics and their wacky style. It was rough, but I was proud of it. Completed, but lost. 😦 I’m trying to turn the concept, about a team of supernatural superheroes organizing a team called “Mystics” during WWII, into a web comic series.)
“Star Voyages” episode 1: “Flytrap” 2012 (Completed)
Star Voyages” Episode 2: “Perfect Organism” Episode Two, Segment One 2013 (On hiatus.)
“Oliver Stone’s Rocky & Bullwinkle” 2013 (Complete)
“Tales of Camelot – Merlin” 2013 (Project abandoned, but a cool title card remains. Neat, huh?)
“Tales of Camelot – Merlin” 2013 (Project abandoned, but a cool pic of the opening scene remains. Neat, huh?)
A Certainly Incomplete List of My Creative Influences and Inspirations:
“Underdog”
“Astro Boy”
“Batman The Animated Series”
“Private Snafu”
“Rocky and Bullwinkle”
Warner’s Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies
MGM cartoon shorts of the 30s and 40s
Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies
Max Fleischer’s Superman and Popeye shorts
Ren & Stimpy
Colonel Bleep
Jot the Dot
The Ripping Friends
Filmation’s “Flash Gordon”
Tex Avery
I Also Enjoy:
Oil and water color painting, Golden Age comics, and classic newspaper adventure strips of the 20s, 30s and 40s.. I’m a movie fan, and my favorite classic films are “Metropolis,” “Wizard Of Oz,” and “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn.” On television, I enjoy “Doctor Who” and the original “Star Trek.”
What I Like:
Classic full animation is a beauty to behold. it’s an ideal. I like to discover animation I wasn’t aware of, and I love researching and learning the skills and techniques used by the pioneers, and applying them to my modern animation projects. Thanks to computers, most of the expensive ink, paper and celluloid has been eliminated, allowing frustrated artists like me to finally be able to put their ideas onscreen.
What I Don’t Like:
I think the biggest problem in animation today is the influence of Japanese television anime. It has robbed Western cartoons of their varied style and individual look, as everyone tries to duplicate the big, moist-eyed, slit-mouthed , spiky haired look of that mechanically cold, formalistic drivel being imported to fill television air time.
Don’t know what a cel washer is (Or was)? Here’s a definition. When I was trying to pick a name for this blog, my first choice was “Ink and Paint,” which was of course, taken. My second choice was “In-btweener,” also taken.
“Cel
“In animation, a cel (note that in this usage, the word has only one L) is a transparent sheet containing any part of the individual frame that is intended to move. By putting the action on cel overlays, animators avoid having to re-draw the background in every frame. The word comes from “celluloid”, which is what cels were originally made of, although that material was replaced by acetate many years ago. Since animation art has become collectible, cels are now sometimes produced just for sale, rather than as part of the production process.
“Cel Washer
“At one time, a beginner-level job in animation. Back before animation cels were considered collectible, the ink was usually washed off of a used cel, so the material could be used again. Chuck Jones frequently pointed out that he started in animation as a cel washer.”
Hello, my name is Lee Parten, wage slave by day and amateur cartoonist by night! I created this blog to share both my love of classic cartoons, and share news and developments on my own animation projects.
thecelwasher.wordpress.com 